Matt Riddle is now just Riddle in WWE. The news was revealed yesterday and his name was officially changed on WWE.com. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the change was made to prevent fans from googling his name and finding out about the lawsuit from Riddle’s accuser.
“The company made the decision to drop Matt Riddle’s first name, and now he’s just ‘Riddle.’ The story was that they wanted to not have people google ‘Matt Riddle’ and come up with the details of the lawsuit against him and WWE,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
Riddle released a Tweet saying he was fine with the decision, however.
People it’s okay I’ve been called Riddle most my life, I actually prefer it and it’s my real last name ? #bro#stallion#RIDDLE
Booker T recently stated that Riddle should consider no longer wrestling in barefoot. He said as much on his radio show recently.
“I’m just saying if you’re trying to get to the World Heavyweight Championship or Universal championship, there has always been a certain look that you must have. When I’m talking Matt Riddle, I’m thinking from a promoter’s perspective. That’s all I’m thinking about,” Booker said.
Riddle then mentioned Booker T in the below Tweet:
WWE’s 3rd Party ban has gone into effect for Twitch channels owned and operated by members of its roster. AJ Styles released a statement that his channel was being temporarily “suspended.” He also noted he plans to return to Twitch once everything has been worked out, however.
“I want to thank you all for the great memories on Mixer and Twitch. I will cherish these memories and I love everyone of you that have made this possible and supported me. As many of you know, WWE is making some changes that involve streaming. We will see what the future holds in that regard.”
“With that being said, I will be suspending the ‘Stylesclash’ stream. This isn’t good bye, but this is see you sometime in the future … Again, this isn’t the end it’s just a pause. Thank you again for your support.”
Mia Yim also put out a Tweet stating that she would no longer be streaming for the time being as well.
Sorry guys, no more stream for the time being. Thank you for making these past few difficult months manageable. It’s not goodbye, it’s see you later. ? https://t.co/9XHbOikGLL
Chelsea Green’s last official match was on May 27th, 2020. She teamed with Charlotte Flair on NXT and defeated the team of Io Shirai and Rhea Ripley. Green also dumped her manager, Robert Stone, and everything seemed set for her to head to the main roster. She’s still never debuted there, however.
According to a report from Fightful Select, the creative for Green’s main roster debut was scrapped after Paul Heyman was removed from his position of Executive Director of RAW. Vanessa Borne is also said to be in a similar position.
The 29-year-old from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada is a graduate of Lance Storm’s Storm Wrestling Academy. Under her “Hot Mess” Laurel Van Ness persona, she is a former Knockouts Champion with Impact Wrestling. In storyline, she was expecting to get married to Braxton Sutter (aka the Blade) but he later confessed his love for his real-life wife, Allie. Green’s character did not respond well to the news.
Weddings haven't always gone smoothly in IMPACT history – like the insane spectacle that was the wedding of Laurel Van Ness and Braxton Sutter in 2017.
32-year-old Vanessa Borne is a 5-year pro trained by Gangrel and Rikishi. She started with WWE back in 2016. Borne hasn’t wrestled a match since January. She had previously been in a team with Aliyah in NXT.
During a match between Retribution and the Hurt Business on RAW this week, Reckoning (aka Mia Yim) entered the ring and appeared to believe there was something crawling on her skin. She could be heard saying “get them off me” before her character screamed and fell to the mat. It would later be played off as a ruse she played to give her team an advantage.
According to a report from Fightful Select, Vince McMahon’s original idea was for her to fake like she was having a seizure. It was said that people spoke up about how this idea would be in bad taste, however.
Reckoning has been Tweeting about the segment. She noted that she would not fake a medical condition.
Mia Yim hasn’t actually wrestled a match yet since being called up to the main roster with Retribution. Her last match was in NXT back in August where she lost to Shotzi Blackheart.
Yim is a former Knockouts Champion in Impact Wrestling. She also won the Queen of the Knockouts tournament in 2016. Yim is a former SHINE Champion and once held the promotion’s tag titles along with Leva Bates as well.
Pat McAfee revealed that Pete Dunne has joined his stable in NXT. The group also consists of the NXT tag team champions, Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan. McAfee posted a clip from The Pat McAfee Show on social media recently where he talks about the events from last night’s Halloween Havoc.
“I’ve decided yep I’m just going to go ahead and continue to take over the wrestling business,” McAfee said. He would continue to say that fans will hate that he’s going to take over NXT on Wednesday nights. He then took some shots at the internet wrestling community.
“The people that are going to hate it is literally the worst community on the internet, and it’s the internet wrestling community. I think these people are the worst humans on Earth. They’ve ruined something that I’ve loved, wrestling is something that I’ve loved. These fans, though, are so toxic and terrible, they’re bums in every sense of the word.”
McAfee’s new stable in NXT appears to be building to a big team vs team match with the Undisputed Era.
Yesterday, it was reported that WWE was again dealing with positive COVID-19 tests from its Performance Center in Orlando. The outbreak was expected to impact what happened at last night’s Halloween Havoc. According to comments made on Wrestling Observer Radio, Indie Hartwell was forced to miss the show. She was replaced by someone wearing a Scream costume.
“I was told none of the TV people tested positive. There were people who are quarantined,” said Dave Meltzer. “The only name that I know that was booked on the show tonight that wasn’t there was Indie Hartwell, who was going to do a run-in.”
“The person in the Scream mask that helped Candice LeRae was supposed to be Indie Hartwell and may end up being called Indie Hartwell because she never unmasked. The idea was for her to unmask as Indie Hartwell but she wasn’t there it was somebody else under the thing.”
Meltzer would continue to say that some but not all of the people who were forced to quarantine are not regulars on NXT programming.
Both Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae benefitted from interference from someone in a Scream mask at Halloween Havoc. Gargano won the North American Championship in his match but LeRae was defeated by Io Shirai.
Shotzi Blackheart will serve as the host of tonight’s NXT Halloween Havoc event. The green-haired wrestler was interviewed recently by SI.com and talked about the return of the famed event, her role tonight, and more.
“I didn’t even know Halloween Havoc was coming back, but when I found out I was hosting, I was so happy I almost fainted,” Blackheart said. “It was the greatest news ever.”
She also talked about how before getting into wrestling she wanted to be a horror host like Elvira.
“My favorite match of all-time is from ’97, Guerrero–Mysterio. And before wrestling, I wanted to be a horror host, just like Elvira and Vampira, watching horror movies and making cheesy comments about them. It’s going to be reason enough to tune in just to see the Halloween outfits I’ll be wearing.”
Blackheart also spoke about what first caused her to get into wrestling during the interview. She had bee attending college as a musical-theater major when she realized wrestling was her calling.
“Theater is the vehicle that led me to pro wrestling,” Blackheart continued. “I was watching Raw, this blend of theater, violence and rock, and I asked myself, ‘Why have I not been a wrestler the entire time?’ I signed up the next day at a wrestling school.”
Wrestling great Tracy Smothers has passed away at the age of 58. The veteran of WCW, Smoky Mountain, WWE, and ECW had been battling numerous health issues over the last year. He was diagnosed with Lymphoma last November and had been dealing with heart issues as well.
A GoFundMe account had recently been created to help Smothers deal with mounting medical bills.
“In November 2019, Tracy was diagnosed with Stage III Lymphoma. This meant that Cancer was found in lymph nodes on both sides of his diaphragm. Also, due to blockage in his arteries, Tracy lost 45% of his heart’s use,” reads a description from the GoFundMe account.
“Fast forward a year later and Tracy unfortunately has been hospitalized due to the rapidly growing Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma tumor on the left side of his stomach… which also has now spread into his lungs.”
Remembering Tracy Smothers
Below you can see some reactions to the passing of Tracy Smothers.
RIP Tracy Smothers….a legit man’s man who just passed and with courage and dignity. ??
Tracy Smothers meant a great deal to me from when I started in this #Industry till today. ?? Tracy bravely fought the inevitable and will remain in my thoughts and my heart.?? ?? My deepest condolences to Tracy's family.?? ??#HisNameIsTracySmothers??#EverybodyDiespic.twitter.com/knsVr1hXWr
Tracy was always a sweetheart to me and was one of those guys that when he was on a show or at a convention, all the boys smiled when they saw him. A real character. My deepest condolences to his family & friends. pic.twitter.com/4jRqvDSK4G
My great friend Tracy Smothers has passed, it is with a heavy heart that I share the news. Lots of great times with Tracy, I had just spoke with him last week RIP my friend. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of Tracy's family and loved ones at this time. Ricky Morton pic.twitter.com/FMFYSTv1sw
I met Tracy Smothers one time at an Indy show in TN. It was my first real Indy show and he came over and helped make me feel comfortable telling me if I needed anything to let him know. RIP Tracy ?
I’m saddened to hear the passing of dear friend Tracy Smothers. Thanks for the years of friendship. Tracy & I had been checking in w each other every couple days regarding the health situation both of us are going through. This is another hard loss in the sport of pro wrestling. pic.twitter.com/APy9F7ifSY
“Sorry to hear about the passing of Tracy Smothers. I saw him last about a year ago. He was so happy in the ring. He was a good man. RIP Tracy,” wrote Eric Bischoff on Twitter.
Impact Wrestling 10/27 featured the first show since the Bound For Glory PPV. It was headlined by the wedding between John E Bravo and Rosemary. The wedding didn’t go as planned.
Impact 10/27 Results:
Impact World Championship Rich Swann (c) defeated Eric Young
Hardcore Halloween Match Tommy Dreamer defeated Brian Myers
Team XXXL (Larry D & Acey Romero) defeated The Rascalz (Wentz & Dez)
The wedding between Rosemary and John E Bravo headlined the show this week. As the ceremony got underway, it appeared to be somewhat of a Halloween theme. Several wrestlers were in costume on the outside and Taya Valkyrie’s +1 appeared to be the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man of Ghostbusters fame. Father James Mitchell then made his arrival to officiate the wedding after having previously been killed in the undead realm.
Everyone involved in the wedding seemed to expect some type of disturbance. They looked surprised as several opportunities for such interference came and went without anything happening. They were declared man and wife but right when they went to kiss the lights went out. With the lights out a gunshot could be heard and when they came back on, Bravo was lying dead with a bullet wound in his chest.
The show opened up this week with Eric Young once again assaulting Rich Swann. The brawl spilled to the ring area before it was broken up by several officials. Scott D’Amore was in the ring as Young yelled that he wanted his rematch tonight. Swann agreed and the match was made official. Despite wrestling in dress shoes and not being prepared for the match, Swann managed to finish off the former champion with a Phoenix Splash, just as he had done at Bound For Glory.
Barrister RD Evans Ensures Deonna Purrazzo Receives Knockouts Title Rematch
Barrister RD Evans, who some may remember from ROH or others will remember from quitting his role as a WWE writer in dramatic fashion, had his legal services retained by Deonna Purrazzo this week. The Virtuosa claimed she should still be the rightful Knockouts Champion after Su Yung answered her challenge at Bound For Glory. She had originally been scheduled to face Kylie Rae on the card.
Scott D’Amore said Purrazzo could go through the legal system, but the courts are punting most cases down field during the pandemic, so things could take a long time. Or the former champion could face Su Yung next week. Purrazzo, Kimber Lee, and Evans consulted and agreed to the terms.
This brought out Su Yung who attacked everyone and blew mist in D’Amore’s face. She closed the segment by putting the mandible claw on Purrazzo.
Moose Claims TNA World Championship Is The #1 Title, Confronts Rich Swann
Rich Swann’s first night as Impact World Champion was not without multiple obstacles. After retaining the title in an impromptu rematch against Eric Young, Swann was celebrating in the back with the Rascalz and Willie Mack. He was then confronted by Moose who is now once again in possession of the TNA World Championship. He said that the TNA title was the #1 belt and that Swann seems to be celebrating just being #2. This infuriated Swann and he had to be held back by the Rascalz. Then Willie Mack got in Moose’s face and challenged him to a match. Moose said he’ll decide when that happens. Later in the show, Moose attacked Mack in the parking lot.
Rich Swann Confronted By Sami Callihan and Ken Shamrock
After his confrontation with Moose, Swann wandered into a room where Sami Callihan and Ken Shamrock were sitting. Callihan told Swann that while he hasn’t seen a lot of him lately, the new champion should get used to seeing both him and Ken Shamrock around.
There are no shortages of challengers awaiting to face the new champion, it seems.
Swoggle Helps Tommy Dreamer Defeated Brian Myers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fn57plQKEXQ
The rivalry between Brian Myers and Tommy Dreamer continued this week on Impact. A Halloweed street fight was scheduled between the two. Dreamer came out with the same Road Warrior Animal tribute facepaint for the match.
After a match filled with plunder, Tommy Dreamer was able to gain the advantage when Swoggle emerged from a trash can and took a pair of tongs to the groin of Myers. Dreamer then delivered a death valley driver through a table for the win.
Team XXXL Moves Up The Tag Team Rankings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWkk9ohHsx8
Team XXXL pulled off what some would consider an upset this week when they defeated the Rascalz. Larry D pinned Dez after a massive splash from the top rope.
Later in the show, the former tag champions, the Motor City Machine Guns, were being interviewed when Team XXXL interrupted. The MCMG were stating that since they were never pinned at Bound for Glory, they were owed a rematch. Alex Shelley was seen sporting a neck brace, however, and a rematch will have to wait until he is cleared. Team XXXL said they aren’t willing to wait for their potential title shot and eventually attacked the former champions, leaving the injured Shelley on the floor.
It looks like Team XXXL is gunning for a title shot and they don’t want to have to wait for MCMG to get their rematch first.
Tasha Steelz & Kiera Hogan Pick Up Victory As Knockouts Tag Division Returns
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgf1BPXOxro
Impact has announced an 8-team single-elimination tournament will determine the new Knockouts tag team champions. In the backstage area, Jordynne Grace and Alisha Edwards formed a loose alliance. They would take on the established team of Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz.
In the end, it would be a miscommunication between the less experienced team that would make the difference. Alisha charged at Steelz in the corner but missed and hit her partner, this allowed Steelz to roll her up for the 3-count and pick up the win for her team. After the match, Grace and Alisha didn’t seem too pleased with each other.
AEW has released new top-5 rankings ahead of tonight’s episode of Dynamite.
AEW Men’s Singles Division
AEW World Champion: Jon Moxley (20-0) TNT Champion: Cody (19-2-1)
Brian Cage (10-1)
MJF (9-1)
Lance Archer (13-2)
Brodie Lee (8-2)
Darby Allin (12-5) (previously unranked)
The #5 ranking in this division is in a state of flux. In recent weeks, Shawn Spears, Scorpio Sky and now Darby Allin has occupied the spot. Allin is scheduled to challenge either Cody or Orange Cassidy for the TNT title at Full Gear. Cody and Cassidy will clash tonight in a lumberjack match with the belt on the line.
4 unranked wrestlers will compete in the semi-finals of the contender tournament tonight. Kenny Omega will face Penta El Zero M and Hangman Page will face Wardlow.
AEW Women’s Division
AEW Women’s Champion: Hikaru Shida (19-1)
Nyla Rose (11-2)
Penelope Ford (9-5)
Abadon (5-1)
Big Swole (10-4)
Dr. Britt Baker (6-6)
There was no movement in the women’s division rankings this week. #5 Britt Baker brought her 2020 singles record back to .500 with a win over KiLynn King on Dynamite last week.
The NWA Women’s Championship will be on the line tonight. New champion Serena Deeb defeated Thunder Rosa last night on the UWN show. She’ll defend against Leyla Hirsch tonight.
AEW Tag Team Division
AEW Tag Team Champions: FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) (12-0)
Young Bucks (8-3)
Best Friends (18-7)
The Natural Nightmares (8-2)
Butcher and the Blade (10-5)
Santana & Ortiz (8-5)
#1 The Young Bucks retain their top-ranking in the division this week. They earned a tag title shot against FTR at Full Gear with their win the 4-way tag match on Dynamite last week.
There was no movement in the tag-team rankings this week. There are also no tag matches scheduled for Dynamite tonight, so the rankings for this division will likely stand still going into next week as well.
Thunder Rosa and Serena Deeb met last night on UWN Primetime Live with the NWA Women’s Championship on the line. It was a rematch from an earlier show that saw Thunder Rosa successfully retain her belt. This week, however, it was Serena Deeb who would score the pinfall and win the title for the first time in her career.
Deeb is signed to AEW and shortly after she won the title, Tony Khan announced she will defend it on tonight’s episode of Dynamite. Leyla Hirsch will be Deeb’s first challenger.
Congratulations to the new @nwa Women’s World Champion @SerenaDeeb! She’ll make her 1st title defense v. @LegitLeyla on #AEWDynamite tomorrow night, Wednesday on TNT at 8pm ET/7pm CT on a huge show with several big matches on the card! Thank you great fans who make AEW possible! pic.twitter.com/4a4DT6uQsO
The title dates back to Mildred Burke’s reign beginning in the 1930s. The Fabulous Moolah would win the title in the 1950s and become synonymous with it up until the WWWF withdrew from the NWA. Debbie Combs would be crowned the first champion in the new era for the title in 1986.
Jazz won the title in 2016 but vacated it in 2019. Allysin Kay then defeated Santana Garrett at the Crockett Cup in 2019 to become the new champion. She then dropped it to Thunder Rosa at the Hard Times PPV in January. In total, 30 wrestlers have held the title.
Another COVID-19 outbreak is reportedly taking place at the WWE Performance Center currently. The outbreak could impact performers that are scheduled for tonight’s Halloween Havoc NXT event.
According to a report from the Wrestling Observer, tonight’s NXT show will likely have to be changed from what was originally planned.
“There have been reports that (the outbreak) includes people scheduled for NXT’s Halloween Havoc show Wednesday and that aspects of the show are going to have to be changed,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
While a source in WWE indicated that no NXT television regulars have reportedly tested positive for COVID-19, it is not clear if some may have to quarantine after being in contact with someone who has.
If I've learnt anything from this pandemic it's that a lot of people are real selfish PIECES OF TRASH.
Meiko Satomura will be joining the NXT UK brand according to a new article released by Tokyo Sports. The veteran wrestler will be taking on a player/coach type role. She will be winding her time down with the Sendai Girls’ Pro Wrestling promotion in Japan as a result.
She will be traveling to England next month to begin work with the UK brand. The promotion currently tapes their television episodes from the BT Sport Studios in London.
— ???????????????-SENDAI GIRLS PROWRESTLING- (@senjo2006) October 27, 2020
Meiko Satomura competed in the 1st Mae Young Classic tournament. The 40-year-old made it to the semi-finals before being eliminated in the semi-finals by Toni Storm.
Kairi Sane Working For WWE In Japan
Kairi Sane is also said to be working with WWE in some capacity despite having been written off of television earlier this year. At one point, the plan was for her to work in an ambassador role for a potential NXT Japan brand. Once the pandemic hit, talks of opening up a performance centre in the country halted, however.
Last week, Kairi Sane posted the following Tweet which implied she was working in a WWE Japan office:
Pat McAfee closed out last week’s episode of NXT by revealing his new alliance with Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch. McAfee recently released a video explaining that he paid Ridge Holland to attack Adam Cole but has since reached a deal with Lorcan and Burch.
McAfee starts his video explaining that he didn’t appreciate Cole flashing him the UE hand-sign after defeating him at Takeover 30.
Pat McAfee Comments On Hiring Ridge Holland
“After the match, instead of reaching out his hand,” McAfee says about Cole in the video. “Instead of doing that, he flexes on me!”
“That didn’t sit lightly with me,” McAfee continued. “And although I couldn’t be hands-on with the dismantling of the Undisputed Era and Adam Cole, I knew there was a way that they could feel my impact.”
“I can’t be down there every single day so I hired somebody to take care of my light work. I hired somebody that is a younger, more handsome, and more built version of me, Ridge Holland. You all saw it, when he dumped Adam Cole’s lifeless body over the barricade and walked it off. Who do you think bought him that Mercedes? That was me, you’re welcome, Ridge.”
McAfee then continued to say that after Holland was injured, he reached out to Burch and Lorcan.
“Now Ridge got hurt, Ts and Ps for him, I will not ask for a refund, you did your job. And now I had to look for a Plan B, my guy that I was going to run alongside and takeover NXT with is now out with a gruesome injury. Who should I call? Well, why not the guy that took out my guy? The psycho from Boston, Oney Lorcan, I reach out to him, I say ‘hey pal, you want to make a little money, huh? Want to go on a little bit of a run? They say ‘no’, they lose to Undisputed Era, they call back, we make a deal.”
Whatever’s left of the Undisputed Era and whoever else from #WWENXT that wants some can come get some at #HalloweenHavoc on Wednesday if they got a problem with it.
Ring of Honor has returned to producing content for its weekly television program. Marty Scurll has not been involved, however. Scurll was the subject of allegations during the #SpeakingOut movement and it was announced that ROH would be launching an investigation into his past conduct. There have been no updates from ROH regarding the investigation.
Scurll is said to not be involved in creative with the company at the moment. He isn’t be used as a wrestler either.
Dave Meltzer addressed Scurll’s situation on Wrestling Observer Radio.
“Marty Scurll was taken off the Ring of Honor roster page,” Meltzer said. “Obviously, Marty Scurll’s not worked, he’s not the booker anymore, he’s had nothing to do with creative. From the #SpeakingOut allegations, at this point, there’s no plans to use him. As far as is that forever? I don’t know. I just know he was taken off the active roster, has not been used at any of the TVs, he’s not booked at any of the TVs going forward for right now.”
“As far as I know he hasn’t been fired, so I don’t know what the exact situation is other than they’re not using him,” he continued.
Kenny Omega will defend the AAA Mega Championship at TripleMania 28 against Laredo Kid. Omega has held the title for over a year after winning it from Fenix on October 19th, 2019.
Luchablog has been Tweeting news from a AAA press conference held today.
AAA press conference starts with talk about AutoLuchas. They have two more shows on Sunday with a Dia del Muertos theme.
It will be a 7-match event with a hair vs hair match between Chessman and Pagano also confirmed for the show.
Normally, TripleMania is held every August. Due to the pandemic, however, that did not occur this year.
Kenny Omega & The AAA Mega Championship
Only 11 wrestlers in history have won the AAA Mega Championship. El Mesias won an 8-person tournament in 2007 to be crowned the inaugural champion. He defeated Chessman in the finals.
El Texano Jr.’s reign with the title from 2012-14 holds several records. At 735 days, it is the longest single reign in the title’s lineage. He also defended the title 9x during the reign, which is also a record. Omega has defended the title 3x during his year-long reign.
WWE announced an agreement with Orlando’s Amway Center back in August to host its RAW, Smackdown, and PPV shows. WWE’s agreement with the venue has less than 1-month left on it, however, and with the NBA possibly returning to the venue in December, WWE could be looking for a new home soon.
Orlando-based reporter Jon Alba tweeted out several updates to this story today. He noted that he has obtained a copy of the amended contract between WWE and the Amway Center.
I have received the amendment to the contract between the city of Orlando and #WWE to hold the ThunderDome at Amway Center. Officially, it runs through November 24. pic.twitter.com/QRLMiCzb1k
Alba continued to note that with the Orlando Magic returning to the venue in December, in addition to the Orlando Solar Bears hockey team, WWE will be looking for a new home venue for December.
“The contract itself has not changed between #WWE and Amway Center. With the #NBA looking to start its season in December, and the #ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears beginning play as well on approximately Dec. 11, this appears to be the end of ThunderDome’s run in Orlando,” Alba continued to Tweet.
I had been working on this request for information for nearly a month. Apologies for the delay. Finally was able to get it today.
Amazingly, #WWE has run every single one of its shows in Orlando since March 13, the first Smackdown empty-arena show.
At one point, it was felt the NBA would not be returning until January. The league has recently floated the idea of returning in late December, however.
WWE Survivor Series 2020 is scheduled for November 22nd, 2020. No matches have been officially announced for the show but it is believed that the event will once again follow a brand-versus-brand format. Unlike last year, however, we may get a men’s singles champion vs men’s single’s champion match.
According to comments made by Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, the plan at the moment is for Randy Orton vs Roman Reigns to headline the event.
This would also mean there are no plans to add the NXT champion to such a match. Finn Balor’s status as champion is up in the air at the moment, anyway, due to the broken jaw he suffered at TakeOver 31.
Last year’s event did not pit the men’s world champions against each other. Brock Lesnar defended his WWE Championship against Rey Mysterio and Bray Wyatt defended the Universal strap against Daniel Bryan.
If the RAW vs Smackdown vs NXT format takes place at this year’s event, it would also pit Sasha Banks vs Asuka vs Io Shirai. Some fans have expressed enthusiasm for such a match online.
Shayna Baszler defeated Becky Lynch and Bayley at Survivor Series 2019.
Rumored Retribution vs WWE Match At Survivor Series
Last month there were also rumors that Retribution would be involved in a big Survivor Series match against a WWE team. The faction is involved in a stable vs stable feud with the Hurt Business right now. Their rivalry could potentially culminate in a traditional Survivor Series match on the PPV.
In the late 1980s, Paul Heyman managed the Samoan Swat Team of Fatu and Samu in WCW. The team would later win WWF tag team titles as the Headshrinkers. Fatu would later be dubbed Rikishi and is the father of Jimmy & Jey Uso in WWE.
Following last night’s Hell in a Cell PPV, Paul Heyman commented on his history with the Anoa’i/Fatu wrestling dynasty:
Atn @WWEUniverse: Let's be very clear. I respect #RomanReigns' father #Sika and his Uncle #Afa and every member of his family, who were very good to me when they had no reason to be good to me except they appreciated my passion for this business. But business IS business! #Samoan
Afa and Sika appeared on the stage following Roman Reigns’ victory over Jey Uso at Hell in a Cell. They presented him with a traditional lei and embraced him as the Tribal Chief.
With Jey Uso saying “I Quit” last night at Hell in a Cell, him and his brother must now recognized Reigns as the Tribal Chief. Jey Uso recently spoke with Chris Van Vliet about the feud with his cousin.
“We showing you real emotion, we showing you feeling. You can put the Fiend with Roman, you can put Seth Rollins with Roman, whoever, whatever, whatever top guy they got, put him with Roman, I guaran-damn-tee you, uce, they didn’t pull out emotion, they didn’t pull out real feeling, they didn’t pull out storytelling the way me and uce did that thing.”
“Tell me you didn’t feel like you were watching a damn movie, you forgot you were watching wrestling,” he continued.
Sasha Banks is your new Smackdown Women’s Champion after defeating Bayley at Sunday’s Hell in a Cell PPV. With the win, Banks is now just the 3rd female grand-slam champion in WWE.
“The boss” has now won the WWE women’s tag-team, NXT, RAW, and Smackdown women’s championship. Only Bayley and Asuka have done the same. More on that below.
Here’s a look at Sasha Banks’ nine title reigns in WWE/NXT:
1x NXT Champion
5x RAW Women’s champion
1x SmackDown Women’s Champion
2x WWE Women’s tag champion (with Bayley)
Bayley’s Path to the Grand Slam
Bayley became the 1st ever women’s grand slam winner on May 19th, 2019. That was when she first won the Smackdown women’s title. She had previously won the RAW title in 2017 and the tag titles with Sasha banks in 2019. Bayley first won the NXT title in 2015.
Asuka’s Path to the Grand Slam
Asuka became the 2nd grand-slam winner in WWE women’s divisions on May 10th, 2020 when she won the RAW Women’s Championship. She won the MITB match and it was revealed on RAW the next night that the match was actually for the RAW women’s title as Becky Lynch was vacating it. Asuka first won Smackdown women’s title on December 16th, 2018. She won the tag titles with Kairi Sane on October 6th, 2019. Asuka’s NXT reign began on April 1st, 2016.
Impact Wrestling’s Bound For Glory PPV saw some unscheduled changes take place. In the Call Your Shot Gauntlet match, Heath was in obvious discomfort and needed the ropes to hold himself up. Alex Shelley was taken out of the 4-way tag-team match early and Kylie Rae did not perform in her scheduled match against Deonna Purrazzo.
According to updates from the Wrestling Observer, Heath suffered a hernia in the gauntlet match. At the time, he thought he suffered a torn groin. Heath was also scheduled to win the match but the plan changed after he was injured. In storyline, one of either Heath or Rhino needed to win the match or they would both be gone from Impact. An on-the-fly decision saw Rhino defeat Sami Callihan in the finals of the match. This keeps Rhino and Heath in the company from a storyline perspective, though now it is Rhino who has a title shot owed instead of Heath.
The North attacked Alex Shelley before the tag title match at Bound For Glory. This forced Chris Sabin to wrestle the match by himself. The North would regain the tag titles in the match. Shelley provided his own detailed medical evaluation on Twitter:
Wrestling is a really dangerous sport and sometimes things don’t work out the way you want them to. I apologize to @BLabelPro and @SORBilly who was coming out of retirement as well as any independent companies I was negotiating with. Piledrivers are very dangerous. https://t.co/VzRCxTUlJq
So, the C6 nerve root controls your pointer finger and bicep and C5 can refer to your pectoralis. If you feel intense burning in either of these areas following trauma, please seek medical attention. I feel somewhat grateful to have the education to know what the red flags are.
Kylie Rae also missed the show. According to a report from PW Insider, she traveled to Nashville but was unable to make it to the venue Saturday evening. The reason she missed the show is a private matter and Impact has said they won’t publicly comment on it. She is said to be doing well and is in good-standing with the company. She’ll be back when she is ready to be.
At Impact Wrestling’s Bound For Glory PPV over the weekend, the company announced the Knockouts tag team championships will be returning. New champions will be crowned on the next Impact PPV at Hard to Kill on January 16th.
BREAKING: You've asked for it – the Knockouts Tag Team Titles are BACK!
Sarita and Taylor Wilde were the first-ever winners of the Knockouts tag team championships. They won a tournament and defeated Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky in the finals. Awesome Kong and Hamada would defeat them for the belts 106 days later.
The titles were then vacated when Awesome Kong left the company in 2010. The Beautiful People would then win the vacated belts that March.
In March of 2012, Eric Young became the first male wrestler to win 1/2 of the titles. His team with ODB defeated Gail Kim and Madison Rayne to win the belts. Impact executive Brooke Hogan would eventually strip them of the titles due to Young being a male competitor, however. The titles were eventually deactivated.
Deonna Purrazzo spoke with Wrestling Observer Radio this week to promote her Knockouts title defense against Kylie Rae at Impact Wrestling’s Bound For Glory PPV.
Purrazzo discussed her time in Impact thus far, her NXT run and her character, The Virtuosa.
“The Virtuosa persona really started at Ring of Honor back when I was there and building their women’s division and I just kind of needed something other than Deonna Purrazzo, is kind of how it was explained to me,” she said during the interview.
Purrazzo said the name “Virtuosa” at the time was just meant to tie in her Italian heritage. The term literally means, ‘a woman who excels in the technique of an art.’
Pitching The Virtuosa
“Going into NXT right from Ring of Honor, I didn’t expect to need a character more than I was. I was just like ‘I’m a wrestler!’ you know what I mean? I’m Italian.”
She continued to talk about developing her character and pitching it to management.
“I wrote up a character synopsis. I wrote up promo ideas, I pitched to have a manager because I know promos aren’t necessarily my strongest thing. Then the feedback was, it’s too outlandish of a character, you need to be more real-life.”
She would continue to talk about not getting a great reception from NXT management about the Virtuosa character. Purrazzo said she was told that they didn’t get what Virtuosa meant.
“Then it was ‘we don’t understand what Virtuosa means’, I just felt there were so many excuses. I was the person that it didn’t matter what I said or did or changed. They had an opinion and that was that.”
After being released from NXT in April, she then pitched the same character to Impact.
“There was obviously hesitation going into Impact and pitching the same thing. I was a little hesitant to hear their feedback but because I had presented it in such a way of like this is exactly who I am, this is how I want to speak, this is how I want to dress, here’s my entrance music, here’s my gear, I just have constantly been able to evolve that. I think I gave them no choice and because it was a fresh start, they were willing to let me explore myself and explore this persona a little bit more.”
She continued to talk about how she’s happy to see the character working in Impact after having it be rejected in NXT.
“For 18 months I was told, it doesn’t work, we don’t understand, no no no, and to then have it work is kind of like ‘okay, now you see it and you missed out on it.'”
Major League Wrestling is coming back soon. New episodes of Fusion are expected to begin airing next month. Storylines for the promotion’s restart have been taking shape on episodes of MLW Pulp Fusion. One storyline involves Salina de la Renta being exposed as a spy operating on behalf of Contra Unit.
“For nearly two years the league, fans and athletes have all speculated and theorized on who could be enabling CONTRA to gain access to arenas with heavy security as well as access to MLW’s headquarters and production trucks. Now, all evidence points towards Salina de la Renta,” reads an MLW press release.
Salina de la Renta In MLW Storylines
In MLW storyline, Contra Unit is a faction that has taken over the company. The last episode before the pandemic featured members of the faction taking over MLW offices in New York. On a recent episode of Pulp Fusion, Konnan revealed that he discovered Salina has been working with the faction.
It appears that Salina de la Renta’s Promociones Dorado was struggling financially. Salina is believed to have owed a significant amount of money to the “wrong people” which may have led to her aligning with Contra Unit.
The 23-year-old from Puerto Rico now lives in the Orlando area.
“All options are on the table, including suspending her license to promote in MLW,” said Court Bauer.
Last year, Salina spoke with SI.com about being the first Latina to serve as an executive producer on a wrestling show.
“This is a sign of change. Not only for women, but for Latinos as a whole. We are often not in a position of power or influence in American wrestling. For MLW to encourage me, and others, to break barriers is important and yes, historic. It is a huge honor to be able to be the first-ever at something.”
Ahead of tonight’s Bound For Glory PPV, Impact Wrestling has made its streaming service, Impact Plus, free for the entire weekend.
“In celebration of the biggest weekend on the IMPACT Wrestling calendar, IMPACT Plus has been unlocked – MADE FREE – so every fan can get ready for tomorrow’s huge event. Dive into the vast IMPACT Plus library and relive every previous BOUND FOR GLORY, all the moments, all the shock and all the championship glory,” Impact’s press release reads.
BREAKING: @IMPACTPlusApp is FREE this weekend – every single episode of IMPACT, every PPV and every event is now unlocked FOR FREE!
Impact Wrestling Roster Comments On Bound For Glory
Several members of the Impact Wrestling roster have commented on the importance of Bound For Glory.
“Headlining BOUND FOR GLORY is everything to me. I’ve trained so damn hard for this. I’ve going to soar higher than ever this Saturday. I’m bringing everything I’ve got to this match,” said Rich Swann who will challenge Eric Young for the World Championship on the show.
“BOUND FOR GLORY always has a special feeling. It’s all about creating memories. Moments that will live on for years to come, moments that we will never forget, moments that will be around long after we are gone. Last year, I won the Gauntlet Match. I feel like that victory was my reset button. That win set me on my path to becoming the IMPACT World Champion for the second time,” said Eddie Edwards who will wrestle Ken Shamrock on the show.
