Hiroshi Tanahashi wants to give fans the match they were expecting to see at the AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door pay-per-view event where he was supposed to wrestle AEW World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk.
Last week on Dynamite, the match was revealed for this upcoming show, but was nixed once Punk revealed he had an injury that will result in him getting surgery. Punk will not be able to compete at Forbidden Door.
While speaking to Tokyo Sports (translation via golden_kuma), Tanahashi threw out the idea of Punk competing at Wrestle Kingdom in January against him.
“1.4 Wrestle Kingdom. Punk owes me one. I’d like to invite him to Japan. I’ve been to the US a lot, so come here with a special price. Tokyo Dome is a prestigious stage,” he said.
Tanahashi also talked about the decision that Punk would not give up the title, but instead, an interim AEW World Title will be made while he’s out of action, which will be decided at Forbidden Door with a tournament.
“I think it’s overprotective,” Tanahashi said of Punk not relinquishing the title. “If it were in Japan, you would give up the belt normally. Or maybe he will come back in a short period of time.”
Tanahashi has a chance to compete in the tournament as he will wrestle Hirooki Goto at NJPW Dominion. The winner of that bout will advance to the finals at Forbidden Door to meet Jon Moxley or the winner of a battle royal.
Weeks after Stephanie McMahon announced that she was taking a leave of absence from WWE to focus on her family, a Business Insider report was published this past weekend that alluded to Vince McMahon driving his daughter out of his company.
The report stated Stephanie “is being replaced in her corporate role as part of a shakeup executed by her father, Vince McMahon, the organization’s 76-year-old CEO.”
If McMahon does return to WWE it may not be in the same role as when she left as the company is already interviewing candidates for a director of brand and marketing position that will take over many of her old responsibilities.
There were some quotes from WWE insiders that did paint a negative picture regarding Stephanie. Meltzer noted on the F4Wonline.com message board that it appears to be a burial by the company
The BI report focused on the lack of growth of sponsorship which was around $20 million in Q1. During the investors call for that quarter, McMahon said there’s no reason WWE couldn’t be bringing in hundreds of millions a year in the next three-to-five years.
“We weren’t seeing that growth,” said the company insider of McMahon’s tenure. “When someone is moved out of a company, it’s usually the result of something not working. We took stronger control of that a few months ago.”
McMahon’s exit is the latest of the departures the company has had over the last few years since WWE fired co-Presidents George Barrios and Michelle Wilson in early-2020 and Nick Khan took over as President.
The third and final match in the feud between Cody Rhodes and Seth Rolins ended with them meeting inside the Hell in a Cell Structure at the themed event.
As previously reported, Rhodes entered the match with a torn pec that he suffered while lifting weights. He’s expected to be sidelined anywhere from six months to a year once getting surgery.
The match was saved for the main event. Despite the injury looking nasty, Cody pushed through the pain and that was the story of the match. Rollins wore polka dots tights, a mental edge as Dusty Rhodes wore them during his WWE run. Rollins missed a frog splash off the top rope through a table.
Cody pulled out a bullrope and they tied it to their wrists. Cody with a superkick then hit him with the bell for 2. Cody with the crossrhodes for 2. Rollins powerbombed him in the corner through a table. Cody hit the pedigree for a near fall. Rollins with the crossrhodes, but then Cody hit one of his own. The finish saw Cody hit two crossrhodes then hit him in the face with the sledgehammer.
On the May 16th edition of Raw, Rhodes issued the challenge to Rollins as a response to Rollins attacking Rhodes during his United States title match with Theory on the previous week’s episode of Raw. Once Rhodes made the challenge Rollins started laughing at him before accepting it.
Rhodes made his return to WWE at WrestleMania 38 in April where he beat Rollins and then won the rematch at WrestleMania Backlash on May 8.
Theory put his WWE United States Title on the line in a match against Mustafa Ali at the Hell In A Cell event in Allstate Arena in Chicago, IL.
The bout was the co-main event of the evening. Theory heeled it up early. Ali tripped him in the corner, but was tossed off the top rope to the floor. Ali planted him with a DDT and went to the top rope, but missed his fisher and Theory hit his for the win.
The match was announced this past Monday night on Raw after Ali faced Tommaso Ciampa where Ali could earn a future United States title shot if he won. Ali ended up winning by disqualification when Theory attacked him. Post-match, Theory said they should just have their title match on this show and Theory continued the attack during the break. Ali chose to fight on despite being hurt. Theory retained after hitting the ATL on Ali.
After that match, Adam Pearce made his way out to tell Theory that even though Vince McMahon was impressed with Theory’s tactics, McMahon has booked a rematch for Hell in a Cell.
This feud started after Ali had returned to WWE TV last month. Ali had been away from WWE TV for several months and even had publicly requested to be released from his WWE contract in January.
Kota Ibushi remains with New Japan Pro Wrestling and has not been fired, but he is being punished for being vocal about his issues with the promotion of late via social media.
Ibushi has stated that was going to expose the “cheaters-gun and sexually harassing bosses.” He also shared conversations between himself and New Japan higher up Yusuke Kikuchi.
One included a conversation with Kikuchi about him returning from a shoulder injury he suffered in the G1 Climax Final last August. Ibushi called the company out for abusing its power because they wanted him to return before he felt ready. He also shared that Kikuchi chewed him out for making an appearance at a Just Tap Out event where Kikuchi indicated that NJPW could potentially release Ibushi because his appearance was a breach of his exclusive contract.
He wants his release from the company and he doesn’t feel he can go back following his recent comments.
“During a press conference on May 27 2022 regarding events concerning Kota Ibushi and a member of NJPW staff (henceforth “The Official”), it was announced that both Mr. Ibushi and The Official would be subject to penalties as a result of their actions. Upon consideration, these penalties have been determined, and in the interest of transparency, are outlined below.
KOTA IBUSHI: A ten percent (10%) reduction in pay for the three month period between July and September 2022 as a result of a breach of contract.
Representative Director TAKAMI OHBARI: A ten percent (10%) reduction in pay for the three month period between July and September 2022 as a result of executive responsibility.
THE OFFICIAL: A ten percent (10%) reduction in pay for the three month period between July and September 2022, as well as a transfer to a different position as a result of inappropriate comments toward a wrestler representing a breach of duty.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling would like to once again apologise for the concern and inconvenience caused by these events, and humbly ask for your continued support.”
Bianca Belair put her WWE Raw Women’s Title on the line in a triple threat match against Asuka and Becky Lynch at the Hell In A Cell event in Allstate Arena in Chicago, IL.
The match opened the show and saw Lynch get double teamed by the babyfaces. Lynch hit a leg drop off the top rope for 2 on Belair. Belair with a standing moonsault on both stars. Lynch with man handle slam to Belair for 2 as Asuka broke up the pin attempt. The finish saw Lynch hit the hit man handle slam to Asuka and Belair tossed Lynch to the floor then pinned Asuka.
Originally, Naomi was slated to be Belair’s opponent at this event as she was planned to win the six-pack challenge on Raw a few weeks ago, but once Naomi and Sasha Banks walked out, WWE had to change plans. Asuka ended up beating Lynch to become the #1 contender to the title.
On the May 23rd Raw, Lynch was added to the bout after defeating Asuka in a match where she would be added to the Hell in a Cell card if she won. She earned the win in that bout when Asuka went for a kick that missed Lynch and hit Belair, which allowed Lynch to get the victory.
Lynch talked her way into the bout with Asuka as she was unhappy about the loss and claimed that Asuka cheated so Adam Pearce gave her the bout.
Time will tell whether WWE continues this feud or goes into a different direction heading into the Money in the Bank event next month
What are your thoughts on Bianca Belair retaining the Raw Women’s Title? Was this the right call by WWE officials? Sound off in the comment section.
“Cody hurt himself weight training this week. The story going around backstage last night in Champaign, Illinois is that he tore his pec. I don’t know that 100 percent [if] that is the injury. That’s definitely the story going around. That’s what multiple wrestlers were saying last night, and Cody was there, so he probably told them,” Meltzer said. “The presumption everyone had was he’s working Hell in a Cell tonight and from there we’ll see. But a torn pec is, you know, that’s a pretty serious injury, if it is that.”
Cody has indicated on his Twitter account that he will be in action tonight.
At Saturday’s live event in Champaign, Illinois, WWE did an angle where Seth attacked Cody, which nixed a tag team bout and a triple threat match took place instead as McIntyre beat Rollins and Sami Zayn. Post-match, Cody appeared to chase Rollins around the ring and to the back.
The injury is expected to keep Rhodes on the shelf for months and comes at a bad time for WWE, which needs star power on house shows because Roman Reigns is working a limited schedule.
The WWE NXT In Your House special aired live on Peacock from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT In Your House Results:
Tony D’Angelo, Troy Donovan & Channing Lorenzo def. Santos Escobar, Cruz Del Toro & Joaquin Wilde
NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne def. Katana Chance & Kayden Carter
Carmelo Hayes def. Cameron Grimes to win WWE NXT North American Title
WWE NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose def. Wendy Choo
The Creed Brothers def. Pretty Deadly to win Tag Team Titles
WWE NXT Champion Bron Breakker def. Joe Gacy
Here are the takeaways from this show:
Six-Man Tag Team Match
Santos Escobar, Cruz Del Toro & Joaquin Wilde vs. Tony D’Angelo, Troy Donovan & Channing Lorenzo in a six-man tag team match took place with the stipulation that the losing team will join the winning team’s stable.
This was the opening contest and they went full throttle. The finish was clever as Tony grabbed a crowbar while Santos had brass knuckles. Lorenzo was hit with the brass knuckles while Wilde was hit with the crowbar and Lorenzo landed on Wilde for the pinfall.
Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne vs. Katana Chance & Kayden Carter
NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne defended the titles against Katana Chance & Kayden Carter.
Two weeks ago, Toxic Attraction responded to a challenge from Chance and Carter for the match at the show and noted they will make them official at a championship summit. Earlier in the show, Dolin and Jayne were ambushed by Chance and Kayden Carter while they were accompanying Rose to the ring for her match against Indi Hartwell.
The match was the second bout on the card. It was a standard tag bout for the majority of it, but down the stretch, they hit some sweet tag team moves and Carter even connected with a cutter on the apron. The finish saw Dolin hit a nasty german suplex that dumped Carter on her head.
WWE NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose vs. Wendy Choo was booked.
After weeks of teasing the bout, Rose defended the NXT Women’s Title against Hartwell two weeks ago. Choo attacked her and dumped a bag full of balls on Rose before holding up her title.
The match was mostly comedy although it was dominated by Rose, who destroyed Choo’s pillow. Choo hit a drop kick. Rose pulled her off the top rope and hit a running boot.
WWE NXT North American Champion Cameron Grimes defended his title against Carmelo Hayes
It was at Stand and Deliver in April when Hayes lost the title and Grimes became the champion in a ladder match.
The bout saw them go for quick pin attempts early on. Hayes beat him down before they went back and forth. Grimes hit a spinning powerslam for 2 and the crowd chanted, “that was three.” Grimes with a posionronna. Grimes missed a dive in the corner and Hayes hit the leg drop off the top rope for the win.
WWE NXT Tag Team Champions Pretty Deadly defended their titles against The Creed Brothers.
It all started when Pretty Deadly, who are former NXT UK Tag Team Champions, made their NXT 2.0 debut by attacking The Creed Brothers in April as they were revealed as the mystery attackers. Pretty Deadly then won the NXT Tag Team titles in a gauntlet match on April 12 that also featured The Creed Brothers.
The match was controlled by the challengers. At one point, the Creeds had them in double submissions. Julius sold for a few minutes as the champs controlled him. Brutus got the hot tag and cleared house. The Creeds with a powerslam then a shooting star press then a clothesline for the win.
WWE NXT Champion Bron Breakker vs. Joe Gacy served as the main event of the show.
Breakker previously beat Gacy on an episode of NXT 2.0 last month to retain the title. Gacy and his druides later attacked Breakker, which led to Breakker wanting revenge. Gacy then proposed the stipulation, which Breakker also agreed to – if Breakker got DQ’d then he would lose the title.
The match saw Gacy control him in the early going. Bron hit a series of shoulder blocks then an outside dive. Gacy did the old Eddie Guerrero chair spot. There was an announce table spot where Gacy was speared off the apron. Bron with a bulldog off the middle rope for 2. Bron tossed the chair away and Gacy hit a low blow for 2. Bron with a spear then hit his finisher for the win.
WWE NXT Champion Bron Breakker made his latest title defense against Joe Gacy in the main event of the In Your House event in Orlando, Florida at the Performance Center on Peacock.
The match had the stipulation that if Bron got DQ’d then he would’ve lost the title. The bout saw Gacy beat him down in the early going with holds and chops. Bron hit an outside dive. Gacy did the old Eddie Guerrero chair spot but a second referee stopped the main one from DQing Bron. Gacy was speared off the apron through the announce table. A near fall came when Bron tossed the chair away and Gacy hit a low blow. The finish saw Bron hit a spear then his finisher.
Their first match came on the Spring Breakin’ edition of NXT 2.0 last month where Breakker went over. On the May 17th edition of NXT 2.0, Breakker responded to Gacy’s invitation to join his movement and declined. However, he did accept Gacy’s challenge to a title match at In Your House. Gacy then added the stipulation.
Breakker won the NXT Title for a second time on the April 4th edition of Raw when he beat Dolph Ziggler. Breakker previously won the NXT Title from Ciampa at New Year’s Evil in January from Ciampa.
NXT Tag Team Champions Pretty Deadly defended their titles against The Creed Brothers at Saturday’s WWE NXT In Your House event.
The match, held in Orlando, Florida at the Performance Center on Peacock, the challengers controlled the action early and even had them in double submissions. The champions eventually got in control and beat down Julius for a few minutes. Brutus got the hot tag and just started throwing Elton around. The finish saw Brutus hit a powerslam then Julius with a shooting star press.
Pretty Deadly made their NXT 2.0 debut by attacking The Creed Brothers in March as they were revealed as the mystery team that had previously attacked The Creed Brothers at NXT Roadblock.
Pretty Deadly won the NXT Tag Team titles in a gauntlet match on April 12 after the titles had been declared vacant due to Nash Carter of MSK being released by WWE.
WWE holds the fallout episode from this show of NXT on Tuesday. It will be interesting to see if WWE continues this feud or goes in a different direction. Either way, they put on one heck of a match that delivered.
NXT North American Champion Cameron Grimes defended the title against Carmelo Hayes at Saturday’s (June 4, 2022) WWE NXT In Your House event in Orlando, Florida at the Performance Center on Peacock.
The match saw them go back and forth early. Grimes botched a move and Hayes hit a major league codebreaker for 2, which Grimes sold very well. Grimes with a posionronna that sent Hayes to the floor and Grimes followed it up with an outside dive. The finish saw Grimes miss a dive in the corner and Hayes hit the leg drop off the top rope.
The bout was announced on the May 10th edition of NXT during a n in-ring promo segment with Grimes and Solo Sikoa as Sikoa declared himself the top contender, which Grimes agreed with. However, he would only give him the shot if he could get by Hayes. Hayes and Trick Williams then attacked Grimes, but Sikoa made the save.
They worked a tag team bout against Hayes and Williams on the May 17th edition of NXT.
Grimes retained the North American title in a triple threat match against Hayes and Sikoa at Spring Breakin’ after winning the title on WrestleMania weekend at NXT Stand & Deliver by beating Hayes, Sikoa, Grayson Waller, and Santos Escobar in a five-way ladder match.
Io Shirai was the top star in the WWE NXT women’s division prior to the last months of the black and gold brand, but she was put into a tag team after the brand was revamped and went to NXT 2.0.
Io hasn’t been seen on WWE television for a while and there’s a good reason for that as the former NXT Women’s Champion is injured.
Fightful Select reports Shirai is out of action with an injury. It’s unclear exactly what the injury is, but she hasn’t wrestled in over two months so it’s serious enough that fans might be waiting even longer to see her return to in-ring action.
One source said that they hope that Shirai is healed up by the summer. With Io being one of the best wrestlers in the whole company and WWE continuing to move forward with younger stars with no wrestling background, WWE could really use a veteran with her skills around.
Shirai hasn’t worked a match since NXT Stand and Deliver where NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose defeated Cora Jade, Shirai, and Kay Lee Ray in a fatal 4-way bout.
Arn Anderson now has the trademark rights to “The Four Horsemen” term after applying for it last September under his real name of Marty Lunde with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
Anderson announced the news today on Twitter by writing the following:
“Great news for Horsemen fans! I now own the 4 Horsemen trademark and for those fans that missed out on original 4 Horsemen merchandise, it will soon be available on BoxOfGimmicks.com.”
Anderson had been dealing with some issues while trying to get the rights to the trademark due to Notre Dame University as there was a group of players known as the Four Horsemen on Coach Knute Rockne’s 1924 team. Harry Stuhldreher, Don Miller, Jim Crowley, and Elmer Layden were part of the football faction.
Anderson, Ric Flair, Ole Anderson, and Tully Blanchard were the original members of the group alongside manager JJ Dillion. They became a top faction in Jim Crockett Promotions and later WCW.
Flair, Anderson, Blanchard, Lex Luger, Dillon, and Barry Windham are set to reunite at Starrcast V on July 30th.
Flair, Arn, Tully, Windham, and Dillon as the Four Horsemen were inducted into the 2012 WWE Hall of Fame.
AEW stars Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti are now engaged to be married as the former TNT Champion popped the big question to his girlfriend in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris and she said yes.
TMZ broke the news on Friday afternoon. They’ve been dating since December. Conti was wearing a pink, rose-gold colored dress while Sammy had a green suit.
After saying yes, Tay showed off the ring that her soon-to-be husband gave her and she had a big smile on her face as they celebrate the special moment.
Sammy Guevara & Tay Conti’s Relationship
Sammy Guevara proposes to Tay Conti (Photo: TMZ)
Sammy was previously engaged to his long-time girlfriend, Pam, last August before they split up.
Since going public with their relationship, they’ve been paired together on AEW television. As of late, Sammy has been in a feud with Men of the Year as Scorpio Sky beat Sammy to win the TNT Title.
At this past Sunday’s AEW Double Or Nothing pay-per-view event, Men Of The Year (Ethan Page & Sky) & Paige VanZant defeated Frankie Kazarian, Guevara & Conti in a six-person tag team match, which marked the in-ring debut of the former UFC star.
Curtis Axel is officially back in WWE after being seen on Monday’s episode of Raw.
Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Axel is working as a producer for the company. He had been doing the job on a tryout basis but is now back full-time.
On Raw, he joined Shawn Daivari and Shane Helms in helping separate a brawl between Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins to further build their third match at this Sunday’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event.
He first returned to WWE in April as a producer as he worked with Tyson Kidd to put together a women’s match for an episode of SmackDown. Former WWE star Ariya Daivari also had a tryout match for a producing spot on this same show, but it’s unclear whether he was hired.
Axel was released by WWE in April 2020 alongside other talent, but at the time, his release was said to be separate from the others that were let go due to WWE cutting back on expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior to his release, Axel was used sparingly as he worked three matches over the previous five months with his last bout on February 28th where he lost to Daniel Bryan on SmackDown.
All Elite Wrestling has removed MJF from its wrestler roster page following his promo segment on Wednesday’s Dynamite.
His merchandise page has also been pulled from AEW Shop.
On Dynamite, MJF cut a promo where he talked about how he has been the one to carry the company on his back, but is tired of watching AEW President Tony Khan be a mark who brings in former WWE stars and pays them more than him.
MJF demanded that Khan fire him before the audio to his microphone was cut. This appears to be a worked shoot storyline where they mix in reality and storyline with the idea of making fans guess what is real and scripted.
Brian Pillman did the same thing in 1996 when he was in a similar situation as he worked everyone into thinking that he was fired by WCW and even got his release from the promotion with Eric Bischoff in on it, but ended up doing it so he could get a big money deal from WWE.
Another work shoot situation happened in 2011 when CM Punk dropped his pipebomb promo and won the WWE Title on what was the final night on his WWE deal while pretending he was leaving when he actually signed a new contract.
MJF’s contract with AEW expires on January 1, 2024.
ROH is expected to return to pay-per-view in July, according to a new report by Fightful.
The report stated AEW talent has been told that ROH Death Before Dishonor is being planned for the weekend of July 23, 2022 with the expectation that it will take place in Lowell, Massachusetts. A venue is not known for the event.
ROH owner Tony Khan spoke to ESPN regarding the future of the promotion in April after holding the SuperCard of Honor event:
“I’ve been having more conversations with WarnerMedia about what we can do together to grow Ring of Honor,” Khan said. “I think it would make sense for Ring of Honor to continue as a weekly series and major events, like we just had with Supercard.”
Jonathan Gresham told Fightful recently that ROH would be starting back up soon. As noted, company also filed to trademark two potential new logos last month.
The first Death Before Dishonor took place on July 19, 2003 that featured Samoa Joe defending the ROH World Championship against Paul London in the main event. The promotion has held the show every year except for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ric Flair is once again teaming up with WWE as well as FOX Sports’ Tom Rinaldi for a new documentary that is promising to give fans their most unprecedented look yet at legendary pro wrestling.
The documentary will be two hours that will feature “never before revealed history about him. No further details on when it is set to release or on what platform were revealed.
Woooo! @RicFlairNatrBoy, Tom Rinaldi and @WWE enter partnership on an unprecedented 2 hour documentary featuring never-before-revealed history about the one and only Nature Boy! pic.twitter.com/0IZZf4J7CY
This will be Flair’s first project with WWE since he was granted his release back on August 3, 2021. ESPN previously did a “30 for 30” documentary about his life and career.
Flair was heavily criticized after Vice TV’s Dark Side of the Ring episode covering “The Plane Ride From Hell” aired last year because of the allegations made against him.
The episode featured an interview from Heidi Doyle, former a flight attendant, who alleged that he exposed himself to her while wearing a robe and forced her to touch his penis. At the time, CarShield decided to pause their commercials featuring Flair, but they continued their relationship with the WWE Hall Of Famer. Flair denied the allegations at the time.
Flair is coming out of retirement for what is touted as his final match on July 31 at the Starrcast event in Nashville, TN that will air on FITE.TV. Flair is expected to team with AEW’s FTR against The Rock N’ Roll Express and a mystery partner.
The situation between MJF and AEW President Tony Khan has been a hot topic for months that escalated this past weekend for Double Or Nothing after MJF missed the fan fest on Saturday.
As scheduled, MJF showed up to Double or Nothing where he lost in a quick match to Wardlow. He later told Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp that he had a lot to think about after the match as his AEW deal runs through January 1, 2024 and is expected to have a bidding war for his services between AEW and WWE.
Khan spoke to Andreas Hale on The Corner podcast on Friday night where he was asked about MJF’s situation. However, he won’t comment on MJF’s contract details.
“I can’t…he’s been a big part of the company from day one, but I can’t really speculate on what he’s been saying about stuff that is unrelated to his match with Wardlow. It’s not related to what we’re talking about on television.”
MJF has stated that he will go where the money goes and will listen to an offer from WWE when he’s free and clear to do so. Khan was asked if he was surprised by MJF’s comments regarding his contract.
“No, I’m not surprised, for a variety of reasons. Coming out of this weekend, as of now and everything he’s done in AEW, he’s been a huge part of the success of the company and he’s signed here for a long time. It’s 2022, and 2024 is a long way away.”
MJF was spotted at LAX on Tuesday and is reportedly having a meeting with Khan this week. It’s likely that meeting is happening at Wednesday’s Dynamite.
The May 31, 2022 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
Pretty Deadly defeated Diamond Mine
Cora Jade defeated Elektra Lopez
Wes Lee defeated Xyon Quinn
Solo Sikoa defeated Duke Hudson
Grayson Waller defeated Josh Briggs
Ivy Nile defeated Kiana James
Cameron Grimes defeated Nathan Frazer
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Thea Hail’s Announcement
Thea Hail stated in a pre-tape last week that she would be graduating from high school and had been accepted to many colleges. She said she would announce what college she’s going to on this show.
This week, footage aired of Hail graduating High School. Thea went to a press conference seat with a bunch of College caps in front of her. She teased going to Notre Dame, but said she’s going to attend Andre Chase University…
WWE did the final build on this show for the upcoming match between Joe Gacy and NXT Champion Bron Breakker at this Saturday’s In Your House special.
Gacy did a pre-taped promo about how Bron used to watch his father wrestle all over the world and would wrestle with his brothers at home. He saw his father’s strength and power. He took his talents to the football field and went to the redzone. Gacy said Bron knew his aggression needed to be in the squared circle and rose up the NXT rankings. He said he learned everything about Bron from his time with Rick Steiner. Gacy said Bron’s family handles things with violence and wants Bron to bring all of his anger so he can become NXT Champion.
Gacy was interviewed backstage and said he wouldn’t lose the title to Gacy. There was the sound of Gacy laughing and bron freaked out, but before he tossed a TV, he calmly put it down. Bron said being predictable wasn’t a weakness and he plans to rip Gacy apart.
Cora Jade vs. Elektra Lopez in a singles match took place.
This match was set up last week when Jade appeared in the crowd during Lopez’s match against Alba Fyre and after Fyre won, Lopez smacked the popcorn out of Jade’s hand.
The match saw Jade make a late comeback before going over with her finisher.
Cameron Grimes vs. Nathan Frazer in a singles match took place.
This bout came before Grimes defends the North American Title against Carmelo Hayes at In Your House.
The bout was saved for the main event. It was a fun match that had elements of the old NXT. Grimes went over with his finisher. Post-match, Hayes attacked Grimes, but Grimes got the better of him.
WWE booked a Championship Summit featuring Women’s Tag Team Champions Gigi Dolin and Jacey Jayne & NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose and Wendy Choo, Kayden Carter & Katana Chance.
Rose will defend her title against Choo while Dolin and Jayne will defend their titles against Chance and Carter at Saturday’s In Your House special.
Last week Chance and Carter attacked Dolin and Jayne backstage as they were walking with Rose to the ring. They also brawled around ringside during a match between Rose and Indi Hartwell. After Rose defended the NXT Women’s title against Hartwell, Choo attacked her and dumped a bag full of balls on Rose before holding up her title.
They signed the contracts for the matches. Toxic Attraction bragged about how they’ve been champions for a reason and the challengers are over their heads.Rose cut a promo about she’s better than Wendy, who launched a spit ball on her. They brawled and Wendy put her through a table.
Windham Rotunda, aka Bray Wyatt, sent out some interesting tweets that have seemingly hinted that he’s ready to step back into the squared circle again after being away for a while. He said the horrible suffering he was dealing with has disappeared and now it burns.
“Everything good that’s ever happened to me, first came a period horrible suffering. I never ask why, I just wait for the rough part to end. I was chosen for whatever reason. And I’ve got shit to do. It doesn’t hurt anymore, it burns. I’m ready now.”
There was also a red circle at the end of the tweet, which some fans thought was another indication that he’s come full circle and implied a WWE return, but there have not been any reports to confirm that at all. He sent out another tweet that reads the following:
“I’m tired of watching. Tired of hearing irrelevant clowns speculate how I’ll be perceived. Tired of hearing about my greed, my desire questioned. Wherever and whenever I decide to return, I’ll remind everyone why they know my name. Again. And again. Believe in me. #IFoundIt.”
In a follow-up tweet, Wyatt noted, “Patience. It’s almost time.”
It’s been previously reported that after Rotunda was let go by WWE, AEW and Impact Wrestling were interested in signing him. However, his asking price is said to be very high. It looks like we may find out soon what his next move is.
Everything good that’s ever happened to me, first came a period horrible suffering. I never ask why, I just wait for the rough part to end. I was chosen for whatever reason. And I’ve got shit to do. It doesn’t hurt anymore, it burns.
I’m tired of watching. Tired of hearing irrelevant clowns speculate how I’ll be perceived. Tired of hearing about my greed, my desire questioned. Wherever and whenever I decide to return, I’ll remind everyone why they know my name. Again. And again. Believe in me.#IFoundIt
Jake Atlas (Kenny Sanchez) has been arrested and charged with misdemeanor battery (domestic assault).
The police report obtained by PWinsider.com notes it happened on May 23 after police responded to the domestic violence call at 12:57 AM.
Atlas was out drinking and called his partner to come pick him up, which led to him wanting his partner to drink with him and then go with him back to a female friend’s house to take part in sexual activities. His partner said in the report, “he [the partner] showed the female half more attention than Atlas, which upset Atlas. This started a huge verbal argument between him and Atlas.”
Atlas allegedly became physically aggressive and charged his partner. A witness stepped in to prevent an attack. Although Atlas’ partner left, he followed and attempted to attack. Atlas scratched his victim and tore his tank top before the witness separated them.
The witness agreed to let Atlas in to get his dog but didn’t leave. His partner then called the police, feeling Atlas would not leave or calm down. Atlas signed a no-contact order agreeing to have no communication and to stay 500 feet away from the victim on the same day he was arrested. He was released from jail and is set to appear before Orange County, Florida court on June 28 where he will be officially arraigned.
Atlas is currently recovering from a torn ACL that he suffered during an AEW Rampage taping in January and underwent surgery in February.
Miro and Lana (CJ Perry) have a fun new project in the works that they teased on Instagram today.
Lana shared a video of her husband acting out a fight scene for a new web series that will be made available on her website, CJPerry.com where they pretend that he punched her. She wrote the following details in the caption of the video and noted that they do not support domestic violence of any kind:
“Jedi Girlfriend” sketches coming to CJPERRY.COM ! Subscribe !!!! BTS rehearsal! Want to see @tobemiro as a Jedi Bounty hunter ????? ?? ps. We do not support domestic violence of any kind! This is just SKETCH COMEDY! Pure Cotten candy entertainment!
Thank you to everyone that was involved! @montygeer @freddyjohnjames @editorialonmars @jeffkarr526 @ahmedlovesbread @ben.hanning @universalcrush @dash_aarniokoski.”
After departing from WWE, he ended up signing with AEW in 2020 and later won the TNT Title before losing it to Sammy Guevara. He hasn’t been active in the ring since losing to Bryan Danielson in an AEW Title Eliminator tournament match at Full Gear in November as he had been sidelined with a hamstring injury. He is medically cleared, but waiting for creative from AEW. He signed a four-year contract extension this past March.
Perry has continued to model and launched her website where she earns great money following her WWE departure in 2021.
Former TNA Wrestling commentator Don West is battling cancer for a second time after originally announcing last June that he had been diagnosed with brain lymphoma and he would begin treatment.
Things looked better last September when he announced the cancer was in remission after doing 8 weeks of chemotherapy and 13 treatments of radiation. Unfortunately, in December, it was announced his cancer had returned and he was battling it with chemotherapy.
PWInsider recently reported treatment had not worked as well as expected and now the brain tumor is “twice the size it has been”. West had been exploring stem cell treatment but due to the tumor size doctors are not progressing with those plans.
Impact Wrestling’s Scott D’Amore mentioned this past weekend that he will match 100% of all donations made to West’s GoFundMe Campaign through this Friday. He wrote the following:
“Folks, ?@IMPACTWRESTLING? OG ?@DonWestDeals? is one of the best humans to ever walk this planet. Let’s rally around DW! Any donations made by midnight EST Friday will be matched dollar for dollar. It’s currently at $34,776 so keep me honest.”
We wish him all of the best in fighting this.
Folks, ?@IMPACTWRESTLING? OG ?@DonWestDeals? is one of the best humans to ever walk this planet. Let’s rally around DW!
Any donations made by midnight EST Friday will be matched dollar for dollar. It’s currently at $34,776 so keep me honest https://t.co/w8qyJH5Du1
The highly anticipated match between CM Punk and Adam Page for the AEW World Heavyweight Title took place in the main event of this year’s Double Or Nothing pay-per-view event in Las Vegas, Nevada at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
The match saw Punk gain the advantage early before they went back and forth. Page with a moonsault off the top rope to the floor. Page with the deadeye and the referee stopped the count before Punk kicked out. Page caught him with the GTS for 2. Punk went for the GTS and there was a referee bump. Page thought about hitting Punk with the belt, but didn’t and Punk connects with the GTS for the win.
All Elite Wrestling announced the bout on the April 27th edition of Dynamite after Punk served as guest commentator for a Dax Harwood vs. Cash Wheeler match.
Punk said that he will not guarantee a win against Page, but that every match since he joined AEW has been warming up to this. He promised to “fight until the wheels come off.” Two weeks prior, they had a brief face-to-face staredown.
The match marked Punk’s first World Title bout since July 2013 when he challenged for the WWE World Heavyweight Title match against Alberto Del Rio at a house show in Atlanta, a match that Punk won by disqualification.
Page became the AEW World Title when he defeated Kenny Omega at Full Gear in November 2021.
