Roman Reigns defeated John Cena in the main event of SummerSlam 2021. Cena was looking to win his 17th World Championship on the show. Early this morning, Cena confirmed on Twitter that he will be taking time away from WWE after the loss but vows to return.

“Words cannot describe how appreciative I am that the WWE Universe allowed me the opportunity to return and perform,” Cena wrote. “Thank you staff, superstars, and most of all FANS for giving me an unforgettable summer at “home” with my “family”. The journey takes me away now but I’ll C U soon.”

The Summer of Cena Concludes, Still Advertised For Madison Square Garden Show

SummerSlam completed the “Summer of Cena” WWE advertised following his return to the company. Beginning on July 23rd, Cena appeared on 15 different WWE live events.

He wrestled 14x during the tour. Many of his matches were untelevised dark matches or took place on house shows. He went 13-0 (all tag matches) leading up to his SummerSlam loss to Roman Reigns.

WWE also has Cena advertised for an upcoming house show in New York’s Madison Square Garden next month. Cena will be on a Smackdown-brand house show in the historic venue on September 10th.

“You can see 16-time World Champion John Cena when the blue brand returns to The World’s Most Famous Arena on Friday, Sept. 10!” a WWE press release reads.

Cena also signed on with an all-star cast for a new spy thriller franchise named “Argyle.” The franchise began filming in Europe this month. It’s not clear what dates Cena will be needed on the shoot.

It was announced recently that the WWE 2K22 video game will not be released until March of next year. After WWE 2K20 was poorly reviewed by fans and critics, no WWE 2K21 game was released last year. Typically, the game had been released in October each year.

According to a report from Sports Gamers Online, the delay of the game and other decisions relating to it has led to a strained relationship between WWE and the developers.

“Most of those within WWE wanted the game to release in its normal Survivor Series window. Those from 2K Sports and Visual Concepts, on the other hand, pushed hard for a delay of the launch,” wrote Michael Straw.

Roster Cuts Impacting Game Development

One factor said to have played a role in the delay is the recent roster cuts. This version of the game is being rebuilt from the ground up. This means that many wrestlers have had new character models created. Several wrestlers that had been scanned and had their character models created are now no longer with the company, however.

“This is shaping up to be the most outdated roster a game has seen,” a source told Sports Gamer Media.

This report is consistent with previous reports that an internal memo in WWE reportedly requested that Bryan Danielson/Daniel Bryan be removed from the game.

WWE Upset With Response To WWE 2K20

WWE was reportedly quite upset with the response to the 2K20 game. They reportedly hinted to game developers that they could move forward with a new company instead.

“It was like threats to cancel cable,” one person said. “Threats would come out of them claiming to have interest from one company here or there. I don’t know how credible that was though, or just idle threats.”

The developers who spoke with the outlet say they are trying to do everything they can to make the best game possible.

“We are fans and gamers like everyone out there,” one developer said. “We are doing everything we possibly can to make the wrestling game fans want. From modes to how it feels in the ring, we want this to be the wrestling fan’s wrestling game.”

Check out SEScoops’ official WWE 2K22 Review

CM Punk was officially fired from WWE on June 13, 2014, the same day that he married AJ Mendez (FKA AJ Lee). He made his return to pro-wrestling on August 20th, 2021 in Chicago’s United Center.

Now Punk’s spouse of 7+ years, AJ Lee commented on his AEW debut.

Will AJ Lee Return To Wrestling?

With CM Punk returning to pro-wrestling at the First Dance, many fans are wondering if a return could be in the cards for AJ as well. She hasn’t wrestled since the night after WrestleMania 31 in 2015. She teamed with Paige at Mania that year and defeated the Bella Twins. AJ then teamed with Paige and Naomi the next night and defeated the Bellas and Natalya.

Last year, Paige mentioned she would like to wrestle AJ again someday.

Big E Says AJ Lee Could Work WWE’s “Brock Lesnar” Schedule

During a recent interview with Sportskeeda, Big E spoke about AJ Lee. He said that she’s a legend who could come back and work a “Brock Lesnar schedule” in WWE.

“If she wants it, of course, there very easily is a massive place for her,” said Big E. “And it’s weird, I feel like she’s in this legend territory where she comes back and she gets a massive pop. She can have a Brock Lesnar-type schedule if she wanted to and work a few times a year. So, if it’s something she wants, of course, there’s a place for her.”

Becky Lynch returned to WWE last night at SummerSlam. Shortly after it was announced that Sasha Banks was not cleared to compete, Carmella was revealed as Bianca Belair’s new title challenger on the show. Before the match could begin, however, Lynch’s music hit and she promptly tossed Carmella out of the ring.

An impromptu match between Lynch and Belair then commenced. Lynch went to shake Belair’s hand, then punched her in the face and gave her The Man-Handle Slam for the quick pin. The match lasted a total of 25 seconds.

Several wrestlers and personalities from the world of wrestling sent out Tweets and social media posts in the moments following the quick match.

Comedian Ron Funches went through a range of emotions last night.

Funches also noted during a later segment that he now understood why Bianca had to be squashed in quick fashion.

Fan reactions to Becky Lynch Beating Bianca Belair In 25 Seconds

Several fans posted Tweets about the match result as well. Many fans are comparing the quick loss to Kofi Kingston losing the WWE Championship to Brock Lesnar.

Others are noting that Lynch’s actions last night could indicate she’s turning heel:

TV Insider’s Scott Fishman believes both Belair and Lynch were put in impossible situations.

Last night’s AEW The First Dance show from a sold-out United Center in Chicago was the biggest moment in the young promotion’s history. Tony Khan spoke to the live crowd before the event began. His excitement for what was to come that night was clear.

“Thank you so much. I’ve always dreamed of doing a wrestling show here,” Khan began. “I’ve always dreamed of bringing wrestling here but I always wanted it to be the biggest, greatest night imaginable. And tonight, I promise you, we’re bringing you something very special tonight at the First Dance!”

The crowd then erupted into a CM Punk chant. Khan gets a little emotional as he continues his speech.

“It’s almost time for Rampage, everyone. We’re going to have a great night tonight. I appreciate every single one of you for being here, I appreciate you putting your faith in AEW, I appreciate you trusting us. Thank you for believing in AEW! You fans will be rewarded tonight. Thank you, Chicago! I love you!”

CM Punk returning to pro-wrestling after more than 7.5 years away would take place shortly after Khan’s speech. Punk confirmed that he signed with the promotion and will be facing Darby Allin at All Out on September 5th.

Khan’s speech can be heard in the player below:

CM Punk debuted with All Elite Wrestling last night at The First Dance in Chicago’s United Center. At a post-event media scrum, only a few details were given regarding Punk’s contract with the promotion. Tony Khan and Punk stated that the deal is not “short term” nor is it “part-time.”

According to a report from PW Insider, however, Punk’s deal with AEW will still allow him to take acting roles and work commentary for MMA promotions. Executives with Warner are also said to be considering other ideas for Punk beyond AEW.

“Punk’s deal will allow him to still pursue acting and commentary for MMA and other opportunities, wrote Mike Johnson.

The report continued to say that executives at TNT are very happy about Punk joining AEW. There is talk that Punk could be involved in projects with Warner Media that extend beyond AEW. Punk is a particularly big NHL fan and Warner Media signed a rights deal with the league earlier this spring.

“We are told that it’s being seen within TNT that Punk has joined ‘their team’ and they are considering potential ideas for him beyond AEW.”

During last night’s broadcast, it was revealed that Punk will be on Dynamite next week from Milwaukee. His first match back will be against Darby Allin at All Out. Punk will be regularly appearing on AEW programming as part of his contract with the promotion.

“We are told he’ll be regularly appearing on AEW programming as needed to build to big matches,” Johnson continued.

Triple H recently took part in a live taping of the Herd with Colin Cowherd. During the discussion, he spoke about potentially making an in-ring return.

“If people want it, if it’s the right thing, it has got to be intriguing,” Triple H said (transcriptions via Fightful). “At this point, with as busy as everybody is in WWE from the business side, for me to get ready for WrestleMania, at my age, it’s not something to enter into casually.”

It’s been over 2 years at this point since Triple H wrestled. His last match was on June 29th, 2019. He teamed with Shinsuke Nakamura on a house show in Japan and defeated the team of Robert Roode and Samoa Joe.

“I’d have to train a lot, a couple times a day for three months or so to get ready for that,” he continued. “In-ring training and everything. I’ve already torn most of everything off my body so I want to make sure I’m not ready to do that again. The training would be the tough part with the schedule, but if it was something people wanted and it was intriguing to me, I would love to do it.”

Triple H continued to say that he’d love to do another big WrestleMania match. He’d also like to do a final tour and wrestle matches in cities that he has a long history with, however.

“If I was to do something like that before I called it a day, go to the Garden again. Go to Japan. Go to different countries and have that one more match. Step into those cities where you have 25+ years of memories and opponents and to be able to go out there and do it again in front of them one more time.”

The 52-year-old has had as complete a career as anyone ever has in wrestling. He is a 9x WWE Champion, 5x World Heavyweight Champion, 2x Royal Rumble winner, 1x King of the Ring, 3x tag team champion, 5x Intercontinental Champion, and 2x European Champion in WWE.

Charlotte Flair recently took part in a live taping of Renee Pacquette’s Oral Sessions podcast. When Flair was asked who she’d like to face from other wrestling companies, the crowd showed her with chants of “DMD” for AEW Women’s World Champion, Britt Baker.

Flair reacting to the crowd’s chants can be viewed in the player below:

“The people have spoken. Britt Baker, loud and proud out here,” Renee said.

Charlotte Flair On Taking Time Off From WWE To Attend TripleMania

Flair also spoke about Andrade El Idolo and her father Ric Flair at TripleMania during the interview. Charlotte says that she booked the date off months ago so that she could be in Mexico to support Andrade.

“I actually took off 2.5 months ago from live events and if you know me, I haven’t asked off a live event….actually, I’ve never asked off a live event,” Flair said.

Charlotte continued to say that when her father departed from WWE, she asked him to walk Andrade to the ring at TripleMania.

“With my Dad being gone, I asked him on Wednesday, I was like ‘hey, what are you doing this weekend?’ He’s like ‘nothing honey, why?’ ‘Do you want to go to Mexico?'”

According to Charlotte, Ric was very excited and wanted to have a matching white suit made for the show but there was not enough time.

Charlotte’s comments about TripleMania can be viewed in the player below:

CM Punk returned to a pro-wrestling for the first time in over 7.5 years last night at The First Dance. During the post-event media scrum, Punk talked about what his goals are in AEW. Punk said he’s going to help the young stars in AEW the way guys like Harley Race, Terry Funk, Eddie Guerrero, and Tracy Smothers helped him.

“Going forward, I think my legacy is to help out the young guys the way Harley Race helped me, the way Terry Funk helped me, the way Eddie Guerrero helped me. Tracy Smothers,” Punk said (transcriptions via ESPN’s Marc Raimondi).

Punk also mentioned some of the young or newer talent he’s hoping to work with. He also mentioned names like Jon Moxley, who he hasn’t had the chance to work with yet.

“I get excited about the prosect of me working with Pillman, Hobbs, Ricky Starks, Jungle Boy, Darby Allin. Jon Moxley – never worked with a Jon Moxley before,” Punk said.

Punk also noted that he’s never wrestled the Young Bucks or been in a ring with Kenny Omega before. The Straight Edge Superstar also pointed out that there could be other wrestlers on their way to AEW that he’d like to work with as well.

“I’ve never done anything with the Young Bucks. I’ve never stepped in the ring with Kenny Omega. … And who knows who else is coming,” Punk continued.

The media scrum is available in the player below:

AEW’s “The First Dance” will be the second-ever episode of Rampage. Tony Khan recently appeared on Busted Open Radio and said the format of tonight’s show will not be typical of what fans can expect from typical episodes of the show.

“The format of tonight’s show will be very different,” Khan said (transcription via WrestlingNewsCO). “It’s gonna be different than last week’s Rampage and really different than most Rampages. I think for an average Friday night, it’s gonna be a great wrestling show every Friday on Rampage. I would expect the format [for regular Rampage shows] to be more similar to what we did in the premiere episode than what we do tonight.”

Khan said a big surprise on the show has necessitated the format change.

“It’s gonna be unusual but it’s also gonna be the biggest surprise we ever delivered and that’s why it necessitates a very different format than we’ve done for just a standard wrestling card,” Khan continued.

3 matches have been scheduled for tonight. Jon Moxley will face Daniel Garcia. Jade Cargill will also take on Kiera Hogan. The 4-team tag-team tournament to determine new title contenders also kicks off tonight. Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus will face Private Party in a semi-final match tonight.

It was not specifically mentioned on this week’s Dynamite that there is a big surprise expected on tonight’s show. Several CM Punk teases have been made in recent weeks, however. Khan also alluded to a big planned surprise tonight in the below Tweet:

It is a pretty big time for All Elite Wrestling. Tonight, the promotion holds “The First Dance” in Chicago’s United Center. CM Punk is expected to make his long-awaited return to professional wrestling on the show. Bryan Danielson is also expected to debut in AEW in the not-too-distant future. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the company has a 3rd “new major acquisition” on their way as well.

“Sources close to the promotion who will be alert to such things also noted: We don’t really have any idea at the moment who this ‘new major AEW acquisition’ could be but we’ll have further updates if and when available.”

With names such as Ric Flair, Adam Cole, and Bray Wyatt available, it is not clear who the new acquisition is.

Cody Rhodes Comments On AEW Signing Big Name Free Agents

AEW has been signing a lot of talent this year. In a recent media interview, SEScoops asked Cody Rhodes about AEW possibly signing Bray Wyatt. Rhodes responded that he believes the company will sign anyone with the potential to be a needle-mover.

“I tell a lot of my peers in wrestling and people I use as a sounding board, I always tell them, ‘you can’t wish away good talent,’ especially when you get in a groove as a talent yourself,” Rhodes said. “And it’s not unlike the world that Tony [Khan] comes from already, the world of the NFL and football in the UK. If there’s a free agent out there that can move the needle and be something significant for us… personally, I think you have to go after them. Does that change the landscape of the show and the roster? For sure, but that’s one of those things where as much as things can get personal, it is business. And no one is immune from that.”

Triple H spoke with the media following tryouts held in Las Vegas yesterday. When Triple H was asked if the recruitment policy in the company has changed, he said it has not shifted at all despite reports to the contrary.

“It’s a funny thing, people talk about the shifting of what it is. It never really shifted,” Triple H said (transcriptions via Wrestling Inc.). “So if you go back and look at the hiring process, not the hiring process of a television show, the hiring process of who we’re looking to train and make WWE Superstars. Long term. If you go back and look at it, it hasn’t shifted. It’s been the same process. I don’t negate anybody.”

Triple H continued to say that someone would not be denied an opportunity because of having wrestled on the independent scene. He never did mention if someone would be denied an opportunity because of height or size, however.

“Vince used to always say ‘we’re a variety show. We are. In some manner, you need a little bit of everything. That’s the key to all of this. But people hear one statement and then make one (assumption). ‘Now it’s that. No, now it’s this.’ It always has been.”

Triple H would continue to talk about how the company is not looking for professional wrestlers as much as they are superstars. It’s about finding those “diamonds in the rough” who have the potential to do great business for the company.

“You’ll hear Vince say it a lot. It’ll sound wrong to a lot of people, but it’s right. We’re not looking for professional wrestlers, we’re looking for superstars. We’re looking for somebody that can break through that. The rest of it takes care of itself,” Triple H continued.

Several reports recently have stated that WWE’s hiring policy moving forward will place greater emphasis on larger wrestlers who have the potential to “one-day main event WrestleMania.”

WWE’s NXT brand hasn’t taped inside Full Sail University since September 2020. The shows currently emanate from the WWE Performance Center or the Capitol Wrestling Center as it is referred to on television. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, NXT will not be returning to Full Sail but rather will be making the CWC its permanent home.

At the conclusion of this week’s NXT, the CWC was destroyed during a brawl between Samoa Joe and Karrion Kross. This will reportedly set the stage for the venue to be upgraded. The reported plan is for the CWC to be lit brighter, as the current belief is it comes off as too dark on television. Also, it is expected that the plexiglass inside will be taken down.

There have also been several rumors regarding a change to NXT’s format. Although this cannot be confirmed, the belief is the program will seek to give younger and less experienced wrestlers more in-ring time. The report in the Observer says the idea is for the show to revert back more to what it was around 2015.

Upcoming episodes of NXT will be taped from the CWC on Monday and Tuesday. Takeover 36 will take place the night after SummerSlam this weekend on the 22nd.

Impact Wrestling on 8/19 was the go-home show for Emergence, which takes place tonight. The show also featured Christian Cage retiring the TNA World Heavyweight Championship and Joe Doering facing Doc Gallows in the main event.

Impact 8/19 Quick Results:

1. Sami Callihan & Chris Sabin defeated Moose & Ace Austin
2. Matt Cardona w/ Chelsea Green defeated Shera w/ Rohit Raju
3. Melina defeated Brandi Lauren
4. No Disqualification
   Jake Something defeated Kaleb with a K
5. Joe Doering defeated Doc Gallows

Sami Callihan Is Ready For Emergence

Former Impact World Champion Sami Callihan was all over the early parts of the show. He came to the aide of his long-time rival Eddie Edwards as the show kicked off with Edwards and his newer rival, W. Morrissey brawled around ringside. Then Callihan teamed with Chris Sabin in the night’s opening contest against Moose and Ace Austin. This match is a preview of the fatal 4-way at Emergence between these 4 wrestlers. The winner of the match will face the winner of Christian Cage vs Brian Myers.

Sabin ended up getting the win for his team after blind-tagging himself in while Callihan was taunting Austin. After the match, Callihan then gave Sabin a piledriver since they will be opponents at Emergence.

Later, Edwards would tell Sami Callihan in the back that he doesn’t want his help.

Matt Cardona Defeats Shera With Help From Chelsea Green

Last week on Impact, Rohit Raju’s distraction caused Matt Cardona to be pinned by John Skyler. This week, Cardona got back in the win column by defeating Shera. Raju tried to get involved on the outside but Chelsea Green thwarted these attempts, allowing Cardona to hit Radio Silence for the win.

Later in the show, it was revealed that Cardona will face Raju tonight at Emergence.

Madison Rayne and Tenille Dashwood are “The Influence”

After aligning last week against Taylor Wilde, Madison Rayne and Tenille Dashwood both had each other as guests on their respective talk shows this week. Madison Rayne’s return means that her Locker Room Talk segment was also brought back. Dashwood was her guest which worked out conveniently because on Dashwood’s “All About Me” talking segment, her guests actually ask her questions as opposed to the other way around. This allowed them to each be the other one’s guest on their own talking segment. The two announced that they are now aligned and using the name “The Influence” for their team.

Christian Cage Returns To The Impact Zone

Christian Cage returned to the Impact Zone this week as the new Impact World Champion. He talked about his history in the promotion and then mentioned that he’d been talking to Scott D’Amore about retiring the TNA World Championship belt. The belt was officially retired and the Impact World Championship declared the top prize in the company.

Cage’s Emergence opponent, Brian Myers, came out to confront the champion. The two came face to face for a moment before Myers pushed his protege, Sam Beale, into Cage. Cage took out Beale but Myers escaped to the outside.

Melina Makes Her Impact Wrestling In-Ring Debut

Melina picked up a win in her Impact in-ring debut. She defeated the former Ava Storie, Brandi Lauren in singles action this week. Lauren wrestled with Impact for a good chunk of 2017 as well. Melina was able to make Lauren submit to the California Dream hold for the win. After the match, however, Melina’s opponent on the NWA Empowerrr PPV, Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo, attacked her from behind.

Drama King Matt came out to help his Homecoming Queen partner. This brought out Trey Miguel to help make the save for Melina, whom he’d run into backstage earlier in the night. Later, a match for Emergence pitting Purrazzo and Drama King against Melina and Miguel was scheduled.

Juice Robinson Was Attacked Backstage

We were shown video of Juice Robinson laying on the ground after having been attacked. It’s not clear who took him out.

Jake Something Defeats Kaleb En Route To X-Division Title Shot

Jake Something wanted a match tonight to get ready for his X-Division Championship match at Emergence. Kaleb with a K happened to be issuing several complaints to Scott D’Amore just as Something was requesting a match, leading him to be chosen as Jake’s opponent. Something would pick up the win after driving Kaleb through a table. After the match, Something and Josh Alexander would have a stare-down as they get ready for their title match at Emergence.

Joe Doering Defeats Doc Gallows In The Main Event

The main event this week pitted Violent By Design’s Joe Doering against the Elite’s Doc Gallows. These two big hosses ended up on the stage area and Gallows hit a sky-high powerbomb on Doering that sent them both crashing through the stage. It looked like the match was over but both big men got up and ended up back in the ring. That’s where Doering hit Gallows with a big lariat and was just able to drap his arm over him to get the pin. If that happens at Emergence, we’ll have new Impact tag team champions.

Lineup For Impact Emergence

1. Impact World Championship
   Christian Cage (c) vs. Brian Myers
2. Impact World Tag Team Championships
   The Good Brothers (c) vs. Violent By Design vs. Rich Swann and Willie Mack
3. X-Division Championship 
   Josh Alexander (c) vs. Jake Something
4. #1 Contenders Match
   Chris Sabin vs. Sami Callihan vs. Moose vs. Ace Austin
5. Petey Williams vs. Steve Maclin
6. Madison Rayne vs. Taylor Wilde
7. Deonna Purrazzo % Matthew Rehwoldt vs. Melina & Trey Miguel
8. Matt Cardona (w/ Chelsea Green) vs. Rohit Raju (w/ Shera)
9. Tasha Steelz, Savannah Evans, Fallah Bahh and No Way vs. Decay (Black Taurus, Crazzy Steve, Rosemary, Havok)

As part of the 5 Labors of Jericho, Chris Jericho faced Juventud Guerrera recently on Dynamite. Juvi was a guest of Nick Hausman’s on the Wrestling Inc. podcast recently. During the discussion, Guerrera revealed what Tony Khan said to him backstage at Dynamite.

“He gave me a thumbs up. I went back to the locker room,” Guerrera said. “He was right there at Gorilla position. He got up. He shook my hand. He said, ‘Great match, good match. Thank you very much,’ and before I came out, when I was going from my locker room to the stage, I heard somebody saying, ‘Juvi! Juvi! Juvi!’ I was like, who’s calling me? Then I turn around. It was TK, or Tony Khan, and he was like, ‘Thank you Juvi for being here. It’s a pleasure for me to have you on this show.’ I was in shock.”

“It gave me this good feeling of wow, this is something different. This is not just a major company, this is something that has value. Somebody actually values your work and the years that you’ve put in this business. It was outstanding I just want to say thank you to Tony Khan.”

Juvi is scheduled to face nZo (FKA Enzo Amore) on a show next month.

Chris Jericho vs Juventud Guerrera Head-to-Head History

When Jericho and Juvi faced off on Dynamite recently, it was the 23rd singles match they’ve had against once another. Of the 12 of those matches that have been televised, Jericho holds a 9-3 edge in the series. Another 11 of those matches were on WCW house shows. Jericho won 9 and lost 2 of those matches. In total, Jericho has an 18-5 advantage in singles matches against Juvi.

Jericho would win the 4th Labors of Jericho after defeating Juvi when he defeated Wardlow last week. MJF would defeat Jericho last night in the 5th and final Labor of Jericho.

The discussion with Juventud Guerrera is available in the player below:

The large number of roster cuts and cost-saving moves WWE has made recently has led many fans to speculate as to if the company is preparing to be sold. President & Chief Revenue Officer of WWE Nick Khan recently appeared on the Recode Media podcast. During the discussion, Khan spoke about if there are plans for WWE to be sold.

Khan says there are no immediate plans to sell the company. If someone contacted them about it, however, he says they would listen.

“We’re open for business on anything and everything. Even some of the business plans that we’ve announced recently are different and unique to what the company has traditionally done. We’re open for business. If somebody called, we’ll listen, but we’re not active or out on the marketplace trying to change that structure,” Khan said.

He also spoke about the possibility of Vince McMahon stepping down from his role. Khan doesn’t believe that is going to happen anytime soon.

“I don’t think Vince has any plans, nor in my opinion should he, of stepping aside. He’s 75, he’ll be 76 in a couple of weeks. He’s healthy, he’s strong, maybe he goes another 50 years and you’ll be asking me this in 49 years.”

Khan was also asked if he sees AEW as competition. He said that they view everything as competition but try to just focus just on what they do.

“I never look at anybody as competition. I focus on what I’m doing. In the totality of circumstance, you have to look at everything as your competition,” Khan said.  

Khan’s comments can be heard in the player below:

Last week, it was reported that Brian Knobbs had been rushed to the hospital due to experiencing serious stomach-related issues. Doctors are saying it will be months before Knobbs can leave the hospital again. A GoFundMe has been created to help him with medical expenses. 

Eric Bischoff recently commented on Knobbs’ situation during an episode of his 83 Weeks podcast. According to Bischoff, the situation is worse than is being let on.

“I do know the complexities of what he’s dealing with and, since they haven’t been made it public, I’m not going to do that. I just want to let people know that his situation is much more serious than perhaps you’ve heard or read about,” Bischoff said.

Bischoff is encouraging everyone who can to please donate to Knobbs’ GoFundMe.

“I’m praying for him, and if anybody listening to this, man, please donate. It doesn’t matter if you donate a buck or a hundred bucks, or five bucks, please donate,” Bischoff continued.

As of this writing, the GoFundMe for Knobbs has raised $14,358 USD of its $20,000 goal. In addition to his stomach issues, Knobbs also needs surgery on his knee in order to walk again. A link to the GoFundMe is here.

Sting will wrestle on TNT tonight for the first time in over 20 years. He’ll team with Darby Allin to take on the newly signed team of 2.0. During a recent interview with Metro UK, however, Allin was asked about a possible dream match pitting him and Sting against Andrade and Ric Flair.

“Yeah, that’d be fun! Anything is possible, I feel,” Allin said about the possible dream match. “You’ve just gotta be patient and see what goes down, and where the wind takes you.”

Flair accompanied Andrade El Idolo to the ring for his match against Kenny Omega at TripleMania. Not only that, Flair got physically involved in the match. He delivered chops to both Omega and Konnan. Flair and Andrade also gave Omega and Konnan figure four leglocks simultaneously.

Despite being 72 years old, Flair has said recently that he will “never retire.”

Darby Allin On His Relationship With Sting

Allin also spoke about his relationship with Sting during the interview. The former TNT Champion noted that they spend a lot of time together backstage and have quite a bit in common.

“He’s the guy I really hang out with backstage,” Allin said of Sting. “His dressing room, he’s got his own little private dressing room and he says it’s mine.”

“So, it’s just me and him chilling and talking about a bunch of stuff. He’s cool, we’ve got a lot more common than people think – goes beyond the face paint!”

Sting Returns To In-Ring Action On TNT

Sting was quoted in an AEW press release regarding his return to in-ring action on TNT tonight.

“My relationship with TNT goes back more than 25 years, so having the opportunity to wrestle on the network that housed some of my most important moments is pretty surreal,” said Sting.  “The return of crowds has already been electric enough over the past month and a half, but there’s going to be an extra surge of adrenaline in Houston knowing that we’re live on TNT on Wednesday night.”

At TakeOver 36, Samoa Joe will return to the ring for the first time since February 2020. Joe was concussed while filming a commercial and has been out of action ever since. This weekend, he’ll face Karrion Kross with the NXT Championship on the line.

Joe spoke to Sports Illustrated recently about finally being cleared to return.

“My goal has always been to get healthy and get back in the ring,” Joe says. “[Getting cleared], it was a feeling of reassurance and relief. It was very reaffirming. Everything we did, all the therapy, all that work was worth it.”

Joe spent a little under a year as a commentator on RAW. He was released from the role earlier this spring. He says it gave him something to put his energy towards while he was out.

“Commentary gave me something to focus on and put my energy into while I was recovering. I enjoyed my time in the commentary booth. I threw myself so deeply into that because it kept me from driving myself crazy. Only time and healing were going to solve anything, so doing commentary helped me alleviate a little bit of that stress I put on myself.”

Shortly after being cut from the main roster, Joe signed with NXT. At first, he was William Regal’s enforcer but that only set the stage for his feud with Karrion Kross and return to the ring.

“This is very real to me,” Joe continued. “The hours of training to come back, those are very real. It’s been very real to me for a long time. I can’t wait to get back in the ring and mix it up.”

Joe has a chance to enter the record books this weekend as the first person to hold the NXT Championship 3 times. He already holds the record as the first person to hold the title twice. Since Joe’s second title reign, Shinsuke Nakamura, Finn Balor, and Karrion Kross have all won the title a second time as well.

Bianca Belair’s SmackDown Women’s title defense against Sasha Banks at SummerSlam will take place as scheduled, following several days of caution and concern.

The first indication that this match was at risk occurred over the weekend. Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair were both advertised for WWE’s live events from Charlotte, North Carolina and Columbia South Carolina. Unfortunately, they did not attend due to “unforeseen circumstances.”

SEScoops can confirm there was concern within WWE that the SummerSlam SmackDown Women’s Championship match was in jeopardy. Thankfully, with just a few days until SummerSlam, WWE can breathe a sigh of relief.

According to PWInsider, both women have been medically cleared for Saturday’s WWE pay-per-view from Las Vegas, NV. Barring “something unforeseen,” they will also be on hand for Friday’s go-home edition WWE Smackdown.

Bianca Belair vs. Sasha Banks is the highly anticipated rematch from their encounter this past April at WrestleMania 37.

The latest episode of Being the Elite features teases of both Bray Wyatt and Bryan Danielson/Daniel Bryan. During the episode, members of the Elite discover a 2-pack of WWE action figures in a store. The two wrestlers featured in the pack are Bray Wyatt and Daniel Bryan.

“Hey Kenny, what’s behind you?” Matt Jackson and Brandon Cutler ask Kenny Omega in the video. When Omega turns around he sees several AEW action figures as well as a 2-pack of WWE action figures. He then pulled out the 2-pack of Wyatt and Danielson.

Omega recognized Wyatt but didn’t seem to know who the other guy in the pack was.

“One guy is a fiend, I don’t know about…” Omega says before putting his own action figure in front of the pack on the shelf.

The segment begins around the 20-minute mark of the below video:

Are Bray Wyatt and Bryan Danielson Headed To AEW?

During a recent AEW media call, SEScoops asked Cody Rhodes about the possibility of Bray Wyatt ended up in the promotion.

“I tell a lot of my peers in wrestling and people I use as a sounding board, I always tell them, ‘you can’t wish away good talent,’ especially when you get in a groove as a talent yourself,” Rhodes responded. “And it’s not unlike the world that Tony [Khan] comes from already, the world of the NFL and football in the UK. If there’s a free agent out there that can move the needle and be something significant for us… personally, I think you have to go after them.”

As for Bryan Danielson, a report from BodySlam last month stated that he has signed with AEW. The rumored date and location for Bryan’s debut is the Dynamite Grand Slam event from Arthur Ashes Stadium on September 22nd.

Ruby Soho, the former Ruby Riott, posted a video to social media recently. Unlike similar videos wrestling fans have seen lately, however, this one does not involve her breaking out of a prison.

The 1-minute video features Ruby with a train ticket from Orlando to New York’s Penn station. The video is titled “The Runaway” and ends with a “To Be Continued.”

Ruby was released from her WWE contract on June 2nd, 2021. If she was under a 90-day no-compete clause, she would be free to sign with a new promotion at the beginning of September.

AEW has a big event in Queen’s, New York in September. “Grand Slam Dynamite” will take place in Arthur Ashes Stadium on September 22nd. Ruby missed the train in her video, but she’ll still have over a month to catch another one in time to get to the show.

Is Ruby Soho Headed To AEW?

According to a report from Fightful Select, Ruby Soho is expected to end up in AEW. Vickie Guerrero recently mentioned that she would love to have Ruby in an all-woman stable in the promotion.

“I think the one that comes to mind is Ruby. You know she was formerly with WWE; I would love to have Ruby on the roster for AEW,” said Guerrero on the Thoughts Count Anywhere podcast. 

“She was really underutilized, and I love her. She was on my podcast and just a great talent and a good wholesome human being.”

For the last two weeks, Keith Lee has been working dark matches before both RAW and Smackdown. Lee defeated Chico Adams before RAW last night, and Niles Plonk before RAW the week before. On Smackdown, Lee defeated Niles Plonk last Saturday in a dark match and Austin Theory the week before.

According to a report from PW Insider, the purpose of the dark matches is to help Lee refine his in-ring style and determine what works best for him.

“PWInsider.com is told that the recent darks, designed as being short squashes for Lee, have taken place as a way to refine Lee and decide what works best for him going forward,” wrote Mike Johnson.

Lee was out of action for 5 months from February to July. He returned on the July 19th episode of RAW and lost to Bobby Lashley. He was defeated by Karrion Kross the following week but then avenged that loss against Kross on August 2nd. Lee has been working dark matches ever since.

Lee opened up recently about dealing with inflammation of the heart following contracting COVID-19. This was the reason for his absence from February to July.

“Some people may have experienced this thing where there’s like an inflammation in the heart or lungs, for me it was the heart. That led to very scary times,” Lee says in the video.

“I was basically forbidden from training or any activity outside of a light walk. There was a fear that doing more than that—that there was a chance that I could just up and pass away.”

Earlier this week, it was reported that NXT has been discussing the idea of returning to a taped format. This could possibly begin as soon as after this weekend’s TakeOver 36.

On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted that there has been “lots of talk about NXT no longer airing live and doing tapings ahead of time as a cost-cutting measure.”

“NXT taping schedule may be temporary, but for sure they’re taping several episodes after Takeover,” Tweeted Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer Live.

According to comments made by Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men podcast, however, the USA Network would not be on-board with such a decision. Zarian Tweeted out that when asked about NXT possibly being taped ahead of time, his source responded that “a taped show is not what we paid for”.

USA Network Concerned About Roster Cuts

Zarian also spoke with sources from the USA Network following the recent NXT roster cuts.

“Personally I’m disappointed with how this is going,” is what a source from the USA Network reportedly said to Zarian. 

The roster cuts and rumors of a cost-cutting switch to taped formats appears to be concerning to network executives. They are also a part of what appears to be an overhaul of NXT. According to Dave Meltzer, the directive from within WWE is to return NXT to a strictly developmental brand. The focus will reportedly return to creating stars for RAW and Smackdown. Losing the Wednesday night war to AEW is the likely catalyst for the change.

“This is the aftermath and this is the new direction. And the new direction is younger guys and bigger guys,” Meltzer said. 

“What happened happened and now they want to get it back to what it was.”

CM Punk has been doing the media rounds to promote his new television series, Heels. During multiple interviews, Punk has praised Batista transition from pro wrestling to acting.

He recently told Movie Trivia Schmoedown, “I just want to follow in his footsteps. I watch guys, friends of mine, Dave Bautista, do these huge blockbuster roles but also do roles that are challenging to him because he wants to grow and be a better actor.”

CM Punk told TV Insider that Batista is “truly inspirational” by selecting challenging roles for himself.

“I want to be somebody who takes even the smallest role and takes it very seriously and can learn from it,” said Punk. “I think pro wrestlers are always better than what people give them credit for because what is pro wrestling if not doing live theater.”

Batista Praises CM Punk

Batista recently responded to Punk’s comments in a Tweet.

“I already knew this. And the talent is obvious. He’s going to be bigger in films than he was in wrestling. Save this tweet,” Batista wrote in response to an article about Punk’s comments.

CM Punk in Heels

Heels has received strong critical reviews since the premiere premiere episode was released earlier this week.The show currently holds a 95% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. The show has a 96% approval rating amongst viewers on the same site.

The show follows the life of Jack Spade, owner of the fictional Duffy Wrestling League promotion. Punk plays the role of wrestler Ricky Rabies on the show.