AEW surprised many fans when they announced that World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk and Interim World Champion Jon Moxley would collide in an undisputed title bout on tonight’s episode of Dynamite instead of saving it for the All Out pay-per-view event in Chicago next Sunday.
Moxley vs. Punk
Fightful Select reports that sources indicated “Moxley was in favor of the move, and one source even indicated that it was his idea and pitch, and All Elite Wrestling went with it.”
One source noted that Punk eventually agreed to it. It’s unclear if this was connected to any of the reported issues with Punk last week.
Grapsody’s Will Washington noted that he’d heard there was an idea in play a few days before to increase ticket sales and add buzz to the Cleveland show. The decision was not the original plan, and “multiple plans” for AEW All Out had changed.
All Elite Wrestling has still yet to confirm what the main event will be for All Out.
Mandatory Talent Meeting
Fightful also reported that AEW will be holding a mandatory talent meeting at Dynamite in Cleveland, OH with company president Tony Khan in attendance.
Talent does expect management to address “the rumors of unrest, contract inquiries, and personal issues, as well as those things being leaked.”
The August 23, 2022 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
Gallus defeated Briggs and Jensen via countout
Cameron Grimes defeated Javier Bernal
Blair Davenport defeated Indi Hartwell
The Dyad defeated Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro
Tyler Bate defeated Von Wagner
Wendy Choo defeated Tiffany Stratton in the Lights Out match
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Opening Segment
WWE NXT UK Champion Tyler Bate and NXT Champion Bron Breakker opened the show.
Heatwave’s main event last week featured Breakker defending his NXT Championship against JD McDonagh. Following the contest, Bate entered the ring wearing the NXT United Kingdom Championship ring. Breakker and Bate held up their respective title belts as the night came to a close. Breakker and Bate’s champion-versus-champion contest appears to be scheduled for WWE’s Worlds Collide event on Sunday, September 4.
Breakker opened the show by calling out Bate so they can talk. Bate cut a promo about how he has respect for Bron and he’s not here to collect air miles. He said he will be the first and last NXT UK Champion. He said with NXT Europe around the corner, he wants to unify the NXT UK and NXT Titles.
Bron said he knows how good Bate is and such a threat to his title. When he thinks of NXT UK, he thinks of Bate. Bron said this isn’t NXT UK, but rather NXT where the greatest superstars are at. Bron said there should be one NXT Champion and said let’s make some history by doing a unification title bout at Worlds Collide.
After Ilja Dragunov had to relinquish the championship due to injuries, Bate was named NXT United Kingdom Champion. At an NXT UK television taping in July, Bate won the championship, but the victory has yet to be broadcasted.
WWE also booked a non-title bout between NXT UK Champion Tyler Bate and Von Wagner. This match between Bate and Wagner featured
Lights Out Match
Wendy Choo and Tiffany Stratton met in the Lights Out match.
On last Tuesday’s episode, Stratton and Choo discussed their ongoing feud, including Choo’s attack on Stratton two weeks ago while the lights were off in her dressing room. In addition to the arena being darker during the bout, Choo said that everything she did to Stratton would be permissible in the Lights Out match.
The match was saved for the main event. They darkened the arena and used various weapons. It was basically a hardcore match in the dark. Wendy hit a splash off the top rob for the win.
Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen defended the NXT UK Tag Team Titles against Gallus.
On last week’s program, Gallus made their NXT debut by attacking Diamond Mine when they were talking in the ring. In a later backstage interview, they confronted Briggs and Jensen, claiming they had held the crowns for 497 days.
The match ended in a no contest after eight minutes. Diamond Mine ran out to brawl with Gallus. Security ran out to separate the two factions.
NXT UK Women’s Champion Meiko Satomura vs. NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose vs. Blair Davenport in a title unification bout at Worlds Collide in a promo segment following Davenport’s match against Indi Hartwell.
During the segment, Dexter Lumis showed up. Lumis and Hartwell hugged in the ring and kissed to pop the crowd. Lumis handed Hartwell a caricature painting before being arrested.
NJPW and Stardom will be introducing the IWGP Women’s Championship belt. The inaugural champion will be crowned via a tournament.
New Japan Pro Wrestling announced that the tournament will begin with the first quarterfinal matches at Royal Quest II night two in London, England on October 2. It will continue with the quarterfinals at Stardom’s October 22 event while the semifinals will take place on a Stardom card in Tachikawa on October 23.
The tournament will conclude with the finals at Stardom and New Japan’s Historic X-over joint show on November 20 in Ariake. The first title defense will take place at Wrestle Kingdom 17 on January 4.
First Look
Courtesy of Tokyo Sports, you can see a photo of the championship belt below:
The two companies have confirmed that the title will be defended in Japan and also in the US on New Japan Pro Wrestling events. It’s slated to be the primary title for NJPW, with Stardom’s main titles remaining the World of Stardom Championship (red belt) and the Wonder of Stardom Championship (white belt).
Stardom wrestlers will begin to be featured on NJPW shows in the United States.
In the third hour of Monday’s WWE Raw, Johnny Gargano walked out to the ring to a big ovation.
Gargano cut a promo about his accomplishments in NXT before telling a story about how he wondered for a long time if he even wanted to do this still. Gargano recalled having big dreams as a kid and becoming the Intercontinental and WWE Champion. He said he can never fail if he bets on himself, and that’s what he is doing. He said that he’s back in WWE and just getting started.
The Way Reunion
Theory walked out and said a lot has happened in the last nine months. Gargano said it’s great to see how much Theory has changed. Theory said he’s on his way to becoming the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion and brought up everything he’s accomplished. Theory said everything he’s done is everything Gargano has dreamed of doing. Theory thanked him for what he did for him in NXT, but noted that he’s now the veteran, and Gargano is now the rookie. Theory said Gargano can get behind him or go away. Theory wanted a high five, and Gargano super kicked him to end the segment.
Following an assault by Grayson Waller intended to put Gargano out of commission on television, he ended his tenure in WWE NXT in December of last year as he decided to not re-sign with the company.
Ahead of the birth of his first child, Quill, Gargano took time off to be with his wife, Candice LeRae. He had previously teased that he “caught the itch” to pick up wrestling once more and has participated in meet-and-greet events.
Gargano previously stated that he still had unfinished business with the WWE, but he also believed that all of his options are open to him. Therefore, he had not yet made up his mind about what to do next and had remained a free agent.
It was recently reported that following Triple H being put into charge of talent relations and creative, he wanted to bring Gargano back and put Shawn Michaels up to the task to get it done.
Road Dogg is back in the saddle in WWE.Brian James is returning to an executive position, as first reported by PWinsider. The Attitude Era legend and DX alum is backstage at Monday’s Raw from Toronto.
There is said to be another key hire in the works.
Triple H’s Team Continues To Expand
According to Fightful, WWE has had an interest in bringing Katz back into the fold after he was let go this past January. While with the company, he was an integral figure creatively for the NXT brand for almost seven years.
The report noted they’ve “heard that Katz is expected back if he isn’t already, and had remained close with several in NXT. There were some rumors last month that he could already have been back in the fold, but if not, the interest was already there on WWE’s end.”
Katz has been hosting a podcast with Road Dogg since being let go by WWE. He appeared in Wrestling Society X as Fabian Kaelin, and in TNA as Minion. He was also part of Kane and Daniel Bryan’s anger management skits.
Road Dogg had been working as the head of creative for SmackDown until he resigned from that role because, in his words, Vince McMahon’s work ethic “tapped me out.” Road Dogg then went to NXT, where he worked under Triple H before being let go this past January.
Triple H has a notable angle planned for tonight’s episode of WWE Raw as Fightful Select has learned of some additional early plans for the event.
It was said that WWE has brought in several extras for an angle that will feature riot police. This is believed to be something for Dexter Lumis as he continues to invade Raw. It was said the angle is for the police to keep him out.
Dexter Lumis’ Push
Since returning to WWE a few weeks ago, Lumis tried to jump the barricade and attack AJ Styles but was stopped by security. There was also a car wreck backstage at the arena.
Riddle, Lashley, Theory, Miz, Street Profits, MVP, Omos, and Alpha Academy are all set to at least be in town for the show but haven’t been announced yet.
WWE has previously announced Damian Priest vs. Edge, WWE Hall Of Famer Trish Stratus appearing, and YO Sky & Dakota Kai vs. Alexa Bliss & Asuka in the semifinal match of the Women’s Tag Team Title Tournament.
It should be noted Bryan Alvarez of F4Wonline.com reports WWE is making another change to the Women’s Tag Team Title tournament.
Expect another change to the cursed bracket of the WWE women's tag tournament
PWInsider reports that Beth Phoenix is in town for Raw so she could make an appearance to aid her husband, Edge, in his match if there is outside interference by Finn Balor and Rhea Ripley.
Former WWE NXT star Westin Blake, formerly known as Wesley Blake, made his All Elite Wrestling debut at the newest set of AEW Dark tapings.
On August 21, All Elite Wrestling taped two sessions of AEW Dark at Universal Studios in Florida, and during the second session, Blake worked a match.
Westin Blake Back in Action
Blake originally signed with WWE in 2013 before being paired with Buddy Murphy in the early portion of his time there where they found success with Alexa Bliss as their manager and were tag team champions.
He later teamed up with Steve Cutler (Steve Maclin) and Jaxson Ryker to form The Forgotten Sons faction that was featured on NXT TV until the trio was called up to WWE SmackDown in April 2020.
After Ryker posted some controversial tweets, they were pulled from TV, but later returned to television as The Knights of the Lone Wolf alongside King Corbin in December. However, Cutler was released in February 2021 before the company cut Blake two months later.
Following his WWE departure, Blake has been working on the independent scene for various promotions, including Control Your Narrative and The Wrestling Revolver.
He did reunite with Maclin and won the tag titles in The Wrestling Revolver to later drop them to The OGK in July.
Westin Blake made his AEW debut at the #AEWDark tapings tonight.
Bear Boulder and Bear Bronson have been teaming together since 2017 where they worked for Create A Pro Wrestling Academy and Chaotic Wrestling. They started working for AEW in 2020.
Their first AEW match was on the December 3 episode of AEW Dark where they lost to The Dark Order (Evil Uno & Stu Grayson). The tag team made their AEW TV debut on the March 11, 2021 episode of Dyamite when Matt Hardy, Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) & The Butcher And The Blade (The Blade & The Butcher) defeated Bear Country& Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy, Luchasaurus & Marko Stunt)
Their last televised match came on the July 6th episode of Dynamite where The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster) & The Gunn Club (Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn) defeated Fuego Del Sol & Ruffin It (Boulder, Bronson & Leon Ruffin).
All Elite Wrestling is taping two sets of tapings for the weekly YouTube show that will air in the coming weeks.
PWInsider reports that the WWE Hall Of Famer departed from his position as Senior Vice President of Live Events. The belief is that he finished up this past Friday but that is not confirmed yet.
Jeff Jarrett’s Latest Stint
WWE brought him back to work in 2019 as a producer and he was later part of the creative team before moving up to an executive role.
Jarrett was one of many employees furloughed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but was brought back in May to run the live events department. Earlier this week WWE touted record ticket sales for WrestleMania 39 and live event attendance has also seen an uptick in recent months.
Jarrett hosts the “My World” podcast with Conrad Thompson on AdFreeShows.com. He will stay busy with that as well as being the part owner of The Springfield Lucky Horseshoes Minor League Baseball team.
Jarrett worked Ric Flair’s Last Match with tag team partner Jay Lethal against Flair and Andrade El Idolo in the main event. The night before this event, Jarrett was the special referee at SummerSlam for the Tag Team Title match between The Usos and The Street Profits.
Two key members of the Jericho Appreciation Society have been signed to new deals and that’s 2point0 (Angelo Parker and Matt Menard).
Fightful Select reported today that Parker and Menard signed contract extensions. No terms were disclosed.
The Rise of 2point0
They made a name for themselves in WWE NXT Ever-Rise, but were released in the summer of 2021, less than two weeks after signing new deals. They went to AEW in early August in a trios match with Daniel Garcia. The announcement of their full-time deals came shortly after.
The tag team became part of Chris Jericho’s new JAS faction in March following Jericho turning on Santana and Ortiz, which officially ended the Inner Circle.
Menard, who hasn’t been in action since June’s Blood & Guts cage match, has been doing commentary work for the Dark series as of late. He’s been sidelined with a torn labrum, rotator cuff, and partial shoulder tear in the gimmick match.
For Parker, he has worked just two matches since – once in July for a dark Dark match and on a Canadian indie show in August.
WWE is making a change to the Women’s Tag Team Title tournament.
NXT stars Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne of Toxic Attrraction will replace Nikkita Lyons & Zoey Stark in the first round match against Natalya and Sonya Deville.
WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels has the official word below. According to the Heartbreak Kid, Stark sustained an injury at Tuesday’s NXT Heatwave event and is unable to compete.
Dolin & Jayne are former NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions, while Mandy Rose is the reigning NXT Women’s Champion.
Rose successfully beat Stark to retain her title on Tuesday’s episode of NXT 2.0: Heatwave after targeting the knee of Stark throughout the match and pinning her with a running knee strike while having Stark’s knee brace.
Stark was sidelined from October 2021 to July with a torn ACL/Meniscus.
Two segments were previously announced for tonight’s SmackDown, including The Viking Raiders holding a ‘viking funeral’ for The New Day and a face-to-face between Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns ahead of their Undisputed WWE Universal Title bout at Clash at the Castle next month.
CM Punk opened this week’s AEW Dynamite with a promo, the first time has spoken on AEW programming since returning last week. He first started talking about his upcoming title match with Jon Moxley before shifting his focus to “Hangman” Adam Page.
He noted he had some “not so important” things to get out of the way and called out Page. He said Page could have a rematch right then and there, but Page didn’t come out. Punk called him a coward for not showing up and how everyone wants to be champion until they have to do champion things.
Things Got Real
Dave Meltzer stated on today’s Wrestling Observer Radio that nobody knew it would happen as Page wasn’t scheduled for the segment, indicating some heat between Punk and Page.
“If you’re wondering about the CM Punk thing at the start of the show with Adam Page… that was weird for everyone. As in, nobody knew he was going to do that. If you remember months ago when they were feuding, and I said there was a lot of reality to it – well, there’s a lot of reality to it.”
Meltzer continued, “So, I don’t know what the deal was, and nobody else does either, but… Punk was supposed to go out there and talk about Moxley and build the match, and he did… after he talked about Adam Page. They may build something from it down the line, but it’s not scheduled for this pay-per-view, and nobody knew he was gonna do it.”
Punk is slated to defend his AEW World Championship against Moxley next Wednesday on Dynamite. This was a surprise as many fans expected it to take place at All Out.
NJPW has announced that its biggest event of the year, Wrestle Kingdom, will be returning to its previous format.
New Japan Pro Wrestling confirmed today that for the first time in four years this event will be a one-night event in 2023 as it will take place on Wednesday, January 4 at the Tokyo Dome.
January 4 is the date that NJPW’s Tokyo Dome show has traditionally been held on. It was also confirmed that New Year Dash will make its return the day after Wrestle Kingdom at Ota Ward Gymnasium in Tokyo on Thursday, January 5, 2023.
Returning To Tradition
The last time that Wrestle Kingdom was a one-night event was with Wrestle Kingdom 13 in 2019. Wrestle Kingdom 14 and 15 were held over two nights in 2020 and 2021, while Wrestle Kingdom 16 this year was held over three nights. The final night of Wrestle Kingdom 16 had an NJPW vs. Pro Wrestling NOAH theme.
As previously reported by Dave Meltzer, some AEW wrestlers are expected to take part in Wrestle Kingdom 17.
Also, Kazuchika Okada will be in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 17 as he won the G1 Climax 32 tournament today, earning him the right at an IWGP World Heavyweight Title shot at the upcoming show.
Kenny Omega will be returning to in-ring action soon. Really soon.
In what is the worst kept secret in wrestling, he will be teaming with the Young Bucks on tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite to face Andrade El Idolo, Rush, and Dragon Lee in a first-round match for the AEW World Trios Championship tournament.
The Young Bucks have been searching for a partner to join them in the trios tournament. On Wednesday morning, they updated their Twitter bio to let the world know, the search is over.
We’ve got an update on the circumstances leading to Omega’s return, courtesy of Fightful Select. The former AEW World Champion has been out of action since November. The company has been planning for his return, but the tentative plans for his returned were changed as recently as last month.
Some wrestlers were told this was due to Omega’s pending return once the planned match between FTR and The Young Bucks was changed. It was noted then that Omega was scheduled to return with The Bucks for the Trios tournament.
AEW President Tony Khan talked about creating the Trios Titles for a while now, but he wanted to establish the titles whenever Omega could return.
Omega has reportedly avoided the public eye while he’s been on the shelf recovering from various injuries. In addition to focusing on rehab, he was integral in developing the AEW Fight Forever video game. One source close to the situation described his input as “crucial.”
Omega was dealing with a shoulder injury, a sports hernia, and a leg/knee injury before he took time off. For years, he also battled vertigo brought on by a dropkick he took from Kazuchika Okada.
The August 16, 2022 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
Carmelo Hayes defeated Giovani Vinci to retain the NXT North American Championship.
Cora Jade defeated Roxanne Perez.
Tony D’Angelo defeated Santos Escobar to win the street fight. Santos Escobar is gone from NXT.
Mandy Rose defeated Zoey Stark to retain the NXT Women’s Championship.
Bron Breakker defeated JD McDonagh to retain the NXT Championship.
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
WWE NXT Title Match
NXT Champion Bron Breakker defended the title against JD McDonagh in the main event.
On the July 26th episode, Breakker confronted McDonagh and said the two would be squaring off at a summit the following week to make the championship match official. McDonagh headbutted Breakker, who responded by headbutting McDonagh back to terminate the scene. The storyline for this feud has been that JD has been targeting the shoulder of Bron and knowing how to use that to pave the way for his victory.
The match was back and forth. Breakker hit a hurricanrana at one point for a near fall. JD hit a spanish fly off the top rope then the brain buster for 2. Breakker hit a series of spears to JD, who had a bloody mouth for the win. Following the bout, NXT UK Champion Tyler Bate showed up to have a staredown with Bron.
NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose defended the title against Zoey Stark.
Stark, who had been sidelined since last year, returned a few weeks ago by winning a #1 contender’s battle royal. They’ve been feuding ever since then.
The match was the co-main event. They went back and forth and nearfall spots for Stark. However, Rose gave Stark a Knee Brace assisted running knee for the victory.
NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes defended the title against Giovanni Vinci.
The match opened the show. It was a really good bout that had the fans going crazy. At one point, Vinci hit an outside dive then a double springboard moonsault for a near fall. Vinci went for a powerbomb, but Hayes reversed it with a roll up for the win.
Santos Escobar vs. Tony D’Angelo in a street fight took place with the stipulation that if D’Angelo wins, Escobar leaves NXT, but if Escobar wins, Legado Del Fantasma is free of D’Angelo.
These two stars have been feuding for months. They had a match that was won by D’Angelo that led to Legado Del Fantasma joining D’Angelo’s family.
The match saw them use various weapons. Escobar hit Tony with a nice Arrow From the Depths of Hell in the corner. Both men picked up the weapons and knocked each other out, but D’Angelo fell on Escobar for the win.
Roxanne Perez vs. Cora Jade in a singles match took place.
Jade turned heel a few weeks ago by attacking Perez as a mystery attacker then trying to take her spot in an NXT Women’s Title bout against Mandy Rose only to cost Perez the title. They had been the NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions at the time of the heel turn.
The match had plenty of time. Perez teased hitting Jade with the kendo stick. Jade hit a DDT onto the kendo stick for the win.
Becky Lynch is expected to be out of action for several months due to injury. However, her recovery is going well, and she is remaining optimistic.
She suffered a separated shoulder during her match against Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair at SummerSlam. On the August 1st episode of Raw, she was written off television by being attacked by Bayley, IYO Sky (Io Shirai), and Dakota Kai.
Becky Lynch Shares Good News
While doing a recent Instagram Live with The Rock, Seth Rollins, and Brian Gewirtz, Lynch talked about her progress while rehabbing the injury.
“Hopefully, in the next couple of months. Now that I got bad wing, I have a little bit more time to dedicate to it,” Lynch said about writing her book.
“Yeah, I feel like I got a little bit more mobility in it [hershoulder] because when it happened, it was so painful that I was like, ‘oh no, I’m going to be out for a long, long time.’ But now, it’s healing up really quick.”
“I’m feeling strong. I’m feeling good. I’m hoping it won’t be much time at all.”
– Becky Lynch
You can watch the full interaction here;
Interesting. Becky is hoping she can finish up her book in the next few months. Really can’t wait for that! Also says she’s feeling fine from her injury. pic.twitter.com/ac2CawKlKE
Former WWE NXT star Johnny Gargano has been on the free agent market since last December, but he has yet to join a major promotion nor wrestle a single match, and it has left fans wondering when he will make his big move.
Cassidy Haynes of BodySlam.net reports with Triple H now in control as Head of Creative in WWE that, Gargano is open to a WWE return. It was noted that Gargano is also interested in talking to Triple H and “seeing how things would be changing.”
Why Gargano Walked Away
Gargano reportedly wasn’t a fan of the schedule, especially now that he’s a father. However, the “overarching factor for him walking away was dissatisfaction with his position/direction with no set plan for how he’d be used.” Haynes’ sources stated that Gargano has also been in talks with AEW.
Gargano most recently appeared as part of a live panel at Starrcast V in Nashville called “What’s NeXT? With Johnny Gargano.”
In interviews, Gargano stated that he still has unfinished business with the WWE, but he also believed that all of his options are open to him. Therefore, he had not yet decided what to do next and had remained a free agent.
Since leaving AEW alongside her husband, Cody, things have been quiet about Brandi Rhodes.
It was previously reported that Brandi had a good relationship with WWE but wasn’t brought back to television when he returned for his match against Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 38.
Fightful Select reports that Brandi had pushed for KultureCity and WWE to form a partnership. However, there is more to Brandi and WWE.
Back in the Ring
Brandi Rhodes (Photo: AEW)
The report notes Rhodes was at the WWE Performance Center recently. Its unclear if she is signed with WWE, but she did a lot more than just ”visit friends” at the PC.
Brandi competed in a match at a PC Live event. She worked against a newer talent. The event took place on August 12, and she was seen at the training facility before that.
Brandi last wrestled in January by taking on KiLynn King in AEW. Since her departure from All Elite Wrestling, she’s continued to wrestle at the Nightmare Factory.
While in WWE from 2013–2016, she was the regular ring announcer and backstage interviewer under the name Eden.
Steve Austin has kept a close eye on the WWE product and realizes the amazing work that Roman Reigns has been doing since returning to WWE television in the summer of 2020.
For years, Vince McMahon pushed Reigns as a top star, but he never got over to the degree the former WWE boss wanted. It wasn’t until Reigns returned at SummerSlam that year with a new gimmick that was more like the true personality that made him the star McMahon knew he could be.
During a recent interview with Bill Apter for Sportskeeda, Austin formally “acknowledged” the great work being done by the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.
Steve Austin Acknowledges Roman Reigns
Steve Austin and Roman Reigns
Stone Cold Steve Austin is one of the biggest stars in WWE history. An endorsement from him goes a long way. During his chat with Bill Apter, Austin gave Reigns his official stamp of approval.
“I’ll acknowledge that he’s doing some amazing work,” he said. “It took a while for him to put all the pieces of the puzzle together, and they didn’t book him in the greatest fashion at certain points of his career, but when he walked through the door, he was one of those guys that had that look and had that it factor.”
Austin said that Roman Reigns always had the potential to be the top guy in WWE. He just needed for the company to “do the right thing” with him.
“They finally started doing the right thing. He got to a mindset of where he’s at right now, and he’s just crushing it, and I couldn’t be prouder.”
Steve Austin on The Usos
In addition to praising Roman Reigns, Austin had glowing things to say about The Usos.
Austin exclaimed, “All those Samoans can work their asses off!” He never wrestled Roman Reigns or The Usos, but did work with several members of the great Anoa’i wrestling family, including Yokozuna, Rikishi and The Rock.
“The Usos are just killing it,” he said. “Jimmy and Jey, they were kind of like just a tag team, but now they’re a tag team with an identity and character, The Bloodline. So they’re great as a unit, and they’re all related, but Jimmy and Jey just in and of themselves as The Usos, they are a thing now. They are a force to be reckoned with. They’re one of the best tag teams on planet Earth right now.”
Roman Reigns defends the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Drew McIntyre at Clash at the Castle on Saturday, September 3rd.
Watch Steve Austin’s full interview with Bill Apter here:
WWE noted in a 10-Q Quarterly report that Vince McMahon’s resignation could negatively impact certain aspects of the company.
McMahon resigned from his duties as Chairman and CEO of WWE amid the WWE Board investigating him for alleged sexual misconduct and hush money. WWE stated that the loss of McMahon could have a negative impact on the company.
In the statement, The company wrote, “The resignation of Vincent K. McMahon could adversely affect our ability to create popular characters and creative storylines or could otherwise adversely affect our operating results.”
An excerpt from the statement also notes, “the Company and its Board of Directors announced that a special committee of independent members of our Board of Directors (the “Special Committee”) was formed to investigate alleged misconduct by the Company’s former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Vincent K. McMahon. The Special Committee investigation is substantially complete.”
The Company previously announced that it had determined that certain payments McMahon agreed to make from 2006 through 2022 (including amounts paid and payable in the future totaling $14.6 million) were not appropriately recorded as expenses in the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.
WWE identified two additional payments totaling $5.0 million, unrelated to the alleged misconduct by McMahon that led to the investigation. McMahon made in 2007 and 2009 that were not appropriately recorded as expenses in the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.
“Together, these unrecorded expenses total $19.6 million (the “Unrecorded Expenses”). All payments underlying the Unrecorded Expenses were or will be paid by Mr. McMahon personally.”
The filing continued, “WWE is revising its previously issued financial statements to record the Unrecorded Expenses in the applicable periods for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2020 and 2021, as well as the first quarter of 2021 and 2022. In light of the Unrecorded Expenses and related facts, the Company has concluded that its internal control over financial reporting was not effective as a result of one or more material weaknesses. The Company has also received, and may receive in the future, regulatory, investigative and enforcement inquiries, subpoenas or demands arising from, related to, or in connection with these matters. Professional costs resulting from the Special Committee’s investigation have been significant and are expected to continue to be significant as the investigation continues and/or if litigation costs relating to these regulatory, investigative and enforcement inquiries, subpoenas and demands grow.”
WWE is set to hold its second quarter 2022 financials call on August 16. SEScoops will have coverage of that call.
Days after pulling a scheduled TV taping, MLW has announced a new event for later this year.
The promotion will return to Philadelphia at the 2300 Arena on Sunday, October 30th, for Fightland, serving as a taping for Fusion. As of this writing, no matches are announced for the event, but MLW Champion Alex Hammerstone, MLW Women’s Champion Taya Valkyrie, Jacob Fatu, Mads Krugger, and Mance Warner will appear.
MLW CEO Court Bauer also mentioned in a response to a fan on Twitter that MLW live specials would be coming.
MLW changed their August 27th Fury Road taping to a house show.
Meajor League Wrestling will hold its next event, Super Series, a TV taping with AAA, on Sunday, September 18th, that will be headlined by Hammerstone defending the MLW World Heavyweight Title against Bandido.
Last year’s Fightland event was held in Philadelphia and was headlined by Hammerstone defeating Fatu for the MLW World Title, which snapped Fatu’s two-year run as champion. It also featured the quarterfinals of the Opera Cup tournament.
Fusion, MLW’s flagship television program, will start to air new episodes with footage from late June’s Battle Riot IV taping.
The upcoming AEW Fight Forever video game will be historic in multiple ways. In addition to being the first console game from All Elite Wrestling, the game’s promotional artwork will be groundbreaking in its own right.
Jade Cargill will make history when she graces the cover of the upcoming AEW Fight Forever video game. After dozens of wrestling video games over the past three decades, Cargill will be the first Black woman on the cover of a wrestling video game.
On Monday, the leader of the Baddies shared on Twitter that she’s feeling #blessed over the career milestone.
“Just found out that I’m the first black woman on the cover of a wrestling video game #blessed.”
– Jade Cargill
Along with Jade Cargill, CM Punk, Jon Moxley, Kenny Omega, Britt Baker and Chris Jericho are also featured. Here is the cover art for AEW Fight Forever, which you can pre-order now from Amazon.
Cargill made her promotional debut in November 2020 when she interrupted Cody Rhodes. This eventually led to her teaming with Shaquille O’Neal for a mixed tag team match against Rhodes and Red Velvet. Originally, the bout was supposed to feature Brandi Rhodes, who was pulled from the match due to her pregnancy.
As the reigning TBS Champion, Cargill remains undefeated.
AEW Fight Forever
All Elite Wrestling is gearing up to present its first-ever video game, AEW: Fight Forever. An official release date has yet to be released, but the game is available for pre-order with a tentative date of December 31, 2022.
It will be released on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo® Switch. There will be a career mode and a wide range of customization modes.
Several match types, including Unsanctioned Lights-Out and Exploding Barbed Wire Death Matches will be featured.
A former WWE Superstar once told Vince McMahon to his face, “If you have a three-hour wrestling show and you can’t find five minutes for me to do anything, you’ve failed. You’re a failure.”
Eric Young was used as a top star as the leader of SAnitY in WWE NXT under the leadership of Triple H. However, once called up to the main roster, he was used sparingly. He was eventually let go in 2020.
Young believes that his run would have gone differently, had Triple H been in charge of creative as he is now.
Eric Young Stands up to Vince McMahon
Eric Young spoke about his frustrations in WWE while speaking with Jim Alexander of Reel Talker.
“I went to a meeting with Vince to pitch him some ideas and I told him to his face, if you have a three-hour wrestling show and you can’t find five minutes for me to do anything, you’ve failed. You’re a failure. I’d say that again to his face, because that’s what it is.”
Young then recalled producing as a favor to Triple H. At the time, he wasn’t being used and was being paid to be there, so he was thankful to have something to do.
With Vince McMahon out of power, Eric Young looks back and thinks he would have fared better in WWE if Triple H running creative/talent relations when he was there.
“Things would have been way different for me,” said Young. “I would do anything for him. I’d run through a wall. Help him hide a dead body (laughs), whatever he asked me to do. I respect him that much.”
Eric Young returned to Impact Wrestling in 2020 after leaving WWE. He still wrestles there today and actually held the Impact World Championship from August-October 2020.
Three members of Hit Row returned tonight during WWE Friday Night SmackDown.
It was reported that Top Dolla and Ashante “Thee” Adonis were on their way back as they were scheduled to be backstage at the show. Also joining them is B-Fab.
At the end of the first hour of the broadcast, there were 2 enhancement wrestlers standing in the ring. SmackDown commentator Pat McAfee noted that they didn’t know who they would be facing until Hit Row’s music played. They quickly beat enhancement wrestlers in a quick squash match.
There is one person missing this time: Swerve Strickland, who is currently under an AEW contract. Following the squash match, all three members of Hit Row cut promos to remind fans who they are.
Hit Row quickly became a favorite group after they debuted in NXT, and they would quickly make their way to the main roster in the WWE Draft. Soon after B-Fab was released then the rest of the group was let go.
This marked their first appearance on WWE television since they were released last November. This wouldn’t have happened if Vince McMahon was still in charge, but with Triple H in charge, he has brought back several former stars.
The next WWE Draft is expected to take place in the near future. As Vince McMahon used to say, it’s [almost] “time to shake things up!”
Over the past several weeks, we’ve seen Triple H (WWE’s new head of talent relations and creative) make several changes to the rosters of Raw and SmackDown. We’ve already seen the returns of Bayley, Dakota Kai, Io Sky and Hit Row.
WWE’s internal scheduling for upcoming live events has Superstars feeling that the next Draft is happening sooner than later, according to Fightful Select.
WWE Roster Shakeup
Several Raw wrestlers are scheduled for the first Smackdown following Clash at the Castle on September 9, while SmackDown talent is internally scheduled for Raw episodes on September 4 and 11. This has led to wrestlers speculating that the WWE Draft will be shortly following the Clash at the Castle PPV, scheduled for September 3rd.
According to the Fightful, talent has indicated “there have been other things” that have tipped of the locker room that more changes are coming.
WWE is planning to ‘repackage’ a few wrestlers and the belief is that the character changes will take place once the Draft takes place.
The talent has yet to be “informed explicitly about a draft, much less what brand they’ll end up on if and when it happens.”
Last year’s WWE Draft took place in October. Since bringing it back a few years ago, the Draft has been held on two nights so that way both Raw on the USA Network and SmackDown on FOX get a bump in the ratings.
