John Cena and Money In The Bank were indeed the pro wrestling talk of the weekend, but they weren’t exactly the talk of the weekend, at least on social media.
Money In The Bank took place Saturday night, but so did other newsworthy events that it wasn’t a top 15 trending topic for Google in the United States.
John Cena was the only WWE-related topic to surpass over 100,000 searches as Cena made an appearance at the PLE to announce that his final match would take place in 2025. Although he placed sixth, Cena was “knocked out” of trending searches in part by the Jorge Masdival vs. Nick Diaz boxing fight. Diaz ended up getting the W against his longtime UFC rival in a bout of pugilism.
Despite not taking the world by storm Cena should remain a newsworthy topic on social media for days to come considering how impactful Cena’s announcement was. However, the other ongoings at Money In The Bank will likely settle down as the days pass, especially with WWE RAW picking up on Monday.
Other trending topics for July 6 was the unfortunate passing of NFL star Khyree Jackson, England vs. Switzerland in the Euro 2024 semi-finals.
Not only were there other sports topics to contend with, but American wrestling fans had plenty to stay occupied away from their screens as it was Independence Day weekend for the United States of America.
Cena was an unexpected presence at Money In The Bank making his major announcement after being introduced by Trish Stratus. Cena was early to hint at his intentions as he came out with a rally towel stating that “The Last Time Is Now.”
WWE Hall Of Famer Donald Trump is getting some Presidential Campaign help from a familiar face in Linda McMahon.
According to a new article from Forbes that names the top biggest billionaire donors to Trump’s campaign, Linda McMahon is ranked in second place and the numbers are quite astonishing.
In total, Linda McMahon has shelled over $11.1 million to aid Trump in his rematch for Presidential superiority against Joe Biden. Over the course of Trump’s first run as Commander-In-Chief, Linda McMahon was apart of Donald’s cabinet serving as the head of the Small Business Administration. Linda later took the helm to co-chair the primary Trump Super-PAC in his 2020 foray against Biden.
While Donald Trump is aiming to hit the Oval Office once again at the end of 2024, Linda McMahon still remains in the fold by steering the America First Policy Institute, a non-profit that’s associated with Trump. She also is on the Trump Media and Technology group.
A little under two weeks ago, Trump debated against Biden in what was a very polarizing event, but it did take place at a historic wrestling location in Atlanta.
Along with getting inducted into the 2013 WWE Hall Of Fame, Donald Trump has lengthy ties with the McMahon family. Trump played host to WrestleMania IV in Atlantic City. He was notoriously in the corner for Bobby Lashley during WrestleMania 21 as Lashley defeated Umaga, allowing Trump to shave the head of Vince McMahon. We happened to just surpass the 15th anniversary of when Trump “bought” WWE RAW from Vince.
Kevin Sullivan has had a rough journey over the past several weeks and ‘The Taskmaster’ is getting a little help from fans and some major wrestling names.
Unfortunately, Sullivan was involved in a car accident back on May 12 while in Florida for an autograph signing. The aftermath was devastating but the hospital was able to save his leg and his life. However, Sullivan developed sepsis and encephalitis and in turn, has been hospitalized in ICU.
Sullivan has been in and out of conciousness, but ‘The Taskmaster’ keeps fighting on. His insurance plan has been nearly exhausted due to the ongoing expenses and his family has created a GoFundMe to help him and his family afford his recovery.
Not only did fans come out of the woodwork to help Kevin Sullivan, but a lot of big names in the pro wrestling world have too.
Jim Cornette and his wife Stacey donated $5,000 to the cause, Chris Jericho donated $2,500, Scott D’Amore donated $1,500, Cody Rhodes sent Sullivan $1,000 and so did Diamond Dallas Page. Norman Smiley also donated.
The original goal for the GoFundMe was $20,000, but with the help from his colleagues and wrestling fans, the donations are up to over $24,000.
The Sullivan family listed all that the money will go to in helping Kevin and it includes continued hospital expenses, skilled nursing care, acute and subacute occupational and physical therapy, recurring medical expenses and transportation.
Daniel Garcia is catching his stride as an AEW star, but will he be around for long?
Garcia is arguably one of the names to really flourish under the All Elite Wrestling banner as he’s been put in high-profile matches and embraced a unique side of his personality. He’s made a strong connection with the fanbase as an underdog babyface and that’s all been embraced as of recent.
Garcia has been the big fulcrum in a budding feud between Will Ospreay and MJF. This very much culminated at AEW Beach Break 3 as Garcia competed against Ospreay for the AEW International Championship. Garcia went toe-to-toe with ‘The Billy Goat’, but came up short after MJF got involved in the match, offering Garcia his Dynamite diamond ring. Garcia declined the ring and Ospreay in turn got the pinfall victory.
Post-fight, Ospreay consoled a sobbing Garcia and then MJF at first did the same, until he kicked him below the belt and had a massive heel turn. MJF brutally beat down Garcia and bloodied him to a pulp to close out the show, but certainly the story of Daniel Garcia will carry on.
What Is The Status Of Daniel Garcia’s AEW Contract?
According to Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer, the current AEW deal with Daniel Garcia is set to expire in October, but those who know him don’t expect the Buffalo boy to be leaving.
R-Truth and Triple H are two happy veterans after Friday night. Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano defeated Grayson Waller and Austin Theory to become the new WWE Tag Team Champions on SmackDown. and a celebration was in order.
Truth had no sour grapes for DIY after recently losing his own Tag Team Championships to The Judgment Day as once he saw a photo of Triple H standing with the new champs. However, Triple H traded places with Ciampa, holding the title alongside Gargano, leaning into the running bit that R-Truth believes DIY are DX.
Like another famous faction in The Beatles, Ciampa and Gargano have had a long and winding road as both men have been trying to find their footing on the main roster after being top names in NXT. Both men had gotten hampered by major injuries and were also pigeon-holed by creative under the Vince McMahon regime.
Ciampa and Gargano actually competed against Awesome Truth in the tag team ladder match at WrestleMania 40 and leaning into the joke, Ciampa and Gargano had DX-themed gear.
Truth is no stranger to mistaken identity as its the very thing that perpetuated his Tag Title loss to The Judgment Day. He thought Liv Morgan was once his right-hand gal in Carmella and wanted true love to work out for her and Dominik Mysterio, thus giving The Judgment Day the opportunity.
What does the future hold for Jeff Jarrett? ‘The Last Outlaw’ felt at a loss after his loss to Hangman Page in the quarterfinals of The Owen Hart Cup, but fans still paid ‘Double J’ respect.
Chicago exploded for the in-ring return of Hangman Page, but it was quickly discovered that his ‘Cowboy S***’ mantra came with cruel intentions. Page was ruthless in his assault against Jarrett, who happened to eventually get the Chicago crowd on his side. Jarrett even got a huge reaction when he locked Page in Owen Hart’s sharpshooter. Jarrett escaped Page’s grasp several times, but was caught with a Buckshot Lariat and it was good enough to keep Jarrett down. However, Page wasn’t done. For good measure he hit his Dead Eye finisher for the 1-2-3.
Page made his return after being away for months and from a storyline perspective was suspended by The Young Bucks. However, Matthew and Nicholas Jackson were the ones to reinstate Hangman and implement him into the tournament. While he was a heel against Jarrett, Page also shared his disdain for The Bucks, making it clear to him he wasn’t their puppet.
Despite the loss, The Windy City did tip their cap to ‘The Last Outlaw’ as they cheered Jeff making his exit to the back.
Later on, camera crews caught up with a frustrated and despondent Jarrett as he tried to gather himself after the loss. Both Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt gave him words of encouragement, letting him know that he didn’t let the legacy of Owen Hart down, with Dutt adding opportunity will present itself stemming from the outcame. Jarrett wasn’t too convinced by that.
WWE may be bringing back another WCW pay-per-view to give it a new paint job in the PLE era.
The company has filed for the trademark “SuperBrawl” under the United States Patent and Trademark Office and it’s not for merchandise purchases, but for broadcast media purposes.
WCW SuperBrawl became one of the company’s most notable PPVs during its run with Ric Flair battling Tatsumi Fujinami in the inaugural SuperBrawl I out of St. Petersburg, FL. SuperBrawl VIII was actually where Scott Steiner infamously turned on his brother Rick to join the NWO. Serendipituosly enough, Scott Steiner competed in main event against Kevin Nash at SuperBrawl Revenge, the final version of the event before WCW ultimately closed its doors in 2001.
Back in 2019, Cody Rhodes attempted to secure the rights to the SuperBrawl name, but he and WWE came to an agreement on the situation.
In the past WWE has used the Starrcade name to promote live events, but it’s been the NXT brand who has really embraced the nostalgia of notable PPVs from the past. Halloween Havoc and Great American Bash has been an appointment events for NXT as has the classic WWE property In Your House.
With SuperBrawl having it’s obvious ties to “Super Bowl” WWE could be angling for a PLE around February which is also when the original SuperBrawl fell on WCW’s calender. WWE’s trademark following for “SuperBrawl” reads as follows:
“Exhibition of professional wrestling events rendered through broadcast media including television and distributed via various platforms across multiple forms of transmission media; providing wrestling news and information through broadcast media including television and distributed via various platforms across multiple forms of transmission media; providing a website in the field of sports entertainment information.”
Mercedes Mone loves the WWE, but she says they were difficult to deal with when she was offered a role in The Mandalorian.
Speaking on HOT 97 in promotion for AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door, the former Sasha Banks talked about her time under the Star Wars banner as Koska Reeves, and how WWE wasn’t as enthused with her being in a galaxy far, far away.
“I love WWE but they tried so hard to not make me do the Mandalorian and put me on house shows when I was supposed to film.”
Mercedes noted that WWE would put her on house shows to further complicate her Mandalorian aspirations.
“It was pulling teeth just to get on that show.”
So happy they didn’t succeed in stopping her and she’s in a good place now, absolutely crazy. pic.twitter.com/4yoHl0giHz
Someone who is familiar with pulling teeth is Mone’s next big rival in AEW, Britt Baker, DMD. Mone secured a solid victory against Stephanie Vacquer on Sunday before Baker walked out to make clear she has her eyes on Mercedes multiple gold.
In the past, WWE garnered a reputation for not being supportive of talent outside the “WWE Universe.” Even back when Batista first got casted as Drax The Destroyer in Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy franchise, WWE didn’t do any promotion for the film despite the fact that “The Animal” made his return for WrestleMania XXX.
Another talent familiar with WWE stonewalling their silver screen aspirations was The Rock. Aside from his WWE film projects, WWE didn’t exactly herald The Rock’s initial rise stardom until he came back into the company fold. On the flip side of that, The Rock had to distance himself a little from his pro wrestling past when he tried his hand at Hollywood.
Circumstances may be greatly different in WWE without Vince McMahon at the helm. With The Rock now on the TKO Board Of Directors and Triple H being more open-minded, Mone and other modern talent could be getting the WWE support from outside ventures.
The Wyatt Sicks have caught the intrigue of pro wrestling fans, and what the group has been up to hasn’t been without intent.
The 7/1 episode of WWE RAW featured the group targeting Chad Gable once again as another VHS tape was dropped off to Michael Cole. The tape featured another Bo Dallas conversation with Uncle Howdy. Dallas expressed his disgust at a “false prophet” benefitting off his “family.” That “fake prophet” was all but confirmed by Gable himself shortly after.
The “tale of the tape” took to fan discussion on social media, and some interesting discoveries were made regarding where Dallas’ conversaton with “Uncle Howdy” took place.
A screenshot of the tape shows the dark backdrop to the “interview” and it happens to have an eerie resemblance to The Firefly Funhouse.
Something I just wanted to point out that adds to The Wyatt Sicks/Bo Dallas (Uncle Howdy) storyline…
Giving a nod back to the Funhouse makes a lot of sense considering The Wyatt Sicks members have adopted their personas off the characters who once resided there.
Unfortunately for Gable, he may not have any added protection after being hunted by The Wyatt Sicks. Otis was approached by Chad once again for help, but his friend denied Gable for help once more.
Ever since The Wyatt Sicks debuted, Gable has been their primary focus as they notoriously left him
The Wyatt Sicks seem to have a target in Chad Gable and that was all the more furthered on the July 1 episode of WWE RAW.
The opening of the episode had the Wyatt Sicks scare off a concerned Gable yet again which led Nikki Cross to once again make her way over to Michael Cole to hand him another box. In that box was another VHS tape and it wasn’t until later on in the episode when that tape was played.
This angle of Michael Cole receiving the box from the Wyatt Sicks with the VHS tape is truly terrifying. #WWERAW
Much like the tape from last week, this one included more footage of Uncle Howdy “sitting down” with Bo Dallas. Dallas continues to appear conflicted and full of rage as he mentions how the name of Wyatt Sicks brought all these forgotten names together.
“Special implies that others are not, that there’s others that are less than that deserves to be forgotten. We’re the ones that everybody wanted to forget about. We’re the ones that everybody abandoned. We made them notice us.”
Dallas said this bond between them all made them become a family, and he happens to take exception to a certain individual who has been taking advantage of that unity.
“Even now there’s false prophets berating, belitting their family for their own game! It’s disgusting. They must pay for their sins.”
Considering the Wyatts have consistently targeted Chad Gable, it was safe to assume that Dallas was referring to him. Gable confirmed such after a commercial break. We saw Gable approach Otis, who made clear that his issue with The Wyatt Sicks was his problem, not theirs.
Fan Theories
The Wyatt Sicks are all about mystery and cryptic clues, so fans have already been conditioned to watch everything they do very closely.
Shelton Benjamin would gladly erase one angle he was apart of in WWE as a clip from 2009 resurfaced.
Back then, ‘The Gold Standard’ was in full-heel mode for the revamped ECW and awaited a debuting opponent in Yoshi Tatsu. Tatsu was positioned as a likable babyface on the rise and to get heel heat, Benjamin was directed to go for the low hanging fruit. With Tatsu being Japanese, Benjamin mocked Yoshi with a horrible and condescending Japanese accent. It happened to be 15 years since Tatsu made his debut and so OTD_In_WWE X account posted the polarizing clip.
Shelton happened to see the clip online and expressed his embarrassment at being involved in such an angle, noting how racist and offensive the bit was.
“If I could erase one thing in my career this is it. I’m completely and utterly disgusted by this racist shit. I’m glad the ending was my character getting kicked in the head and losing.”
If I could erase one thing in my career this is it. I’m completely and utterly disgusted by this racist shit. I’m glad the ending was my character getting kicked in the head and losing #racismsuckshttps://t.co/1bj1bG2Xb7
Despite his own self-criticism, Benjamin is notoriously universally liked in the wrestling business and is held in high regard for his ability and wrestling IQ.
With Vince McMahon steering the ship, WWE would often position an Asian talent in a stereotypical role and the same trend would go to wrestlers of middle-eastern descent. Since Triple H has taken over as Chief Content Officer, that dynamic has changed as a lot of talent, no matter what their ethnic background may be puts more of a focus on the particular talent’s personality or athleticism.
During an interview back in May, Benjamin noted how he’d be a fool not to want to go back to WWE after he was released from the company in September of 2023.
Mercedes Mone is still the CEO of the TBS Championship, but she may have to deal with Britt Baker.
Mone retained her TBS Title and became the NJPW Strong Women’s Champion against Stephanie Vaquer. However, it was the challenger who stole the show with her performance. Vaquer was trending worldwide although Mone picked up the W in a hard-fought match and the Long Island crowd was in store for a treat as Britt Baker walked out on the entryway to confront Mone.
— ??Garrett Burroughs?? (@notorious_gmb) July 1, 2024
Baker has been gone from AEW for months and it was greatly unknown regarding her status with the company. AEW President Tony Khan did give an optimistic update this week during the media call, expressing excitement for her forthcoming return.
“It’s going to feel amazing when we’ve got great stars — Britt Baker is a great example — it will be great to have the Doctor back in AEW,” Khan stated. “Certainly, for me, I know that Dr. Britt Baker and fans all over the world will be excited to see her return. I’m glad that she’s going to be cleared to return very soon.”
Britt Baker feuding with Mercedes Mone has been a high-profile beef that AEW fans have been clamouring for and by all indications we’re about to get that. Since making her debut, Mone has primarily feuded with Willow Nightingale who competed earlier on the Forbidden Door card in tag action.
Mone vs. Vaquer wasn’t the only women’s match on the card as Toni Storm took on Mina Shirakawa for the AEW Women’s Championship. Storm retained her title in that one as she and Shirakawa “kissed it out” following the fight.
Toni Storm and Mina Shirakawa went above and beyond showing respect for one another at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door, and it all came courtesy of Mariah May.
Toni Storm’s “love triangle” with Mariah May and Shirakawa has arguably been the best told story on AEW television over recent weeks and this contention ended up having a happy ending.
The eccentric Storm took on the wild child Shirakawa one-on-one for the AEW Women’s Championship at the PPV and it was Storm who ultimately retained her title by defeating her challenger. However, the most talked about aspect of this match may be what happened afterwards as Mina offered Toni her hand in respect. May watched on, who remained neutral during the fight and was dressed reminiscint to Miss Elizabeth at WrestleMania V.
My favorite elements of Storytelling in AEW reside within the details.
Mariah May has taken a neutral corner for this match and her attire at ringside is reminiscent of what Miss Elizabeth wore at WrestleMania 5 during the match between Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage. #AEWxNJPWpic.twitter.com/UnPB9LnZtb
Storm ended up shaking it, but Mariah wanted more than that between her two friends. Akin to The Best Friends of old, instead of “hugging it out” May, Storm and Shirakawa “kissed it out” as all three smooched one another at once.
This turn of the tables was quite different from all that went down on the pre-show to Forbidden Door. May had her Owen Hart Cup quarterfinals match against Saraya and she nearly lost, but did get a roll-up pin victory against the former Paige. After her win, Storm and Shirakawa both came out to celebrate but May had to split the two up from fighting with one another. Now all is harmonious between the three, but for how long? If May ultimately ends up winning the Owen Hart Cup tournament, she’ll have a ticket to ALL IN in Wembley to face Storm if she’s still the champion by Labor Day weekend.
Kazuchika Okada may have got the biggest pinfall victory to date in his AEW career and it happened to come up against an opponent he is far too familiar with.
‘The Rainmaker’ teamed up with The Young Bucks to face The Acclaimed and Hiroshi Tanahashi at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door, pitting two great rivals against one another in trios action. The Young Bucks and Acclaimed have been building toward a feud for weeks now, but the unexpected addition of ‘The Ace’ to the side of Anthony Bowens and Max Caster created an added ripple of interest to the match.
All that culiminated in the final minute of the fight when it came down to Okada and Tanahashi in the ring. The two duked it out before Okada ended up hitting The Rainmaker lariat for the finish and the 1-2-3.
Since joining AEW as a full-time member of the roster, Okada has found himself in the unexpected position as a heel alongside The Young Bucks, all but replacing Kenny Omega in The Elite. Okada’s other big win of note since coming into the AEW fold was against Eddie Kingston, defeating ‘The Mad King’ for his AEW Continental Championship. This win at Forbidden Door, can certainly help position Okada in more of a main event light as ‘The Rainmaker’ has been greatly regulated to a comedic heel role since he’s aligned with Matthew and Nicholas Jackson.
Even though The Elite did get the victory, that doesn’t mean they’re fully free from The Acclaimed as Caster and Bowens beat The Bucks in an eliminator match, meaning they will have a future Tag Team Titles shot against the EVP brothers.
It was not only fight night for MJF at AEW Forbidden Door but it was hockey night too as he tipped the cap to a certain NHL team.
MJF started off AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door in his booked match against Hechicero and “The Wolf” ended up getting the victory against the CMLL star.
Being in Long Island, MJF was in full babyface mode as he was decked out in New York Islanders gear and took a moment to crowd surf with his people, His match was made all the more memorable for him as he and Hechicero kicked off the PPV. MJF ended up securing the victory with a brainbuster.
From a storyline perspective, MJF has been a busy man since making his return at AEW Double Or Nothing. Despite his heelish demeanor, MJF has been a babyface scorned by the enemies of his past, but hasn’t been afraid to speak his mind against anyone and everyone.
Just this past Wednesday on AEW Dynamite, he and Daniel Garcia seemingly furthered a friendship with what seemed to culminate in a match at All In between the two, but Will Ospreay big-timed Max. Ospreay decided to offer Garcia a shot at his AEW International gold next week during Summer Break 3. Not only that, but Will was so confident in the outcome at Forbidden Door that ‘Billy Goat’ offered Daniel a World Title shot too once he defeated Swerve Strickland at Forbidden Door. This seemingly set up tension between MJF and Ospreay, potentially foreshadowing that they may be the two to have a match with one another at Wembley Stadium.
Many fans may feel that Max’s match at Forbidden Door against Hechicero felt underwhelming in the build because it was suddenly thrown together without any story behind it. Hechicero just recently turned heel as he joined up with Brian Cage and The Gates of Agony.
The women’s bracket of the Owen Hart Cup continued on the Zero Hour of AEW Forbidden Door and it occurred in a big way between Mariah May and Saraya. Despite still being in curlers, AEW Women’s Champion Toni Storm came out in support of Mariah May and it was a slugfest between the two Brits.
The stakes are high for the Owen Hart Cup winners as the champion of each tournament earns the right for a title should at Wembley Stadium for All In in London. With Saraya and May both being from across the pond, this opening round bout had to mean a lot to both competitors.
During the fight, Storm inadvertently nearly cost Mariah May a victory with a ringside distraction as Saraya hit her finisher, but May had the wherewithal to grab hold of the bottom rope to stop the count. The two women battled it out even more and it ended up being a roll-up pin for May to the definitive 1-2-3 against the longtime veteran in Saraya.
With May advancing, that means she’s one step closer to facing her “mentor” Toni at Wembley and post-match Mina Shirakawa came out to celebrate with May as she and Storm showed further tension before their match later in the evening. Mariah May still tried to play peacemaker despite getting blasted with a wine bottle on Wednesday’s Dynamite by Shirakawa. Mina was aiming for Storm, but accidentally nailed May with the bottle, further setting up some animosity between her and the AEW Women’s Champion.
May will face Deonna Purrazzo in the semi-finals round of the women’s bracket after Purrazzo advanced against Hikaru Shida in their quarterfinals match.
Tony Khan has a lot of optimism when it comes to AEW’s future, both in television and in ever-changing streaming world.
Speaking to Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez of The Wrestling Observer, the AEW President shared his enthusiasm in the possibility of AEW PPVs finding itself under the umbrella of the new Venu Sports venture. Venu Sports is the forthcoming sports streaming service that will showcase Fox, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery possibily teaming up for a super channel. Khan called it a “really exciting opportunity.”
“I think (Venu Sports) could be something we could be part of and it’s a really interesting conversation. That’s a whole new conversation and that’s a new world.”
Right now, Khan and AEW have found a PPV home on Triller TV with Forbidden Door airing on the service Sunday evening. Triller also is hosting the older PPVs of AEW, something that has been in great demand for fans.
While Tony Khan states he’s excited for the future with AEW and WBD, he reaffirms the relationship he has with WBD CEO David Zaslav. Khan even goes as far as to say Zaslav shows as much support for pro wrestling as Ted Turner once did with WCW.
“I don’t think that Warner Bros has had such a hands-on boss who has overseen a studio like this since Ted Turner was here at TNT and TBS like we have with David (Zaslav). There is a supreme commander at the top of Warner Bros Discovery and he loves AEW and I have a great relationship with him and I think it’s going to go a long way towards really keeping something that is very important to me alive, which is wrestling on TBS, TNT.”
Before the summer, there was an initial report that the first offered deal between WBD and AEW left Khan disappointed, but the aforementioned Observer gave its own report refuting that.
Tony Khan is confident in the television future of AEW, whatever that future may be, and he hopes it continues with Warner Bros. Discovery.
Khan sat down for an interview with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer and went into detail regarding his thoughts on that future. The AEW President said that the company is going to get a great deal and there are still discussion matters still on the table between the two parties. Despite the record-low number AEW accrued two Wednesdays ago on AEW Dynamite, Khan remains confident in the statistics AEW has done over the course of their deal with Turner.
“We need to keep doing what we’re doing because the numbers we have are numbers people in TV would kill to have. And I really need to focus on doing good shows for AEW and not about what the competition is doing, I think in this case our competition going out ahead of us and getting good media rights deals was a positive for us and actually good for us because we have very good historical comps, and these comps are very favorable for us. So that’s one thing I’ve done, a ton of market research and retain top analysts and data scientists and looking at this stuff.”
Thankfully, AEW rebounded with their numbers for the go-home episode of Dynamite ahead of Forbidden Door, getting an audience of 680,000, but it was still Dynamite‘s third-worst numbers so far in 2024.
The key demographic for Dynamite was also boosted up 37.5% from the previous week’s record-low getting a 0.22 P18-49 rating.
The fallout from AEW Forbidden Door will be featured at AEW Beach Break 3, showcasing a match between Will Ospreay and Daniel Garcia. The card will also have Jeff Jarrett competing in the Owen Hart Cup against a Wild Card entrant.
It didn’t take Dijak long at all to show up in a wrestling ring after his WWE exit and he may have bigger plans involving AEW.
The former T-Bar revealed before the weekend that he was not offered a new contract by WWE, sharing out a typed out letter explaining his exit in detail. Donovan Dijak stated that he was told at the “eleventh hour” that WWE would not be re-signing him and that they never even attempted to negotiate a new deal. Dijak stated that two months ago he was apart of one of the greatest matches in NXT history during WrestleMania weekend before being called up to RAW where he was never used.
Dijak didn’t let his exit cook for long as on Saturday, he made a return in his own backyard at Blitzkreig Luau in Conneticut. The “punk rock pro wrestling party” promotion stated that Dijak is a “free man.”
That notion may be all the more concrete as Dijak took to social media to cut a promo walking out of his house, claiming that it was time for a “Dijak Hijack”
“Today is such a beautiful day, it’s early in the morning right now, why don’t we go for a nice little drive, huh? Maybe a four-and-half hour drive? Maybe that’s exactly what today calls for.”
When considering the distance, Long Island fits the bill for a four and a half hour drive for Dijak which is where Forbidden Door takes place. In his letter, Dijak stated that he’d be taking bookings starting June 28 so him appearing at Forbidden Door is plausible to happen.
Jim Ross will be at Forbidden Door this Sunday after dealing with a recent bout of health issues. The WWE Hall of Famer has been admitted to the emergency room on two different occassions due to shortness of breath, but it looks like the legendary commentary will at least be in attendance for the PPV.
The last major fight Ross called on commentary was the AEW World Title match between Swerve Strickland and Samoa Joe. Strickland captured the World gold for the first time at AEW Dynasty and Ross was one of the voices to put him over. Now, JR will be on sight to see Strickland defend his championship against Will Ospreay in addition to seven other matches, plus a stacked pre-show set for Long Island. Ross has mentioned that Tony Khan has mostly appointed him for broadcast duties during the PPV so one would have to imagine he’ll be on the horn for one or two matches.
Ross has been with AEW since 2019 and not long ago, signed an extension with the company that was said to be very lucrative for the Boomer Sooner, calling it the “quickest and easiest negotiation I have ever done in my career of 50 years.” Despite not being on TV, Ross did release his third book earlier this year, recounting some of the greatest matches he was on call for.
Minoru Suzuki will fight anyone, anytime and that includes mixing it up with the governor of Tokyo.
A wrestling social media sensation over the weekend came courtesy of DDT Pro as the promotion featured a streetcar match between Suzuki and Sanshiro Takagi. The audience paid to be on the train for the 55-minute long match as they moved at the frantic pace of eight miles an hour. They got to see Suzuki pick up the win after delivering a Gotch-Style Piledriver, but the battle was not without its share of cameos.
Not only did the legendary Jushin Thunder Liger appear, but so did the Governor of Tokyo. Yuriko Koike got a little physical when she delivered a chop to Suzuki. Suzuki raised the stakes even higher when he brandished a firearm at some point during the battle. After the fight, Suzuki issued his own comments on the experience, stating that he’d be up for fighting anywhere, even if its out of this atmosphere.
“Next time, I’ll do it on a deserted island like he said, or on an airplane, rocket, or even inside a space station! Everyone was smiling. I realized once again that pro wrestling is engraved in the DNA of the Japanese people.”
Suzuki may have been fighting in Tokyo, but he’s got a busy schedule in the United States. He actually just issued a challenge to Chris Jericho in a singles match this past week on AEW Dynamite and is now one of the featured members of the revamped CONTRA Unit in Major League Wrestling. Suzuki will be going up against AKIRA on July 12 when MLW makes its way to St. Petersburg for Blood & Thunder.
One of the cardinal rules of wrestling is to not blend it in with politics, but with a genre that was birthed out of the carnival grounds, it’s hard to avoid comparisons.
The U.S. Presidential Debate took place on Thursday night with former President Donald Trump going up against current President Joe Biden. This is the earliest debate to ever happen during an election year and it will go down as the most controversial.
For starters, there was no live audience or media in attendance with the expection of the moderators. Secondly, Trump and Biden were not allowed to have notes in front of them and whenever it was not their turn to talk their mics were muted. From both sides of the podium, the performances of Biden and Trump were resoundingly underhwhelming. However, Biden’s performance has been greatly panned, causing voters and pundits alike to question the future of the 2024 election.
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Despite the debate not being as captivating as the current Bloodline saga, the location of the occurance does have its ties to wrestling history. Donald Trump’s WWE Hall of Fame status notwithstanding, the venue in which the debate was hosted originally played host to classic wrestling. Former WCW announcer David Penzer provided some insight on X.
“Did you know… that the studio that the POTUS Debate is tomorrow is the same studio where Georgia Championship Wrestling and later World Championship Wrestling were taped in the 70’s & 80’s???”
Did you know…
that the studio that the POTUS Debate is tomorrow is the same studio where Georgia Championship Wrestling and later World Championship Wrestling were taped in the 70's & 80's??? pic.twitter.com/ny4OAQwakp
With Trump aiming to secure his second term as President, much of the speculation as to how he patterned his political presence off of Zeb Colter, aka Dutch Mantell during his “For The People” era. It was around that same time when Trump was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame.
September 3, 2022. A bevy of wrestlers, both independent and of the TNA ilk filter in and out of a conference room at The Hyatt Regency in Schaumburg, IL. A live stream of WWE Clash At The Castle plays on a projector. Conrad Thompson is there. As is David Crockett. As is Jeff Jarrett. As is Road Dogg. As is Jacob Fatu.
It’s main event time. Drew McIntyre looks to make music against Roman Reigns and Glasgow is the Scotsman’s soundtrack. Everyone, mark and mat expert alike are glued to the action, but an explosion of emotion comes from the right side of the room when Solo Sikoa debuts, infamously costing Drew his shot at WWE gold and adding another inning to The Bloodline story. That energy burst came from Fatu, elated for his cousin. His Uce.
Now that kinship is full circle. Jacob Fatu is in WWE and it’s been a long time coming. The son of The Tonga Kid is getting that chance to shine under Paul Levesque’s watch and we are all in store for something special.
The Samoan Dynasty Epitomized In Jacob Fatu
‘The Samoan Werewolf’ made a debut that would make Lon Chaney Jr. blush as he tore top babyfaces apart protecting Solo Sikoa on SmackDown. This further adds to the chaotic and violent element that Wiseman Paul Heyman has been so fearful of, but behind the scenes Roman’s main counsel has to be grinning like a butcher’s dog at Fatu’s limitless ceiling. Fatu carries the pure presence of Umaga, the cool factor of a “Main Event” Jey Uso, and the pro wrestling acumen of Afa and Sika. He’s got the x-factor to the extreme and will elevate anyone who works with him.
Fatu had the opportunity to show his versatility against an array of talent in Major League Wrestling, most notably feuding with Alex Hammerstone over that World Title gold. He was really put in that top position starting off as the head soldier in CONTRA Unit, dominant as Brock Lesnar was during that same time with no one taking the title off him until he clashed with Hammerstone. Anyone that fell to his wrath were lucky if they literally weren’t body-bagged by his Sentai Death Squad insurgents, but it was a great way to position a monster of many talents.
Fatu’s menace made his eventual babyface all the more meaningful. After his loss to Hammerstone, fans got to see the human side of the San Fran Samoan. Instead of shying away from it, Fatu and MLW embraced Jacob’s troubled past, diving in deep to what made the monster tick. The peeling back of the page put Fatu in an even better spot of connecting with fans. Aside from Cody Rhodes, there may not be one person better at it.
Connection With Legacy & With Fans
Jacob Fatu is as real as a real one comes. Back in 2022, Fatu was in the aforementioned Shaumburg (a suburban purgatory outside of Chicago) for Josh Shernoff’s Premier Wrestling Showcase, a tournament highlighting a who’s who of indie names. Fatu didn’t win, but the fans sure did. The event was paired in tandem with Conrad Thompson’s AdFreeShows’ Top Guy Weekend while also being the same weekend of the infamous All Out 2022. Fatu went out of his way to make himself apart of the festivities in the surrounding area. Instead of partying with the boys, Fatu partied with the fans. He invited them to do whatever he was doing, made them feel included and apart of something special.
Fatu didn’t just respect the fans that weekend, but the legacy of the business as well. In addition to Jeff Jarrett being in the building, so was his father, the late Jerry Jarrett. Fatu had me track down Jerry to make sure he got his photo taken with the Memphis legend. Jerry was grateful and Jacob was beaming. There was no cooler moment to witness seeing two names in the business, separated by several generations make that unique connection – one that will never happen again.
Schaumburg, IL, September 2002. Jacob Fatu stands with the late great Jerry Jarrett. (Photo Credit: Dominic DeAngelo)
From a locker room perspective, Fatu is one to lead by example. He never rah-rahed the troops, but he didn’t need to. Everything he did seemed effortless yet always full of passion and energy. His sense of humor kept the busy environment light-hearted and fun to be around. He should fit right in with what WWE is aiming to cultivate.
Something that will always stand out too is Fatu’s instinct within the ropes. During a match in Philadelphia, Fatu appeared to legitimately hurt his leg doing a move, but worked the whole bout nonetheless. It wasn’t until after the fact where everyone discovered he just did that to sell the match even further. It’s in his blood.
When it’s all said and done, that “Head Of The Table” designation in WWE could very well go to Jacob Fatu. And he’s earned it.
Salina de la Renta is pregnant and from a storyline perspective, it could cause ripples within the operations of Major League Wrestling.
Salina revealed her pregnancy during the MLW ’24 Anniversary Show on June 22, weeks after the diabolical Cesar Duran dropped the bombshell that he was her long-estranged father. That shocking news was dropped during Battle Riot VI and de la Renta was clearly shaken by the family ties.
However, Salina decided to take the power in her own hands by giving Duran a belated “Father’s Day gift,” showing that Cesar was soon to be a grandfather. Duran showed astonishment but eventually displayed enthusiam for the prospect.
If fans had any doubt that Salina’s pregnancy was storylined-based, both de la Renta and MLW disregard such speculation with Salina actually revealing her baby bump online.
Duran did lean into the controversy of all by posting “what a scandal” on X.
Duran and de la Renta have been at odds for years on MLW programming as it’s been a constant power struggle between the father and daughter duo. At one time Duran was appointed as MLW matchmaker, but now strictly finds himself in a managerial role, just like de la Renta has been.
Salina just made her return to Major League Wrestling earlier this year and her contention with Duran culminated at Azteca Lucha, a sold-out show in Chicago. Both Duran and Salina had luchadores compete against one another in order to earn the rights to a mysterious key, but the battle turned to a stalemate. Now with it becoming a family affair, the drama will continue between the two talents.
The next event on tap for MLW is Blood & Thunder which takes place on July 12 in St. Petersburg, FL.
If you thought Swerve Strickland was a man on an island heading into Forbidden Door against Will Ospreay, think again.
Strickland happened to team with his opponent on the go-home episode of AEW Dynamite to face The Gates Of Agony. Swerve and Ospreay ended up winning the fight, but not without their share of trouble. Ospreay accidentally kicked Swerve in the face and post-match, it prompted Swerve to drop Ospreay. The AEW Collision elevated that tension ahead of Sunday.
Fan footage has Swerve and Will confronting one another on the entryway ahead of their big Forbidden Door battle. Swerve once more broke a cardinal rule of Will’s by once again bringing up his family, but this time the champ had some literal big back-up.
EJ Nduka happened to be standing behind Swerve as he mentioned Ospreay’s wife and it led to a pull apart brawl onstage, with Kyle Fletcher and Nduka taking swings at one another.
As #AEW readies for Forbidden Door this weekend, the go-home of #AEWCollision tapings had Swerve Strickland confronting Will Ospreay.
Nduka has been a blue chip acquisition by AEW since 2023, but The Judge had yet to make his TV debut until this coming Saturday. Nduka impressed Tony Khan and AEW in a memorable tryout match against Konosuke Takeshita, but has been kept on the back-burner since. The Judge was in WWE developmental for a time, but was released during the pandemic.
EJ eventually found opportunity to hone his craft in Major League Wrestling as he was a dominant force on their programming. Along with Calvin Tankman, Nduka captured the MLW World Tag Team Titles and Nduka also had a World Title program with then champion, Alex Hammerstone
