Triple H made clear that he doesn’t look at talent by race nor gender when booking main event matches for WWE.

Paul Levesque fielded questions in the WWE Bad Blood post-show press conference and was asked about WWE not having black male wrestlers not being in a main event program since 2023 or black talent not appearing on the card at WWE Bad Blood. WWE’s Chief Content Officer gave the media perspective on how he lays out a PLE card.

“I don’t see the difference in anybody. I don’t see the color, I don’t see the nationality, I don’t see any of it, I see talent. I don’t see the difference between men and women. I see talent. We tell stories with those talent, how they can handle those stories and how they can represent those stories and how we can bring those stories forward so I don’t keep track of any of that. I do what’s relevant and what is best and the best in storytelling and what’s being delivered the best and then that’s what goes … whatever the biggest stories are, that’s where we go.”

While no black talent were on the card for WWE Bad Blood, Jade Cargill, Bianca Belair and Naomi all played hosts to the PLE festivities as WWE kicked off a five-match show in Atlanta. A great deal of WWE’s lack of black representation came to light after Swerve Strickland made comments about WWE, stating how he believed company officials didn’t like to see black talent get paid big money.

The Rock was full of “mana” after making a surprise appearance to close out WWE Bad Blood in Atlanta and ‘The People’s Champion’ spoke after the PLE.

Dwayne Johnson went live on his Instagram after shocking Atlanta by walking out to stare down Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns after the two got a victory against Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu.

The Rock was strutting his stuff backstage at WWE but did note the following:

““The final boss is feeling a lot of things and there’s a bunch of s*** that’s been going on in the past six months.”

Johnson was also walking past production trucks and more while he saw plenty of familiar faces plastered on said trucks. The first one he took note of was Steve Austin, noting that he’d want to enjoy a tequila and beer with the ‘Texas Rattlesnake.’ He then also saw a picture of John Cena and made the Fruity Pebbles reference after seeing a picture of Dusty Rhodes. The Rock had some quick words for the late ‘The American Dream.’

“I love you, I hate your son.”

The Rock began jamming to ZZ Top as he walked to his vehicle and drove off. Johnson was last seen on WWE programming on the WWE Raw after WrestleMania where he and Cody Rhodes “traded” titles before The Rock handed Cody something and whispered something to him.

Johnson wasn’t the only one to make a return at Bad Blood. Jimmy Uso made a surprise return in an effort to help Reigns and Rhodes secure the win against Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu.

WWE had a huge list of legends in attendance for Bad Blood and the likes of such had its fair share of ties to Atlanta, GA.

The company started off the PLE by showing that Goldberg was in attendance with his son Gage who nearly got physical with GUNTHER after the WWE World Heavyweight Champion called ‘Da Man’ out later on in the show.

However, there was a quite the plethora of names taking in the action. In addition to Goldberg, Bad Blood also featured several WCW luminaries including Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Diamond Dallas Page, Booker T, Scott Steiner and Syxx aka Sean Waltman.

Other names also in the crowd were Jacqueline Moore, Lillian Garcia and Mickie James.

Arn Anderson may have gotten the biggest pop out of all the legends and for good reason. ‘The Enforcer’ shocked the fans at WWE SummerSlam in Cleveland when he so happened to share a few words of wisdom for Cody Rhodes before he went out for his WWE Undisputed Title defense against Solo Sikoa. Arn’s attendance at Bad Blood constitutes as a full circle moment as Cody Rhodes will be tagging up with Roman Reigns to face Solo once again. However, this time Sikoa has Jacob Fatu as his tag team partner.

WWE legends weren’t the only dignitaries in town. Hip-hop artists Killer Mike, Metro Boomin’ and Lil Baby were also seen sitting at ringside. Killer Mike was sitting beside Goldberg to start off the show who seems to be good friends with the WWE Hall of Famer.

Damian Priest was a “Lone Wolf” at WWE Bad Blood, but he persevered like his hero Scott Hall against Finn Balor.

The deck was stacked against Priest as he took it to his nemesis in a singles fight that was third on the card at Bad Blood, as Carlito and JD McDonagh interfered but Damian channeled ‘The Bad Guy’ both visually and physically in the ring to pick up the win.

Priest sauntered out in Atlanta decked out in homage to ‘The Outsider’ as Priest’s jacket had the signature blood drips that Hall wore in his NWO days alongside Kevin Nash. Priest also had blood dripping down his pants as well as his boots, but he also was sure to honor Hall with in-ring arsenal. Priest hit a Razor’s Edge on Balor not just on the canvas, but on the apron in an effort to defeat his former friend.

Priest ultimately fended off the likes of McDonagh, Carlito and Finn’s Coup de Grace to hit a South of Heaven and get the 1-2-3, perhaps ending the two’s feud which would allow Priest to move on to a fresh set of opponents.

Both Priest and CM Punk paid their respective tribute to notorioius Kliq members at WWE Bad Blood. Punk actually had Shawn Michaels-themed trunks complete with HBK’s Bad Blood color scheme and signature “broken heart” logo. The WWE stars who wear Kliq-themed attire ended up undefeated in Atlanta as Punk also defeated Drew McIntyre in his Hell in A Cell match earlier in the evening.

CM Punk followed in the footsteps of Shawn Michaels at WWE Bad Blood in more ways than one as ‘The Second City Saint’ tipped the cap to HBK.

Just like Shawn Michaels did at the very first Bad Blood, CM Punk got the win against his adversary in Drew McIntyre in a Hell In A Cell match. The match was brutal and bloody as Punk and McIntyre fought tooth and nail to get the better of one another, but it was Punk who came up on top after he wrapped his knee with a chain to execute a devastating GTS to pick up the 1-2-3.

Punk’s victory comes 27 years to the day since Shawn Michaels defeated The Undertaker in the very first Hell In A Cell and that wasn’t lost on the victor. Punk came out in his usual style of attire but with a bit of a twist.

Michaels happened to wear black and silver longboys for his battle against ‘The Deadman’ and Punk followed suit with his signature Chicago starred trunks with the same color scheme. However, one of those stars was replaced with an HBK heart in a subtle tribute to the current operator of WWE NXT.

Since his return to WWE, Punk has formed a friendship with Michaels as he happens to pay visit down in NXT on the regular. His most recent visit happened in a big way as he was the special guest refereee for the main event match between Ethan Page and Trick Williams. Punk’s appearance occured in Chicago and it went down on the very first episode of NXT on The CW.

The stars and pro wrestling legends were sure out for WWE Bad Blood and it included “Da Man” Bill Goldberg.

Bad Blood kicked off with CM Punk squaring off against Drew McIntyre in a Hell In A Cell but there was a good deal of pomp and circumstance beforehand. Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair kicked off the festivities before the show was swung to Michael Cole and Corey Graves on commentary. The duo made sure to mention that Atlanta was the place to be this evening as they made note of some dignitaries at ringside. That’s when WWE showed that Goldberg was sitting ringside. Goldberg gave a smile as he was shown on camera.

Goldberg was sandwiched in between his son Gage and hip-hop artist Killer Mike who Goldberg showed some friendly affection for. Goldberg’s recent relationship with WWE hasn’t been ultimate as he was very vocal about how Vince McMahon had did him dirty, promising him a retirement match he never received.

Goldberg’s appearance is only several weeks removed from Bret Hart’s appearance on WWE Raw in Calgary. It was the WWE World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER who mocked ‘Hitman’ by saying that Goldberg was his preferred wrestler over the ‘Excellence of Execution.’

Leave it to GUNTHER to spoil the party as Triple H later came out to announce a Crown Jewel Champion as it will be ‘Champion vs. Champion’ at the next Saudi Arabia PLE. GUNTHER was swift to try and disparage Goldberg despite his initial praise on RAW, calling him a “one trick pony” and having questionable parenting abilities. That got Goldberg out of his seat as he got in the ring to square off against GUNTHER, but Sami Zayn came out to attack his upcoming opponent. After the chaos, Triple H raised the hand of Goldberg as ‘Da Man’s’ music played. Goldberg also said to the camera “You’re next, boy,” teasing a potential feud with the champ.

As mentioned Goldberg has quite the history in Atlanta. He played for the Atlanta Falcons back in the early 1990s before making the transition to wrestling where he notoriously won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship against Hulk Hogan in the Georgia Dome back in 1998.

Other legends in attendance for WWE Bad Blood are The Brainbusters in Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard.

Despite both personal and professional stresses, Drew McIntyre is ready for his ten month feud with CM Punk to culminate tonight at WWE Bad Blood.

McIntyre has been embroiled in the biggest angle of his wrestling career clashing with CM Punk, who notoriously has been out with an injury for the majority of the feud. However, the win-loss stands at 1-1 with the rubber match taking place in a Hell In A Cell at Bad Blood Saturday evening.

Before the show, McIntyre filmed himself sitting in his car down in Atlanta, making note that he planned to make chaos this weekend on social media, but life had other plans.

Sadly, McIntyre’s brother John announced the unfortunate passing of their aunt, noting on social media that she stepped up for the family when Drew and John’s mother passed away.

Drew didn’t mention the news during the video, but focused on the angle itself, noting that he is ready to put the near-year feud to bed. He also acknowledged his appreciation for fans making the case that the battle should main event the PLE.

“All that matters is this match happens, this match ends, this thing ends tonight. The hatred dies. Making promises. All I can promise is it’s not going to be a classic. It’s not going to be ‘cinema.’ It’s gonna be brutal. It’s going to shorten our careers, there will be mutually assured destruction and there will be blood. I apologize in advance for what people will see tonight.”

We at SEScoops would like to offer our deepest condolences and prayer to Drew McInytre, his aunt and his family at this time.

Fans may have had quite the pause after it appeared AJ Styles may have gotten injured during his return match against Carmelo Hayes.

Styles returned to WWE SmackDown after being away for months and he got thrown right into the fire with a singles fight against the upstart Carmelo. However, the match got stopped early when Styles seemingly injured his ankle after an awkward landing. Styles crawled underneath the rope to be checked on by a doctor and the match was called. This allowed LA Knight to hit Hayes with his BFT finisher. Styles was helped to the back and it was later shown that “The Phenomenal One” was taken to a hospital.

If one were to go back and watch the footage, it would appear that Styles’ injury could indeed be legitimate and not an angle, but fear not. According to Fightful Select, AJ Styles injury is all apart of an angle and the former WWE Champion is just fine.

Styles’ persona is taken a new turn as he was the full-fledged heel in his previous feud against WWE Undisputed Champion Cody Rhodes. Styles went out in a memorable way in an “I Quit” match at Clash At The Castle when he was handcuffed to the corner and found himself between the turnbuckle and the steel stairs wielded by the “American Nightmare.” However, on SmackDown AJ said that he regretted his actions earlier this year and plans to make up for his past transgressions, aiming to rebuild his legacy.

The Motor City Machine Guns seemed revved up for a WWE debut in the near future and the initial thought for the veteran tag team is much different than expected.

The go-home episode of WWE SmackDown for Bad Blood featured a “fast cars” vignette for something forthcoming on the roster and many believe it’s a tease to the Motor City Machine Guns ready to pack a punch on the main roster.

The vignette featured a sports car being started with a pair of footsteps silhouetted. Also featured was a city scape which so happened to a shot of Detroit, MI, the backyard of Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin.

A good deal of speculation had the veteran TNA tag team making their “impact” down in NXT, but this vignette certainly changes that mindset. Additionally, a WWE source for Fightful Select stated that they never heard Shelley and Sabin planned for working in NXT. According to the source, the Detroit duo has been slated to be apart of the SmackDown roster for quite some time.

While many young stars would benefit from getting a gauge from both Shelley and Sabin, it makes a lot more marketing sense to have the two established stars be a foundation for a tag division on SmackDown.

Before heading to WWE, Shelley and Sabin both had some memorable last hurrahs with TNA as Shelley finally became the World Champion for the promotion and Sabin had anothe run with the X-Division Title.

Serendipituosly enough, the same night the vignette aired on SmackDown, AJ Styles made his return to the program in a match against Carmelo Hayes.

Everybody is tuning into the Mr. McMahon docuseries on Netflix and that includes top sports media personailty Colin Cowherd who like many, is getting a whole new perspective on Vince McMahon.

Cowherd broke the mold while at ESPN with a show like SportsNation, but eventually ventured his way to Fox Sports to help establish that company as an alternative outlet for sports media. Since then he has started his own sports media company called The Volume that plays host to popular podcasts like “Club Shay Shay,” “Night Cap,” “The Draymon Green Show,” “Daniel Cormier TV,” and “3 And Out With John Middlekauf.” The Volume also previously hosted Renee Paquette’s podcast, “The Sessions.”

On his own podcast, Cowherd was talking about the passing of baseball legend and WWE Hall Of Famer Pete Rose. Cowherd weighed in how he grew up a fan of Rose, but did note of his character flaws in and out of the wild time that was 1970s baseball. This prompted him to bring up “Mr. McMahon,” something he’s been tuning into. He gave a little insight on his thoughts about the docuseries and also his connections with WWE.

“I have friends connected to the WWE and you’ll hear a lot if you watch this documentary on Vince McMahon. It’s not the half of it. It is not the half of it.”

Cowherd formed a connection with WWE when the company inked a deal for SmackDown airing on Fox and actually attended a show. Cowherd noted that he was very impressed with Charlotte Flair. Not only that, but his former agent happens to be the current WWE President Nick Khan.

Cowherd caused a lot of ire with wrestling fans when he playfully called them “booger eaters.” Colin added how he really leaned into the term to needle a bit, but did say on Renee’s podcast that he forsees pro wrestling becoming more prominent on sports channels.

For the rest of the NFL season, I’ll be doing a pro football round-up and how the pro wrestling world collides with the stars and teams of the National Football league. 

Unlike Week 4,  Seth Rollins is very happy with his Chicago Bears after being “eliminated” from Lucas Oil Field courtesy of TY Hilton and Sheamus actually remembered to bring his “Luck of The Irish” for the football team he tried to hype (albiet collegiate football). Let’s get to it!

Seth Rollins’ Bears Get The Win, Set To Appear On NBC Sunday Night Football

More often than not, Seth Rollins has found himself on the losing end as a Bears fan, but this week his favorite team recorded a solid W against the Los Angeles Rams. Seth was quick to celebrate on social media and reveal that he’d be a special guest on tonight’s NBC Sunday Night Football to celebrate.

Seth Rollins did appear and was on the sidelines for the Ravens and The Visionary was indeed on the winning side!

Sheamus Sees His “Fightin’ Irish” Win

Sheamus has been making his way all across the football hash marks and although this particular moment isn’t tied to the NFL, it’s tough to not feel the “Luck of the Irish” for “The Celtic Warrior.” Sheamus was in South Bend, IN to motivate Notre Dame as they clashed with the Louisville Cardinals. His hyping the Tennessee Titans fans last week didn’t get anything going, but Notre Dame sure was feeling a “fight night” as they handled Louisville 31-24.

Izzy Moreno Wrestles At Houston Texans Game

“Bayley’s Biggest Fan” decided to follow in her hero’s footsteps by actually getting into the wrestling ring, and Izzy Moreno did just that on Sunday. Before the Houston Texans took on Tony Khan’s Jacksonville Jaguars, Izzy had her own kind of competition outside Houston Stadium. Moreno successfully defined her Mission Pro Championship Title in a singles match before kickoff.

Thunder Rosa Officiated A Match Between Simon Miller & Texan’s Mascot Toro

Moreno was not alone in Houston. One of her mentors. Thunder Rosa also happened to be in attendance for the big game as CJ Stroud and his Texans got the W against The Jaguars. However, Rosa made sure “Toro The Bull,” the Texans mascot, also got the W against Simon Miller in a match before the game.

Drew McIntyre & Liv Morgan Head To Indianapolis

Drew McIntyre didn’t endear himself anymore to Seth Rollins as he and Liv Morgan tagged up to hang with the Indianapolis Colts before they battled the Pittsburgh Steelers. McIntyre and Morgan joined Pat McAfee to hype the Royal Rumble coming to the city in 2025.

MJF Wants Some Royalties From Washington

Someone on the Washington Commanders social media team is a wrestling fan, but MJF would like some residuals. In hype for their Monday Night Football game against the Bengals for week three, a video was posted on TikTok of MJF referring to the Midwest as “Mid”, but the team logo was superimposed over Max’s face. In classic heel fashion MJF took exception to the Commanders using his likeness.

New York Jets Owner Hypes WWE SummerSlam

New York Jets owner Woody Johnson has garnered a polarizing reputation among Jets fans, but one decision that was certainly good for wrestling fans is that WWE SummerSlam will be coming to MetLife Stadium early August of 2025. Johnson took to his X account to express his excitement for the two-night rendezvous with WWE as the Jets prepped to take on the Denver Broncos this Sunday. However, the Jets didn’t ride that moment and lost to Denver 10-9.

Wrestling Related Games Win-Loss Record

Quite the rebound for pro wrestling related NFL stories as the teams tied to stars came out of week mostly unscathed except those darn Jets! With Seth both representing the Bears and the Ravens the pro wrestling NFL connection stands at 5-1 for week three

After two weeks, wrestling related NFL stories stand at 6-5.

The pro wrestling world has been called the “Wild West” on several occassions, but an actual crossover occurred between Steve Austin and Red Dead Redemption actor, Roger Clark.

Clark is notoriously known for portraying the notorious “Arthur Morgan” in Red Dead Redemption 2. Morgan is the protagonist of the series’ second game as players would take him on a journey across the fictional American west that Rockstar Games had created. Morgan’s story has similar ties to the odyssey of Steve Austin, who had his fair share of allies, adversaries and barroom brawls.

However, this past year it Clark who stepped foot in the wrestling ring in very surreal fashion and footage has surfaced of the cowboy getting physical.

Earlier this year, Clark was a participant in a Fantasy Super Cosplay Wrestling event at Animate Raliegh and happened to restore order in a wrestling match featuring the evil Skeletor from Masters Of The Universe. That particular evening Clark was the “Acting Sheriff” for FSCW and made sure Skeletor’s chicanery wasn’t going to effect the outcome of the match. Skeletor threw salt in the eyes of his cowboy opponent which prompted Clark to step in and deliver a Stone Cold Stunner to the character’s signature skull.

“The premier combat spectacle with combatants from all over the Multiverse. Be amazed by titanic clashes as heroes and villains from Comic Books, Anime, Video Games, and TV do battle LIVE in front of your very eyes. Watch Skeletor, Spider-Man, Deadpool, Mystique, The Mario Brothers, Roadhog & Junk Rat, Storm, Loki, Kratos, Mileena, Dovahkiin, Harley Quinn, and more as they get ready for the Main Event!”

Along with the clip featured above, the FSCW YouTube channel features severals mutliverse characters including Scorpion taking on Deadpool and The Toxic Avenger in a triple threat, Black Panther vs. Loki and more.

TNA has made the executive decision to cancel their upcoming tapings in Spartansburg, SC due to the impact of Hurricane Helene. The company has gone full force in promoting the weekend having The Hardy Boyz doing media rounds this week, but the company released a statement notifying fans that the tapings will not happen.

Due to the catastrophic effects of Hurricane Helene, TNA Wrestling is canceling both shows scheduled for Spartanburg, S.C.

The safety and well-being of our TNA wrestlers, staff, crew and fans are top priority.

TNA will provide an update on refunds for the Spartanburg shows, as well as an update on future/additional shows.

We wish the best to everyone impacted by Hurricane Helene.

TNA joins MLW as the latest promotion to cancel their upcoming weekend events. MLW announced Friday afternoon that they’d not be putting on their show in St. Petersburg, FL on October 4.

Fightful Select has further details on TNA’s cancellation and a potential audible for what they may do regarding their future tapings. The plan for the company was to tape Friday through Tuesday, but TNA crew members who were already on site were experiencing power issues at their hotel. There were several lack of vacancies in the Spartanburg area and many crew members had to charge phones from their car.

TNA is trying to build for their Bound For Glory PPV, and some discussions involve possibly taping at Skyway Studios in Nashville, TN, the same place where they taped during the pandemic. As for what may air this week, the gameplan may involve a “Best Of Bound For Glory” episode.

Several wrestlers expressed their disappointment in not being able to participate in their tapings, including Joe Hendry, Tasha Steelz, AJ Francis and South Carolina’s own Jon Skyler.

CM Punk has the “cult of personality” but he also will likely be apart of a cult in a new comedy coming in the fall.

“Let’s Start A Cult ” is set to release in theaters starting on October 25 and it will be featuring CM Punk. The first trailer for the film released earlier this Friday and Punk shared the video on his Instagram stories.

The film stars comedian Stavros Halkias as Chip who is a cult leader that survives a mass suicide but so does one of his other members William. The duo goes along to recruit new members and one of those happens to be CM Punk. It’s not totally confirmed, but Punk says the name “Three Balls Billy” in the trailer and that could be the name of his role in the film (however, he could also be referring to the character “William.”) Serendipituouly enough, the movie also features a female character that seemingly appears to portray a former pro wrestler who also joins the ranks of the new cult on tap.

You can check out the first trailer for the film below:

CM Punk isn’t the only wrestler conjuring up filmmaking news on Friday. It was also reported today that MJF will be apart of “Happy Gilmore 2.” Before the news hit of “Let’s Start A Cult,” one of the last comedic roles Punk played was in the Starz series, “Heels” as Ricky Rabies. Along with the “Mr. McMahon” docuseries, “Heels” has just hit Netflix.

MLW is making sure to look out for the safety of its talent and fans as Court Bauer has made the decision to cancel it’s Oct. 4 show due to the danger surrounding Hurricane Helene.

Major League Wrestling was set to put on MLW Slaughterhouse in St. Petersburg on October 4 at the famous Coliseum, a venue the company sold out earlier this year for their War Chamber event. The official announcement from the company is as follows.

MLW St. Petersburg Show Cancelled Due to Hurricane Helene:
All ticket holders will receive full refunds

Due to the severe impact of Hurricane Helene in St. Petersburg, we have made the decision to cancel the upcoming show at the Coliseum. The safety of our staff, talent, crew, and fans in the Tampa/St Pete area is our top priority, and we believe this is the most responsible course of action given the current conditions.

We will keep everyone updated with further details, including rescheduling information if available.

All ticket holders will receive full refunds effective immediately.

Please stay safe and take care.

The event was stacking itself up for a big card as Satoshi Kojima was going to defend his MLW World Heavyweight Championship against Ultimo Guerrero in an international title fight. CONTRA Unit were going to defend their World Tag Team Championships against The Bomaye Fight Club and Trevor Lee was going to make his MLW debut against Donovan Dijak.

This past Thursday, the promotion put on a special Pit-Fighters event that is currently available to watch on YouTube which is headlined by Matt Riddle taking on “Filthy” Tom Lawlor.

Dustin Rhodes has been a strong veteran presence for AEW and from initial reports, “The Natural” may be sticking around a promotion he’s becoming synonymous with.

According to Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Rhodes, who has been with AEW since the very beginning, is expected to ink a new deal with the company. Weeks back, Dustin confirmed that his contract was up this September and doesn’t have plans to retire.

It was earlier this week that Rhodes expressed his love for All Elite Wrestling on social media, adding that the half-a-decade has been good for his soul.

“I love AEW. For 5 yrs I have been on this “One Last Ride”, and I have loved it. This place is good for my soul!”

For these past five years, Dustin has been an invaluable asset for the company. He not only kicked AEW off with a memorable PPV match against his brother Cody Rhodes at the first Double or Nothing, but Dustin has been a vital part at developing wrestlers backstage. So many women in the company give Rhodes major credit for the contributions Rhodes has made with his insight and training.

Rhodes currently holds two titles in AEW as he’s the ROH World Tag Team Champions with Sammy Guevara and ROH Trios Tag Team Champions with Ross and Marshall Von Erich.

Rhodes also keeps very busy by being a teacher of the one true sport. For several years, Dustin has been operating the “Rhodes Wrestling Academy” and just announced his new wrestling promotion with his Rhodes Wrestling Association. The promotion’s first show will take place on November 21 in Leander, TX.

Wrestling fans excited to see The Lucha Bros. crossover to the WWE Universe will have to wait a while before that comes to fruition. Recent reports that Pentagon Jr. and Rey Fenix had signed multi-year contracts with WWE, and merchandise was already being created, were false — they both remain under contract with AEW.

Due to Rey Fenix missing ring time due to various injuries in recent years, Dave Meltzer reports that Tony Khan is tacking on nearly a year to Fenix’s existing contract to make up the lost time.

As for his older brother Penta, his contract still has a few months remaining before it expires. Negotiations with WWE haven’t taken place yet, but Penta intends to explore that option once he’s able to.

WWE has reportedly sent overtures to Penta that they’ll make competitive offer, solidifying his decision to leave AEW. Penta has expressed that his primary goal is to provide for his family as he moves into the later stages of his career. Meltzer also noted that Penta’s departure is driven by several factors, including growing frustration with AEW.

Both Fenix and Penta have recently trademarked three different properties, fueling further speculation about their AEW futures.

While Penta has remained quiet about his contract status, he has stated that he is currently enjoying his time with All Elite Wrestling. However, back in August, Fenix withdrew from an independent wrestling appearance, leading many to believe that he may be WWE-bound.

MVP could be AEW’s literal MVP soon enough if his new business card indicates anything.

The former proprietor of The Hurt Business made his All Elite Wrestling debut at AEW Grand Slam to confront Prince Nana about the injured Swerve Strickland. Nana, a hometown New Yorker, received a warm recepetion from Arthur Ashe Stadium, but he wasn’t warmly received by MVP.

MVP praised the AEW World Title reign of Swerve and the legacy he’s already carved in the company, but went on to question the focus and intention of Nana. MVP thinks Nana was just their to dance and sell coffee, but MVP has bigger plans for Swerve. Nana then is handed MVP’s business card who wants Swerve to get a hold of him for his services.

At a closer glance, one can look at MVP’s card and see that under his three signature intials is indeed the “Hurt Syndicate” title.

Could Swerve Strickland be MVP’s latest client and could he be joining the ranks of some very familiar faces? Reports have been that MVP had plans to join AEW and now that we’ve seen him in the mix, it certainly opens up possibilites of Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin joining alongside MVP in AEW. Both talents are notoriously free agents as Lashley uncerimoniously left WWE and Benjamin was released from the company back in September of 2023.

Lashley has expressed after the fact that he has no plans to hang up the boots and it would only make sense from a storyline standpoint that he reunites with MVP.

AEW may have had New York City last night as the host of Grand Slam, but WWE will take a bite out of the Big Apple next summer. On Thursday, WWE announced that the company will have a full weekened residence at MetLife Stadium on August 2 and August 3.

WWE released a press release breaking the news, but they also put together a promotional spot featuring Bianca Belair and hip-hop sensation Cardi B. In the video, Bianca gets a phone call and it’s Cardi on the other line and the package features one of her songs. Cardi B posted on X to share her excitement for the news and offered the following comment.

“Here’s to the Streets.. and to my girl Bianca Belair! SummerSlam. 2Nights. MetLife Stadium. August 2nd and 3rd”

WWE has been making the most of their wrestlers and their ties to rap artists who are also wrestling fans. Just two weeks ago, Megan Thee Stallion was revealed to be the new musical voice of the WWE SmackDown intro. Stallion even took to social media to tease a potential debut for WWE down the line.

The ironic aspect of these specific artists hitching their wagon to WWE is that both stars are admirers of Mercedes Mone who is neck deep in a massive contract with AEW. While on The Breakfast Club earlier this week, Mone revealed that there were match plans with Stallion, but now that she’s with AEW those plans are off. Surprisingly enough, Mone was not a presence on AEW Grand Slam.

Despite being seven-foot-tall, Big Bill knows what it’s like to fight from underneath and his baby nephew Connor is doing the same after only just being born at 28 weeks.

Big Bill, real name William Morrissey, who is nearing five years of sobriety, spoke with me ahead of his trios tag match involving The Learning Tree taking on The Congolmoration on the upcoming episode of AEW Collision.

Big Bill is no stranger to Arthur Ashe Stadium as Queens, NY is his almost literal backyard, but did give details about Connor who is now home after spending nearly three months in the neonatal unit for premature babies. Bill mentioned Connor was nominated for the 2024 Good Housekeeping Baby Of The Year Award and if Connor wins, the family will take home $25,000 to benefit his future. Big Bill also said how appreciative he is for the wrestling fans and the support they’ve already shown for baby Connor.

“No matter what side you’re on, or who you love or who you hate, the wrestling community always comes together for something like this so put it out there and a lot of people have responded so I’m really, really appreciative of that.”

You can vote for Baby Connor by going here (deadline is Sept. 26 at 7 PM Pacific Standard Time)

Big Bill Has Learned From Chris Jericho

Big Bill is also appreciative of his Learning Tree branches in Bryan Keith and Chris Jericho Bill mentioned Chris helped donate to Connor and planned on thanking him at Arthur Ashe, but did say what he’s actually learned from Jericho. A big takeaway is always playing it straight no matter how ridiculous a segment can be.

“I agree with him. No matter how goofy things may seem, no matter how silly, no matter how much you think someone may look at that and be, ‘Oh, that is so stupid.’ As long as you play it straight, you believe it and you believe it’s real, it’s going to work and I feel like that’s what we’ve been doing.

“The thing with a character like that is yeah, you can be funny, but when things get real you gotta lock in and I think we’re also very good at that.”

As for Keith, Bill knows that he’s one mean man, and “The Bad Apple” conveys viciousness, but has the charisma factor as well.

“T-shirt material. He’s got all these things that he says that can all be t-shirts. He’s killing it.”

The full conversatoin with Big Bill is below:

From the get-go, Bill Simmons and the Netflix team knew Vince McMahon was going to be a tough nut to crack at filming the “Mr. McMahon” docuseries, but one producer saw the complications first-hand.

Speaking on Bill Simmons podcast ahead of the “Mr. McMahon” release, David Shoemaker of “The Masked Man” podcast explained in detail how exhausting it was to get Vince to not just to open up, but to actually show up for the interview sessiions.

“We would show up to shoot and then just be all like, all day long be getting updates from Vince’s Secretary about his ETA, like six hours, eight hours before the shoot, pushing it back an hour, pushing it back another hour, pushing it back another hour, and then he would roll in at 11 PM, you know, pitch black with his little crew around him and shake everybody’s hand and say thank you for being here, and then go into hair and makeup, and just emerge in the same outfit that he was wearing for every shoot. It was just such a bizarre situation.”

The full series of “Mr. McMahon” released Wednesday morning on Netflix and Shoemaker happened to be one of the many names interviewed for the six episodes. There has been plenty of early feedback from fans on social media regarding the series.

McMahon certainly is not a big proponent of the docuseries getting released at all. Earlier this week, McMahon condemned it as “conflating” Vince the person with the “Mr. McMahon” character. Reports also came out that McMahon literally tried to buy the documentary from Netflix before it aired.

H/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.

Former ESPN boxing announcer Joe Tessitore is proving to be a “knockout” in his new role as the lead commentator on WWE Raw.

Tessitore made a strong debut several weeks ago during WWE Raw’s season premiere, and the former voice of Monday Night Football is letting both his professionalism and enthusiasm shine in the best possible ways. As a result, his peers are taking notice.

WWE has a history of vocal stalwarts, from the legendary Jim Ross to the adaptable Michael Cole, but the role of lead commentator has been far from easy for others.

However, Tessitore has struck the right balance early on. His best work so far may have come during his call of a major title change on Monday, when Jey Uso defeated Bron Breakker for the Intercontinental Championship.

What His Peers Are Saying

Tony Schiavone

Legendary announcer Tony Schiavone has taken note of Tessitore’s early work. The former WCW play-by-play man, now a color commentator for AEW, has decades of experience in the pro wrestling world. He sees greatness in Tessitore’s performances but also believes he’ll face stiff competition from his current colleague, Excalibur.

On his What Happened When podcast, Schiavone said:

“I’m sure he will do well. And I’m sure that Nick Khan is paying him a big chunk of money. I’m sure he is gonna end up being one of the best, I would hope, play-by-play men in wrestling I don’t think he’ll be in the class of Excalibur, but then again, right now, in this day and age, no-one is. He’s amazing.”

– Tony Schiavone on Joe Tessitore’s role in WWE

Adnan Virk

Adnan Virk knows Tessitore from their days working together at ESPN, and believes “Tess” can be as good as Michael Cole one day. During an interview with sports media analyst Richard Deitsch, Virk says Tessitore supported him during his time at WWE, and is thrilled that his friend now has the opportunity to succeed at something he struggled with.

“[WWE fans are] very tough to impress. So if you can come in and let’s say, 60 percent of them like Tess, that is a resounding victory and I’m sure that number is higher but, it’ll only grow. eventually, they’ll understand Tess and his cadence and like I said, the fact that he’s passionate about it and he knows it, and he’s a hell of an announcer. Like I said, I think Michael Cole is outstanding, But I’m sure Tess at some point can reach those levels as well and it’s obviously a great hire for Nick [Khan].

Adnan Virk on Joe Tessitore in WWE

Tessitore’s Self-Assessment:

Following his WWE Raw debut, Tessitore reviewed his own performance with Jackie Redmond, thinking that he could have done better, but also expressing his long-time fandom of pro wrestling noting he loved heels like “Mr. Wonderfu”l Paul Orndorff

I was so impressed with Tessitore’s performance at the time, that I wrote a full review of his work in a SEScoops exclusive feature.

You may not be able to see John Cena, but soon you’ll be able to hear him—in AI chatbot form—courtesy of Meta.

The future WWE Hall of Famer will lend his voice as an AI chatbot on Meta’s platforms, joining a list of notable celebrities. In addition to Cena, users can select voices like Keegan-Michael Key, Awkwafina, Kristen Bell, and Dame Judi Dench.

Among these big names, Cena may have the broadest reach, thanks to his dual success in WWE and Hollywood. Recently, he filmed an ad with Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, to promote Meta’s new Ray-Ban smart glasses. In a playful twist, Cena delivered a signature uppercut to Zuckerberg in the ad, a moment Zuckerberg shared on his Instagram.

Cena is no stranger to the world of advertising. He’s been the voice of Honda vehicles for several years and has worked with brands like Experian and Wonderful Pistachios.

In addition to commercials, Cena has extensive experience in voice acting. He’s voiced himself in WWE-related Scooby-Doo cartoons, starred as the title character in the 2017 animated film Ferdinand, and recently voiced Rocksteady in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.

John Cenna may have added a new move to his repertoire against famous Facebook mogul Mark Zuckerberg.

The future WWE Hall Of Famer was far from playing Peacemaker in a new promotional video ad for Ray-Ban Meta sunglasses. Zuckerberg released some footage of his “fight” with Cena on his Instagram page.

The two major players are seen duking it out with the Meta glasses on and you get to see the first-person view of a great deal of the action going down. Cena gets a good uppercut in on Zuckerberg which shows the entrepreneur flying to the sky after the shot.

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A post shared by Mark Zuckerberg (@zuck)

Reuters initially reported that Cena has signed on with Meta and Ray-Bans to be the voice of the Meta AI Chatbot. While Wednesday’s focus for pro wrestling fans will be the release of the “Mr. McMahon” docuseries on Netflix and AEW Grand Slam that evening, Cena could very well be a busy man at the Connect Conference.

Meta plans to discuss the glasses’ audio capabilities during the event on September 26. Consumers can purchase the Meta Ray-Bans at a starting price point of $299. A description of the glasses on the Ray-Ban website is as follows:

“Inspired by an era of jet-set style, the Skyler smart glasses help keep you fully in the moment. Use your voice to get fast answers with Meta AI, capture memories, make calls, send messages, listen to music, livestream and more.”

Cena is no stranger to fights on the virtual platform. His DC portrayal of The Peacemaker is one of the featured special fighters in the newest Mortal Kombat game, Mortal Kombat 1. He’s also no stranger to fighting celebrity non-wrestlers as he notoriously gave Eric Andre a concussion during their battle on an episode of The Eric Andre Show.

Magnum TA knows Vince McMahon is lightyears away from being a choir boy, but the wrestling legend knows many names that also have an extremely dark past.

Fellow wrestling legend Greg Gagne talked about seeing the trailer for the new “Mr. McMahon” docuseries releasing on Netflix and both men gave their opinions on Vince McMahon’s very checkered past. Magnum, however, knows that Vince’s alleged horrible trangressions aren’t the only names with very bad backstories.

“Frankly, let’s be brutally honest. If we could take back and go back in a time capsule and from the 70s and the 80s and the 90s and go all behind the scenes and capture all the things that took place, there’s a whole lot of people that wouldn’t be revered or looked at the same or measured the same if you could see that.

“He made a lot of enemies along the way, male and female, and when the house starts falling apart and all [the news] you quietly put behind you comes out, it’s horrendous.

“You could line 100 guys up and paint the worst picture imaginable if you could have captured all the indiscretions and things that went on that were more than colorful outside the ring.”

Magnum noted that with McMahon’s notoriety that the former WWE Chairman almost dons a universal scarlet letter for so many wrestlers that got away with horrible actions in the past.

“I almost feel like inadvertently he’s bearing the sins of an entire decadent generation and having it just aired out – because I promise you is wild and horrendous.

I can probably name 20 people right off the top of my head that can fill a dossier to make him look like a choir boy.

On Monday evening, Vince McMahon released a statement downplaying the fairness of the docuseries which releases on September 25. That in turn got a response from Janel Grant’s attorney, Anna Callis.