With today being the 25th Anniversary of the Bash at the Beach 96 PPV, WWE is celebrating “NWO Week.” Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and other members of the faction recently spoke to Sports Illustrated regarding the importance of the famous angle in WCW.

Hollywood Hogan On Turning Heel

“Hollywood” Hogan was interviewed for the piece. He spoke about who is influences were as a heel.

“I knew I could work as a heel because I’d watched so much of Ray Stevens and Pat Patterson and ‘Superstar’ Billy Graham and The Great Malenko,” Hogan says. “They’d chop, kick and beat the crap out of you, but then they’d backpedal, cross their heart, and drop to their knees the moment the babyface would make his comeback. For me, the problem was the timing. I didn’t know if that was the right timing to do it.”

“I thought I could be a really intense heel. But turning, after all we’d been through to reach that point, it really concerned me.”

Kevin Nash On The Match At Bash At The Beach 96 Not Being That Good

Few people talk about the actual main event match from Bash at the Beach 96. Kevin Nash noted in the interview that the match itself wasn’t very good. This was partly due to just how long it had been since either Hall or Nash had wrestled.

“That was the first match [since signing in WCW],” Nash recalled. “We hadn’t worked in a while.”

“It wasn’t that great of a match,” Nash said. “Hulk coming down was just him coming down, but it was all about what happened after that.”

“We knew we definitely had some heat in that building,” Nash continued. “But we didn’t know if it would transcend any further than that night.”

Scott Hall On The NWO Still “Making Headlines”

Scott Hall also commented on how the NWO still makes headlines today 25 years after it was born.

“We obviously did something right,” Hall says. “Twenty-five years later, we still make headlines.”

“It was a different time,” Hall also said. “The internet was not as prominent as today. People thought it was real. Other WCW wrestlers thought it was real. We sold the story that Vince sent me and Kev to join Hulk and cancel WCW.”

Eric Bischoff On The NWO Angle “Feeling Real”

Eric Bischoff spoke to Sports Illustrated for the piece. He said the angle felt real because that is how they treated it.

“It felt real because it was treated real,” Eric Bischoff said. “Kevin and Scott coming allowed us to apply that kind of reality to the WCW product. Once Hulk made his decision, I knew it would be shocking and I knew he would be good at it. I just didn’t know if he’d follow through on the decision.”

Bischoff continued to say that he had hoped to get maybe 8 months out of the storyline at first.

“I had hoped, initially, we’d get a successful six-to-eight-month story out of the NWO,” Bischoff added. “I had no idea it would become as big as it became, and still is.”

“Giant” “Big Show” Paul Wight On The NWO

Paul Wight was in and out of the NWO throughout its entire existence, even during its run in WWE. He talked about the importance the angle had on the business.

“The NWO changed the business,” said Paul Wight. “They made it possible for heels to be cool.”

“The reaction of the crowd that night of the pay per view told us something different was happening,” Wight continued. “The anti-hero became the hero, and that was a direct parallel to what was happening in society. And so much of that night was unpredictable.”

The full interview with the NWO can be read here.

WWE Smackdown will air live from the Rolling Loud music festival later this month. The company put out a press release today to say that a portion of the July 23rd episode will air from the festival.

Smackdown that night will be a “split-site” broadcast. Multiple matches will air from Rolling Loud Miami and the remainder of the show will take place at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland. 

“I grew up on Sweet Chin Music, mesmerized by the spectacle that Vince McMahon and co have built at WWE,” said Tariq Cherif, Co-Founder/Co-CEO of Rolling Loud. “The idea of weaving our two storylines into one world, one must see event, is electrifying.”

Rolling Loud is the largest hip-hop festival in the world. 130 different acts are signed on to take part in the festival this year.

“What Matt Zingler, Tariq Cherif and the entire Rolling Loud team have built is spectacular,” said Scott Zanghellini, WWE Senior Vice President, Revenue Strategy & Development. “We couldn’t think of a better partner to deliver such a unique WWE experience to fans during the July 23 edition of Friday Night SmackDown on FOX.”

The festival’s official Twitter account has been having some fun since the announcement was made.

Tommy End (FKA Aleister Black) has taken to social media to post a new creepy vignette. The video features him in some type of asylum.

“I often wondered how many more there were, like in my head? Those voices. I don’t know which I prefer, the endless silence or the constant dialogue. I find them both equally frightening,” the video is captioned.

The scene starts out with two doctors discussing what they believe to be a dangerous patient. The scene then switches to End being interviewed by a doctor. The doctor then admonishes Black for getting into fights with other patients and not improving.

“All you have to do is go to your meetings, take your medicine and maybe you’ll start improving. You’ve been here for 5 years!” One doctor yelled at him.

“I have to agree with my colleague here, it’s been 5 years, you’re not getting any better, Tom” said the other doctor. Black signed with WWE in June of 2016 and was released in June of 2021, a period of 5 years.

After the lights flicker on and off for a period, Tommy then attacks the two medical professionals. The video closes with the words “The Devil Made Me Do It” flashing on the screen.

The video can be viewed in the below Instagram post:

Nick Gage will face Matt Cardona at GCW Homecoming on July 24th. Gage recently appeared on Busted Open Radio and issued some comments directed at his upcoming opponent.

“Listen, I’m going to carve Matt Cardona up,” Gage said on the show. “He needs to understand what he’s getting himself into. I’m going to break a lightube over my f***ing head and then I’m going to take that sharp piece off that light tube and I’m going to stab him with it. And then I’m going to keep it in his skin and I’m going to go right down his f***ing body.”

“He’s going to feel that burn, man. This guy has no clue what he is getting himself into.”

Cardona appeared on Busted Open last month and didn’t sound concerned about his match with Gage, however.

“I have to be a man and shut him up. Deathmatch wrestling, I respect the hell out of it. It’s not for me or my style, but when I dropped him with the DDT, I sliced my elbow on the glass. I’m doing the offensive move. There’s no doubt that it’s dangerous and real. I was walking to the back wondering where the blood was coming from, and it was coming from me. Am I crazy for getting involved? Probably.”

Gage will be putting his GCW title on the line in the match. So far, the only other confirmed match for Night 1 of GCW Homecoming is 2 Cold Scorpio taking on the Grim Reefer.

Gage’s comments can be heard in the below Tweet:

Today (July 7th) marks 25 years since the formation of the New World Order, one of the most influential factions in pro wrestling history.

WCW’s Bash at the Beach took place on this date 25 years ago, back in 1996. The wrestling world came to a screeching halt as Hulk Hogan turned heel and was revealed to be the “third man” aligned with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall.

Eric Bischoff recently spoke to TSN, the station which aired WCW Nitro in Canada, and reflected on the faction’s 25th anniversary.

“I think the NWO, in the storyline, in the presentation of the NWO, presentation of the characters in the NWO really changed the industry probably more than anything since Vince McMahon went from being a regional territory under his father to becoming a worldwide territory and really changed wrestling back in the ‘80s,” Bischoff said to TSN.ca.

“But I think other than Vince McMahon really going national and international with the WWE product, I don’t think anything has had more of an impact on the profession wrestling industry than the NWO and all of the things that came with it.”

Eric Bischoff on Comparisons To NJPW vs UWFi Angle

Bischoff would continue to dispel the belief that the NWO angle was taken from the NJPW vs UWFi angle in Japan.

““To this day, I’ve never spent 10 seconds watching any of that,” Bischoff said of the angle. “I was completely unaware of it. It is a narrative that, I think, was created by a bunch of cosplay wrestling journalists, who tried to frame the NWO in that story in a way that suggested it was a derivative of something else and it was not original.”

Eric Bischoff on Turning Hogan Heel

Bischoff would continue to talk about what went into convincing Hogan to turn heel. The former WCW President would say that he spoke to Hogan about turning heel months before the NWO storyline was even an idea. Hogan was not receptive to the idea.

“I had a conversation with Hulk about eight months prior to Scott Hall and Kevin Nash coming in, where I suggested to Hulk that, perhaps, he might consider turning heel and doing a 100 per-cent overhaul of the character,” Bischoff said. “That was eight months prior, like I said, to Scott Hall even reaching out to me or the idea of the NWO even beginning to form in my head and I was summarily escorted out of his home. He did it very elegantly, I might add. He wasn’t mean or aggressive about it, but nonetheless, he made it clear to me that he had no interest in turning heel.”

The full interview is available here.  

With the Undisputed Era now finished, Roderick Strong has returned to WWE NXT along with the Diamond Mine. According to a report from Fightful, Strong signed a new deal with WWE before the faction debuted. Strong re-signed just before his wife, Marina Shafir, was released by WWE last month.

• Marina Shafir Comments On Her WWE Release

The Diamond Mine, and Strong in particular, are expected to play a major role in the NXT Cruiserweight division moving forward. In addition to Marina Shafir, several cruiserweights released including Tony Nese, Ariya Daivari, August Grey, and the Bollywood Boyz.

A KUSHIDA vs Roderick Strong NXT Cruiserweight Championship match could potentially be as big a match as the division has ever seen.

Strong signed with WWE in 2016 after having spent 13 years with Ring of Honor. He debuted for ROH in 2003. He is a 1x ROH World Champion, 2x Television Champion, and once held the tag titles for the promotion along with Austin Aries. In NXT, Strong is a 1x North American Champion and 2x tag champion along with his Undisputed Era teammates.

In 1985, Dusty Rhodes created the Great American Bash. The first event was held on July 6th, 1985 from the American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. The week before, on June 30th, 1985, another one of Dusty Rhodes’ creations entered the world when Cody was born.

Tonight, NXT presents the Great American Bash from the Capitol Wrestling Center in Florida. Cody Rhodes commented on WWE using the name of an event created by his father recently on Twitter.

“Business is business. They have the rights to many of Dusty’s greatest creations. My hope is that they do them justice and I will never be bitter about his legacy being honored and a whole new generation seeing he was a genius w/lasting concepts,” Cody responded on Twitter.

In 2019, Cody commented on possibly buying the War Games concept from WWE during an AEW media call as well.

“Well, you mention WarGames and I’m thinking to myself, I really just want to buy it back,” he said on the call. “I wonder if they would let me buy it back because Dusty thought of the match concept on a napkin in a parking lot. Arn Anderson was there, I got a witness. The one they do now isn’t truly loyal to the old school rules of it. Maybe I can get it back.”

Terry Funk is one of the most beloved, respected, and revered pro-wrestling legends of all time. The 77-year-old is said to be suffering from dementia and living in an assisted-living facility.

The news was first mentioned by Don Muraco on his podcast and later confirmed by Mike Johnson of PWInsider. Funk’s health is said to have declined over the last year following the passing of his wife Vicki.

“I heard that Terry Funk is in a home for dementia. I spoke with Scott Casey over the weekend and I guess he’s driving all the way down to Amarillo,” Muraco said on the show.

UPDATE: Terry Funk’s official Twitter account has issued the following statement regarding his health:

Tommy Dreamer spoke to Terry Funk on Tuesday and relayed this information:

Mick Foley on Terry Funk’s Health

Earlier this year, Mick Foley commented on Funk’s health in a Facebook post.

“I need to give Terry Funk a phone call. From what I understand, he’s in some serious pain after a lifetime of giving his all to the wrestling business. His hip, in particular is giving him a lot of trouble. Terry is not only a great friend, but my mentor, and one of the biggest influences on my career.”

“In my opinion, he is the greatest of all time, based not only on his amazing array of incredible matches with all different types of opponents over the course of several decades – but for his ability to make it SO easy to believe! No one made the suspension of disbelief easier than Terry Funk.”

Funk spoke with Sports Illustrated back in February about Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley’s Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match.

“If you want to make this match work, you need to give the people their money’s worth. That’s the bottom line, that’s the most important thing. You need to do whatever you can to accomplish that. Physically, that can sometimes be a rugged game to play.”

Wrestling World Reacts

Jimmy Uso has been arrested and charged with driving under the influence again. According to a report from TMZ, he was pulled over by police in Pensacola, Florida at around 10:35 PM Monday evening. He was spotted running a red light and going 15 mph over the speed limit.

Upon smelling alcohol, Jimmy was asked to exit the vehicle. He then failed field sobriety tests and was subsequently arrested. Jimmy is said to have told the officers he consumed “multiple beers” before driving that night.

Breathalyzer tests came back with results of .202 and .205. The legal limit in Florida is .08. His bond was set at $500 but according to TMZ, Jimmy is still behind bars as of this morning. He had just returned to WWE back in May and has been a major part of Smackdown storylines since.

Real name Jonathan Solofa Fatu, he was arrested and charged for DUI in 2011. He was given probation and then arrested for violating the probation by driving with a suspended license in 2013.

Jimmy Uso was arrested for DUI in February of 2019 stemming from an incident in Detroit. He pleaded no-contest to charges of interfering with a government employee. He was then arrested again for DUI on July 25th, 2019 again in Pensacola Florida. He was later found not guilty on those charges after a trial that December.

You can see footage from one of Jimmy Uso’s 2019 DUI arrests here:

AJ Styles was the Undertaker’s final opponent. Taker defeated Styles in a Boneyard match at WrestleMania 36. He would then officially announce his retirement during the “Last Ride” docuseries on the WWE Network.

During a recent appearance on Ryan Satin’s “Out of Character” podcast, Styles talked about wanting to give Taker a memento from their match.

“I called his wife [Michelle McCool] and I was like, ‘Hey, what does he want? Because I need to get him something,’” Styles said. “She was just like, ‘Hey, well, give him your gloves. That would mean a lot to him if you signed a glove.’ I was like, ‘Alright.’ Michelle hooked me up.”

As he continued, Styles noted that Undertaker sent him his gloves as well and also included a nice thank you letter.

“Hopefully that was a gift that he enjoyed. He actually sent his gloves to me with a very nice thank you letter, which meant the world to me.”

During a previous interview with Sports Illustrated last year, Styles spoke about just how long it took to shoot the cinematic style match.

“I don’t know if everyone knows how long it actually took,” Styles said. “We started around eight o’clock, and we didn’t get finished ‘til about 4:30 in the morning. It was basically a movie, so we needed to get cameras in the right spot and walk through some stuff that was going to happen. I have a lot more respect for actors after working on those fight scenes.”

Bayley was recently interviewed by Metro UK and spoke about how the recent WWE roster cuts have hit her especially hard. The host of “Ding Dong Hello” said that it’s hard to not be sharing a locker room with many of her friends anymore.

“For me, the past few have been really hard because most of them are really good friends and so talented, and I’m just like, “What?!” she said during the interview. “It’s really hard not to see certain ones in our locker room and share travelling the road together.”

Many wrestlers have gone on to reinvent themselves or reinvigorate their careers after being released by WWE, however. Bayley continued to say that she is excited to see what some of the released talent don’t.

 “I know that everything happens for a reason in life, and whatever that may be, we’ll found out later, but I know they’re gonna be successful. I just can’t wait to see them all do their thing, wherever that may be.”

Bayley specifically mentioned Tyler Breeze as someone who the rest of the roster in WWE benefitted from.

“I’ve been to his school and I’ve seen all his students, how much fun they have learning from him and the consistent students he has coming in – that just goes to show that he’s doing something right,” Bayley said of Breeze.

“He’s such a good guy, he’s hilarious, he’s passionate and he’s such a hard worker.”

Sefa Fatu is the younger brother of Jimmy and Jey Uso, the son of Rikishi, and cousin to Universal Champion Roman Reigns. He was trained by his father but more recently moved to Las Vegas and was training with the Future Stars of Wrestling (FSW) promotion and academy.

He appeared on the MuscleManMalcolm YouTube show recently and discussed his future in wrestling and differences between him and his brothers.

“I’m more of like a brawler,” Fatu said during the interview. “A lot of fans have never seen before, never seen me wrestle, I’m bigger than my brothers. So, I move different than them. My swagger is different, my body is different than them. I move more like a heavier guy. I’m still quick in there in the ring but my style is more like my Dad’s.”

“My brothers are like the high flyers, I like to stay on the ground,” he continued. He’d continue to say he can fly when he needs to, however.

Fatu was also asked about possibly playing football for the XFL but he says his focus is geared to wrestling right now.

“I’m like done with football, you know what I’m saying? I’ll always go back to coaching because I’ve got so much love for the game but since I’ve put everything into wrestling, I think I just want to go on that route,” he said.

Seta Fatu’s Journey to the Major Leagues

Fatu put out a thank you and farewell Tweet to FSW recently which has led to speculation he could be headed to a major organization shortly. He wasn’t giving hints as to where he might end up, however.

Fatu also commented on the storyline involving his brothers and cousin on Smackdown.

“I think they are doing a good job, first of all. It’s been a year since they’ve been running Smackdown and I think I like this whole storyline. You know, my cousin better ease up before I slide up in there, leave my brothers alone,” he continued.

Back in December, Cody Rhodes responded to a Tweet Fatu posted with him near an AEW logo.

Shinsuke Nakamura defeated King Corbin to earn the King of the Ring crown recently Smackdown. Since suffering the loss, Corbin has been looking mighty depressed as of late. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer, Corbin is about to become a whole lot happier on screen, however.

“He’s changing from this Baron Corbin, who lost all his money in the stock market or whatever and now he’s broke and they reposesss his car and he’s going to transition to ‘Happy Corbin’,” said Dave Meltzer on the show.

In fact, WWE has field to trademark the term “Happy Corbin” on June 25th, 2021.

It seems as though while Corbin is feeling down now, something is going to happen to make him feel a whole lot better. When and how the new “Happy Corbin” will debut is not currently known.

Baron Corbin vs Shinsuke Nakamura

From May 14th to June 18th, Baron Corbin and Shinsuke Nakamura had 5 singles matches on Smackdown. Nakamura won the series 3-2, including the 5th and deciding match which was for the crown.

Corbin won the first match between the two which was on the Smackdown taped May 14th. Nakamura then won the second match the following week on the May 21st Smackdown. Corbin then took a 2-1 lead in the series by winning their match two weeks later on the June 4th Smackdown. Nakamura then won their 4th match on the June 11th Smackdown followed by winning the “Battle for the Crown” on June 18th’s show.

NXT UK’s Candy Floss recently took to Twitter to release a statement about difficulties she has had to endure following the #SpeakingOut movement. Without naming anyone, Floss noted that rumors regarding her relationship spread around the wrestling industry following the onset of the movement. This led to Progress Wrestling hiring an independent investigator to look into claims regarding her partner.

“After the Speaking Out movement, concerns and rumors about my relationship with my partner started to make their way around the wrestling industry,” she begins her statement with.

“Earlier this year, these rumors found their way to wrestling promotions. Progress Wrestling paid for an independent safeguarding consultant and former police officer to conduct a thorough investigation. The case was closed months ago as it was found that everything was absolutely fine, and the whistleblower was informed of this.”

Candy Floss would then say that some people continued to spread rumors despite the investigation by an independent safeguarding consultant.

“I’ve seen a wrestler who has made a name for themselves over the last year by being very vocal about change and things being done properly gossiping about these rumors on a fan Discord server, when we’ve never even met.”

She continued to say that the rumors have cost her partner bookings as well.

“There have even been promotions that contacted the safeguarding consultant, were given the results of the investigation and were so impressed that they actually asked to employ her, but still unbooked my partner.”

Her statement continued to say that even though people say “Believe Victims” her experience is that it’s only “Believe victims until they say they’re not a victim and everything’s fine, then just don’t listen to them.”

“The Speaking Out Movement revealed so many problems and started a much needed conversation,” she concludes her statement with. “But it’s not a conversation if you’re not listening.”

Bayley can often be heard yelling directly at Michael Cole during some of her matches. She recently noted in an interview with Metro that a unique part of wrestling in the Thunderdome is being able to hear the announce team. Bayley also said that she wants to make a match between her and Michael Cole happen inside a WWE ring.

“Oh, I will make it happen! Don’t even worry about! It’ll happen,” she said about a potential match with Cole to Metro.

“I don’t know if people realise it or they think I’m doing it just for fun – which it is fun, to give Cole crap. But I can literally hear them! They’re 10 feet away from me in an empty arena, so I can hear everything he’s saying, so it just felt fitting to respond to it. Why not?”

Later this month, WWE will welcome back live fans meaning Bayley will no longer be able to hear Cole on commentary. Bayley would continue to say that she is looking forward to hearing fans’ reaction to her when WWE heads out back on the road.

“I’m interested to see how they react to me when I come back,” she said. “I just feel so grateful that [WWE] gave me the opportunity to show a different side to me and show that I can be so much more. I’ve been having the best time!”

Bayley lost a title shot to Bianca Belair at Hell in a Cell recently. She got back in the win column last week, however, when her and Seth Rollins defeated Belair and Cesaro in a mixed tag match.

Vince McMahon is reported to have visited the WWE Performance Center this week. He was joined by company President Nick Khan, Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis, and WWE Executive Director Bruce Prichard. According to a report from PW Insider, the group met with staff and coaches in addition to watching in-ring sessions.

Sources have stated that McMahon’s visit was actually a positive experience. Some described it as “a breath of fresh air” compared to what they were worried might occur.

WWE Looking For More Writers

Elsewhere in WWE, the company has listed several job opportunities on its corporate website. Amongst those openings are jobs on the writing and creative teams. Amongst the key qualifications WWE has listed for the position is “Understanding of WWE’s audience (demographic and psychographic) a plus but not required.”

This job listing comes on the heels of a writer being released after admitting on a podcast that she was not familiar with the product.

“So I am on the Monday Night Raw team. So there’s Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown and the people I know that are on it are Bobby — his name is either Bobby Ashley or Bobby Lashley and I really should know that,” the writer said on the Asian Not Asian podcast. “He’s like this giant Black guy and he and the people who are part of his crew, I know that they call — or at least as of last year, they called themselves The Hurt Business. The Hurt Business. They wear suits and they’re like, ‘We’re cool.’”

Impact Wrestling this week continued the build to Slammiversary. Kenny Omega and the Good Brothers took on Tommy Dreamer’s team of Moose, Chris Sabin, and Sami Callihan in the main event.

Impact wrestling 7/1 Quick Results:

1. Deonna Purrazzo defeated Kimber Lee (Before the Impact)
2. Satoshi Kojima & Jake Something defeated Brian Myers & Sam Beale
3. Rachael Ellering w/Jazz defeated Tenille Dashwood w/Kaleb
4. Willie Mack & Rich Swann vs TJP & Fallah Bah – No Contest
5. Chris Bey defeated Petey Williams
6. Steve Maclin defeated Manny Smith
7. Kenny Omega, Karl Anderson, & Doc Gallows w/Don Callis defeated Sami Callihan, Moose, and Chris Sabin w/Tommy Dreamer

W. Morrissey Takes Out Eddie Edwards Before Match With Satoshi Kojima

Satoshi Kojima was scheduled to face Eddie Edwards this week on Impact. The match didn’t happen, however. After Kojima made his entrance, W. Morrissey appeared on the big screen and said that he had attacked Edwards in the parking lot. Morrissey believes there is no such thing as friends in wrestling and he wanted to show Kojima that he is all alone, just like everyone else.

Kojima would end up wrestling in the night’s first match, however.

Satoshi Kojima & Jake Something Defeat Brian Myers & Sam Beale

Brian Myers has been mentoring Sam Beale on how to be “the most professional” wrestler he can be. Myers came out while Kojima was still in the ring. Myers and Beale then jumped Kojima leading to Jake Something making the save. An impromptu tag-team match between the two sides was then made official. Kojima would then pick up the win for his team by pinning Beale after a big Lariat.

Rachael Ellering and Jordynne Grace Reconcile?

Rachael Ellering didn’t have Jordynne Grace with her at ringside of this match as the former tag champs seem to be headed in separate directions but she did have Jazz. Kaleb kept attempting to interfere during the match. All of his interference wasn’t enough, however, as Ellering got the victory with a pinning combination.

After the match, Dashwood attacked Ellering. Kaleb and Dashwood had Jazz and Ellering where they wanted them but then Grace made the save. Are the former tag champs back together?

Violent By Design Bring Chaos To Tag Team Division

Two of the division’s top teams faced off this week when Rich Swann and Willie Mack took on TJP and Fallah Bah. Violent By Design ruined the contest for everyone, however, when they caused a No Contest by attacking all four wrestlers.

Chris Bey Picks A Side

Chris Bey’s plan to regain the X-Division title is to not pick sides with the feuding factions of babyfaces and heels in the division. This week, he took on X-Division veteran Petey Williams in singles competition. Bey would pick up the win after countering a Canadian Destroyer attempt into the Art of Finesse.

After the match, the two feuding sides of the X-Division started a melee. After weeks of not doing so, Bey then finally picked a team and sided with the babyfaces. They cleared the ring of the heels to end the segment but what does any of this mean for the Ultimate X match at Slammiversary?

Steve Maclin Wins A Squash Match

Steve Maclin showed off his new intense character again this week, this time picking up a dominant victory over Manny Smith. It’s his second straight victory in the promotion but eventually, he’ll be in for stiffer competition.

The Elite Pick Up Victory As Team Dreamer Implodes

The wrestlers Tommy Dreamer chose to take on the Elite this week just couldn’t seem to get along. Moose in particular showed little desire to get along with his teammates throughout the match. Finally, the finish of the match saw the trio implode when Moose mistakenly thought that Tommy Dreamer had attacked him. Moose was on the ramp and had just turned his back to Dreamer when Callis pushed Dreamer into Moose, making Moose thing Dreamer attacked him. Moose then took Dreamer out with a clothesline and Sabin then hit Moose with a suicide dive. As Sabin got back in the ring, however, he was met by Omega and the Good Brothers, who finished him off with the Magic Killer for the win.

Coming Up In Impact Wrestling

Next Week:

• Kenny Omega and Sami Callihan contract signing
• Knockouts Tag Titles #1 Contendership
  Havok & Rosemary vs Susan & Kimber Lee
• Jake Something vs Brian Myers

Slammiversary (July 17th)

1. Impact World Championship
   Kenny Omega (c) vs Sami Callihan
2. X-Division Championship
   Ultimate-X
   Josh Alexander (c) vs Rohit Raju vs Chris Bey vs Trey Miguel vs Ace Austin vs Petey Williams
3. Moose vs Chris Sabin

Atsushi Onita is bringing back FMW. His FMWE promotion is scheduled to run its first event on July 4th. Onita mentioned in an interview recently that he would love to wrestle a match with AEW’s Jon Moxley. Mick Foley has since spoken up to say that he would like to referee that match if it takes place.

During Onita’s interview with FanByte, he was told that Moxley now uses “Wild Thing” as his ring music, just as Onita had. This led to Onita saying he would like to wrestle Moxley.

“Jon Moxley uses my theme music?” Said Onita “Thank you, Moxley. I think if he has a spirit of JADO (evil ways), we might stand in the same ring some day. It would be interesting, wouldn’t it?”

Onita would also reveal what he hopes to accomplish with his new promotion.

“I want to show American fans my original explosion match. I sometimes feel like I have to. American deathmatch fans have been disappointed twice, first with the explosion deathmatch CZW held in 2017, and secondly AEW’s. At the time of the CZW show, maybe because of costs, CZW said ‘we don’t need Japanese engineers, don’t worry, leave it to us,’ and I believed them”

Scott Random is excited:

Bea Priestley has signed with WWE. She is headed to the NXT UK brand where she will go by the name Blair Davenport. Last week on NXT UK, a woman named Blair Davenport signed an NXT UK contract only her face was not shown. Another video aired this week and this one showed that Blair Davenport is Bea Priestley.

“I have wrestled all around the world, I have sacrificed everything to get to where I am today. I have given up friends, I have given up family, to master what I do. Did you really think that I wouldn’t end up a part of the greatest women’s division on Earth? Blair Davenport has arrived in NXT UK.”

Before signing with WWE, Priestley was with World Wonder Ring Stardom from 2017 to 2021. She also was briefly part of Will Ospreay’s United Empire faction in New Japan Pro Wrestling before she was kicked out of the faction in rather dramatic style. Ospreay gave his partner the Oz-cutter, something some fans were upset about.

Will Ospreay On Giving Bea Priestley the Oz-Cutter

In an interview with the Two Man Power trip earlier this year, Ospreay explained that it was Priestley’s idea to take the move.

“I understand the triggering that can have with a lot of people, but people need to realize that me and Bea are still together, said Ospreay (transcriptions via Fightful). “Everyone realizes this, right? She’s just gone home. She realized she was done and going home. Her idea is, ‘what better way to send a message than driving home the fact that you will do anything to take the IWGP World Heavyweight Title?’”

“It was her idea to take the Os-cutter. She put herself forward for that. She’s a pro wrestler and a very very good pro wrestler. The fact that she was willing to take a bullet for me, I can’t say enough good things about her. A lot of people were obviously annoyed by it, but people need to remember that there is talking between us and nothing is done without the other person knowing,”

When the 2nd half of Dark Side of the Ring’s season 3 airs later this year, one episode will focus on XPW. Xtreme Pro Wrestling was a promotion run by Rob Black (Rob Zicari) from 1999 until 2003.

Black recently announced plans to reboot the promotion with a tournament on November 7th, 2021. In a video released by Black yesterday, Marty Scurll was teased as the first entrant in the tournament. It is not clear if Scurll will have anything at all to do with the show, however.

No venue or broadcast deal has been announced for the show.

UPDATE:

Others have reached out as well to say that Marty Scurll will not be on the show. Rob Black has continued to Tweet on the matter:

XPW – Dark Side of the Ring

It is possible Black is hoping to build on the publicity his former promotion will gain from the Dark Side of the Ring episode scheduled to air later this year. The following topics will air in the second half of season 3:

• The WWE Steroid Trials
• FMW
• Luna Vachon
• WWE’s Plane Ride from Hell
• XPW
• Johnny K-9 (Bruiser Bedlam)
• Chris Kanyon

The other promotion scheduled to be featured in the second half of season 3, FMW, has also announced a reboot. Atsushi Onita has announced FMWE will run a show later this month.

“The meaning of E is explosion,” Onita said. “It is an explosion. It is an organization specializing in hardcore that is said in the world. There is a request to see an electric current blast in the United States, and we are doing an electric current blast all over the world.”

It was reported earlier this week that Sonjay Dutt had left WWE after having worked in a producer’s role for the company since 2019. According to a report from PW Insider, Dutt was backstage at AEW Dynamite last night. He is believed to have signed on to work full-time in a producer’s role.

According to the Wrestling Observer, Dutt left WWE on his own accord a couple of weeks ago. He had been with the company since early 2019. In addition to working backstage as a producer in WWE, he also worked at the Performance Center as a trainer. He left Impact Wrestling in January of 2019 and began work backstage in WWE shortly after.

Dutt hasn’t wrestled since 2017. He underwent surgery for a torn right achilles in early 2018 and quietly retired after. He then started working as a commentator and backstage in Impact Wrestling.

During his in-ring career, Dutt is a former 1x X-Division Champion in WWE. He’s also a 2x CZW Junior Heavyweight Champion and was inducted into the promotion’s Hall of Fame in 2019. Dutt also held the GFW NEX*GEN Championship in Jeff Jarrett’s Global Force Wrestling. He began his career in 2000 and broke out in 2003 with Major League Wrestling and would then debut for TNA Wrestling later that same year.

WWE has unveiled their list for the Top 50 Tag Teams in history. The includes only tag teams who have competed in WWE.

In a documentary piece that has been airing on the WWE Network, WWE has been counting down the top teams. The final episode has been released and The New Day has been declared the greatest tag team in WWE history.

The full list is below:

50. The Bushwhackers
49. Too Cool
48. The Quebecers
47. Smoking Gunns
46. Strikeforce
45. The Headshrinkers
44. Kane & X-Pac
43. Batista & Ric Flair
42. MNM
41. Nasty Boys
40. Rated RKO
39. Paul London and Brian Kendrick
38. DIY
37. World’s Greatest Tag Team
36. Money Inc.
35. Chris Jericho and The Big Show (Jeri-Show)
34. Natural Disasters
33. The Street Profits
32. Jack and Gerald Brisco
31. The Bludgeon Brothers
30. British Bulldog and Owen Hart
29. John Morrison and The Miz
28. The Bar
27. Team Hell No
26. Nikolai Volkoff and The Iron Sheik
25. Los Guerreros
24. The APA
23. The Blackjacks
22. The Shield
21. Shawn Michaels and Triple H
20. The Undisputed Era
19. Rocky Johnson and Tony Atlas
18. Toru Tanaka and Mr. Fuji
17. The Steiner Brothers
16. The Rock N’ Sock Connection
15. The Wild Samoans
14. The Rockers
13. The Mega Powers
12. The Valiant Brothers
11. Demolition
10. The British Bulldogs
9. The Brothers of Destruction
8. The New Age Outlaws
7. The Usos
6. The Legion of Doom
5. The Dudley Boyz
4. Edge & Christian
3. Hart Foundation
2. The Hardy Boyz
1. The New Day

People have been reacting online to New Day being declared the greatest tag-team in WWE history.

Bully Ray thinks Eddie Kingston needs to “stay in his lane” following comments the AEW wrestler made about WWE recently. Kingston cut a promo following Dynamite this weekend and had some disparaging things to say regarding WWE. He said later, however, that he was just trying to support AEW.

Bully Ray responded to Kingston’s comments recently on Busted Open Radio.

“Eddie Kingston needs to s**t the f**k up and stay in his lane,” Bully said after spending a minute complimenting him. “And his lane is as an AEW guy speaking about AEW and flying the flag for AEW. Then I’m completely on board. Tell me how great AEW is, fly the flag for your company, show me you wear your heart on your sleeve.”

“Don’t take the easy way out and knock the WWE because if you go back and you listen to the fans, they really didn’t pop that hard when he took a jab at WWE.”

Bully Ray continued to say, however, that he understands it when former WWE guys Cody and Jericho take shots at WWE but not Eddie. “If Cody wants to destroy a throne, I get it. If Jericho wants to say F-U, I get it. But Eddie? Why?”

Eddie Kingston’s “Other Channel” Promo

Following Dynamite last Saturday, Kingston got on the microphone and complimented AEW while taking some shots at WWE.

“Because the competition sometimes doesn’t want to hear their fans,” Kingston said. “Well, I guess I’m burning another bridge, surprise. Ladies and gentlemen, AEW cares about their fans. We are not here just to get ourselves a paycheck.”

He was later interviewed by Wrestle Zone and clarified his comments, however.

“Relax, relax. I expect people from the other joint if they’re allowed to mention our names. They’ll probably do the same thing cause you know what I mean? They want their home team to win. It’s just like the NFL or Major League Baseball, man. You wanna go with your home team, AEW’s my team. That’s my squad.”

Response to Bully Ray’s Comments

Bully Ray’s comments have garnered some strong reactions online.

Things aren’t always contentious between WWE and talent that have left the company. Renee Paquette spoke about this recently on her Oral Sessions podcast. During the show, Paquette revealed that WWE offered to help Jon Moxley with an injury after he had left the company.

“Even when Jon left, there was times that Hunter pulled me aside because Jon was injured when he came back from New Japan. Hunter kept checking in to make sure that Jon was okay. If he needed anything, they would have been able to help him in any kind of capacity.”

“So it was nice to know that, that olive branch was still extended, and it wasn’t that heat-seeking thing that everybody thinks that it is. We’ve all spent so much time together and nothing bad went down.”

Chelsea Green On WWE Helping Her Recover From Injury

Renee’s comments are similar to some made recently by Chelsea Green. The former “Hot Mess” revealed on her podcast that she was rehabilitating an injury at the WWE Performance Center despite having been released this spring. Granted, in Green’s case her injury occurred in a WWE ring.

“I reached out to WWE and they were kind enough to let me come into the Performance Center and use their Physical Therapist, and rehab my arm. Thank God. I’m very thankful for that because the injury happened in a WWE ring, so even though I was released, they still take care of that injury, thank God.”

H/T to Essentially Sports for the transcriptions.

Last night on NXT, Xia Li connected with a kick to Mercedes Martinez that seemed to knock her out. Martinez got her shoulder up awkwardly on the pin attempt but the ref called for the bell shortly after it became clear she was hurt.

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Tweeted out shortly after the incident that Martinez was helped to the back and would be taken to hospital for further evaluation.

“Mercedes Martinez was checked in the back and talent/staff were told she’s headed to the hospital for further evaluation,” he Tweeted. No further updates on her condition are currently available.

Below is the clip again in slow motion:

Mercedes Martinez On NXT Women’s Division

Martinez recently spoke to Solo Wrestling about the NXT Women’s Division.

“From what I’ve seen, and from being a part of NXT right now, it’s a family atmosphere, it really is. When it comes to the women’s division, we don’t bring each other down. We really do bring each other up. Each woman’s success is the success of others. When one rises to the top, she brings everybody with her. And that’s really what I love about the NXT Women’s division… the Women’s roster on NXT is untouchable, I can tell you that.”

“I’ve been around a long time and these girls really, really put in the work. And with the facilities at the performance center it’s really top notch at this point.”