WWE will be headed back to Madison Square Garden on Friday, September 10th, 2021. According to a report from PW Insider, their sources from MSG have confirmed WWE will run Smackdown from the world’s most famous arena on that date.

It will be the first time WWE has run the venue since December of 2019. WWE typically runs a show at MSG every December 26th but it was cancelled last year due to the pandemic.

WWE presented both a RAW and a Smackdown from Madison Square Garden in 2019. They had previously just been running house shows in the venue dating back to Survivor Series 2011.

AEW’s NYC Debut Just Days Later

WWE’s show in New York will come just weeks before AEW presents a show from Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday, September 22nd.

AEW President Tony Khan commented on AEW’s NYC debut in a press release sent in to SEScoops earlier this month.

“We wanted our first show in New York City to be extraordinary and epic in scale, and there’s no better venue to bring out the best in our talent and creativity than the iconic USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.”

Khan continued, “We love the concept of wrestling in a non-traditional venue and placing our AEW ring on center court in the awe-inspiring Arthur Ashe Stadium. I can’t wait for fans to experience our live AEW DYNAMITE: GRAND SLAM show in one of the coolest venues on the planet.”

Kenny Omega and Andrade will face off for the AAA Mega Championship at TripleMania in August. Omega doesn’t feel Andrade has done enough to challenge for his AEW World Championship, however. Omega responded to a Tweet from AEW and noted that Andrade hasn’t done enough to earn a shot.

“I checked the win/loss record. He ain’t even close. Wins and losses count here, brah,” Omega Tweeted.

“I got tired of being in a company that only talks like you, I decided to resign to demonstrate my success in the ring, mr win….” Andrade responded.

Kenny Omega vs Andrade

Andrade made his first post-WWE appearances on June 12th and 13th for RGR Lucha Libre. On night 1, he teamed with El Idolo and Piloto Suicida to defeat the team of El Hijo del Santo, Misterioso & Rey Leon. On night 2, he teamed with Misterioso in a loss to El Hijo del Santo & Piloto Suicida.

As for Omega, he’s been said to be dealing with multiple nagging injuries at the moment. His last match was for Impact at Against All Odds when he defeated Moose. His last match in AEW was the world title match at Double or Nothing on May 30th.

Shayna Baszler has 26 professional MMA fights on her record. She also went through a very old-school training to prepare her for professional wrestling. Now, however, Baszler is on RAW where she has been involved in an angle with supernatural aspects to it. Baszler lost to Alexa Bliss at Hell in a Cell and has also had run-ins with Bliss’ doll Lilly.

Baszler recently spoke to Sports Illustrated. She talked about coming from an old-school background and juggling the storylines she’s been working on RAW.

“It’s always been a constant juggling act, and that’s not just on Raw,” Baszler said. “That’s also [been the case in] my time in NXT and the indies. I come from a very old-school professional wrestling tradition. Josh Barnett and Billy Robinson were my main coaches, and they’re really, really old-school.”

“It’s been a juggling act to stay true to my martial lineage in professional wrestling, that style I bring where people believe what I do.”

“It’s special. There are wrestlers that work for 20 years to build that legitimacy in the eyes of the fans, and I have it when I come through the curtain.”

Shayna Baszler On Staying True To Her Martial Lineage

Baszler continued to talk about if she feels that Billy Robinson would support what she is doing in WWE.

“I always think about Billy when I get in the ring,” Baszler said. “After he passed away [in 2014], I remember Josh saying, ‘At the end of the day, if Billy would look at it and nod his head, then you’re doing fine.’ I hope Billy would be understanding that I’m trying to do this balancing act between my old-school, pure wrestling style and the way it’s presented on TV today.”

Baszler would say that she’s just trying to show that she can be counted on to work with what she is given.

“I need to show that I can be counted on to nail whatever it is I’m being asked to do,” Baszler says. “It’s easy to be a badass tyrant like I was in NXT. I can totally fit that role. After establishing myself as that, it’s important to show I can cover a wide range of what professional wrestling is today.”

Baszler and her partner Nia Jax were defeated by Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss on RAW. The result of the match means Bliss and Cross have both qualified for the MOney in the Bank ladder match.

New WWE writer Kenice Mobley appeared on the Asian Not Asian podcast recently and stated that she was not required to know anything about wrestling before being hired as a writer for WWE. Mobley is a standup comedian and film producer from Brooklyn and appeared on the podcast earlier this month.

“Yes, I have just been hired by WWE. Given the things that you know about me and my entire life and what I’m into, yes [that’s surprising]. Yes, also a surprise for me. They did not require me to know anything about wrestling but I do have a background in film production and comedy writing and they’re like, ‘Perfect. Come on in,” she said (Transcriptions via Post Wrestling).

Mobley continued to say that she has been assigned to the writing team for RAW. At the time of the podcast, she had yet to start on the team. She spoke about Bobby Lashley and the Hurt Business while on the podcast.

“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. 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.’”

Mobley doing standup on the Tonight Show can be viewed in the player below:

H/T POST Wrestling

John Cena addressed his pending return to in-ring action on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon last night.

“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.

Cena also addressed how his film career will impact his WWE return as well. Issues with insurance have to be worked out for him to return.

“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.

Cena’s appearance on the show can be viewed below:

John Cena vs Roman Reigns At SummerSlam?

Cena’s rumoured match for SummerSlam in August is against Roman Reigns. During an interview with the ACC network, Reigns addressed possibly facing Cena on the show.

“If John wants to get smashed, then he knows where I’m at, when it comes to whooping people’s ass, I do not discriminate. Luchadores, mat wrestlers, legends, Hollywood superstars, anybody. Anybody can get it.”

Cena also addressed how his role in F9 could possibly lay the foundation for a heel turn in WWE during a recent interview with Chris Van Vliet.

“I think this is a beginning to showcase the fact that it’s possible,” Cena responded when asked if F9 was the heel turn fans never saw in WWE. “Now as WWE invests and builds its roster and has a wealth of talent, it truly has many different anchors to the ship.” 

Ruby Riott was released from WWE earlier this month. She later revealed on the Wrestling Perspective podcast that she does not plan on going back to her previous name, Heidi Lovelace.

During this discussion, she noted that she wants to keep the name “Ruby” as it is an homage to the Rancid song, Ruby Soho. Rancid’s Lars Frederiksen is also a co-host of the Wrestling Perspectives podcast.

“I am shopping for a new name I would like to keep [the name Ruby] if it’s possible. I feel like it fits me. Ruby came from Ruby Soho and that’s dear to my heart,” she said on the show. This led some fans to say she could just use the name “Ruby Soho.”

Ruby Riott recently changed her name on Instagram to “Ruby Soho,” another indication that this is the name she’ll be using moving forward. Her location is as “Destination Unknown” – another reference to the Rancid song.

Following her WWE release earlier this month, she wrote on Instagram, “Well… here it goes. I’ve never been good at this sort of stuff. Yesterday in a matter of minutes, my life changed very drastically. But after some tears, some panic and a full box of Oreos, I was able look back at how lucky I’ve been to accomplish what have. I never thought I’d make it to WWE. I’ve been honored to be apart of a Squad of the most incredible women I’ve ever met.”

You can see her full post below:

Melissa Coates, aka Super Genie, has passed away. The 50-year-old had been Sabu’s valet in recent years. Prior to that she’d had stints with WSU, NWA Anarchy, and had worked as an extra for WWE on multiple occasions.

Last year, Coates had a leg amputated below the knee due to issues with blood clots. Her cause of death is not immediately clear, however.

News of her passing was first passed on by the Cauliflower Alley Club.

“Everyone here at the CAC is deeply saddened to hear the news that Super Genie Melissa Coates has passed away. We send out our sincerest condolences to her family, friends and fans. May they find comfort in the memories left behind during this most difficult time. R.I.P. Melissa,” the organization wrote on Twitter.

The NWA’s Velvet Sky posted that Melissa had been helpful and supportive to her during health issues she went through.

Bayley also posted the following:

“Coates was always super nice and friendly and on the occasion when we’d see each other at a signing or convention we were always happy to see each other again. RIP Melissa Coates,” Lance Storm continued.

“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Melissa Coates – better known to IMPACT fans as Super Genie, the manager of Sabu. We offer our heartfelt condolences to her friends and family,” wrote Impact Wrestling on Twitter.

Last night on NXT, Kyle O’Reilly and KUSHIDA faced off in the main event. It was the 6th singles match they have had dating back to 2015. O’Reilly holds a 4-2 lead in the head-to-head series.

Kushida recently took to Twitter to note that 4 years ago he was considering retirement. He was dealing with severe abdominal pain at the time.

“In 2017, around this time, I was considering retirement after every match. I was concerned about my mental and physical health after every match,” his statement reads. “I wrestled back and forth between Japan and the United States twice a month.”

Kushida was in NJPW at the time. He’d win the Best of the Super Juniors tournament for a second time that year.

“During that time, I sometimes suffered from severe abdominal pain after matches. I crouched on the floor with a cold sweat and had no choice but to wait for the pain to pass. I had to insert a gastro camera down my throat at the hospital to examine my stomach. But the doctors couldn’t find anything wrong. The doctor’s diagnosis was that my autonomic nerves must have been disturbed. My level of this abdominal pain wasn’t normal. And, if it continued, I couldn’t wrestle anymore. I knew it wasn’t an exaggeration. And I knew that my wrestling career could be over at any time.”

O’Reilly and Kushida have met twice in singles competition for NJPW, twice for RevPro, and once each for ROH and NXT. Their last match before yesterday’s show was in the 1st round of the RevPro British J-Cup tournament. Kushida came out the victor that night.

“I had a mach with Kyle O’Reilly at that time. It was four years ago in London. At that point, it was rumoured that Kyle O’Reilly would soon sign a contract with WWE. After our match, I talked to him directly. He told me his honest intentions. At that time, I thought it would be great to have a match against him in the WWE some day. I knew my professional wrestling life wouldn’t last forever.”

Kushida’s signing with WWE was announced in April of 2019.

“So Yesterday was special. WWE/NXT universe! Thank you for watching.”

“Our fight will go on forever.”

Keith Lee’s real name is Keith Lee and it’s been his wrestling name as well since 2008. WWE filed to trademark the name “Keith Lee” for wrestling purposes in the summer of 2019. Lee had signed with WWE the previous year.

Back in December, Lee put in his own trademark application for the name as well. According to documents obtained by HeelByNature, however, Lee’s attorney was sent a response from the USPTO recently stating there are two issues with his application and one of them is that WWE had previously filed to trademark the name.

“a mark in a prior-filed pending application may present a bar to registration of applicant’s mark.”

 “The filing date of pending U.S. Application Serial No. 88594009  precedes applicant’s filing date.”

The application is also being rejected on the grounds that “Keith Lee” refers to a person and not a service.

“The personal name of an individual or group is registrable as a service mark only where the record shows that it is used in a manner that would be perceived by consumers as identifying the services in addition to identifying the person or group.  In this case, the specimen shows the applied-for mark used only to identify the name of an individual/group and not as a service mark for applicant’s services because, as used in the specimen of record, the wording KEITH LEE appears only to refer to the name of an individual, not the identified services.”

Where Is Keith Lee?

That Keith Lee and WWE are both attempting to trademark his name will likely lead to speculation regarding Lee’s recent absence from WWE programming. Lee has not wrestled on WWE programming since February. He defeated Riddle in a match on the February 8th, 2021 episode.

Lee has also been sharing numerous ominous messages regarding his whereabouts in recent months.

Tony Khan recently appeared as a guest on Barstool Sports’ Pardon My Take. During the discussion, the AEW President spoke about his theories regarding booking legends, current stars, and developing talent.

“I believe in the wrestling of the past, the present and the future,” Khan said on the show. “The top stars of the past still have great value and can still come in and contribute in a meaningful way. Sting and Jake the Snake are still a huge part of our show, just as an example.”

Khan would then continue to say that he’s careful to make sure the young talent is booked in a meaningful way in addition to the top stars of the past and present. He said it’s all about keeping the past, present, and future all together in an organized show.

“We have a great roster of really young talent. Some of them became viral wrestling stars before AEW. They are being pushed in a meaningful way. Like I said, the past the present and the future all in one. And then trying to keep into a fun, organized show that delivers good wrestling every single Wednesday.”

Khan spoke on a variety of other topics during the discussion including Jaguars football, balancing his various roles, and the AEW’s shows this fall in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

JTG debuted with the NWA at the “When Our Shadows Fall” PPV earlier this month. He defeated Fred Rosser on the show and has since been taking part in episodes of Powerrr exclusively on FITE. The former member of Cryme Tyme spoke to Metro UK recently about how he is hoping to keep Shad Gaspard’s memory alive through his run with the NWA.

JTG was asked what is driving him to get back in the ring at this point in his career.

 “Besides my passion, it would definitely be representing both Shad and myself,” JTG said during the interview.

JTG continued to say he wants to represent Cryme Tyme in the best light possible with everything he does in his career moving forward.

“I’m not just representing myself anymore. When people see JTG, Jay Tha Gawd, they automatically think of Shad”

“I wanna make sure I represent the team and myself and him in the best light possible, and keep Cryme Tyme alive with whatever I do forwards.”

JTG On Fan Response To Shad Gaspard’s Passing

Also during the interview, JTG said that the outpouring of respect and care following Gaspard’s passing really helped him in the grieving process.

“To see it on social media, everybody sharing – it helped me a lot during my grieving, seeing all these things that people were writing about him, the videos, charity, all that good stuff,” JTG said. “It definitely helped me through the grieving process.”

The full interview from Metro UK can be read here.

Last week, an article in Forbes revealed that the only thing keeping AEW from being profitable at the moment is a significant investment made into developing a video game.

“Khan expects its wrestling division to be profitable this year, though an eight-figure investment in video game development will keep the company in the red for now,” an excerpt from the article reads.

Tony Khan recently spoke to PW Insider about how that investment will eventually lead to big returns for his company. He also commented on those who have been critical of the investment.

“I’ve made this huge investment into video games and it’s comical to me that anybody would try to pull it… it goes to show that I think people will try and take a negative out of a positive sometimes because this is a hugely positive thing,” Khan said.

Video Game Returns Won’t Come In Until 2022

The game won’t be released until next year. Therefore, the money spent on developing it won’t yield a return until at least 2022. This is the reason why AEW won’t show a profit in 2021.

“I have made this huge eight figure investment into video games, but we won’t see any revenue from that until 2022. That’s why it’s not going to pay off in 2021 on our books,” Khan said.

Khan continued to talk about AEW approaching profitability so quickly.

“Our wrestling company is very profitable. The only reason I won’t net money this year on AEW in our second full year of operations, which is pretty amazing, frankly, for a startup that has had the level of investment that we’ve had behind AEW and the amount of time that this has been going, that we’ll be significantly profitable already as a venture.”

Khan also noted, however, that it’s not just about making money. He is very proud at the way they have conducted business throughout the pandemic.

“I care about running a profitable business, but I also take a lot of pride in the fact that I didn’t lay people off through the pandemic. Almost everybody, we have a over 95% retention rate of people through the pandemic and I actually had significantly higher than 95%. Almost everybody that we started with is here,” he continued.

It has been over a month since Damian Priest wrestled on WWE programming. His last match was a victory over John Morrison in a lumberjack match on the May 17th edition of RAW. The night before he had defeated the Miz in a zombie-lumberjack match at WrestleMania Backlash.

According to comments made by Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, Priest’s absence is due to a back injury he’s been dealing with since WrestleMania.

“Bad back, right? He’s injured,” said Dave Meltzer when asked about Priest’s status.

According to a report from Fightful, Priest’s back is healing up and he’ll be ready next week if there are plans for him. They are also noting that Priest has missed the last few weeks for other undisclosed reasons, however.

Priest has never been defeated in a singles match on the main roster. His only loss came in a handicap match against the Miz and John Morrison back in April.

Priest has wrestled 13 matches on the main roster (11 on RAW, 2 on PPV) and holds a 12-1 record. The 38-year-old star his main roster debut in the Royal Rumble this year, entering in at #14.

Taya Valkyrie is now known as Franky Monet in NXT. The former Reina de Reinas and Knockouts Champion recently took part in an interview with PW Insider and spoke about the differences and similarities between Taya and Franky.

“She is a work in progress still,” Monet said about her current character. “I just feel like Franky is just an elevated version of Taya and just a little bit nuttier. And I feel like the way people are going to get to know who I am is through these matches and through all the backstage segments and just getting to understand who I am, and also just realizing that never judge a book by its cover.”

“A Little Bit Crazy”

Monet continued to talk about her character and how she’s “a little bit crazy.”

“I may be blonde and carry a puppy dog and wear fur and all this shiny stuff, but I’m an absolute bad-ass that has no problem having a street fight at a moment’s notice,” Monet continued. “I am a little bit crazy. There’s a reason they call me La Wera Loca, and I have been that for 10 years. 

“So, I think that I’m going to surprise a lot of people, because they’re going to be too quick to judge from what they see. But it’s just going to take time and it’s going to take having killer matches, which I know I will do. And yeah, it’s going to be very interesting, but I’m super excited and just growing with my fans.”

As Taya Valkyrie, Monet has won numerous titles in wrestling. She is a 3x Reina de Reinas Champion in AAA. In Impact, she holds the record for the longest single-reign with the Knockouts title in history as well.

Monet defeated Cora Jade in her debut on the NXT brand. She is scheduled to have her second match on tonight’s show. Her opponent has yet to be named, however.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help former TNA commentator Don West as he battles brain lymphoma. West’s diagnosis was revealed last week when he posted a letter to the News Radio 560 KPQ website. The station hosts “The Don West Show” which the 58-year-old is hoping to return to.

“I am praying the chemotherapy will help me heal faster and hopefully I’ll be back on the radio soon,” West wrote in his letter.

As of this writing, 80 people have donated a total of $6,364 to the fund. Many of the donations to the fund have been made anonymously. A few notable names have made sizeable donations with their names attached, however, including Max Castor and Matt Cardona.

“Don is a devoted husband to his beautiful wife Terri.  He has been blessed to work with and meet so many people through his work with the Shop at Home Network, TNA Wrestling, the Wenatchee Wild Hockey Team, and most recently with Cherry Creek Media and News Radio 560 KPQ radio station and the Don West Show,” a description of the GoFundMe reads.

“Don and Terri would like to thank you for the outpouring of love and prayers since the announcement and for coming alongside them on this health journey.  And he is anxious to return to his show!”

Sami Zayn defeated Kevin Owens last night at WWE Hell in a Cell 2021. Owens appeared to have gone into the match still suffering from injuries sustained on Smackdown last Friday night. Owens was pinned by Commander Azeez in a tag-team match after taking the Nigerian Nail to the throat. Zayn took advantage of his rival’s injury and picked up the win with a Heluva Kick after Owens had landed throat first on the ropes.

Owens took to social media earlier this morning and say he “needs a little break.”

Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn

During their time in WWE, Owens and Zayn have wrestled each other on WWE programming in singles matches 16x. Including house shows, they’ve wrestled each other 56x. Of the 16 matches that have taken place on WWE television, Owens has won 9, Zayn has won 4, and another 3 went to a no-contest.

Owens is a 7x champion in WWE. He’s held the Universal Championship once, the NXT Championship once, the Intercontinental title twice and the United States Championship 3x. As for Zayn, he is a 1x NXT Champion and a 2x Intercontinental Champion as well.

As a team, Owens and Zayn (as Kevin Steen & El Generico) are also former ROH Tag Team Champions. They’ve also won the PWG Tag Team Championships together twice. In 2010, the Generico vs Steen rivalry was voted “Feud of the Year” by the readers of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

There have been several reports lately that WWE may be second-guessing the decision to release Aleister Black (aka Tommy End) from the company. Black was released earlier this month despite having seemingly just started a program with Big E on Smackdown. His free agency was addressed recently on Wrestling Observer Radio.

A question was asked on the show about if WWE would have to re-sign Black to bring him back.

“They would have to re-sign him, it’s like with Drake Maverick, they did have to re-sign him,” Meltzer said.

“I know that a lot of guys that they have cut over the years have then been offered new contracts for far less money and very few of them go back,” he continued.

Black is in his 90-day no compete window. He would not be free to to negotiate with other companies until the end of August or beginning of September. WWE has exclusive negotiating rights with Black during this time. Despite this, it is being reported that Black is expected to end up in AEW.

“Unofficially, because you are not allowed to negotiate and all that but I certainly have heard at one point not many days ago to expect him in AEW,” Meltzer said. “Officially, there’s no deal and there can’t be a deal until end of August, I think.”

Amanda Huber is remembering her late husband Brodie Lee (Jon Huber) on Father’s Day. She took to social media to post a message about how great a father Brodie was.

“My husband was human and by no means a perfect person. What he was however, was the most incredible father I had ever seen. Nobody loved these 2 wild boys as much as he did,” Amanda wrote on Instagram.

“He became the most dedicated father I had ever seen. Brodie became his entire world. He held me tight after multiple miscarriages until our little rainbow Rhino came along. Those little boys were his reason for doing everything. Anyone who met Jon knew of his love for his kids and how proud he was to be a dad.”

Amanda Huber also noted recently that Brodie Lee Jr. (-1) missed some AEW tapings recently due to his grades slipping. He got them back up and was back on the show pretty quickly, however.

“100% He stopped doing his work so he lost privileges,” wrote Amanda of her son, Brodie. “I don’t make any money off any appearances he does at AEW, it’s purely for fun. It’s his favorite place in the world and a reward for hard work. He managed to finish his school year with all A’s & B’s despite slipping up a bit. I’m very proud of him.”

Aiden English Pays Tribute To Brodie Lee

Amanda Huber wasn’t the only one paying tribute to Brodie Lee today. Matthew Rehwoldt, the former Aiden English, also spoke about Brodie Lee. He posted the following to Twitter:

“I’m taking today to wish a Happy Father’s Day to the memory of my friend Jon – who was one of the best dads I’ve EVER seen, bar none. And to my friend Amanda, a superhero who continues to raise their beautiful kids.”

Impact Wrestling roster members Sami Callihan and Jessicka Havok announced their engagement today on social media. According to comments Havok posted to Instagram, Callihan proposed immediately following a video game live stream she was doing.

“So, I just ended a live stream of the mothman statue at the mothman museum, just to have Sami on one knee when I turned around. I almost couldn’t believe it. I am so overwhelmed with happiness. 
I didn’t know how to react, so I started crying. Lol, tears of joy. I don’t know what to say,” she wrote On Instagram. “P.s. I said yes.”

Sami Callihan and Jessicka Havok

Havok is in her 2nd stint with Impact Wrestling currently. She was with the company from 2014-15. Havok won the Knockouts Championship during this run. She returned in 2019 and lately has been growing an alliance with Rosemary. They seem to be about to feud with Knockouts tag-team champions, Fire N Flava (Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz).

As for Callihan, he’s preparing to challenge Kenny Omega for the Impact World Championship in the main event of Slammiversary next month. Callihan is already a former 1x Impact World Champion. He defeated Brian Cage for the title on the promotion’s first show on AXS TV.

Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows have been announced for multiple upcoming shows with New Japan Pro Wrestling. This week on New Japan Strong, the promotion revealed Anderson and Gallows will take part in a single-elimination tag-team tournament.

The “Tag Team Turbulence” tournament will air on episodes of New Japan Strong thought the second half of July. All 4 first-round matches will take place on the July 16th episode.

NJPW Tag-Team Turbulence First Round Matches (July 16th):

• The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) vs. Clark Connors & TJP
• Yuji Nagata & Ren Narita vs. Fred Yehi & Wheeler Yuta
• Kevin Knight & The DKC vs. Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs
• Brody King & Chris Dickinson vs. JR Kratos & Danny Limelight

In addition to taking part in shows on New Japan Strong, Anderson and Gallows have also been announced for the NJPW Resurgence Show. The event will take place on August 14th from The Torch at the LA Coliseum. Other announced competitors for that show include Jon Moxley, Jay White, Tom Lawlor, Juice Robinson, David Finlay and more.

Anderson and Gallows are 3x IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions in NJPW. Anderson is a founding member of Bullet Club in 2013. They also won the World Tag League Tournament in 2013.

AEW is set to go back on the road July 7th. The promotion spent the majority of the pandemic running shows from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville. During a recent interview with UPI, Tony Khan was asked why AEW never decided to do a video wall similar to what many sports and WWE ended up doing.

Khan noted that he did get some pressure to run his pandemic shows with virtual fans.

“I didn’t want to have a video wall, and I pushed back when I got pushed to do a video wall. It was a fine idea and WWE did it, but it wasn’t what I wanted to do. I respect it, it’s good and it’s economical, but I wanted to continue to find a way to do the shows for the fans every week. And the fans at Daily’s Place supported us. We built like a wrestling territory having a weekly audience. I’m really proud of that.”

“And the fans at Daily’s Place supported us. We built like a wrestling territory having a weekly audience. I’m really proud of that.”

AEW’s first four shows back on the road will be special branded episodes. The first show back “Road Rager” on July 7th will feature Cody Rhodes vs QT Marshall in a strap match. Following Road Ragers, 2 nights of Fyter Fest will lead into Fight for the Fallen at the end of July from Charlotte.

Dori Prange, better known to WWE fans as Ruby Riott, was released from the company this spring after having been with them since 2016. Before signing with WWE, Riott was known as Heidi Lovelace. According to comments she made recently while on the Wrestling Perspectives podcast, she will not be returning to that name.

“A lot of people think that I’m going back to Heidi Lovelace. There are a multitude of reasons why I don’t want to do that. I was not a fan of that name,” Riott said on the show (transcriptions via Fightful). “It was given to me by the people who trained me in the backyard. They were watching Raw and a commercial for The Hills came on and they were like ‘Heidi, that’s a name’ and they gave it to me.”

Riott also spoke about not liking the name Lovelace either.

“Nobody ever pronounced Lovelace correctly. Why come up with a wrestling name that people can’t pronounce? That’s a terrible idea. A lot of people thought I was going to go back to it. I have no intentions of going back to Heidi Lovelace.”

Finally, Riott spoke about wanting to keep the name Ruby. She noted that it comes from the Rancid song, Ruby Soho.

“I am shopping for a new name I would like to keep [the name Ruby] if it’s possible. I feel like it fits me. Ruby came from Ruby Soho and that’s dear to my heart.”

Riott wrestled for 6 years for promotions such as SHIMMER, World Wonder Ring Stardom, CHIKARA, SHINE, and the Insane Clown Posse’s Juggalo Championship Wrestling before signing with WWE. She’s won titles with Ohio Valley Wrestling, Shimmer and many other promotions. Riott never won a championship during her WWE career.

Tammy Sytch (aka Sunny) was released from prison earlier this month. She had been housed at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution since July 2020.

Sytch released a statement to WrestleZone on her release and future plans.

“To my fans and the pro wrestling community:

“I am happy to be finished with my sentence and I am anxious to start the next chapter of my life. I am healthy and happy and feel great.”

“The incident which led to this last incarceration stemmed from some major misunderstandings. However I accept responsibility and have used this time to make a better me and put my past mistakes behind me. I have now served my sentence for the PA and NJ issues and will focus on the future.”

Sytch continued to say that she’ll be spending the next bit focusing on caring for her mother. She’ll make decisions on the next steps for her professional life in the coming months.

“I am focused at present on caring for my mother who is in a nursing home and spending time with her. I will take a couple months this summer and decide what my next steps are professionally and make decisions about where I’d like to live and work.”

Sytch took the time to thank her family and friends for their support. She also revealed that her attorney is Stephen P New, who has sort of made a name for himself in wrestling circles in recent years.

“I want to thank my sister Lori and my mom for their wonderful support. I want to thank my fans and friends who have always supported me no matter what. James, for getting me through these last four months. I don’t know what I would do without you. I love you all. And I would like to thank my legal team of David Sebelin in PA, John Flynn in NJ and of course Stephen P New, my attorney and friend.”

Tammy Sytch Legal Problems

Sytch had been paroled last February after being incarcerated for about a year due to multiple DUI convictions. She was arrested again in July, however. This led to her being sent to prison and her parole being revoked. Her most recent charges were for 2 counts of violating a domestic restraining order, driving with a suspended license, and evading a police officer.

“God gives his toughest battles to his strongest warriors, and I will bounce back better than ever before. I am the Taminator. I’ll be back.

Peace, Love and Sunshine,

Tamara”

Piper Niven made her WWE main roster debut this week on RAW. Eva Marie was scheduled to face Naomi but when ring entrances took place, she was joined by Niven. The NXT UK star then wrestled and defeated Naomi seemingly on Eva’s behalf.

Earlier this week, it was reported that the name “Doudrop” had been pitched for Niven. On June 14th, WWE filed to trademark the term “Doudrop” for wrestling purposes.

Piper Niven/Doudrop In WWE

Niven has wrestled 19 singles matches in her WWE career. She’s amassed an impressive 14-5 record. Her only losses have come to Toni Storm, Rhea Ripley, Kay Lee Ray (2x) and Jinny. Some of her most impressive victories have been over Rhea Ripley, Jinny, Zelina Vega, Raquel Gonzalez, Killer Kelly, and Serena Deeb (2017 Mae Young Classic).

The 30-year-old made her pro-debut as a teenager in 2009. She’s won championships in ICW, PCW, Pro Wrestling EVE, World of Sport Wrestling, and World Wonder Ring Stardom.

Piper Niven On Body Shaming

Niven took to social media this week to comment on some messages of body shaming she’s received since appearing on RAW. Several other people fro the wrestling world have commented as well.

“Successful big people are often met with this because we remind people of their own shortcomings, they want to believe that success is only for the “perfect people” and that’s why they didn’t achieve their dreams and we prove them wrong. Don’t even worry about them, I don’t,” she wrote on Twitter.

Today is Liberty Iris Runnels’ first day in the world. Cody and Brandi Rhodes have announced that their daughter was born today. The father noted on Instagram that Liberty weighs 6lbs 12oz.

Liberty will be just 3 days younger than Jon Moxley & Renee Paquette’s daughter who was also born earlier this week.

In an interview with the Buzz on Newsday in February, Cody spoke about bringing his daughter into the wrestling world.

“I’m so proud of being a pro wrestler,” Cody said. “I’ll definitely be bringing he or she, whenever I’m told or whenever Brandi lets me know, I’ll bring them around it. The sky’s the limit for a baby Rhodes, that’s for sure.”

Shortly after it was revealed she was pregnant, Brandi Rhodes spoke to PEOPLE about the news.

“Cody and I are so excited and overwhelmed by this news,” Brandi said. “We’ve had seven exciting years of marriage, worked together to grow our careers and our core at AEW from the ground up, and now here we are embarking on another incredible chapter.”

“We have always talked about it as a future, and it turns out that the future is now,” she added. “It’s surreal that parenthood is right around the corner! We are ready and excited to dive right in.”

Congratulations to the new parents!