WWE NXT on Tuesday nights will temporarily move to the SyFy Network due to the USA Network’s coverage of the Tokyo Olympics. Television listings for Tuesday, July 27th show Olympic coverage taking place during NXT’s normal time slot. According to a report from PW Insider, NXT that week will move to the SyFy channel.

NXT has been putting on big shows this month, perhaps in anticipation of having to move channels temporarily due to the Olympics. Great American Bash took place last week, Karrion Kross vs Johnny Gargano faced off for the NXT Championship this week and an NXT Women’s Championship match between Raquel Gonzalez and Xia Li has been scheduled for next week.

Additionally, NXT saw Mandy Rose return to the roster this week. She appeared on the entrance ramp during the Sarray and Gigi Dolin match. Rose would later appear in a backstage segment with Franky Monet and the Robert Stone Brand. Cameron Grimes and LA Knight are also currently in an angle where Grimes is Knight’s butler.

The only other match scheduled for next week’s show sees Bobby Fish team with KUSHIDA to take on the Diamond Mine. Fish was defeated by Tyler Rust this week but only after being distracted by Roderick Strong on the outside.

Recent pictures of Brock Lesnar sporting a ponytail and facial hair have caused quite a stir online. The photos were from Lesnar’s appearance on “The Bearded Butchers” YouTube channel. Lesnar’s full appearance has been posted online by the company.

“Wondering where did Brock Lesnar go? We found him! The Beast is a Bearded Butcher now! Hang out with us, Brock Lesnar and his new look as he makes his first appearance in over a year!” a description of the video reads.

“Avid Outdoorsmen and talented Butchers, Seth & Scott Perkins grew up hunting, harvesting, and butchering all types of wild game, as well as domestic livestock at the family butchering business, leading them on a quest to create a blend of salt & spices that are not only perfect for all types of meat, but just about anything you eat, and why we say ‘Use it on Everything!'” a description of Bearded Butchers reads on BeardedButchers.com.

There have been rumors the 44-year-old could be returning to WWE now that the company has gone back out on the road. Lesnar has not appeared in WWE since losing to Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 36.

Paul Heyman recently commented on Lesnar’s potential WWE return during an interview with Metro.

“Brock Lesnar does what Brock Lesnar wants to do,” Heyman said during the interview. “If Brock Lesnar wants to return to WWE, he will. If Brock Lesnar wants to take the UFC Championship from Francis Ngannou, he will”

Mandy Rose appeared on NXT last night. She walked out onto the stage during the Sarray vs Gigi Dolin match leading the live fans to chant that she “don’t go there.” According to a report from PW Insider, however, Mandy Rose does, in fact, go there now.

Mandy Rose has been moved to the NXT roster full-time. Additionally, Rose is considered to no longer be a member of the RAW roster. She had been performing with Dana Brooke as a tag-team on the brand.

Rose would appear later in the night on NXT as well. In a backstage segment, she walked past the Robert Stone Brand and commented on it being “under new management.”

In a digital exclusive, Rose was asked about why she has appeared in NXT. Rose wouldn’t give too much away, however. Her response to the question was only “you’ll see.”

Rose’s move away from the main roster can be considered a little surprising considering high-profile angles with Otis and Sonya Deville she’s appeared in. She made her main roster debut on the November 20, 2017 episode of RAW. She debuted along with Sonya Deville and Paige as “Absolution.” Rose was signed by WWE following her performance on the 2015 edition of Tough Enough.

Roman Reigns will face Edge for the Universal Championship this Sunday at Money in the Bank. According to WWE advertising in some markets, Reigns will successfully defend the title and then continue his rivalry with the Mysterios after.

WWE has a supershow coming up on Saturday July 24th, 2021 in Pittsburgh. Local advertising has Reigns defending the Universal title against both Dominik and Rey Mysterio in a handicap match for the show.

This booking was addressed recently in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter: “7/24 in Pittsburgh is listing Reigns vs. Rey & Dominik Mysterio in a handicap match with the title at stake which means Reigns has to win and putting the title up in a handicap match is stupid to begin with, as it just makes the babyfaces look like they are losers to start out with”

Reigns is then expected to move into a program with John Cena for SummerSlam.

Tickets to the show in Pittsburgh have not been selling well. It was reported in the Observer that just 5800 tickets have been sold for a venue that seats 14,000.

AEW is headed to Pittsburgh a few weeks later on August 11th and 13th. The shows will feature the debut episode of Rampage. Pittsburgh native Britt Baker will also make her return to “Britts-burgh” on the shows. Ticket sales to those shows were also addressed recently in the Observer.

“In Pittsburgh on 8/11 and 8/13 for AEW Dynamite and the first Rampage show at the Peterson Events Center, they are at 3,700 and 3,400 respectively. The arena for a pro wrestling taping could hold 8,700.”

Impact Wrestling executive Scott D’Amore appeared on Vickie Guerrero’s Excuse Me podcast yesterday. During the discussion, D’Amore mentioned that he was cornered by AEW Women’s World Champion Britt Baker for a match against Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo.

“I got cornered by Britt Baker down in Jacksonville a few weeks ago and she’s like, ‘When do I get Deonna?’ I said, ‘Hey, Britt oh, come on. We’ve always said we have an open-door policy and we’re open to doing it,'” D’Amore said on the show.

“Sometimes there’s a lot of hurdles to jump through but I think the relationship with AEW has been fantastic,” he continued.

Baker has made no secret of the fact that she would like to face Purrazzo. She’s posted to social media about the potential match multiple times.

Britt Baker Wants To Face Deonna Purrazzo

Baker also discussed possibly facing Purrazzo during an interview with TV Insider.

“Personally, I would love to see Deonna Purrazzo come through the forbidden door. She is one of my best friends and arguably one of the best technical wrestlers in the world. She is amazing.. When she was released from WWE, she was told in a roundabout way she wasn’t good enough. Now she is one of the faces in Impact Wrestling. I was similar in that I was told I wasn’t ready, and now I’m the face of All Elite Wrestling. Our paths are paralleling, so it would be amazing to be in the ring with her.”

D’Amore continued to talk about his relationship with AEW’s Tony Khan.

“We share our vision for a world like that and I love to see it because I mean whether it’s Nyla Rose or whether it’s some of the many other talents that you have there. Imagine if Nyla came in and hid the ring on Deonna and just laid her lying there and picked up the title, right?”

Purrazzo is scheduled to face a “Mystery Opponent” this Saturday at Slammiversary. Gail Kim revealed to the Knockouts Champ last week that her opponent will not be named ahead of time.

H/T to Fightful for the transcriptions.

For four nights at the end of August, the National Wrestling Alliance will return to a historic pro-wrestling venue. NWA owner Billy Corgan, Empowerrr executive producer Mickie James, and NWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis appeared at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel in St. Louis yesterday to promote the shows.

“The NWA is living history and Wrestling the Chase is living history,” NWA Owner, President Billy Corgan said. 

“So when you put those two things together, it’s like a brush fire. Particularly in this local community of St. Louis. It was like the response was overwhelming.”

On August 28th, the NWA will present the all-female PPV, Empowerrr, produced by Mickie James.

“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,” NWA Empowerrr Executive Producer Mickie James said. It was also revealed during the press conference that an invitational tournament will take place at Empowerr. The winner will receive a shot at the NWA Women’s Championship the following night.

“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.”

On the 29th, the NWA will present the NWA 73rd Anniversary show. On August 30th and 31st, the promotion will be filming episodes of NWA Powerrr.

“There are people in this area who for them is such a huge part of their cultural fabric,” Nick Aldis said. “And they’re so excited that it’s back because they never thought they would see that Wrestling at the Chase back.”

Paul Heyman recently took part in an interview with Metro and commented on Brock Lesnar’s possible return to WWE. According to Heyman, he will “burn that bridge when he has to cross it.”

“Brock Lesnar does what Brock Lesnar wants to do,” Heyman said during the interview. “If Brock Lesnar wants to return to WWE, he will. If Brock Lesnar wants to take the UFC Championship from Francis Ngannou, he will”

Heyman continued to list things Lesnar could possibly choose to accomplish.

“If Brock Lesnar wants to join football and run circles around Neymar and Ronaldo and [David] Beckham, he will. If Brock Lesnar to get involved with rugby, he’ll smash every record of any rugby player in the history of the game – and he will.”

“Brock Lesnar does what Brock Lesnar wants to do,” Heyman shrugged. “So I’ll burn that bridge when I have to cross it.”

Should Lesnar return to the company, it’s not clear how Heyman’s on-screen role would adjust considering he now advocates for Roman Reigns on Smackdown. Heyman will be in Reigns’ corner this weekend when the Universal Champion faces Edge at Money in the Bank.

Lesnar was spotted recently sporting a new ponytail and cutting up meat with The Bearded Butchers.

Matt & Reby Hardy’s family grew by another member this weekend. The couple welcomed their 4th child together. Ever “Eevee” Moore Hardy was born on July 11th in an outdoor home birth. The couple’s new daughter joins Maxel, 6, Wolfgang, 4, and Bartholomew, 19 months.

The Hardys spoke with US Weekly about the addition to their family.

“Eevee was born at home at 5:18 p.m., weighing 6lbs, 8oz,” the pair told Us on Tuesday, July 13, noting that their daughter was 20 inches long. “[She was] lovingly welcomed by Mom and Dad and surrounded by a team of professional midwives and doulas … outdoors, during a rainstorm.”

Ever “Eevee” Moore Hardy was born outside during a rain storm. Photos can be viewed here.

Matt Hardy On Fatherhood

Matt Hardy became a father for the first time 6 years ago when King Maxel was born. Him and Reby have now had 4 kids together.

“Happy Father’s Day to all the badass Dads out there that are doing it right. It’s an exhausting, challenging role, but the most rewarding role in the world. I love my three little men, Maxel, Wolfie and Bartie, that allowed me to become a father,” Matt wrote on Instagram on Father’s Day last month.

Bully Ray recently commented on the state of Ring of Honor on Busted Open Radio. According to Bully Ray, the company needs to do something to become must-see TV. Along with Dave LaGreca, they were talking about the Best in the World PPV this weekend when Bully had the following to say:

“As great as a PPV as it was, people gotta get their eyes on it. Ring of Honor has to find a way to make their show must-see and from what I know about the company being there first-hand is they don’t exactly go out of their way to make any of their stuff must-see,” Bully said on the show.

“The most must-see time in Ring of Honor is when Cody and the Bucks were there,” Bully continued.

“They have to find a way to bottle that energy that was there when Cody and the Bucks were there and make it their own. Unless you do that, Ring of Honor will stay in the same place it has always stayed.”

“These guys are really freakin good at what they do but if you are that good and nobody sees it, what’s the point?” Bully later asked.

Bully continued to talk about Sinclair’s ownership of Ring of Honor.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think Sinclair cares about Ring of Honor the same way Ring of Honor cares about Ring of Honor or anybody else does. Ring of Honor is a much different wrestling company. It’s a company owned by Sinclair broadcasting and Sinclair broadcasting also owns a lot of other stuff so Ring of Honor just kind of gets in line and waits for their turn.”

AEW has been licensing music for some of its top stars recently. Orange Cassidy uses the Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind?” as entrance music and Jungle Boy now uses “Tarzan Boy” by Baltimora as well. According to comments made by Chris Jericho, however, attempts by AEW to license songs by AC/DC and Van Halen have not been successful.

Jericho commented on this recently while on the Two Man Power Trip podcast.

“We tried to get ‘Back in Black’ for our return promo after we attacked The Pinnacle in our dressing room,” Jericho said about the popular AC/DC song. “They wouldn’t even give us the time of day.”

“There have been other ones,” Jericho continued. “We wanted Van Halen right after Eddie [Van Halen] died, we wanted to use ‘Runnin’ With The Devil and they came back with $500,000. That’s just a polite way of saying ‘No fuckin’ way.’ AC/DC didn’t even come back with that, but then I see them on an Applebee’s commercial using ‘Back in Black.’ I guess they are fans of the baby back ribs. I thought the concept of back in black fit us; we’re coming back focused, serious, and darker.”

Tony Khan has previously spoken about difficulties in licensing music for AEW as well. He had the following to say during a post-show media scrum from Double or Nothing:

“You can’t just want to buy a song, you have to get responses and you never know who’s going to bite on it,” Khan said. “Sometimes they’ll make—sometimes people don’t even respond and they wait a long time to get back to you. In some cases, you’re really far apart on money.”

Last week it was revealed that John Cena has signed on to be part of a spy thriller film franchise titled “Argylle.” The first in 3 planned films in the franchise is set to begin filming in Europe next month.

Matthew Vaughn will direct an all-star cast including Henry Cavill, Samuel L Jackson, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, Sam Rockwell, and Bryce Dallas Howard.

John Cena’s Status for SummerSlam

With filming on the project set to begin in Europe next month, there had been some speculation this could potentially impact Cena appearing at SummerSlam. According to comments on Wrestling Observer Radio, however, filming of the movie will not impact Cena’s planned role on the show.

“This is what I was told today, the movie thing is not a hurdle,” Dave Meltzer said on the show. “The belief is that it’s all going down, the match is happening,” Meltzer continued.

John Cena recently confirmed he is returning to WWE. During a recent appearance on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Cena said, “Those rumors are true. I’ll definitely be back in WWE, I just don’t know when. I haven’t had my last much and I can’t wait to have my next one.”

The 16-time World champion is rumored to be facing Roman Reigns in the main event of SummerSlam, which takes place Sunday, August 21st from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

• Roman Reigns Comments On Potential SummerSlam Match With John Cena

A true wrestling great and a man who headlined the 1st ever WrestleMania has passed away. “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff’s passing was announced today by his son, Travis. He was 71-years-old.

Travis Orndorff wrote on Instagram, “It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of my father, Paul Parlette Orndorff Jr. He is better known as ‘Mr. #1derful‘ Paul Orndorff. Most of you will remember him for his physique. Many will remember his intensity. But if I could only get you to understand and see his heart. He will always be Pop, Paw Paw, and Daddy at home. And as much as many of you hated him as a wrestler, he absolutely loved you for it. He was an amazing father that showed me more love than I ever deserved. I love you Daddy.”

SEScoops wishes our sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Paul Orndorff. Rest in peace.

Paul Orndorff Remembered

Orndorff was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in the Class of 2005. He was inducted into the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame in Wichita Falls, Texas in 2009.

In 1986, his feud with Hulk Hogan was voted “Feud of the Year” by both Pro Wrestling Illustrated and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Tributes to Paul Orndorff have been pouring in online:

AEW Games announced today that fans will be able to download “AEW Elite General Manager’ later this week. According to a comments made by Aubrey Edwards on social media, the game is scheduled to be released on July 15th.

“AEW Elite General Manager will drop on iOS and Android this Thursday. Get hype,” the referee/video game producer Tweeted. She included a video of an enthusiastic Kenny Omega playing the game.

“Think you have what it takes? Prove it, with AEW Elite General Manager. Draft your favorite AEW wrestlers and book your own shows from week to week. Download AEW Elite General Manager available July 15th on IOS and Android,” Paul Wight says in the video.

The game went through a series of beta testing last month.

”We’ve spent more than a year dissecting the wrestling GM genre, analyzing feedback and rebuilding it in a way that appeals to today’s fans,” said Stephen Kim, CEO of Crystallized Games said in a press release back in May. “AEW Elite GM takes the best elements of the simulator genre to create an immersive experience that wrestling fans will love. We’re excited to put the responsibility of calling the shots in the hands of wrestling fans.” 

Sonya Deville took to Twitter on Monday to announce that Natalya has been added to the Money in the Bank ladder match. She joins Asuka, Naomi, Alex Bliss, Nikki Cross, Liv Morgan, and Zelina Vega.

There is still one name left to be added to the match.

“With all the changes and challengers for #MITB and #Smackdown, I will be the one to establish some consistency for this Sunday and there is NO ONE more consistent than 1/2 of our @WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions… @natbynature. Nattie, welcome to the MITB Ladder Match!” Deville Tweeted.

“You have great taste, @SonyaDevilleWWE. I don’t care how I get in the match. All I care about is climbing that ladder for our team & winning every piece of gold I can win in @wwe. I’m gonna bring home the briefcase for us & I’ll be dedicating my win at #MITB 2 you, @TaminaSnuka!” Natalya replied.

Natalya and Tamina lost a non-title match to the debuting Shotzi Blackheart and Tegan Nox on Smackdown.

Updated WWE Money in the Bank Card

• WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Edge
• WWE Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Kofi Kingston
• Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match – Ricochet vs. Matt Riddle vs. John Morrison vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Big E vs. Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
• Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match – Competitors announced thus far: Asuka, Naomi, Alex Bliss, Nikki Cross, Liv Morgan, Zelina Vega, Natalya
• WWE Raw Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair

New Japan Pro Wrestling presents Wrestle Grand Slam from the Tokyo Dome on July 25th. Shingo Takagi will defend the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against former champion Kota Ibushi. NJPW has now released the full card for the show:

• IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
  Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Kota Ibushi
• IWGP Tag Team Championships
  Tetsuya Naito & SANADA (c) vs. Dangerous Tekkers (Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.)
• IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
  El Desperado vs. Robbie Eagles
• IWGP Junior Tag Team Championships
  Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo (c) vs. Rocky Romero & Ryusuke Taguchi
• Kazuchika Okada vs. Jeff Cobb
• KOPW Trophy
  New Japan Ranbo battle royal

The show will be available via PPV on FITE for $19.99 USD.

NJPW also announce the lineups for four upcoming shows on the Summer Struggle tour. No title matches were announce for the shows but there were some significant bouts booked.

Upcoming NJPW Schedule

July 17th from Korakuen Hall:

• Rocky Romero vs. El Phantasmo
• Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Taiji Ishimori
• Robbie Eagles, SHO & YOH vs. El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI
• Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & BUSHI vs. Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & Minoru Suzuki
• Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomohiro Ishii, Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura vs. KENTA, EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi & Dick Togo

July 22nd from Osaka:

• Tetsuya Naito vs. Taichi
• SANADA vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
• Kota Ibushi & Master Wato vs. Shingo Takagi & BUSHI
• Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto vs. Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan
• Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. KENTA, EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi
• Robbie Eagles, SHO & YOH vs. El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI

July 23rd from Osaka:

• Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
• SANADA vs. Taichi
• Kota Ibushi & Master Wato vs. Shingo Takagi & BUSHI
• Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan
• Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano vs. KENTA, EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi
• Hirooki Goto, Ryusuke Taguchi & Rocky Romero vs. Taiji Ishimori, El Phantasmo & Jado

July 24th from Nagoya:

• Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. KENTA
• Tomohiro Ishii vs. EVIL
• Kota Ibushi & Master Wato vs. Shingo Takagi & BUSHI
• Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano vs. Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan
• Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Ryusuke Taguchi & Rocky Romero vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Taiji Ishimori, El Phantasmo & Jado
• Robbie Eagles, SHO & YOH vs. El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI

On Dynamite this week, a fan jumped the guardrail and was briefly on the stage area before being grabbed by security. The fan, or someone purporting to be him, then appeared on social media yesterday.

“I did this for all of us real wrestling fans, wrestling is no longer a safe space for friends to dance around and play dress up,” the fan Tweeted at Jim Cornette.

Cornette then Tweeted the following in response to the fan.

“Got news for you dipshit, the ring is sacred ground for US, and even if you and a lot of others THINK you can kick the shit out of the Young Bucks, I would have turned you into a tennis racket popsicle, & you’re lucky someone there didn’t gut you like a fish. And you’re blocked,” Cornette Tweeted.

Kenny Omega then Tweeted out some comments that many are taking as being directed at Cornette.

Cornette then responded to Omega.

“You & I agree for the first time–this guy IS a moron, or he wouldn’t have been at a show with your phony ass on it. Two clarifications: Unlike you I’ve SEEN violence in an arena & this wasn’t it, & secondly looking at your supporters I wouldn’t toss the phrase “low IQ” around,” Cornette Tweeted.

Cornette continued:

The co-host of Jim Cornette’s podcast also responded to Omega’s comments.

Riddle has become one of the bigger stars on RAW every Monday night. His RK-Bro team with Randy Orton has become a focal part of the show even when Orton’s not there. The UFC fighter turned WWE Superstar recently spoke to Talk Sport and the topic of backstage heat he had with Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch was discussed.

The Original Bro told Alex McCarthy, “I’ll be honest, I’ve met Seth multiple times and he’s met me and I don’t think we’ll ever be best friends I don’t think we like one another, we’re just two different people. We both love wrestling.”

The conflict between Riddle and Rollins started after Riddle’s partner posted some comments online about women on the WWE roster.

“Calling several main roster divas over the past two weeks for being straight skinny jiggly fat (not to say they aren’t pretty, just to say SQUAT),” she said in a since deleted post.

Riddle continued to talk about how these comments impacted his relationship with both Seth and Becky.

“I know my significant other said something about Becky that they didn’t like and I also did not like or agree with,” Riddle continued. “Seth didn’t like me after that and I don’t think Becky liked me or my wife either, which is understandable. It is what it is.”

Riddle and Seth Rollins Talk Backstage At Survivor Series

Riddle continued to say that he and Rollins spoke about their issues backstage at Survivor Series.

“We talked,” Riddle continued. “I said ‘Hey man, what was said, I don’t agree with it. I thought it was bullcrap. It’s not cool. I just want you to know I apologise, I apologise on her behalf as well.”

“On top of that I think you’re a great performer and if you would ever have it in your heart to work with me, I would love that.”

Riddle said the two appeared to squash their beef then but things still aren’t friendly between the two of them.

“I said ‘Thank you for listening and giving me the time, bro. I hope we’re good now.’ And I will say this, we’re good enough to be working together, I don’t think we’re friends.”

Major League Wrestling returns tomorrow in Philadelphia for Battle Riot III. The promotion will welcome back fans for the first time since the pandemic as they invade the famed 2300 Arena.

The show will kick-start a new season for the promotion, one that has been built up in recent weeks with an official draft. The show is officially sold out.

MLW announced today that the show will air at a later date on BeIN Sports.

What Is Battle Riot?

Battle Riot is similar to a Royal Rumble style battle royal with wrestlers entering at different times. In Battle Riot, 40 wrestlers will take part entering the ring in intervals of 1 minute. Eliminations can occur by throwing a wrestler over the top rope but also by pin and submission.

The winner of the match earns the right to challenge the MLW World Champion at a time and place of their choosing. Tom Lawlor won the first Battle Riot in 2018. LA Park won the second Battle Riot in 2019. The event did not take place last year due to the pandemic.

Battle Riot III Entrants

The entrants for this year’s Battle Riot are below:

1. Tom Lawlor
2. Alexander Hammerstone
3. King Muertes
4. Mads Krugger
5. Richard Holliday
6. TJP
7. Myron Reed
8. Marshall Von Erich
9. Ross Von Erich
10. Davey Richards
11. Josef Samael
12. Ikuro Kwon
13. Simon Gotch
14. Calvin Tankman
15. Savio Vega
16. King Mo
17. EJ Nduka
18. Gino Medina
19. Lee Moriarty
20. Shawn Daivari
21. Bu Ku Dao
22. Alex Kane
23. Aramis
24. Gringo Loco
25. Zenshi
26. Kit Osbourne

The 14 remaining spots leave plenty of room for surprises.

Richard Holliday vs King Muertes – Caribbean Championship

Azteca Underground’s Cesar Duran (the former Dario Cueto) has arranged for his King Muertes to receive a shot at the Caribbean Championship at Battle Riot. He’ll take on Richard Holliday under Caribbean rules, meaning anything goes. Duran is scheduled to be part of the tapings and will be live in Philadelphia to lead his mysterious faction. Muertes represents a significant threat to Holliday’s title.

Davey Richards vs TJP

Davey Richards is returning to the ring with MLW. He’ll take on TJP at Battle Riot III in a match that will have technical wrestling fans excited. TJP will be looking to deal a blow to Richard’s return while Richards will be looking to show the wrestling world he hasn’t lost a step.

MLW 2021 Draft Concludes

MLW has also announced that its 2021 Draft will conclude at Battle Riot. This could possibly mean many surprise new additions to the roster will be unveiled on the show.

Bunkhouse Brawl Pits The Von Erichs vs Team Filthy

This match was announced late last month, but no longer appears on MLW.com. It is not currently clear it is still taking place.

There is perhaps no bigger rivalry in MLW than the Von Erichs vs Tom Lawlor and his Team Filthy. That rivalry will continue at Battle Riot III when the Von Erichs take on Team Filthy in a Bunkhouse Brawl. Team Filthy cost the Von Erichs the tag belts earlier this year while the Von Erichs ruined Lawlor’s “Filthy Island” festival. This will be a brutal grudge match between two rival factions.

Impact Wrestling continues to build up the idea that anyone could show up at Slammiversary. This week on Impact Wrestling, Gail Kim informed Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo that she will not know who her opponent on the PPV will be ahead of time. She’ll be defending her title against a mystery opponent.

This has led many people to speculate as to who could be brought in to face the champion on the PPV. There is no shortage of possible options.

Former Knockouts Champion, Chelsea Green, is heavily rumored to return to her former promotion. Green returning to Impact was addressed recently in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

“Chelsea Green has been heavily talked of as coming back here of late and even hinted herself about the idea of bringing back Laurel Van Ness, which was her Impact name,” wrote Dave Meltzer.

Slammiversary Card

7 matches have now been confirmed for the PPV.

1. Impact World Championship
   Kenny Omega (c) vs Sami Callihan
2. Knockouts Championship
   Deonna Purrazzo (c) vs A Mystery Opponent
3. Impact Tag Team Championships
   Violent By Design (c) vs The Good Brothers vs Willie Mack & Rich Swann vs TJP & Fallah Bah
4. Knockouts Tag Team Championships
   Fire N Flava (c) vs Rosemary & Havok
5. X-Division Championship
   Ultimate-X
   Josh Alexander (c) vs Rohit Raju vs Chris Bey vs Trey Miguel vs Ace Austin vs Petey Williams
6. Moose vs Chris Sabin
7. Eddie Edwards vs W. Morrissey

Malakai Black (FKA Aleister Black, Tommy End) hosted Thea Trinidad’s (Zelina Vega’s) Twitch channel yesterday. During the stream, he spoke about how his AEW debut all came together.

“Once I found out that my contract was a tad different than the usual, I just came up with this idea,” said Black (transcriptions via Wrestling Observer). “We made it a thing to make it available to as limited people as possible because that’s how you keep it under wraps. Security, Cody Rhodes, and a few others. It may have been five or six total people.”

On AEW Dynamite this week, Arn Anderson was in the ring when the lights cut out. When they returned, Black was in the ring. He attacked Anderson and then Cody Rhodes as well.

“I pitched that idea and said, ‘What if we do multiple blackouts throughout the show and insinuated the technical difficulties?’ Commentary did a great job getting that over and it came off great,” he continued. The lights also went out during the Rhodes vs QT Marshall strap match, with commentary alluding to there having been technical difficulties throughout the day.

Shortly after Black was released from WWE, there were rumors that some in the company were pushing for him to be brought back. Black also addressed his decision to sign with AEW during the stream.

“It was the right move for me to make for me, my family, my career, the state of mind I’m in. It’s just a really good company. I can’t say enough good things about it. They have a bright future.”

“Last night was top three one of my favorite moments of my career… It was the cumulation of months and months and months and having this big payoff was worth the pain, chaos, and perseverance,” Black concluded.

Impact Wrestling on 7/8 featured a show-long storyline of Sami Callihan being arrested for assaulting Don Callis. The promotion also continued the build to Slammiversary in less than two weeks.

Impact Wrestling 7/8 Quick Results:

1. Jake Something defeated Brian Myers w/ Sam Beale
2. Knockouts Championship
   Deonna Purrazzo defeated Lady Frost
3. W. Morrissey defeated Jason Page, Manny Smith & Deonte Evans
4. Rosemary & Havok defeated Susan & Kimber Lee
5. Karl Anderson w/ Doc Gallows defeated Deaner w/ Violent By Design, TJP w/ Fallah Bahh & Rich Swann w/ Willie Mack

Matt Cardona Returns!

Jake Something picked up a big victory in this week’s opening contest. He defeated Brian Myers with a Black Hole Slam. The stipulation in this match was that the loser had to acknowledge the other as a true “professional” but Myers’ protege, Sam Beale, jumped Something from behind before Myers adhered to the stipulation.

Something was then saved from a 2-on-1 beatdown by a returning Matt Cardona, however. Cardona cleared the ring of the heels, leaving him and Something in the ring to close the segment.

Sami Callihan Is Arrested

As Sami Callihan is being interviewed in the back, several security officers approach him to say they have a warrant out for his arrest. Later we would see that footage exists of Callihan having punched Don Callis, although the footage only seemed to show Callihan from behind…

With Callihan arrested it is not clear if he will be able to make it to the contract signing later.

Deonna Purrazzo Will Face A Mystery Opponent At Slammiversary

Lady Frost made her debut in Impact Wrestling by answering Deonna Purrazzo’s open challenge this week. She’d drop the match via submission when the champion locked in a Fujiwara arm-bar, however.

After the match, Gail Kim came to the ring and confronted the champion. At first, Purrazzo thought that Kim was there to issue a challenge to her for Slammiversary. Kim confirmed she’s retired but was out there to announce that at Slammiversary, Purrazzo won’t know who her opponent is ahead of time. It will be the champion versus a mystery contender on the PPV.

Moose Attacks Chris Sabin In Swinger’s Palace

Chris Sabin was just settling in for a relaxing time at Swinger’s Palace this week when he was attacked from behind by Moose. Sabin was left fairly brutalized as Moose effectively softened up his Slammiversary opponent.

W. Morrissey Sends A Message To Eddie Edwards

W. Morrissey attacked Eddie Edwards before he was scheduled to face Satoshi Kojima last week. The big man who is still undefeated in Impact will face Edwards at Slammiversary. He sent a message to his upcoming opponent this week by dominating 3 opponents in a handicap match.

Kimber Lee Enlists James Mitchell’s Help After Loss To Havok & Rosemary

Havok & Rosemary have joined forces as of late and this week they picked up a win over Kimber Lee and Susan. They will now move on to face the champions at Slammiversary.

After the match, Kimber Lee was distraught at suffering another loss. She approached Father James Mitchell in the back to ask for help. Susan, the former Su Yung, then left with Mitchell. Could the more devious version of her character be returning?

Tenille Dashwood Attacks Jazz

On Dashwood’s “All About Me” reverse-talk show this week, she berated Jazz and said that she’s the reason Dashwood and Rachael Ellering didn’t become a team. Jazz went to leave but was attacked from behind by Dashwood.

Later in the show, Rachael Ellering and Jordynne Grace would challenge Dashwood and Kaleb to a match for next week.

Multi-Team Tag Team Title Match Announced For Slammiversary

Rich Swann and Willie Mack came out for a promo and said they want a shot at Violent By Design, but then so did several other teams. This brought out Tommy Dreamer who announced a 4-way match at Slammiversary featuring Mack & Swann, TJP & Fallah Bah, The Good Brothers, and the champions Violent By Design.

This then led to a four way match with each team sending one representative. Anderson would pick up the win with a Gun Stun on 1/2 of the champs, Deaner.

Sami Callihan and Kenny Omega Contract Signing

Kenny Omega and Don Callis come out for the official Slammiversary contract signing with Scott D’Amore. With Callihan arrested, it was just them. Omega signed the contract but then the lights in the building went out. The video of “Callihan” assaulting Callis is shown on the screen but this time the footage continues to show that it was actually John E Bravo dressed up as Callihan. When the lights come back on Callihan is in the ring. He delivers a piledriver to the champion before signing the contract. The challenger then put the champion through a table to end the show.

Coming Up In Impact Wrestling

Next Week

• Doc Gallows vs. Fallah Bahh vs. Joe Doering vs. Willie Mack
• Josh Alexander, Chris Bey, Trey Miguel & Petey Williams vs Rohit Raju, Ace Austin, Madman Fulton & Shera
• Havok vs Tasha Steelz
• Jordynne Grace & Rachael Ellering vs Tenille Dashwood & Kaleb

Slammivesary:

1. Impact World Championship
   Kenny Omega (c) vs Sami Callihan
2. Knockouts Championship
   Deonna Purrazzo (c) vs A Mystery Opponent
3. Impact Tag Team Championships
   Violent By Design (c) vs The Good Brothers vs Willie Mack & Rich Swann vs TJP & Fallah Bah
4. Knockouts Tag Team Championships
   Fire N Flava (c) vs Rosemary & Havok
5. X-Division Championship
   Ultimate-X
   Josh Alexander (c) vs Rohit Raju vs Chris Bey vs Trey Miguel vs Ace Austin vs Petey Williams
6. Moose vs Chris Sabin
7. Eddie Edwards vs W. Morrissey

John Cena has signed on to be part of an upcoming film franchise that already has three movies planned. An all-star cast will take part in the spy thriller series including Henry Cavill, Sam Rockwell, Bryce Dallas Howard, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, and Samuel L. Jackson.

Dua Lipa will provide the soundtrack for the film and also make her acting debut. Kingsmen director Matthew Vaughan will direct.

“When I read this early draft manuscript I felt it was the most incredible and original spy franchise since Ian Fleming’s books of the ’50s,” said Vaughan. “This is going to reinvent the spy genre.”

It is not yet clear what Cena’s role in the film series will be. Filming begins in Europe next month, which if Cena is involved in early shooting, could cause problems for him appearing at SummerSlam. It’s not yet clear when Cena would need to be on set for filming, however.

Cena did confirm recently on the Tonight Show that he plans to return to WWE.

“Those rumors are true. I’ll definitely be back in WWE, I just don’t know when,” Cena said when asked about a possible return to WWE. 

“I haven’t had my last much and I can’t wait to have my next one,” he continued.

“Once you do one of these things (a big film), the insurance doesn’t let you go wrestle on the weekends, so we’ll see what happens,” Cena also said. 

Comedian Donnell Rawlings recently posted a photo of himself with Vince McMahon from a show he did with Dave Chappelle. Triple H recently spoke to the NY Post about attending Chappelle’s comedy show along with his father-in-law.

“We all find Dave Chappelle, much like the rest of the world, I think, as incredibly entertaining and funny and we’re big fans,” Triple H said. “And there was a rare opportunity where he was going to be in town, we all had an opportunity to have a few moments where we weren’t going to be working for a minute and we could also go see him. It sort of kind of was one of those things where we all went to each other at the same time — ‘Hey, I saw Chappelle is going to be doing some shows.’”

Triple H continued to say that Vince McMahon is just a normal guy but also very private. He said that when Vince does something like goes to a concert, attends a show etc. that he rarely posts photos from it.

“He’s a normal human being,” Triple H continued. “The persona that people have placed upon him is funny, but he’s also very private, too. Often when he does do things, when he goes to a concert or he goes to things you don’t often see photos from it. In fact, we took pictures with a lot of people that night and that was the one photo that came out. I was kind of surprised myself.”

JTG mentioned on the Bump last year that Vince is a fan of Chappelle’s. He said that Chappelle Show influenced some of Cryme Tyme’s skits and segments in Ohio Valley Wrestling.

New Japan Pro Wrestling will run its annual G1 Climax tournament in September this year. The round-robin competition normally runs in August but scheduling changes have pushed it back the last couple of years due to the pandemic and Tokyo Olympic schedule.

According to the promotion’s Japanese-language website, the event will begin on September 18th and conclude on October 21st. This is similar to last year’s G1 Climax which ran from September 19th to October 18th. Kota Ibushi defeated SANADA in the finals of last year’s tournament.

Upcoming NJPW Schedule

NJPW has two “Summer Struggle” events this weekend. Night 1 of Summer Struggle takes place Saturday from Hokkaido. The main event of that show will feature El Desperado vs Taiji Ishimori for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. Night 2 of Summer Struggle will be headlined by the Dangerous Tekkers defending their IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships against SANADA and Tetsuya Naito.

A Wrestle Grand Slam event from the Tokyo Dome has been scheduled for later this month on July 25th. That show is scheduled to be headlined by Shingo Takagi defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Kota Ibushi. Japan has declared a state of emergency recently which could impact the promotion’s schedule, however.

Dean Muhtadi, better known to wrestling fans as Mojo Rawley, recently took part in an interview with Chris Van Vliet. During the discussion, he talked about his heel turn and face-painted gimmick he had briefly in WWE.

“I was so against that,” Rawley said through laughter when asked about the face paint. “I really didn’t want to do that. But truthfully the sketches didn’t look half bad. I remember thinking I hope when I wear this it looks this cool…”

Rawley continued to talk about how he pitched the idea of his character looking in a mirror and hyping himself up.

“I pitched this idea of everyone looks at themselves in the mirror and everyone hypes themselves up. Everyone has that degree of vanity, let me run with it. Let me cut promos where I am berating them for their shortcoming, and you don’t know who I am talking to.”

As the storyline would continue, it would be revealed that Rawley was talking to himself in the mirror. The angle took a bit of a turn, however, and ended up involving his character drawing on his own face.

“You find out later it’s me, and we can take this whole new attitude and run with it. Somehow that lead to me losing my mind and drawing on my face, I don’t know what it became.”

Mojo Rawley On Heel Run Against Apollo Crews

Rawley would continue to say he was really excited about having a run of matches with Apollo Crews. Unfortunately, it turns out his matches were to be short and fully written out for them beforehand.

“So they booked Apollo for my debut match in this new run. We were stoked, we were like lets go out and kill it, show them what we got. Then we found out it was a 60 second match that was written out entirely for us. Two and a half weeks, then it’s that, then it’s over. I just painted my face like an idiot for nothing.”

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