Domino’s Pizza recently released a statement to Front Office Sports regarding the deathmatch between Chris Jericho and Nick Gage at Fight for the Fallen.

“We share the concerns expressed about this incident and the content of this TV-14 rated program, and are assessing our advertising presence on it going forward,” the pizza company’s statement reads.

Nick Gage recently took to Twitter to “apologize” to Domino’s.

“i tried to cut jerichos scalp off my bad TMZ it is what it is but yeah thanks aew and thanks all MDK gang members we showed em whats up and also sorry dominos didnt mean to offend you guess im too ultraviolent for tv oh well all my new fans come see me at GCW its MDK all fn day,” Gage Tweeted.

Meanwhile, Pabst Blue Ribbon seems to have really enjoyed the match. They have been posting to Twitter in the hopes of picking up Dominos’ advertising spots.

PBR seems to want to join MDK.

Gage was just the “2nd Labor of Jericho” as part of his feud with MJF. The 3rd Labor of Jericho will take place next week. Jericho is scheduled to face his former WCW rival Juventud Guerrera on the show.

AEW and Upper Deck are announcing an exclusive trading card and memorabilia deal today. The first AEW trading cards will be released in November of 2021. It will be the first time Upper Deck produces trading cards for professional wrestlers.

“We are excited to offer professional wrestling trading cards to our collectors and AEW fans for the first time,” said Upper Deck Sports Brand Manager, Paul Zickler. “AEW is a prominent organization in the industry with a passionate fan base, and we look forward to building a long-lasting relationship and a robust wrestling product portfolio.”

Upper Deck representatives spoke about the deal below:

“Upper Deck is the premier collectibles company in the world for trading cards and memorabilia, and we’re thrilled to work with them in expanding our engagement even further with fans around the world,” said Tony Khan, CEO, GM and Head of Creative of AEW. “Since day one, we’ve made it a priority to listen to our fans and connect with them in new and immersive ways.”

The cards will be available at retail outlets and online. An online marketplace will provide a place for fans to buy, sell, and trade cards as well.

Fans are encouraged to sign up for exclusive updates on Upper Deck’s website here.

At AEW Fight for the Fallen, The Elite defeated Hangman Page and the Dark Order in a 10-man elimination tag match. The loss knocks Page out of the title picture for All Out on September 5th. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Page vs Omega for the title had once been the plan for the show, however.

“Adam Page is not getting the main event for All Out with Kenny Omega. At one point it was the plan but plans change. The ten-man tag was designed to shock people when they veered off that match,” wrote Dave Meltzer.

As for who is getting the title shot at All Out, only speculation can be had. Christian Cage is ranked #3 and could possibly be in the mix. Other names thrown around include Eddie Kingston.

Darby Allin is ranked #4 as well. #1 Hangman Page is out of the running, #2 Jungle Boy was already defeated by Omega, and #5 Orange Cassidy was in a triple threat title match against Omega on the last PPV. It’s possible someone from outside the top-5 could earn a title shot between now and the PPV, however.

Page also fell out of title contention before the last PPV as well. After going several week ranked at #1, Page lost a key match to Brian Cage on Dynamite. He would go on to avenge that loss at Double or Nothing, however, putting him back in title contention.

“They were pushing Christian Cage for a title match next. Whether that’s for TV in a few weeks or PPV should be clear pretty soon.”

According to a report from WhatCulture, Jeff Jarrett was amongst the many names backstage in the company to have been released back in April. According to the report, Jarrett has been reaching out to other organizations regarding potential bookings.

Update:

This report is now being refuted, however. Michael Morales Torres of Lucha Libre Online is reporting that Jarrett is still with the company. He says that taking outside bookings is part of his deal with WWE.

“So the correct information is that Jeff Jarrett does continue to work for WWE, but not exclusively, as he is working on other projects in addition to his duties with WWE,” a translation of Lucha Libre Online’s Tweet reads.

Jarrett was hired as a backstage producer in early 2019. He had been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame the previous year.

His return to the company and induction into its Hall of Fame in 2018 was met with some surprise considering the way he left the company in 1999. Jarrett’s contract expired 1 day before the No Mercy 99 PPV where he was scheduled to defend the Intercontinental title against Chyna.

Chyna spoke about Jarrett’s WWE departure in her book “If They Only Knew”. She claimed that Jarrett was paid $200,000 to lose the title to her on that show. Chyna also alleged that Vince Russo and Jeff Jarrett colluded to delay Jarrett’s title defence against her until after Jarrett’s contract was up. Jarrett refuted this on his “King of the Mountain” DVD in TNA. He says he was paid only what WWE owed him at the time. Jarrett also said that all negotiations between him and the company were cordial.

Jarrett was a 6x Intercontinental champion in WWE. He was also a 1x European Champion. Jeff Jarrett and Owen Hart also once held the WWE tag titles.

Impact Wrestling on 7/29 featured Moose vs Chris Sabin and Bullet Club facing the Elite in tag-team action.

Impact 7/29 Quick Results:

1. The Good Brothers defeated Chris Bey & Jay White
2. Taylor Wilde defeated Kaleb with a K
3. Fallah Bahh, No Way & FinJuice (David Finlay & Juice Robinson) defeated Ace Austin, Madman Fulton, Rohit Raju & Shera
4. Rich Swann & Willie Mack defeated Violent By Design (Deaner & Rhino) w/ Eric Young & Joe Doering
5. Moose defeated Chris Sabin

The Good Brothers Defeat Jay White & Chris Bey

Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows picked up a victory over Bullet Club’s Jay White and BC recruit Chris Bey. Gallows hit a choke slam on Bey and then both Good Brothers hit the Magic Killer for the win.

After the match, White told Bey that he wasn’t sure if he was Bullet Club material. He did have an idea for how Bey could redeem himself, however.

Taylor Wilde defeats Kaleb with a K

Taylor Wilde returned to Impact Wrestling last week and helped Matt Cardona, Jake Something and Chelsea Green pick up a win over Brian Myers, Sam Beale, and Tenille Dashwood. This week, Wilde would face Dashwood’s personal photographer, Kaleb with a K, in singles action. Wilde would pick up the win with a bridging German suplex.

FinJuice, Fallah Bah, & No Way Pick Up Victory In 8-Man Tag

David Finlay picked up the victory for his team by hitting Trash Panda on Rohit Raju. Finlay is preparing to face Jay White for the NEVER Openweight title at NJPW Resurgence on August 14th. FinJuice’s night wasn’t over, however, as they would later run into Bullet Club in the back.

Battle Royal To Determine Kenny Omega’s Next Challenger

Earlier in the show, Scott D’Amore tasked Tommy Dreamer with determining who would be Kenny Omega’s next title challenger. Dreamer told Omega that in two weeks, Impact would have a battle royal with the winner earning a title shot at Emergence.

Bullet Club Attack David Finlay & Juice Robinson

The redemption that Jay White offered Chris Bey was evidently to attack FinJuice in the back. As Finlay and Robinson were being interviewed backstage following their victory earlier, White and Bey attacked.

The Elite Hunter Is In The Impact Zone!

The Elite were in the ring and were upset about Tommy Dreamer scheduling a battle royal to determine Omega’s next challenger. Sami Callihan then came out and said he will win the battle royal to get another shot at Omega. He also said he can’t wait until two weeks to get his hands on the Elite so next week a trios match will take place with Callihan and two partners against Omega and the Good Brothers.

Out of nowhere, The Elite Hunter Frankie Kazarian hit the ring and attacked Omega and the Good Brothers. Kazarian will be one of Callihan’s partners next week. Dreamer would later reveal that Callihan’s longtime rival Eddie Edwards would be the other.

Rich Swann & Willie Mack Pick Up Victory Over Violent By Design

Violent By Design blamed Rich Swann and Willie Mack for them losing the tag belts at Slammiversary. It would be Swann and Mack who would pick up the victory in this grudge match, however. Swann pinned Rhino after a Phoenix Splash.

Moose Avenges Previous Loss To Chris Sabin

At Slammiversary, Chris Sabin picked up the victory over Moose but things would not go the same way in the rematch. The finish of the match came when Moose fought off the Cradle Shock and then hit his Lights Out spear for the win. After the match, Moose tried to toss Sabin out of the ring but Sabin came back with a crossbody from the top and then hit a suicide dive on the outside. Officials had to pull Sabin off Moose to end the show.

Impact Homecoming Lineup

• Homecoming King and Queen Tournament (1st Round)
  Hernandez & Alisha Edwards vs Deonna Purrazzo & TBA
• Homecoming King and Queen Tournament (1st Round)
  Petey Williams & Jordynne Grace vs Matt Cardona & Chelsea Green
• Homecoming King and Queen Tournament (1st Round)
  Crazzy Steve & Rosemary vs Tasha Steelz & Fallah Bah
• Homecoming King and Queen Tournament (1st Round)
  Rachael Ellering & Tommy Dreamer vs Brian Myers & TBA
• Homecoming King and Queen Tournament (Semi-Final #1)
  TBD vs TBD
• Homecoming King and Queen Tournament (Semi-Final #1)
  TBD vs TBD
• Homecoming King and Queen Tournament (Finals)
• TBD vs TBD
• Hardcore Match
  W. Morrissey vs Eddie Edwards
• X-Division Championship
  Josh Alexander (c) vs Black Taurus

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is busy doing media to promote his new movie, Jungle Cruise. During a recent interview, Rock took the time to explain to his co-star, Emily Blunt, how good Bret Hart was to him early in his career.

The Rock Honors Bret Hart

“The t-shirt he’s wearing is a guy who didn’t have to be but he was so good to me when I was a rookie professional wrestler and his name is Bret “the Hitman” Hart, comes from a very famous wrestling family. But at that time, he was world champion and there were a lot of guys in that world at that time in 96, that didn’t necessarily embrace me.”

“Just when I was a rookie coming in because everyone is hungry for their spot and there’s a lot of sharks in the water.”

Blunt then asked Rock why he thinks Bret was nice to him.

“I think because he knew that our families knew each other and knew that I came from a lineage of pro wrestling and that I had a real love and respect for wrestling and he was just a great guy. I always try and give him props where I can,” Rock continued.

Bret’s Reaction

Karrion Kross lost his debut match on the WWE main roster last week to Jeff Hardy. He got in the winners circle this week when he defeated Keith Lee, however. Kross is also believed to have been scheduled to lose to Hardy again this week on RAW had Hardy not tested positive for COVID-19.

According to comments from Andrew Zarian on the Mat Men Podcast, the plan had been for Kross to continue losing up until he was joined by Scarlett, who would then turn his luck around.

“Karrion Kross was supposed to lose again to Jeff Hardy in the rematch and then finally go berzerk,” said Zarian. I’m not 100 percent on this but I was told that the plan was that Karrion Kross keeps losing until Scarlett shows up and that’s gonna bring him back on track because she is able to unleash the warrior, whatever they’re calling him, the gladiator in him.”

Karrion Kross’ Tough Loss

Following his victory over Keith Lee on RAW this week, Kross was interviewed backstage and spoke about his “tough loss” to Hardy the week prior.

“Tough loss, it’s an interesting choice of words,” Kross said. “I would say Jeff Hardy cheated but then again, he might be the smartest man in WWE, because if I were him that’s exactly what I would have done.”

“It lit a fire in me. I need to understand and not lose sight that people will do anything they possibly can to get out of that ring in one piece. But Jeff Hardy and I, we’re not done yet, not by a long shot,” Kross continued.

H/T to WrestlingNewsCo for the transcribed quotes

Johnny Curtis adopted the Fandango gimmick in the fall of 2012. That spring, he defeated Chris Jericho in a singles match at WrestleMania 29. According to comments he made recently on the “Such Good Shoot” podcast, Jericho’s appearance on Dancing with the Stars in 2011 set the stage for Fandango’s ballroom dancer gimmick.

“Chris did an amazing job at getting me over and I don’t blame him. It’s a ridiculous character. Look at it this way, guys, so Vince thought it was probably stupid that he went on Dancing with the Stars, right? Vince thought Bryan Danielson was crazy to be a vegan. So anything that Vince thinks is stupid, he’ll make a character out of it, right?”

“So he thought Chris going on Dancing with the Stars was stupid, so what is he gonna do? He’s gonna make an evil dancing gimmick because he thinks it’s outrageous.”

Curtis/Fandango was trained by Killer Kowalski and made his pro debut in 1999. He signed a developmental deal with WWE in 2006 and was assigned to Deep South Wrestling territory. In 2008, he moved to Florida Championship Wrestling and then started with NXT during the 4th season under its original format.

Fandango continued to say that he felt stuck with the character. Meanwhile, someone like Chris Jericho was able to evolve and change his character throughout his career.

“Unless you’re that tippy-top guy like Roman Reigns, you’re gonna kind of go into no man’s land, and that’s kind of what happened to me because I was just riding the wave, you know? So look at what Chris would do. So Chris was always evolving and coming up with different stuff, new characters, twists on his character, and I kind of felt stuck with that character.”

Chris Jericho and Nick Gage had a no disqualification match with light tubes, a pizza cutter, broken glass, and lots of “blood and guts” at Fight for the Fallen last night. According to a report on Wrestling Observer Radio, Tony Khan spoke to TNT ahead of time to let them know what was going to happen.

“I know Tony Khan talked to TNT ahead of time and basically told them what was going to happen. So, they’re okay with it. It’s not an issue where they’ll get kicked off the air,” said Dave Meltzer.

It was noted during the discussion that Jericho would not have done anything he did not want to do during the match. It was also speculated that the idea for the match likely came from Jericho himself but that was not be confirmed.

“Jericho didn’t do anything that he didn’t want to do. Whatever spots were in that match, Jericho would say no if he doesn’t want to do it, he’s not going to kill himself. And those were the spots he said yes to, I don’t know if he said no to anything,” Meltzer said.

While AEW has put hardcore matches on Dynamite before, this was a particularly brutal one. Meltzer continued to say he’s heard that doing a match like this on television is not something AEW is planning on doing again.

“I am told it is a one time thing and they won’t do it again. We will see because if it does a good quarter, they will do it again, probably, because that’s wrestling,” Meltzer continued.

WWE has an earnings call today. The last time AEW had a hardcore match so close to a WWE earnings call is when Vince McMahon coined the term “Blood and Guts” to describe it.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman announced that Chris Jericho’s rival from WCW, Juventud Guerrera, will be the “3rd Labor of Jericho” next week. Juvi took to Twitter to comment on his match next week.

Chris Jericho vs Juventud Guerrera History

In WCW, Jericho and Juventud Guerrera had 22 singles matches against each other, were in 2 tag matches with each other, and were also in 3 battle royals together. Of their 22 singles matches, 11 were on house shows and 11 were on television. Of the 11 televised matches, Jericho holds an 8-3 advantage in the series. Jericho also holds a 9-2 lead in their house show series, giving him a 17-5 edge in their head to head series.

In WCW, Juvi is a 3x former WCW Cruiserweight Champion and once held the tag belts along with Rey Mysterio. Juvi also won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship once. In WWE, Juvi twice won the WWE Cruiserweight Championship as well. Subscribers to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter voted Juvi the Best High Flyer of the year in both 1998 and 1999.

Recent reports suggested that AEW President Tony Khan and AEW’s EVPs recently traveled to Chicago. The report speculated that this could have something to do with AEW eyeing a bigger venue in the city. According to comments made by Tony Khan on Busted Open Radio, however, the report was “pure fiction.”

“There’s been a lot of false rumors out there, that’s the other thing, there are people chasing these things and trying to connect the dots,” Khan said on the show. “I know a lot of the stuff that has been reported in the last week has been totally false.”

“There’s this website BodySlam, for example, I saw them put a report out that myself and all the EVPs had traveled this past weekend and it was total BS. None of us were even in the same state,” Khan said.

Khan continued to say that he was in Florida for Paige VanZant’s bare-knuckled boxing fight when he saw the report. He continued to say that his family’s private jet had been tracked but it was his parents who were on it at the time.

“It was total fiction. They tracked my family’s plane, it was my parents on the plane! And then the guy claimed ‘oh, I know which tail number is yours and which one’s your parents,’ it was total fiction and this guy got totally bamboozled by a fake source and it was embarrassing and there’s been a lot of fake reporting like that the last couple of weeks,” Khan continued.

Khan’s comments were posted to Twitter below:

Recent reports have suggested that WWE is planning a single-elimination Queen of the Ring tournament in October. According to a recent report from Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men podcast, the current plan is for the finals of the tournament to take place in Saudi Arabia.

“Hearing that the current plan is to hold the Queen of the Ring finals in Saudi Arabia in October,” Zarian Tweeted.

The tournament is scheduled to begin on the October 8th edition of Smackdown and the October 11th edition of RAW. The next Saudi Arabia show is planned for October 21st, although this has yet to be officially announced.

There have only ever been two women’s matches on WWE shows from Saudia Arabia. The first was at Crown Jewel in 2019 when Natalya and Lacey Evans wrestled. The second came at Super ShowDown on February 27th, 2020 when Bayley wrestled Naomi.

Provided the event in October takes place as planned, it will be the 6th event WWE has run in Saudi Arabia as part of its agreement with the Saudi Sports Authority. 2 SuperShowdowns, 2 Crown Jewels, and 1 Greatest Royal Rumble event have taken place. WWE’s deal with the Saudi Sports Authority runs until 2027.

Tony Khan was recently interviewed by the NY Post and did a solid job of not answering questions relating to CM Punk and Daniel Bryan. The AEW President would state, however, that “there are certainly a lot of exciting rumors right now.”

When asked if he had “signed and/or talked to any former WWE champions” lately, Khan was quick to say there were some things he would not be commenting on during the interivew.

“I have no comment on those, but those are good questions but I can’t comment on those,” Khan said.

Khan was then asked what it would mean if another wrestling promotion were to sign CM Punk and/or Daniel Bryan.

“I can’t comment on those two guys, but I think there are certainly a lot of exciting rumors right now,” Khan said.

Tony Khan on Fight for the Fallen

Tony Khan would comment on what Fight for the Fallen has come to mean for AEW over the last few years. This will be the 3rd event in its history.

“I think it’s one of our major events — the charitable component really makes it stand out — and an important event on the calendar, and it’s something we’ve done from the beginning. It predates even ‘Dynamite.’ We always load it up with big matches, I always try to put a lot of great matches on a “Fight for the Fallen” card, but also now it will have an extra special touch to it because the event is also about helping people.”

6 matches and 2 segments have been announced for tonight. In addition to the matches below, Tony Khan will announce a new AEW live event and Ricky Starks will have a celebration segment for winning the FTW title.

1. Christian Cage & The Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus) vs. The Hardy Family Office(Angelico, Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen)
2. Julia Hart vs Thunder Rosa
3. Five Labours Of Jericho #2 No Disqualification Match
   Chris Jericho vs. Nick Gage
4. FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) (w/Tully Blanchard) vs. The Inner Circle (Ortiz & Santana) (w/Konnan)
5. IWGP United States Championship
   Lance Archer (c) vs. Hikuleo
6. 10-Man Elimination Match
   Adam Page & The Dark Order (Alex Reynolds, Evil Uno, John Silver & Stu Grayson) vs. The Elite (Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson, Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson)

Natalya had to be helped to the back after her match on RAW this week. Her and Tamina defeated the team of Eva Marie and Doudrop, but Natalya appeared to hurt her ankle or knee during the bout.

There is no update as to the severity of the injury but Natalya took to Twitter today to thank fans for their concern and well wishes.

“Thank you to everyone for the kind words about what happened on WWE Raw,” she Tweeted. “There are the beatings you can plan for, and the ones you can’t. That’s the job. But I’m willing to give whatever bones, muscles and tendons I have to continue doing what I love. Good thing I’m UNBREAKABLE.”

You can see footage of Natalya’s injury here:

Natalya’s Injury

Natalya’s injury was addressed this week on Wrestling Observer Radio.

“It was not evident watching the match but what happened was essentially Doudrop, Piper Niven, when she did the takedown she kind of rolled and the ankle was twisted in a very ugly way,” said Dave Meltzer.

“We don’t know right now how serious it is but it’s probably serious.”

The 39-year-old Natalya has been with WWE for 14 years. She first signed with the promotion in 2007. Natalya is a 1x Divas Champion, 1x Smackdown Women’s Champion, and 1x WWE Tag Team Champion.

New RAW Women’s Champion Nikki A.S.H. recently took part in an interview with Ryan Satin on the “Out of Character” podcast. During the discussion, Nikki spoke about her new “Almost a Superhero” character and what influenced the gimmick.

“When we started to explore it, it was going to be a super positive role model for children and the younger audience,” Nikki said during the interview (transcriptions via 411Mania).

She would then talk about how superhero characters from Marvel and D.C helped influence the character.

“We did a concept cartoon and then I looked into the research,” Nikki continued. “For Wonder Woman, what were the numbers like at the box office? It was successful, but how much money did it make? How much money did Captain Marvel make? Looking at the success, especially with female-led superhero movies and television shows. The female-led franchises and female-led movies are what I wanted to really focus on and show that there has been a huge success and it’s inspirational.”

Nikki continued to talk about how she sees how much superhero characters can touch people’s lives. She wanted to bring the same feeling to her new character on RAW.

“I have younger nephews and they are obsessed with superheroes. You see how much it can touch people’s lives and at WWE, we also want to touch people’s lives and connect with families and people with all ages. Superheroes and WWE, we want to unite people.”

Nikki A.S.H became the 10th wrestler in history to win the RAW Women’s Championship when she cashed in on Charlotte Flair. Her reign is currently the 21st in the title’s lineage.

With COVID-19 cases rising in the United States and new mask and virus testing mandates being made in some areas, there is reportedly concern within AEW about upcoming shows being disrupted.

According to a report from Cassidy Haynes of BodySlam.net, AEW has begun to have conversations regarding contingency plans should shows in Chicago, New York, St. Louis and elsewhere not be able to run as planned. These discussions are said to have increased over the last week. The concern is that there could eventually be limits on large gatherings in addition to the new mask and virus testing mandates being made.

Amongst the contingency plans being discussed is returning to shows from Daily’s Place. AEW will be back in the Jacksonville, Florida venue next week regardless for the AEW Dynamite: Homecoming show. Malakai Black vs Cody Rhodes, and Miro defending the TNT title against Lee Johnson have been scheduled for that card.

Tonight’s AEW will emanate from the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte. The August 11th edition of Dynamite will be from Pittsburgh. AEW closes out August with trips to Houston on the 18th and Milwaukee on the 25th. AEW will then be in Chicago on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th of September. Dynamite on the 8th of September will be in Cincinnati before AEW closes out the month with shows from Newark, Queens and Rochester.

Last week, reports came out that WWE was looking at holding a single-elimination tournament dubbed The Queen of the Ring.

In an update to this story, Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men podcast is reporting that the current plan is to start the tournament in October. The October 8th edition of Smackdown and the October 11th edition of RAW is when the tournament is currently scheduled to begin.

Queen of the Ring Tournament

Multiple female Superstars have expressed an interest in WWE holding a Queen of the Ring tournament.

Sasha Banks said a Queen of the Ring tournament would be “really freaking cool” during a 2020 interview with ProSieben MAXX. commented on WWE possibly hosting a Queen of the Ring tournament during an interview last year.

“A Queen of the Ring tournament on a whole PPV for itself would be really freaking cool,” said Banks. “But I’ve been waiting for Evolution 2 for a very long time. So maybe we can do that first, and maybe we can start off little bit [with] matches at Evolution for the Queen of the Ring Tournament. Maybe something like that can happen. But that’s up to you guys, you have to tweet Vince [McMahon]. Make sure you keep on tweeting him so we can have that in 2021.”

In 2019, Bayley also spoke publicly about hoping for such a tournament. 

“We kinda want a Queen of the Ring,” Bayley said on the KSFY Morning Show. “If you guys could make that happen, I would love that.”

Randy Orton hasn’t been on WWE RAW in over a month. This has greatly impacted his RK-Bro teammate Matt Riddle, who continues to point toward the ceiling any time he mentions the Viper. According to local advertising in the Chicago market, however, Orton is expected to return to RAW on next week’s show.

The Viper is expected back on WWE as early as next week. He will be resuming his partnership with Riddle in the lead-up to SummerSlam on August 21st. Riddle has been hinting at Orton’s return on Raw Talk and social media.

Randy Orton’s last performance in WWE was on the June 21st edition of RAW. He lost a Money in the Bank Qualifying match to John Morrison and has been gone ever since.

Riddle lost a singles match to John Morrison on Monday’s Raw after being distracted by Omos, who broke his scooter. This could be WWE’s way to set up a tag title feud, with RK-Bro chasing Omos and AJ Styles for the tag titles.

Randy Orton is no stranger to tag team gold. He’s a 2-time WWE tag-team champion. He previously held titles with Edge as Rated RKO and with the Wyatt Family in 2016.

On the May 21st, 2021 edition of Smackdown, Big E was attacked by Aleister Black. What looked like the start of a big angle turned out to be Black’s last performance in a WWE ring. Now known as Malakai Black, he’ll face Cody Rhodes in his first AEW match at AEW Homecoming next week.

Big E recently spoke about the angle he was supposed to work with Black during an interview with GiveMeSport.

“I don’t know the plans, I had no idea,” Big E said (transcriptions via Fightful). “Obviously, we had seen the vignettes for weeks and weeks. He comes out at the end of the main event and kicks me in the face. I’m thinking, ‘Alright, it’s him and I, we’re going to run for a bit.'”

Black wasn’t on the show the following week. He was then released from WWE on June 2nd, 2021. Meanwhile, Big E continued to feud with Apollo Crews.

“I was definitely surprised (when Black was released),” Big E continued. “I think he’s extremely talented and has a ton to offer. People were excited to see us because there is such a difference in the way we carry ourselves and our characters. We’re polar opposites and I think it would have made for a lot of fun.”

E would also say that he wasn’t worried about Black, noting he was pretty sure someone would pick him up after his release.

“The Aleister thing was an opportunity to do something different and a nice break from that. It ended up fizzling. He’s very good at what he does and I wish him well.”

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

Mickie James invited Impact Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo to the NWA Empowerrr PPV at Slammiversary. On Impact this week, Gail Kim revealed that she is the one who sent James out to offer the invite to the Virtuosa. In a video posted to Impact’s social media, James has now invited Gail Kim to be a part of NWA Empowerrr as well.

It’s not clear what role Gail Kim will play for the show. James only asks her for her help with the show, not necessarily to wrestle. Kim came out of retirement for one match in 2019. She wrestled Tessa Blanchard at the Impact Rebellion PPV from her hometown of Toronto that year.

NWA Empowerrr will take place from the Khorassan Ballroom At The Chase Park Plaza Hotel in St. Louis on August 28th. The NWA will present its 73rd Anniversary show from the same venue the following night.

“It’s pretty amazing because we’re going to we’re going to kick it off and we’re going to set the bar and hopefully for the rest of the weekend,” James said at a press conference in St. Louis earlier this month.

“There’s so much stuff, happening from Fan Fest, to the women’s show empowered, to NWA 73, and the two television tapings. It’s going to be an incredible four days.”

Natalya was injured and had to be helped to the back on RAW last night. Natalya and Tamina were wrestling Eva Marie and Doudrop. While in the ring with Doudrop, Natalya started favoring her leg. The injury was addressed recently on Wrestling Observer Radio.

“It was not evident watching the match but what happened was essentially Doudrop, Piper Niven, when she did the takedown she kind of rolled and the ankle was twisted in a very ugly way,” said Dave Meltzer. Unfortunately, he would continue to say the belief right now is that the injury is likely serious.

“We don’t know right now how serious it is but it’s probably serious.”

“Without a doubt, it’s probably something pretty serious because if it wasn’t she would have just walked out on it, that’s the reality,” Meltzer continued.

Natalya and Tamina have been WWE tag team champions dating back to the May 14th Smackdown. They defeated Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax to win the belts on that show. They have defended the titles twice since winning them against the former champions.

This is the 3rd title run for 39-year-old Natalya. She is a 1x former Divas Champion, 1x Smackdown Women’s Champion as well.

impact Wrestling will be running a mixed-gender tag-team tournament at Homecoming this weekend. The event will take place July 31st from Nashville’s Skyline Studios where Impact has been running its shows since the pandemic.

4 of the 8 scheduled teams for the Homecoming tournament have been announced. Those teams are:

1. Tommy Dreamer and Rachael Ellering
2. Petey Wiliams and Jordynne Grace
3. Crazzy Steve & Rosemary
4. Matt Cardona & Chelsea Green

Also, Brian Myers will be in the tournament but his partner has yet to be determined. Tenille Dashwood told Myers she would not be going to Homecoming with him on this week’s show. Myers then tasked Sam Beale with finding him another partner for the tournament.

The only other match announced thus far for this weekend’s Homecoming event is W. Morrissey vs Eddie Edwards in a hardcore match.

Impact has announced a few matches for this week’s television show on Thursday night as well:

1. The Good Brothers vs Jay White & Chris Bey
2. Violent by Design (Deaner and Rhino) vs. Willie Mack & Rich Swann 
3. Moose vs Chris Sabin
4. Kaleb Konley vs Taylor Wilde
5. Steve Maclin vs Trey Miguel (Before the Impact)

Impact has also announced they will be back in the studio for tapings mid-August as well.

WWE has announced today a partnership with Blumhouse television that will see the creation of a limited scripted series titled, “The United States of America vs Vince McMahon.”

The series will focus on WWE during the 1990s and Vince’s trial for allegedly supplying anabolic steroids to WWE wrestlers. Vince was indicted, rejected a plea deal, and then went to trial. He was unanimously acquitted by a jury on all charges.

“In 1994, the U.S. government indicted McMahon for allegedly supplying anabolic steroids to WWE talent. McMahon, with his liberty at stake, two school-aged children at home and with WWE on the brink of bankruptcy, refused to take a plea deal,” a description of the project reads.

Kevin Dunn and Blumhouse Television President Chris McCumber were quoted in a press release.

“Jason, Chris, and their team at Blumhouse create amazing work and we look forward to delivering an inside look into one of the most pivotal moments in our company’s history,” said Kevin Dunn, WWE Executive Producer & Chief of Global Television Distribution.

“We have a dramatic, riveting saga – one that’s crazier than fiction – that will appeal to the cross-section of Blumhouse and WWE fans,” said McCumber. “To say I’m thrilled about collaborating again with WWE is an understatement.”

WWE is also working with Bill Simmons and the Ringer to produce a multi-part documentary series on McMahon for Netflix.

As the CM Punk to AEW rumors continue, it is being reported that Tony Khan and AEW’s EVPs flew to Chicago yesterday. According to a report from Cassidy Haynes of BodySlam.net, AEW might be looking at a new venue in the city.

AEW is reportedly eyeing the United Center in Chicago for a future event. Previously, the All Out/All In events have run from what is now known as the NOW Center (previously the Sears Center) just outside of the city.

Tickets for All Out 2021 sold out quickly, however, so AEW might be looking for a larger venue in one of its hottest markets. The 2019 event drew a crowd of 10,500.

The United Center can hold 19-20,000 for hockey and basketball games, and around 22,000 for concerts. The last time a wrestling event was held in the venue was a WWE house show in late 2018.

The United Center is home to both the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks.

Although not confirmed, it is believed Khan and the EVPs were in town to film some promotional content at the United Center.

Tony Khan is scheduled to make an announcement regarding a new live event this week on Dynamite as well.

WWE typically runs the Allstate Arena near Chicago for events. That was the venue for CM Punk’s WWE title win over John Cena at Money in the Bank 2011. It was also the host venue for Survivor Series 2019 and NXT TakeOver: War Games III.

MLW Battle Riot III aired this past weekend weekend on BeIN Sports and YouTube. The show kicked off Cesar Duran (Lucha Underground’s Dario Cueto) announcing that he is MLW’s new match maker.

“My reputation for super luchas and violence is second to none!” Duran said. “I’ve introduced you to the best luchadores in the sport today and I’ve even created the most imagitive matches of the century.”

“I’ve reached an agreement with MLW that my company, Azteca Underground, yes, will promote fights for MLW. Yes! But wait, there is more,” he continued. “I’ve made a deal with Court Bauer, you’re matchmaker in MLW!”

Duran’s Azteca Underground promotion was later featured in a promo for MLW’s new mini-series set to debut next month “MLW Fusion Alpha.”

“The world has changed. Wrestling is at war! Invasions! Alliances! Raids! Jumps! Beware!! Major League Wrestling is under attack. Who will rise up? An Underground Revolution begins. A deal with the devil?! Who do you trust? A league is shattered? MLW Fusion Alpha. A mini-series. August 2021.”

The promo for MLW’s new mini-series begins around the 18:20 mark of the below video. Watch MLW’s Battle Riot III in the player below: