New Japan Pro Wrestling has booked 3 matches for Wrestle Grand Slam on September 5th. The promotion will present shows from the MetLife Dome on both September 4th and 5th. On the second night, Evil will challenge Shingo Takagi for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.
Also booked for the 2nd night inside the MetLife Dome will be Robbie Eagles defending his newly won IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against the returning Hiromu Takahashi.
The IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships will also be on the line on September 5th. The champion Dangerous Tekkers team of Zack Sabre Jr. and Taichi will defend against both the LIJ team of Tetsuya Naito & SANADA as well as the CHAOS team of Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI.
Takagi successfully defended his title from the Tokyo Dome this weekend. He defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi who was replacing Kota Ibushi. After the match, Takagi spoke to NJPW1972.com.
‘Well, it’s definitely the day after the night before. I’m sore all over- my neck, my back, my legs. But y’know, waking up with those aches and pains reminds me of what I do for a living, and I’ve gotta admit I don’t hate that feeling. That said, Tanahashi was amazing.”
“Yesterday was the biggest stage, against the best opponent, and we had the best match. That kind of opportunity doesn’t come your way all the time, and it felt damn great, right down until that dirty S.O.B. EVIL ruined everything. Yesterday, I was hot when I got backstage, and said what I did about wanting the match as soon as possible. Now I’ve slept on it, though…”
Three big matches are made for Wrestle Grand Slam in the MetLife Dome!
Kenny Omega recently appeared on Wrestling Observer Radio and during the discussion, he spoke about possibly wrestling CM Punk and/or Bryan Danielson in AEW someday.
“It’s cool for me to think I am going to be able to get in the ring with these two possibly,” Omega said. “Because they were so prominent in WWE…for me, as exciting as the wrestling part is, the ability to tell a story is more exciting for me.”
Omega spoke specifically of Bryan and the success of the Yes! movement in WWE.
“He was able to kind of turn everything around and emerge as a megastar, because he is smart enough in a wrestling sense, in a business sense,” said Omega. “Just like in ROH, how he was able to have those fans in the palm of his hand, he was able to have the entire WWE Universe in the palm of his hand with one word. The only other person I can think of to do that was Austin.”
Omega also spoke about CM Punk and what he accomplished with his career.
“CM Punk, he probably has a different line of thinking than your current-day performer, the average performer,” Omega said. “He has this incredible reputation—he has fans to this day who would follow him to the end of the earth. Very dedicated fanbase and that fanbase believes he’s the best in the world and will be the best until the end of time.”
“Two extremely intelligent people who found a way to, I don’t want to say cheat the system, but it was a system that was not created for them there,” Omega continued.
Omega’s comments can be heard in the player below:
Bayley recently underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL. She’s expected to miss about 9 months. The former Smackdown Women’s Champion spoke with Metro recently and listed off opponents from both AEW and NXT she’d like to face.
“I have so much respect and some history with Serena Deeb. I would love, love, love to be able to have a match with her one day,” Bayley said about the former NWA Women’s World Champion and current AEW star. “She helped me so much in my early career to get to SHIMMER. That would be so awesome.”
Bayley also named Lita as a dream opponent for her before listing off some names from NXT she’d like to face.
“Always since a kid, Lita was a dream opponent. In NXT, I’ve always wanted to work with Candice. I’ve only ever been able to team with her,” Bayley explained.
“So, I would love to have a match with Candice LeRae and Dakota Kai. Kay Lee Ray from NXT UK, Meiko [Satomura] who’s the new NXT UK Women’s Champion. Even Rhea, having Rhea on Raw is pretty awesome so I would love to have a match with her.”
The full interview with Bayley from Metro UK is here.
Joey Janela and Big Cass (aka W. Morrissey, CaZXL) were involved in a backstage altercation in late 2019 at a WrestlePro event. Cass took a little time away from wrestling after that and spent some time staying with Diamond Dallas Page as well. He was on Sean Waltman’s podcast recently and said that he and Janela have buried the hatchet.
“I spoke to Joey the weekend of WrestleMania. At GCW, I did a show. I spoke with Joey, and we’re really cool, man. We buried the hatchet,” Cass said (transcriptions via WrestlingNewsCO). “That was one that I really, genuinely needed to apologize to the guy in person. I like to do things face to face.”
Cass continued to talk about speaking with Janela backstage at the GCW show.
“I happened to walk in, we started talking right away, and I was super happy about that. He’s cool as can be, and I appreciate him being super understanding.”
Not long after, Janela took to Twitter to comment on the conversation the two had over WrestleMania weekend as well. Janela also mentioned he’d hoped to book Cass for GCW over the summer. Cass is wrestling for both Impact and SWE at the moment, however.
“I saw that Cass talked about our convo, he’s really awesome! I’m happy to see him doing so well, tried to get him in the fold at GCW this summer but he’s become a busy guy! Hope I can make something happen sometime because that 7 foot dude slamming guys through doors would rule!” Janela Tweeted.
I saw that Cass talked about our convo, he’s really awesome! I’m happy to see him doing so well, tried to get him in the fold at GCW this summer but he’s become a busy guy! Hope I can make something happen sometime because that 7 foot dude slamming guys through doors would rule!
— “The Bad Boy” Joey Janela (@JANELABABY) July 24, 2021
Jordynne Grace is a very strong woman. She proved that again this weekend at the World National Powerlifting Federation championships. Grace broke several state and national records during her performance.
Grace’s tag-team partner, Rachael Ellering, provided Grace’s cheering section. She also live Tweeted from the event. She did so while wearing an Aja Kong t-shirt as well.
Jordynne Grace and Rachael Ellering In Impact Wrestling
While Grace and Ellering’s friendship was strong this weekend, it’s still not clear where they stand as a team in Impact. After winning and then losing the titles to Fire N Flava, it seemed as though they were done as a team. Two weeks ago they reunited to defeat Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb with a K, however, after Dashwood attacked Jazz in the back.
In addition to being a former Knockouts Tag Team Champion, Grace is a 1x former Knockouts Champion as well. She held the title from January 18th, 2020 until dropping it to Deonna Purrazzo at last year’s Slammiversary PPV.
Ronda Rousey recently took to social media to give an update on her pregnancy. Rousey revealed she was 4 months pregnant back in April. It doesn’t sound as though she is too thrilled with some of the more uncomfortable aspects of pregnancy, however.
“I wish I could say that pregnancy feels amazing, that I’ve never felt more powerful as a woman. But it feels more like my organs are being crushed by the miracle of life,” Rousey says in the post. “I’ve never felt more exhausted, unmotivated or aware of gravity. Some days I have to lay on my side for hours just to comfortably breathe.”
Rousey also said that she’s very excited to meet her baby. She’s excited to find out what traits the baby gets from her and her dad. Mainly, however, she sounds as though the actual pregnancy is exhausting to her.
“There’s no break, it’s a grind, I’m just trying to get through one day at a time. And holy hell what is all this shit coming out of my nipples?”
“This baby is gunna be some kind of superhero cause I swear she’s eating all my muscles.”
“Has anyone seen my butt? I can’t find it.”
Hang in there, Ronda! Her full post is below:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CRtsSYksAGn/
Ronda Rousey and the RAW Women’s Championship
Ronda Rousey holds the record for the 2nd longest run with the RAW Women’s Championship. She held the title for 232 days from SummerSlam 2018 to WrestleMania 35. Becky Lynch would then break her record when she held the title from WrestleMania 35 to the night after Money in the Bank last year.
Smackdown this week was held in Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage Field House. The arena was known as the Gund Arena previously and hosted the WWF No Mercy PPV in 1999. Edge and Christian would face “The New Brood” Matt & Jeff Hardy that night in a ladder match. The winner would earn $100,000 and the managerial services of Terri Runnels.
Edge recently took to Instagram to post a story about once again being backstage in the same arena this week. He posted a picture of a hallway backstage and then spoke about its significance.
“This hallway was instrumental to E&C and The Hardy Boyz taking flight,” Edge begins the story.
Edge continued to tell the story of arriving late to the show in 1999 due to a hurricane and then having to quickly scramble with Christian, Matt, and Jeff to come up with what why would do in the match.
“We put our demented minds together and the tag team ladder match was born. Which propelled us to where we all are now, still going strong 22 years later. After that match we all came back to this hallway and had a beer. Which we all hate but seemed fitting. So yeah, this hallway is special to me, as silly as it sounds, and I got to spend some time there again yesterday and reflect. If I didn’t make that flight who knows how different my career might have been. What a ride.”
Johnny Gargano noted he was in attendance for that show as a youngster.
“12 year old me was in the crowd that night! I’d never seen a crowd react that way before.. Changed wrestling forever. Legendary!” wrote Gargano in response.
Chris Jericho was backstage and noted that he can vouch for Edge’s story.
“I can vouch for this story!! I remember u guys talking in that hallway. What a match..what a night!” Jericho wrote in response.
Posted July 25th, 2021 in News, WWE. Tagged: Edge.
Following the conclusion of WWE Smackdown on Friday night, John Cena wrestled his first official match in almost 16 months. Cena teamed with Rey and Dominik Mysterio and defeated Roman Reigns and the Usos.
It’s the first time Cena has wrestled since facing Bray Wyatt in a rather bizarre FireFly FunHouse match at WrestleMania 36. Users on Twitter have been posting video of the match:
John Cena’s wrestling in a six-man tag team dark match after #SDLive went off the air. Cena is teaming with Rey & Dominik Mysterio to face Roman Reigns & Usos. Was not expecting this for after the show. pic.twitter.com/TXiQjP7IyZ
— Carlos Toro Torres (@CarlosToroMedia) July 24, 2021
WWE announced recently that John Cena will be at several events this summer as part of the “Summer of Cena.” WWE.com posted a list of 14 events Cena will be at starting with last night’s Smackdown in Cleveland. Cena will be on a WWE show tonight from Pittsburgh. He’ll be at a supershow tomorrow at the rather interestingly named KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky. Cena will then be back on RAW Monday night from the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo. The next time Cena will be on Smackdown will be next week’s show from the Target Center in Minneapolis.
Cena is one of the most decorated WWE Champions of all time. He holds the record for 13 separate runs with the WWE title. His 1,254 days spent with the belt is good for fourth all time. Only Bruno Sammartino, Hulk Hogan, and Bob Backlund spent more time with the title.
Alex Shelley will be returning to wrestling for the first time in 2021 next month. GCW has announced him for their September 3rd show in Chicago.
Shelley was forced to withdraw from Impact Wrestling’s Hard to Kill event back in January. He had been scheduled to team with Chris Sabin and Rich Swann to face Kenny Omega and the Good Brothers.
“There are certain things in life that are just out of our control and unfortunately, my ability to compete at Hard to Kill has been dropped into that bucket,” Shelley said regarding having to withdraw from the event. “So, on that note, I owe an apology to Chris Sabin. I owe one to Rich Swann, I owe one to the fans. And I owe a receipt to the Good Brothers and Kenny Omega.”
Shelley would clarify a couple of weeks later that he would be unable to wrestle until a COVID-19 vaccine became available.
“I am a physical therapy clinician,” Shelley stated. “Physio is my livelihood and career. Wrestling is my livelihood and passion project. At my company, due to the volume of sick and injured patients we are in care of, we modify our COVID-19 mandates as needed. As numbers went up, so did restrictiveness.”
“To circumvent the topic, I could not be at Hard To Kill due to my career. I respect the decisions made by our company surgeons and doctors: I look to them for advice and guidance. I am unable to travel and wrestle until I am vaccinated.”
It is not yet clear if Shelley will be returning to Impact Wrestling.
ALEX SHELLEY returns to GCW and BLP on September 3rd at #3CupsStuffed in CHICAGO!
Kenny Omega was recently interviewed on a variety of topics for Wrestling Observer Radio. During the discussion, Omega spoke about AEW lacking content in its women’s division. He’s hopeful that the addition of AEW Rampage will help improve the situation, however.
“The content I think we’re lacking in is our women’s division,” Omega said. “I would love to see Rampage be home to more women’s wrestling.”
He continued to talk about how he feels they have some incredibly talented women on their roster who perform on Dark. Omega hopes to put these matches in front of a wider audience with Rampage.
“I want people to see and appreciate and enjoy some of the talent that we have to offer,” Omega continued. “I hope that we can get out and show some of these matches that perhaps aren’t seen by enough people. We’ve got a lot of great talent on Dark. And people maybe don’t want to watch our YouTube channel. Maybe they just want to watch Dynamite or they want to see a television product and I get that.”
Omega is hopeful that Rampage will give some lesser-seen talent more exposure.
“I think the extra hour of Rampage, when we get the new program on TBS, I feel that rather than give them more Chris Jericho, more Kenny Omega, more MJF, and the guys you know you’re going to see on Dynamite, I’d rather give them all of the extremely talented individuals that you maybe can’t see that week.”
“I feel that we have a lot of very gifted female wrestlers that have been working really hard, fighting for a spot, maybe it’s time for them to get some more and I think that would count as a variation in content, more women’s wrestling.”
Everyone in anticipation for when I knock some sense into these guys. Next week, everyone. Next week. https://t.co/gVBEuPqcNq
Several talents from NXT have been wrestling dark matches before RAW and Smackdown as of late. The latest to be given a look in a main roster untelevised match is now Indi Hartwell. She wrestled Aliyah in Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse before Smackdown last night.
The 24-year-old Hartwell signed with WWE in late 2019. She was trained by the PCW Academy in Australia and made her pro debut as a 19-year-old in 2016. Recently on NXT, Hartwell and Candice LeRae lost the NXT tag-team championships to Io Shirai and Zoey Stark. Hartwell and LeRae had won the titles from Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon in May.
Hartwell’s brother-figure from the Way, Austin Theory, also wrestled before Smackdown. He took on Odyssey Jones, who is currently involved in the NXT Breakout tournament.
With so many NXT talents wrestling dark matches lately the subject of what NXT is in relation to the main roster has been speculated on by many. According to reporter Jon Alba, he’s heard that internally WWE considers NXT its developmental territory.
“Sources in WWE tell me NXT is officially viewed internally as ‘developmental,’ rather than the third brand as Paul Levesque’s team has promoted over the past few years,” Alba Tweeted.
AEW’s upcoming All Out PPV in Chicago on September 5th sold out quickly and long before any rumors of CM Punk signing with the promotion leaked. Despite this, rumors of Punk heading to AEW have caused a spike in the secondary ticket market for the event.
According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, secondary market ticket prices have increased 18% since news of Punk possibly signing with AEW was reported. The current “get-in” price for the event is $141.
“All Out on 9/5 in Chicago has a $141 get-in price, so the C.M. Punk rumors have upped ticket prices about 18 percent across the board,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
The event will be held in what is now known as the NOW Arena. Previously, it was named the Sears Center. It is the home of the famous “All In” PPV put on by Cody Rhodes and Ring of Honor in 2018.
If CM Punk is headed to AEW, an event in Chicago is the place to do it. Punk has very strong roots in the city and some of his biggest moments in wrestling occurred in Chicago as well. Possibly the biggest moment being the Money in the Bank PPV from 2011. Punk defeated Cena to win the WWE Championship that night. The event drew an attendance of 14,815 people to the Allstate Arena. The PPV did 195,000 buys.
A new challenger for Miro’s TNT Championship was named this week while AEW was taping episodes of Dark and Dark: Elevation. Lee Johnson defeated Luther of Chaos Project during the tapings and after the match, Miro came out and announced him as the next challenger for his title.
It’s not yet clear when this match will take place. What took place will likely air on either AEW Dark or AEW Dark: Elevation next week.
The 23-year-old Johnson is from Gary, Indiana. He has been trained by AR Fox and QT Marshall. Last week, Johnson wrestled on both Dark and Dark: Elevation in tag team action along with Brock Anderson. Both up-and-comers are aligned with the Nightmare Family in AEW.
Don't cheer too loudly, False Leader. Soon you'll have to talk to The Redeemer yourself. https://t.co/gGMVuDd9Ui
As of this writing, Miro is at 72 days as TNT Champion. He’s defended the title 4x since winning it from Darby Allin. Miro’s successful defenses have come against Dante Martin, Lance Archer, Evil Uno, and Brian Pillman Jr.
Darby Allin and Cody are tied for the record of most successful title defences in a single TNT title reign with 8. Cody defended the title 8x in his first run and then twice more in his second before dropping the belt to Darby Allin.
At the conclusion of Slammiversary this weekend, “Switchblade” Jay White confronted Kenny Omega. White took part in the tapings on Sunday and Monday as well. As it turns out, however, AEW’s Andrade El Idola was the one originally booked in that spot.
According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Andrade was to confront Omega building to their TripleMania match for AAA next month. There would also be a trios match on Impact television featuring Omega and the Good Brothers against Andrade and two other wrestlers. Andrade and Impact couldn’t come to a deal, however, leading to the change.
The switch to going with Jay White instead was something Omega only found out about when he arrived in Nashville for the shows.
“The plan was for Andrade to be in that spot, to build a program with Andrade, managed by Konnan, against Omega,” wrote Dave Meltzer. “They were going to do a six-man tag at the tapings with Omega & Gallows & Anderson vs. Andrade and two others.”
“But in the end, it fell through because Impact and Andrade didn’t come to money terms for the deal.”
It is not clear if a match between Jay White and Kenny Omega will take place. If it does, it’s not clear which promotion it would take place in. TripleMania will take place the same day as NJPW Resurgence on August 14th.
In addition to Omega vs Andrade for the AAA Mega Championship, Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo will face Reina de Reinas Champion Faby Apache in a title vs title match.
Impact Wrestling on 7/22 featured the fallout from an event Slammiversary PPV. Jay White, Mickie James, Chelsea Green, and FinJuice were all back in the Impact Zone for the show.
Impact 7/22 Quick results:
Chris Bey defeated Rohit Raju
Chelsea Green, Matt Cardona & Jake Something defeated Tenille Dashwood, Brian Myers, and Sam Beale
Knockouts Tag Team Championships Havok & Rosemary (c) defeated Fire N Flava (Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz)
What Happened After Slammiversary Went Off The Air?
The camera cut away at Slammiversary before fans could see if White aligned with the Elite. Footage of what happened was released by Impact and White did not, in fact, 2 sweet the Elite. Finjuice ran out and ran off both White and the Elite, although White returned to give Finlay his finisher to close the segment.
This week on Impact Wrestling, Chris Bey kicked things off with a singles victory over Rohit Raju. Before the match, highlights of Bey coming inches away from winning back the X-Division title at Slammiversary in the Ultimate-X match were shown.
After Bey’s victory, Jay White came up to Bey to ask him if he had gotten his message. Earlier this week, Impact put out a video on Twitter that featured Bey discovering that someone had left a Bullet Club shirt by his locker. White said that BC is always looking for new talent but Bey said he rides alone. White asked him how that was working out for him and asked him to think about what he said.
Deonna Purrazzo Accepts Mickie James Invitation, With Some Help From Gail Kim
After Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo defeated Thunder Rosa at Slammiversary, Mickie James came to the ring. James invited the Virtuosa to NWA Empowerrr next month but Purrazzo said that James was trying to steal her moment. This week, Mickie James came out again and attempted to smooth the situation over with the KO champ. Gail Kim came out as well and told Purrazzo that it was her idea for James to come out at Slammiversary and it wasn’t meant to steal the moment from her. In a rare occurrence in wrestling, this talking segment ended up with everyone coming to an agreement. Purrazzo and James shook hands and it looks like we’ll see the Knockouts title defended at NWA Empowerrr.
It’s been a big week for Drama King Matt. A vignette previewing his debut in Impact aired at Slammiversary, then he was announced for the broadcast team of NJPW Resurgence, and this week another vignette previewing his arrival was played.
Taylor Wilde’s Return Helps Chelsea Green Pick Up Another Win
At Slammiversary, Chelsea Green and Matt Cardona defeated the team of Tenille Dashwood and Brian Myers. This week on Impact, Green and Cardona would team with Jake Something while Dashwood and Myers would team with Sam Beale. Kaleb with a K tried to get involved from the outside, as he is one to do, but a returning Taylor Wilde thwarted his efforts. Wilde has been gone since Under Siege back in May. Green picked up the win on Beale with the UnprettyHer, giving her team two straight wins over Myers and his teammates.
Later on in the show, Dashwood told Myers she didn’t want to go to homecoming with him anymore, meaning she’s not going to team with him on the Homecoming Impact Plus show on the 31st. Beale said he’ll find Myers a new partner.
Eddie Edwards and W. Morrissey Brawl In The Parking Lot
Morrissey picked up the win over Edwards at Slammiversary after hitting him in the head with a fist wrapped with a steel chain. This week, Edwards challenged Morrissey to meet him in the parking lot. The two brawled until Edwards picked up two kendo sticks and beat the big man into retreat. A hardcore match between the two has since been scheduled for Homecoming on July 31st.
Jay White came out to cut a promo. He said that he was in Impact Wrestling for one man and that man is David Finlay. White and Finlay will meet at NJPW Resurgence for the NEVER Openweight title. Earlier this year, Finlay defeated White in the New Japan Cup. White then spoke about the Good Brothers and the Elite. He said that The Good Brothers weren’t good enough for the faction anymore and said their application for re-entry into Bullet Club was denied.
Don Callis, Kenny Omega, and the Good Brothers then hit the stage. Callis gave White some disingenuous compliments, as he is one to do, but then ran down the current incarnation of Bullet Club as being less important. Callis said it is White who should be applying to them for entry into the Elite.
The Good Brothers then hit the ring as Callis and Omega went to the back. Anderson and Gallows said that White should be thanking them for making Bullet Club the big thing that it is. Things turned into a brawl and while the Good Brothers had the numbers advantage at first, Chris Bey hit the ring to make the save for White.
Later in the show, The Good Brothers challenged White and Bey to a match for next week. The match was later made official.
Is There Something Brewing Between Kenny Omega and Josh Alexander?
Kenny Omega walked in on Josh Alexander’s interview this week. Omega had some words for Alexander but Callis encouraged him to just keep walking. Alexander seemed unfazed but we’ll see what this potentially leads to.
Juice Robinson and David Finlay picked up a win in tag-team action this week against Ace Austin and Madman Fulton. After the match, however, Rohit Raju and Shera hit the ring and joined Austin and Fulton in a 4-on-2 attack.
Havok & Rosemary Retain Knockouts Tag Titles Over Fire N Flava
Havok and Rosemary won the Knockouts tag team titles from Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz on the Slammiversary pre-show. This week, the rematch would headline the show. The finish of the match saw Hogan and Steelz uncharacteristically fall out of sync with one another. Hogan ended up accidentally kicking Steelz off the apron, leaving her vulnerable to a double team from Decay. Rosemary hit her with a spear and picked up the victory to retain the titles. Decay would celebrate to end the show.
Next Week On Impact Wrestling
The following matches have been booked for next week’s show:
The Good Brothers vs Jay White & Chris Bey
Violent by Design (Deaner and Rhino) vs. Willie Mack & Rich Swann
Former Knockouts tag team champion Kiera Hogan has announced that she is leaving Impact Wrestling. The 26-year-old took to her OnlyFans account to announce the news.
“What’s up babies! I’m in Nashville for tapings and you guys will be the first to know that this is my last IMPACT tapings and I’m going to see what else is out there for me I’m so excited and scared but I know whatever I choose to do I’m gonna be the best and that’s on periodt,” she wrote.
Hogan formed a team with Tasha Steelz known as Fire N Flava last year. In January, Hogan and Steelz won an 8-team single-elimination tournament to win the Knockouts tag team championships. The titles were brought out of retirement for the first time since 2013.
Hogan and Steelz lost the titles to Jordynne Grace and Rachael Ellering at Rebellion in April. They regained the belts at Under Siege the following month, however. Recently at Slammiversary, Havok & Rosemary defeated Fire N Flava to become the new Knockouts tag team champions.
Hogan made her pro-debut in 2015 on independents near Atlanta. She was trained by Curtis “Mr.” Hughes. She signed with Impact in the summer of 2017.
This year’s Survivor Series will also be the 25th Anniversary of the Rock’s WWE in-ring debut, in a sense. Technically, The Rock wrestled under his birth name on one episode of Superstars in 1996 before this. He also wrestled 3 Dark matches under the name “Flex Kavana” before the Survivor Series that year. Flex Kavana also wrestled with the USWA throughout 96.
His in-ring WWE debut as Rocky Maivia was at Survivor Series 96, however, when he teamed with Jake Roberts, Marc Mero, and “The Stalker” (Barry Windham). They defeated the team of Jerry Lawler, Crush, Goldust, and Triple H.
Survivor Series is also where The Rock won his first-ever world title. At Survivor Series 98, Rock defeated Mankind in the finals of a tournament to determine a new WWF Champion. Rock would turn heel and align with the Corporation in the process.
The Rock hasn’t wrestled an official match since WrestleMania 32, where he defeated Erik Rowan in an impromptu match that lasted only 6 seconds.
WWE has toyed with the idea of running a single-elimination women’s tournament dubbed the Queen of the Ring for a few years now but it has never come to fruition. According to WrestlingInc, however, plans are in place for the company to run such a tournament by the end of the year.
In December, Sasha Banks spoke about wanting the company to run an annual Queen of the Ring tournament.
Queen of the Ring
“A Queen of the Ring tournament on a whole PPV for itself would be really freaking cool,” Banks said during an interview with ProSieben MAXX. “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.”
With AEW now back out on the road, Cody Rhodes has announced a new community outreach initiative. Rhodes stated that the goal of the new department is to make a positive contribution to every city AEW visits.
“Very privileged to announce w/the blessing of Tony Khanour new Community Outreach team & department! We have a mission to do something positive in EVERY community we visit,” Rhodes Tweeted.
Very privileged to announce w/the blessing of @TonyKhan our new Community Outreach team & department! We have a mission to do something positive in EVERY community we visit – contact us here to help identify the best charities/partners: community.impact@allelitewrestling.com pic.twitter.com/qL63Fcktqz
AEW has run several charitable initiatives since its inception in 2019. Proceeds from first “Fight for the Fallen” event benefitted victims of gun violence in the Jacksonville, Florida area. Last year’s “Fight for the Fallen” benefited COVID-19 relief efforts.
AEW also has a partnership with Kulture City to make their events sensory inclusive.
“Priding itself on being for everyone, AEW partnered with KultureCity to make all their events Sensory Inclusive™ Certified so that all fans might be able to attend and be included,” Kulture City’s website reads regarding the partnership.
Fight for the Fallen 2021
Several matches have been booked for next week’s Fight for the Fallen event from Charlotte, North Carolina:
IWGP United States Championship Lance Archer (c) vs HIKULEO
No Rules – 5 Labors of Jericho “The Painmaker” Chris Jericho vs Nick Gage
Santana and Ortiz (with Konnan) vs. FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood) (with Tully Blanchard)
Christian Cage and Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus) (with Marko Stunt) vs. Hardy Family Office (Angelico and Private Party (Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen)) (with Matt Hardy)
10 Man Elimination Tag Team Match The Elite (Kenny Omega, The Good Brothers and The Young Bucks) (with Don Callis) vs. “Hangman” Adam Page and The Dark Order (Evil Uno, Stu Grayson, John Silver, and Alex Reynolds)
At the recent NXT television tapings held at the Capitol Wrestling Center, Samoa Joe’s in-ring return was confirmed. During the tapings, Samoa Joe offered NXT General Manager William Regal his resignation so that he could face Kross. Regal agreed and signed the paperwork for a match between Kross and Joe at Takeover 36 for the NXT Championship.
For Samoa Joe this would be his first match since February of 2020. He has been out of action dealing with concussion issues. Following his release from WWE’s main roster this spring, Joe moved to NXT where he became something of Regal’s enforcer, although he only lasted a short while in the role.
Joe appeared on Ryan Satin’s “Out of Character” podcast at the end of June and spoke about his transition to NXT.
“I’ve kind of been in this situation before. A younger me probably would have been really, really freaked out. But, I mean at this point you just roll/pivot. That’s really all there is to it when it comes to life in general. That’s kind of the mantra I’ve kept. At that point I think I was already kind of in the works and setting up the next framework for whatever else I was going to do. A few hours later I get a call from Hunter and it pretty much all kind of changed.”
Recent reports have surfaced suggesting that both CM Punk and Daniel Bryan are likely to sign with AEW. This was addressed recently on Wrestling Observer Radio.
“I don’t know if either of those two are signed right now. I would not be surprised if Bryan Danielson signed but I do not know that to be a fact,” said Dave Meltzer. “As far as CM Punk, I know they’ve been talking to him for awhile. I know they’ve been talking to Bryan Danielson for awhile as well.”
NJPW The Biggest Factor For Daniel Bryan
Meltzer would continue to say that Bryan has loyalty to WWE and Vince McMahon but in the end, AEW’s relationship with NJPW was the biggest factor.
“In the end, the company with the relationship with New Japan was going to be the favorite to get (Daniel Bryan),” Meltzer continued.
In terms of Bryan debuting on the September 22nd show in New York, Meltzer said he wouldn’t be surprised if that’s true but could not confirm it.
On May 28th, reports surfaced that WWE was looking to get an exclusive talent-sharing deal with NJPW. Daniel Bryan wanting to wrestle in NJPW is speculated as to being a reason WWE was looking to do this at first.
“While Bryan Danielson was absolutely part of the early talks, that hasn’t been the case of late as far as the major aspect, and one source said he hasn’t been a part of any recent talks,” Meltzer said in June.
Update On CM Punk
“In May, I had been told there 4 signings. 2 somewhat big and 2 huge but none of them were signed but there was confidence that they would be signed,” Meltzer continued. “I knew 2 of them were Aleister Black and Danielson.”
“The other two I presumed were Punk and Andrade.”
Meltzer would continue to say that he does not know if there is a deal between Punk and AEW but he does know they’ve been talking for awhile.
CM Punk hasn’t officially wrestled a match since taking part in the 2014 Royal Rumble but it’s possible he could be making a return to the ring. According to a report from Fightful, the 42-year-old has been involved in ongoing talks regarding a return.
While the report would suggest that there are multiple parties interested, it notes that AEW is the most likely spot for Punk to land.
CM Punk has been in talks for a potential return to the ring, Fightful Select has learned.
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) July 21, 2021
This is not the first time that Punk has been linked to AEW. Last summer, both Cody Rhodes and Konnan spoke about previous negotiations between AEW and Punk.
Cody Rhodes Comments On Previous Negotiations With CM Punk
During a conversation with Talk Sportlast summer, Cody Rhodes commented on previous negotiations AEW has had with Punk.
“As far as the CM Punk negotiations go, everyone heard the famous ‘he got a text from us’. Yeah, of course, there were negotiations and he did ask for a great amount of money and Punk is worth a great deal of money,” Cody said during the interview.
“I don’t think they ever got too serious,” Cody said. “Doesn’t mean they won’t one day, but they never got entirely too serious. I think there is a good relationship there. I think I have a good relationship with Phil, I believe Tony does too and I’m not sure really when it comes to him, it’s not so much about the money. It’s about are you interested in doing this?”
While CM Punk is 42, it's worth noting he's three years younger than the current WWE Champion Bobby Lashley, and two years younger than AJ Styles and John Cena.
Even with seven years off, hard to imagine he wouldn't make a serious impact, despite while some claim. #AEW
Also last summer, Konnan revealed on his podcast that he heard CM Punk was asking for too much money from AEW.
“I do remember when I was negotiating with AEW and they were telling me about him, they were telling me that he was asking for like (an) astronomical amount of money,” Konnan said on the show. “They really wanted to work with him but…”
“I’m sure if they wanted to do something with him and Jericho or him and Cody, I’m sure they could,” Konnan continued. “Like I said, from what they told me, he was just asking for way too much. And this is a company that is willing to spend, so who knows what he was asking for?”
Mattel has recently released a new line of action figures from WWE’s “New Generation” era. One of the company’s biggest stars of that era was Kevin Nash’s Diesel character. Nash recently spoke to Sports Illustrated about what his time as Diesel meant for his career.
“That was only three years of my life. It seemed like so much more,” Nash said. “I came from basically nowhere. There were so many times during my first run in WCW that I was going to leave and go back to the bar scene. It didn’t seem like it was going anywhere, until I came to WWE.”
Check out @Mattel's WWE Ultimate Edition New Generation Arena! Recreate classic moments with a light-up neon stage, the most authentic ring ever & a Diesel figure!
Diesel held the WWF Championship from November 26th, 1994 until November 19th, 1995.
“People don’t realize that during my run in WWE as champion, not only was I green and I barely had 300 matches, but my mom died almost 30 days to the date of being crowned champion,” said Nash. “I was dealing with that on top of everything else.”
“I just remember soldiering on. I buried my mom and went to Winnipeg and worked. That’s kind of the way it was.”
Nash is a 2x WWE Hall of Fame inductee. He was first inducted in 2015 as a singles star. He went in under his real name rather than as Diesel, however. Nash was then inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame a second time when he went in as part of the New World Order.
… Nash reflected on his “New Generation” run, his world title reign, which started right after his mother passed, and — again — left me looking forward to the next time I have the opportunity to share a piece of his storyhttps://t.co/mtPYivoM1W
Eddie Kingston recently took part in an interview with Bleacher Report. During the discussions, the 39-year-old spoke about some of his favorite opponents and partners he’s had throughout his career.
“Jon Moxley. Teaming up with him and fighting him has been fun,” Kingston said. “Fighting The Young Bucks is great because you get to see that little bit of fear in their eyes as you’re hitting them. That’s a lot of fun. Honestly, everyone I have been in the ring with at AEW has been fun because I’m on national television, baby. I’m having fun.”
Kingston would continue to talk about some of his favorite opponents and partners from outside of AEW as well.
“On the independents, it was guys like Josh Alexander and Samoa Joe, teaming with Homicide, who is my mentor. Overseas, you have guys like Trent Seven and Cara Noir, who I think the world of in the ring. I was in the ring with WALTER. There are so many guys and I know I am missing a lot from this list and I apologize to all of them,” he continued.
Kingston would continue to mention Kevin Owens as one of his favorite opponents that are currently “with the competition now.”
Kingston and Penta El Zero Miedo dropped an AEW tag team title shot to the Young Bucks at Road Rager earlier this month. This week on AEW Dark: Elevation, they defeated Cezar Bononi and JD Drake.
Xia Li appeared to be injured during her NXT Women’s Championship match against Raquel Gonzalez last night on NXT. The match was stopped after Gonzalez landed on Li following a springboard senton splash. Li rolled onto her stomach after the move and then was only weakly able to get her shoulder up during the pin attempt.
The match was restarted after medical personnel checked on Li for a few moments. They quickly went to the finish after, however, with Gonzalez pinning Li after a one-armed power bomb. According to sources backstage at the Capitol Wrestling Center, Li appeared to be fine after the match (via Fightful).
Xia Li To The Main Roster?
Xia Li is one of several members of the NXT roster rumored to be headed to the main roster soon. Li faced former Robert Stone Brand member, Aliyah, in a dark match before Smackdown. She picked up the win in a match from Houston’s Toyota Center.
Xia Li joined WWE in 2017 after having impressed scouts during a WWE tryout from Shanghai, China. She is the first woman from China to compete in a WWE ring. As of late in NXT, she has been aligned with Boa and Mei Ying in the Tian Sha faction.