Rich Swann and Eric Young were both guests on the Impact Press Pass yesterday. The media session was streamed over Facebook Live. Young recently returned to the promotion and quickly captured the Impact World Championship for a second time. Swann is returning after a career-threatening injury and will challenge Young in the main event of Bound For Glory.

I had the chance to ask Rich Swann about his last 2 years in Impact and what they have meant for his pro-wrestling career.

“The last 2 years for me in Impact Wrestling has definitely been like a re-charge. It’s been something that, you know, it brought me up. As everybody knows, before Impact Wrestling, I was on downtime and I was retired but then some people brought me back and brought me into Impact Wrestling. And I’ve done nothing but take opportunity after opportunity that’s been given to me and I am nothing but grateful for Impact Wrestling for giving me these opportunities.”

“Now that I’ve gotten the opportunity to wrestle Eric Young at Bound For Glory, I’m going to seize it baby,” he continued.

As for Eric Young, he said during the call that his current incarnation is his truest form. He also spoke about how he believes Impact Wrestling is the #1 professional wrestling show in the world.

“Impact is the #1 professional wrestling show in the world. I am a professional wrestler, you are a professional wrestler, and when it comes to BFG, we are going to make history.”

The full show can be viewed in the Facebook post below:

• Impact Results (9/22): Cameo Celebrities Support #Heath4Impact

AEW has released new top-5 rankings and the big news this week is that former AEW Tag Team Champions Kenny Omega and Hangman Page are no longer ranked.

AEW Men’s Singles Division

AEW World Champion: Jon Moxley (17-0)
TNT Champion: Brodie Lee (7-1)

1. Lance Archer (13-1)
2. Brian Cage (8-1)
3. MJF (9-1) 
4. Cody (18-2) 
5. Scorpio Sky (8-2)

There was no movement in the men’s singles rankings this week. A big match in the division takes place tonight on Dynamite, however.

#1 Lance Archer will team with #2 Brian Cage and Ricky Starks in trios action against AEW World Champion Jon Moxley, Darby Allin, and the recently signed Will Hobbs.

Also tonight, Brodie Lee will defend the TNT title against Orange Cassidy.

AEW Women’s Division

AEW Women’s Champion: Hikaru Shida (17-1)

1. Nyla Rose (9-2)
2. Big Swole (8-3)
3. Abadon (5-1)
4. Penelope Ford (8-5) 
5. Dr. Britt Baker (4-6)

There was no movement in the women’s division this week either. A big match will take place on tonight’s card, however. AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida will team with NWA Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa to take on the winners of the AEW Tag Team Cup, Diamante and Ivelisse.

AEW Tag Team Division

AEW Tag Team Champions: FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) (9-0)

1. Best Friends (16-6) (+1)
2. Young Bucks (7-3) (+1)
3. The Natural Nightmares (7-2) (+1)
4. Butcher and the Blade (9-5) (previously unranked)
5. Santana & Ortiz (8-4)

The big news this week is that former champions Kenny Omega and Hangman Page have been removed from the tag-team rankings. It should be interesting to see what both have to say about this. Omega noted last week while on commentary that he is looking to go back to the singles division but Page has expressed he would like their team to continue.

#1 The Best Friends move into the top contender position after defeating Santana and Ortiz in an epic Parking Lot match last week.

• AEW Rankings Report 9/16: Lance Archer, Hikaru Shida, Page & Omega Ranked #1

Impact Wrestling continued its build to Bound for Glory on October 24th last night. Would you believe it if we said that Flava Flav, Nancy Kerrigan, and Chuck Norris all appeared on the show? Results and key takeaways from the show are below:

Impact Wrestling 9/22 Quick Results:

1. Trey Miguel defeated Chris Bey vs TJP
2. Rohit Raju defeated Trey Miguel (X-Division Championship)
3. Susie defeated Kimber Lee
4. Rob Van Dam defeated Sami Callihan
5. Tenille Dashwood defeated Jordynne Grace

Eric Young vs Eddie Edwards Rematch Scheduled For Victory Road

Eric Young went on another rampage this week. He attacked Cousin Jake and Cody Deaner for no apparent reason other than to send a message to Scott D’Amore, Rich Swann and everyone else that he is an out of control maniac. He hit piledrivers on both Deaners but was eventually confronted by Scott D’Amore. When Young went to attack D’Amore as well, Eddie Edwards came out and fought him off.

Later in the show, D’Amore booked a rematch between Eddie Edwards and Eric Young for Victory Road on October 3rd. As Edwards was leaving the arena in the closing moments of the show, the lights went out and when they came back on Edwards was on the floor.

Tenille Dashwood Picks Up Main Event Win Thanks To Personal Photographer

Caleb Konley (Caleb now spelled Kaleb) is now Tenille Dashwood’s personal photographer and his distraction allowed Dashwood to hit her finish on Jordynne Grace and come out of this week’s main event victorious.

Dashwood’s new heel persona in Impact plays up her status as an “influencer” on social media. They touted her 1.5 million followers on Instagram frequently on commentary. After her victory over Grace, Dashwood remained in the ring for a photoshoot with “Kaleb”. It should be interesting to see where this new version of Tenille Dashwood goes.

Dashwood took a mean looking Grace Driver during the match as well:

Celebrities Support #Heath4Impact

Someone from Impact Wrestling had a lot of fun with Cameo this last week. In a segment I’m certain many fans found hilarious, Heath made another appeal for fans to use the #Heath4Impact hashtag this week as he continues to lobby for a spot on the roster.

In addition to noting that having Heath in Impact would help “Rhino Conservation,” Heath enlisted the help of many celebrities to deliver messages via Cameo in support of him being hired. Flava Flav, Nancy Kerrigan, Chuck Norris and others all voiced their support for Heath4Impact. Tremendous.

Sami Callihan’s Feud With Rob Van Dam & Katie Forbes Comes To An End

The stipulation in this match was that if Rob Van Dam could defeated Sami Callihan then Katie Forbes would be given 5-minutes in the ring with him. RVD was able to secure the victory after Forbes sprayed Callihan in the face with hairspray.

After the match, Forbes began kicking a downed Callihan but the man from Ohio eventually fought back, took RVD out of the picture, and gave Katie Forbes a huge piledriver to end the segment.

On commentary, Josh Mathews noted that this was the end of their rivalry.

EC3 Gave Out Moose’s Phone Number

EC3 “stole” Moose’s TNA World Heavyweight Championship and is threatening to destroy it. Moose has been on a worldwide search but discovered that EC3’s influence stretches far and wide. This week on Impact, EC3 gave out Moose’s personal phone number and encouraged fans to send him any information that could lead him to recover the title belt. It’s not quite clear what EC3 has planned for this but will likely learn more in the weeks to come.

Tommy Dreamer Gives Brian Myers Advice

Brian Myers was interviewed in the back this week about his loss to Willie Mack last week. Myers pointed out that he had defeated Mack twice beforehand but it was noted to him that he had cheated to do so. This set Myers off and he began throwing things around the room. Tommy Dreamer then entered the picture and told Myers this was no way to act in a new company. Dreamer ordered Myers to clean it up and while the Most Professional Wrestler eventually agreed, some animosity appears to be building between the two.

Dreamer co-hosted the Twitch stream last night and noted that he hired Myers into WWE and wants him to get off to a good start in Impact.

Rohit Raju Retains X-Division Championship

The opening match on Impact this week was a triple threat between Chris Bey, TJP and Trey Miguel. The winner would receive an immediate shot at Rohit Raju’s X-Division Championship. Trey picked up the win in the match by hitting a double-knee on TJP. Raju would then retain his title quickly via a roll-up pinning combination while he had a handful of trunks. Raju was able to escape with his title this time but challengers are lining up for his title.

Susie Continues To Channel Su Yung

Susie appears to be reverting back to Su Yung in recent matches on Impact Wrestling. She broke out several moves from the undead bride’s repertoire in her match against Kimber Lee this week on Impact.

Kimber Lee’s association with Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo may be on rocky ground. Purrazzo attempted to interfere in this match but hit her ally instead. This allowed Susie to hit Su Yung’s Panic Switch for the win.

Kylie Rae Challenges Deonna Purrazzo At Bound For Glory

#1 contender for the Knockouts title, Kylie Rae, was in Susie’s corner for her match against Kimber Lee this week. After Susie’s victory, Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo attacked her from behind. Susie attempted to help but got locked in an arm-bar for her trouble. Kylie then tossed Purrazzo out of the ring.

With the champion on the outside, Kylie Rae picked up a microphone and challenged Purrazzo for a title match at Bound For Glory.

Next Week On Impact Wrestling

The following matches have been booked for next week’s show:

• The Good Brothers vs The Rascalz
• Johnny Swinger vs Fallah Bah (Winner is John E Bravo’s Best Man)
• Rosemary & Taya Valkyrie vs. Nevaeh & Havok
• The North vs Ace Austin and Madman Fulton

Joseph Laurinaitis, better known to wrestling fans as Road Warrior Animal, has passed away at the age of 60. He was a father of 3 children, including former NFL player James Laurinaitis.

News of Animal’s passing was confirmed on his official social media channels. A cause of death is not currently available. A formal statement is expected later today.

SEScoops sends our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Joseph “Road Warrior Animal” Laurinaitis. RIP

The Road Warriors

The Road Warriors, Hawk and Animal, are widely regarded as one of the greatest tag teams in pro wrestling history. The childhood friends from Chicago, Illinois became household names during the 1980’s. They were known for their smash mouth physical in-ring style.

They steamrolled opponents in virtually every major promotion worldwide and won tag team gold wherever they went. Fans will forever remember their jacked-up physiques, iconic war paint, spiked shoulder pads and war paint. The Road Warriors epitomized the notion of two guys you wouldn’t not want to encounter in a dark alley.

The team are 4x PWI Tag Team of the Year award winners. They were voted #1 on the 100 Best Tag Teams of the “PWI Years” in 2003. They were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011.

Animal is a 3x tag-team champion in the promotion. He twice won the belts with his longtime partner, Hawk, and once with Heidenreich. Hawk passed away in October 2013 at age 46.

Animal was inducted into the NWA Hall of Fame in 2012 and the NWA Legends Hall of Heroes in 2016. He also received the Frank Gotch Award in 2012 from the George Tragos/Lou These Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Earlier this year, he was presented with the Tag Team Award by the Cauliflower Alley Club. Animal is also in the Minnesota Wreslting Hall of Fame.

Reactions to Animal’s Passing

Animal and the Road Warriors were beloved figures in the wrestling industry. The following are some reactions to the news of his passing:

Roman Reigns will debut new ring gear and entrance music this Sunday at Clash of Champions. Reigns noted during a recent Facebook Live video that he’ll no longer be wearing the chest-protector that he has for the bulk of his in-ring career.

“I’ve been wearing a SWAT outfit my entire career so I’m just going to stick to those pants,” Reigns said in response to a question about his ring gear. “If you watch this Sunday, you’ll probably see me with my shirt off. So that’s going to be the change.”

Reigns’ former SHIELD teammates, Seth Rollins and Jon Moxley, ditched the SWAT look shortly after the trio broke up in 2014. Fans have been calling on Reigns to make a similar change in gear for years.

Reigns then noted he will also be debuting new entrance music soon as well. He said he personally selected the new music, which will be rolled out as “more drastic things happen” in his storyline with Paul Heyman.

“I decided to save the new music and hopefully down the line, once more drastic things happen, and the story unfolds…”

Reigns continued to talk about how he wants to delay certain parts of his character change so that it is more drawn out. He used his new entrance music as an example of something that will be part of longterm storytelling.

“You’re not going to get it quite yet, we’re going to let the steak stay on the grill,” Reigns continued.

Reigns is scheduled to face his cousin Jey Uso for the Universal title on Sunday. Reigns won the title from the Fiend at Payback.

• Jon Moxley Comments On Roman Reigns’ Alliance With Paul Heyman

3 members of Retribution have received new names. In storyline, members of the group were recently given WWE contracts and are now officially WWE Superstars. This was revealed at the beginning of last night’s episode of RAW.

New names for 3 members of the faction were revealed on commentary last night and also through WWE’s social media channels.

The former Dominic Dijakovic is now known as T-Bar:

Dio Madden is now known as MACE and the former Shane Thorne is now known as Slapjack.

The other two members of the faction, Mia Yim and Mercedes Martinez have not been given new names as of yet.

For Dijakovic, the last time he was seen on WWE programming, he lost to Killer Kross on NXT. Dio Madden was recently on the RAW commentary team before he was attacked by Brock Lesnar and returned to training at the Performance Center. Shane Thorne’s last official match took place on NXT this July. He lost to Bronson Reed.

Mia Yim last wrestled in NXT back in August. She lost to Shotzi Blackheart on an episode taped August 26th. Mercedes Martinez had been aligned with the Robert Stone brand in NXT. She dropped a cage match to Rhea Ripley earlier this month.

• WWE RAW Results (9/21): RETRIBUTION vs. Hurt Business, Randy Orton

Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, Rocky Romero, and the former Enzo Amore have released a new cartoon titled “The Real Gimmicks.”

Rocky Romero has described the series as “South Park meets wrestling.” The Talk N Shop crew released clips of the cartoon during RAW last night.

A clip of the first episode is available below:

Rocky Romero spoke about the project on a recent episode of Talk is Jericho.

“We’re working on an animated series, it’s gonna debut on Instagram. It’s called The Gimmicks,. If it’s the first time you’ve ever heard about it, it’s actually phenomenal. We’re working with an amazing team, they’re called Toonstar, it’s an amazing studio out in LA, and basically we’re doing South Park meets wrestling. It’s insanity, all the insanity from Talk’n Shop A Mania, we’re bringing it to you in an animation, as a cartoon. It’s unfiltered, it’s raw, it’s real, and it’s pretty crazy.”

Karl Anderson Rips Tapout Gear

The Talk N Shop crew has also announced a follow up to the worst PPV ever. Romero noted that Talk N Shop Mania 2 will be even worse than the original.

• WWE RAW Results (9/21): RETRIBUTION vs. Hurt Business, Randy Orton

Serena Deeb has officially signed with All Elite Wrestling. Deeb had been working as a coach at the WWE Performance Center before being furloughed and eventually let go by the company this spring.

Deeb debuted for AEW on the September 2nd edition of Dynamite. She was defeated by NWA Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa on the show. It was her first official match since the 2017 Mae Young Classic.

Deeb was a member of CM Punk’s Straight Edge Society in 2010. After her head was shaved, Deeb was released from the company that same year. It was reported that Deeb was actually released from WWE for not adhering to her straight-edge gimmick in public.

After being released by WWE in 2010, she began competing for promotions such as SHIMMER while also working as a yoga instructor. In 2017, she was brought back to the company to perform in the Mae Young Classic. She was then hired as a coach in 2018 before being furloughed and eventually let go this spring.

AEW announced Deeb’s signing today on social media:

• Serena On Working With CM Punk, Her Time In WWE, Health

Deeb gave an interview to Newsday in 2011 and spoke about her time in the Straight Edge Society.

“I don’t really know what was going on in their minds, in my bosses’ minds, during my time in WWE. I think that the plans were there to eventually have me break out and be in the ring. But the role that I played on television, that wasn’t part of it…

Adam “Hangman” Page recently talked about having participated in a tryout for WWE early in his career. Page said he tried out for a spot in the company about 10 years ago but never heard back. According to the former AEW tag champion, he questioned whether there was a place for him in the business after.

“I mean, I guess like when you’re 18-19, you start doing that kind of stuff. You feel so close to the only thing you think matters at the time,” Page said on the WINCLY podcast.

“You think getting that job is the only thing matters and you feel so close, so your so enthused, but then nothing ever happens after you go. And then you get pretty damn depressed about it, and you sort of consider if this is the only avenue to make it in wrestling, and you show up and nothing happens, you start to wonder like, ‘can I even keep doing this? What’s the point?'”

Not long after this, Page debuted for Ring of Honor in 2011. He would wrestle part-time while working as a teacher for the next 5 years. In 2016, Page was added to the Bullet Club roster, began wrestling in NJPW in addition to ROH, and left his teaching job to pursue wrestling full-time. He signed with AEW in 2019.

• Cody Denied Trademark For “The American Dream” Again

The full podcast can be listened to in the player below:

Cody Rhodes has again been denied a trademark for the nickname made famous by his father, Dusty Rhodes. This was his 3rd attempt at trademarking “The American Dream” and the 3rd time it has been rejected.

The US Patent and Trademark Office shows Cody attempted to trademark the term on June 25th, 2019.

According to documents obtained by HeelByNature, Cody filed for a reconsideration of the rejected trademark application recently. The filing was again rejected by the US Patent and Trademark Office.

The following statement was attached to the document and given as reason why the filing was rejected:

“The mark is a stage name for a living individual whose consent is of record and also provides an acceptable specimen including a flyer promoting the services. The current specimens fail to show the mark used in commerce in connection with the applied-for services. In addition, it fails to function as a service mark as it appears to be the stage name of a deceased wrestler.”

Cody also filed to trademark several WCW PPV names in March of 2019. Earlier this year, he also filed to trademark the name “Cody Rhodes.”

• Cody Files To Trademark The Name “Cody Rhodes”
• Cody Files To Trademark Several WCW PPV Names

Big E announced on social media recently that New Day has raised over $11,000 for charity. The trio is donating proceeds from the below t-shirt to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Legal Defense Fund.

The shirt used for the fundraiser features Big E and Kofi Kingston taking a knee before a match on Smackdown this summer.

In late-July, Big E spoke to Yahoo Sports about taking a knee on Smackdown. He also spoke about Vince McMahon’s reaction to New Day’s statement that day.

• Big E Talks Vince McMahon’s Support For New Day Taking A Knee

“When Kofi and I got to the Performance Center that day, we felt like we had to do something,” Big E said. “We went and had a conversation with our boss, Vince McMahon, and he was completely on board. We felt like that even if it was just a five-second gesture, it was important to let people know that the things that affected them, we were feeling too. We’re not above this because we’re on TV or because we make money, we’re still people. I was born Black, I will die Black. I have lived my life as Black American much longer than I will ever be a WWE wrestler.”

Rich Swann will be in the main event of Impact Wrestling’s Bound For Glory PPV next month. The former X-Division and WWE Cruiserweight Champion was recently a guest on Wrestling Observer Radio and told an interesting story about how Wale and Mark Henry were responsible for him being signed to WWE in 2015.

“Wale had, I want to say, he had came to the Lyceum show and DragonGate in New York and he had Tweeted out the next day that AR Fox, Rich Swann, Ricochet and Uhaa Nation they all need to be on TV, they all need to be on someone’s radar,” Swann said.

“And from there, he was super supportive and he helped me out, like he got me in contact with Mark Henry and Mark Henry, another one who just was a huge proponent of mine. He just helped me out and got me into the WWE’s eyesight and I just tried to take advantage.”

Rich Swann on Almost Retiring In 2018

Swann also talked about how negative comments and people on social media once led him to announce his retirement. This took place shortly after Swann was released from WWE in 2018.

“Everybody thought that they knew what happened with my situation. They read things that was glorified and at that moment, I was just like you know what? I need to take a step back. I need to find something else to do. Maybe this isn’t for me because I’d never gotten in trouble in my life. I’d never experienced anything like that before.”

“I sat back and I broke down. I didn’t know what to do. And guys like Tommy Dreamer, Scott D’Amore, Don Callis, Sami Callihan, my close friend Jason Cade, they would tell me ‘don’t do this, don’t retire, don’t quit.'”

He would continue to say that it was wrestlers he had worked with reaching out and telling him not to quit that eventually led him to decide to continue his career.

Rich Swann vs Eric Young for the Impact World title will take place at Bound for Glory on October 24th.

• Impact Results 9/8: Rich Swann Returns To Confront Eric Young

AEW World Champion and IWGP United States Champion, Jon Moxley, has signed on to compete at Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport PPV next month. Moxley had originally been scheduled to face Josh Barnett on the show this spring. That event was canceled due to the global pandemic, however.

The 3rd edition of Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport is scheduled for October 11th, 2020. The show will air on PPV via FITE TV. Barnett announced Moxley’s participation in the event in the below Tweet:

Jon Moxley at Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport

The first Bloodsport event via Game Changer Wrestling took place in 2018. The show was dubbed “Matt Riddle’s Bloodsport” originally and featured the main event of Minoru Suzuki vs Riddle.

The event was changed to Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport in 2019. Two events were held that year as well. The first event was held in April and had Josh Barnett vs. Minoru Suzuki in the main event. The second event was held on September 14th, 2019 and featured Barnett vs. Chris Dickinson in the main event.

Also announced for the show on October 11th:

• Calvin Tankman
• Chris Dickinson
• Deonna Purrazzo
• Erik Hammer
• Homicide
• Jon Moxley
• Josh Alexander
• Kal Jak
• Killer Kelly
• Lindsay Snow

• Renee Young On If Her Relationship With Jon Moxley Impacted Her WWE Career

It was reported yesterday that Melina had signed with WWE and was due to return to the company soon. The initial report was made by PW Insider, but Melina is now denying that she’s on her way back to the company. She took to Facebook to release a statement on the matter.

“I AM NOT signed with the WWE. But that doesn’t mean it is not a possibility. My reason for this post is that it bothers me that these sites lie to fans. If I potentially get signed, don’t forgive them for lying to you,” Melina wrote.

“I lost my father last month, am I emotionally ready? I’m 41, am I physically capable? Is there a story available? Simply talking to the wwe makes my heart happy. I am grateful for my time with them. One day I’ll come home but when the time is right. So if it doesn’t happen now, Im sorry you thought I was returning. If it does happen… well these sites ruined a great surprise,” Melina continued.

Her full statement is below:

• Melina Reportedly Returning To WWE Soon

Melina is a 5x champion in WWE. She won the WWE Women’s Championship 3 times and the Divas Championship twice. Before embarking on her own singles career, Melina was the manager of Johnny Nitro and Joey Mercury as MNM.

Melina Perez, better known to wrestling fans as just Melina, is reportedly set to return to WWE this week. According to a report from PW Insider, WWE and Melina have come to turns on a deal that will see her return to the company.

Melina was last involved with the National Wrestling Alliance. She was one of the top heels in the company’s women’s division on episodes of Powerrr up until the pandemic.

Melina is a former 5x women’s champion in WWE. She won the Divas title on 2 occasions and on 3 occasions she won the WWE Women’s title. In 2009, Melina achieved her highest ranking from Pro Wrestling Illustrated when she was ranked the #3 female performer in the world by the publication.

Melina appeared on the RAW Reunion show last summer. She spoke about the experience in an interview with POST Wrestling.

“Oh my, it was therapeutic. I needed that, because I needed closure, I needed closure, I needed to say goodbye to the people I needed to say goodbye to. I needed to talk to the people who we never said goodbye but we never said our feelings.”

Before embarking on her own singles career, Melina was one of the Ms in the tag-team MNM. Joey Mercury and Johnny Nitro (aka John Morrison) comprised the team. The tag-team are 3x former WWE tag team champions.

• Melina On Gaining Closure With WWE At Raw Reunion, Her Wrestling Journey

Arn Anderson was recently asked about Roddy Piper on his podcast, the Arn Show. Anderson says he has a lot of respect for Piper’s accomplishments in wrestling even though the two didn’t know each other well.

“Piper was a guy that I didn’t spend any downtime with. I was a huge fan as you will find a lot of wrestlers are fans of Roddy Piper and what he brought to the table.”

“He was just so talented and good on the stick and that’s one of those things that I aspired to do well,” Anderson continued.

“I would just watch Piper and marvel at how good he was and he paid a lot of dues to get where he was in the business. He was just one of those really, really huge superstars. Like a wrestler’s wrestler as far as just being so well-rounded and really a superstar in the business. I miss him, that’s for sure, I miss getting to watch him perform.”

Roddy Piper passed away in his sleep on July 31, 2015. He was 61-years-old at the time of his death. His daughter, Ariel Teal Toombs, made her pro-wrestling debut last year under the name Teal Piper. She was recently spotted training with Ronda Rousey as well.

• Ronda Rousey Spotted Training With Teal Piper

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

Mickie James challenged RAW Women’s Champion Asuka this week on RAW. The match was stopped early due to an assumed injury to James. As it turns out, however, James was fine and the match was stopped out of an abundance of caution.

“We have to be very careful,” James said to Talk Sport. “The refs do their job and kind of their job is to protect us and make sure it never goes too far or no one ever gets hurt. So he made his decision based on what he thought was a reality, that I was hurt or I couldn’t continue and that’s unfortunate for me.”

James continued to say that she was planned to lose the match regardless.

“I felt like I could continue and it’s an unfortunate loss. But, it’s not a real loss let’s face it. It was the final decision, what can I do? Except go in there a throw a fit on Monday!”

“In that moment it’s very hard for them to tell whether you are hurt or not,” James continued regarding the referee. “It can’t just be his call either. It must have been whoever thought I was hurt.”

“They’re just trying to protect me and keep me safe because concussions are a real thing.”

After the match ended, it wasn’t clear if James had a concussion or hurt her shoulder.

“I’m hearing that Mickie James may have injured her shoulder in tonight’s RAWmatch – which would explain the quick ending to the match. If true, I’m wishing Mickie a quick and complete recovery…and hoping she gets another shot at the title,” Mick Foley tweeted.

Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer Live would report on Tuesday that James was fine.

• Mickie James Update Following Injury Scare On Raw

Paul Heyman was released from his role as Executive Director of RAW this summer. He has since returned alongside Roman Reigns on Smackdown. Reigns then captured the WWE Universal Championship at Payback. Heyman spoke to SI.com about his new role in WWE recently.

“It’s an opportunity 33 years into my performing career to completely redefine, reimagine and reinvent myself,” Heyman said. “I’m now the special counsel to the tribal chief, a role I’ve never played.”

“I’ve been a manager. I’ve been an agent. I’ve been an advocate. I’ve been the CEO of the Dangerous Alliance. I’ve been an executive producer in ECW. I’ve been the executive director of Monday Night Raw. I’ve been the general manager of multiple brands. This is a completely different role for me. That’s the way I look at it and approach it, and it’s a completely different dynamic than I’ve ever had with any other talent.”

Roman Reigns returned to WWE for the first time since the pandemic at SummerSlam. He attacked the Fiend and Braun Strowman. Reigns would then align with Heyman on Smackdown before winning the title at Payback.

• Update On RAW Stars Impacted By Paul Heyman’s Departure

The full interview can be read here.

Matt Riddle’s legal team recently withdrew a cyberstalking injunction against a woman who accused him of sexual assault. Riddle’s lawyer released a statement today stating that his client has elected to file a civil suit for defamation against his accuser.

Riddle’s lawyer’s statement is below:

“On July 13, 2020, our client Matthew Riddle only sought a cyberstalking injunction against Samantha Tavel. The Court set it for hearing as they found probable cause for the matter to be heard. It was represented to our client and our firm that Ms Tavel had moved on with her life and our client would no longer need to continue with the cyberstalking inunction. Our client then dismissed the cyberstalking injunction (without prejudice) which left all of his legal remedies open and allowed for closure.”

The statement continues to note that Riddle has filed a civil suit against his accuser for defamation.

“Today, our client has elected to file a civil suit against Ms Tavel for her continued false and defamatory statements that our client sexually assaulted her. No further statements will be made on social media at this time.”

Riddle currently performs in WWE on Smackdown. He made his main roster debut in June.

Matt Riddle Statement On Accusations

Riddle released a video statement on the accusations against him.

• Matt Riddle Addresses Allegations Against Him

“Candy Cartwright, I never sexually assaulted you. The story about that van trip and the driver being asleep and me forcing you to do stuff and hop on whatever is a complete lie. It’s a fabricated story because you’re still mad. You know why you’re mad? Because yes, you’re right, we had an affair, you have plenty of evidence of that. You know what? I never denied it because it happened. Do I want to talk about it? Do I really want to share about it? No, it’s embarrassing because I feel like real piece of crap cheating on my wife and doing that and now having to talk about it publicly but I have to.”

Last night’s edition of AEW Dynamite concluded with a Parking Lot Brawl between the Best Friends and Santana and Ortiz. Many wrestling personalities, wrestlers, and fans have been commenting about the match online.

Tony Khan noted that the whole match was shot in just one take. Other than muting a swear word, no editing of the match took place.

Khan also commented on Jim Ross referring to the match as the best street fight he’s ever called. That covers quite a lot of ground.

Mick Foley Comments On Parking Lot Brawl

Mick Foley was also a huge fan of the match. He took to Twitter to express his opinions on it.

Foley offered further thoughts on the match in a video clip he posted:

“Hey everyone, it’s Mick Foley with just a few follow-up thoughts on that outstanding parking lot brawl,” Foley said. “That’s one thing I always wanted to do, I always wanted to have a big match in a parking lot, maybe on a PPV. I remember pitching the idea for me and Vader, in particular, at the Omni because the Omni had this really cool underground parking structure that I thought would lend itself to an incredible match.”

Foley continued to praise both the Best Friends and Santana & Ortiz.

“I have to be honest, I’d be hard-pressed to tell you what I could have done any better than those guys did,” Foley continued. “That was just an outstanding match.”

Foley’s full comments can be heard in the below Tweet:

Dustin Rhodes also commented on the match:

Santana noted that he is thankful for all the positive messages:

Veda Scott was impressed when Orange Cassidy buckled up in Sue’s Van:

Noelle Foley echoed her father’s sentiment:

• AEW Dynamite Results (9/16): Parking Lot Fight, Jon Moxley & Lance Archer

AEW has released new top-5 rankings ahead of tonight’s episode of Dynamite.

AEW Men’s Singles Division

AEW World Champion: Jon Moxley (17-0)
TNT Champion: Brodie Lee (7-1)

1. Lance Archer (13-1)
2. Brian Cage (8-1)
3. MJF (8-1)
4. Cody (18-2)
5. Scorpio Sky

There was no movement in the men’s singles division this week in AEW. The rankings are the same from last week.

In the division last week, Brodie Lee successfully defended the TNT Championship against the former champion’s brother, Dustin Rhodes.

#1 ranked Lance Archer maintained his top ranking this week. He’ll face Jon Moxley for the title on the 1-year anniversary of Dynamite show next month.

AEW Women’s Division

AEW Women’s Champion: Hikaru Shida (17-1)

1. Nyla Rose (9-2)
2. Big Swole (8-3)
3. Abadon (5-1)
4. Penelope Ford (8-5) 
5. Dr. Britt Baker (4-6)

There was no movement in the women’s division this month either.

Last week in the division, #1 ranked Nyla Rose defeated the newly signed Tay Conti in singles competition.

A big match in the women’s division is scheduled for tonight, however. Ivelisse will challenge Thunder Rosa for the NWA Women’s Championship.

AEW Tag Team Division

AEW Tag Team Champions: FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) (8-0)

1. Kenny Omega & “Hangman” Page (12-1)
2. Best Friends (15-6)
3. Young Bucks (7-3)
4. The Natural Nightmares (7-2)
5. Santana & Ortiz (8-4)

There was no movement in the tag-team division rankings either this week, marking the first week of AEW rankings to see no changes whatsoever.

Last week in the division, the unranked Jurassic Express defeated the Lucha Bros and tonight they will take on the tag champs, FTR, in non-title action.

Also tonight, #2 The Best Friends will continue their rivalry with #5 Santana and Ortiz.

Chris Jericho and Jake Hager were victorious over Joey Janela and Sonny Kiss last week. They will take on Private Party this week on Dynamite.

• AEW Rankings Report 9/9: Lance Archer Claims #1 Contender Spot

AEW has filed for two trademarks possibly related to a potential new video game. According to documents publicly available on the US Patent and Trademark Office website, AEW has filed for terms potentially related to a GM mode in a new game.

The filings are for two terms: “Elite GM” and “All Elite Wrestling General Manager.”

The purposes of the trademarks are listed as:

“Downloadable game software, Downloadable computer game software for use on mobile and cellular phones, Downloadable electronic game software for use on handheld computers and mobile gaming devices; Downloadable video game programs; Recorded video game software.”

The applications were filed on September 10th.

Kenny Omega On AEW Video Game Status

• Kenny Omega Confirms Production Of AEW Video Game, Details What Fans Can Expect

AEW Co-Executive Vice President Kenny Omega spoke about a possible AEW video game recently in an interview with Venn.

“Yes, we are in production of a video game. We have a lot of creative minds at work at the new video game right now. I think people are going to like it. And I think that what the fans are hoping for is, in fact, going to come to fruition.”

“I’m hoping that it really is sort of a brand new take on something that’s like the No Mercy game of old. So, if you liked WrestleMania 2000, No Mercy, VPW – we are very much hoping to recreate the same feel, the same fun-factor, the same pick-up-and-play ability of those games in the past. So, look forward to that. We are working diligently to give you guys something in the near future.”

Impact 9/15 featured a big tag-team main event and confirmation of the World Championship match at Bound for Glory next month.

Impact 9/15 Quick Results:

1. Susie & Kylie Rae defeated Kimber Lee & Deonna Purrazzo
2. Team XXXL defeated The Deaners
3. Trey Miguel defeated TJP
4. Willie Mack defeated Brian Myers
5. Kiera Hogan w/ Tasha Steelz defeated Taya Valkyrie
6. The North and Ace Austin & Madman Fulton defeated The Motor City Machine Guns & The Good Brothers

Impact World Championship Match Booked For Bound For Glory

Rich Swann will face Eric Young for the Impact World Championship at Bound For Glory on October 24th. Scott D’Amore made the match official for the PPV this week. Swann came out on crutches to cut a promo. He said he wanted to face Young for the title which brought out D’Amore. The co-Vice President of Impact said if Swann faces Young he could end up crippled but Swann was undeterred. Young came out to confront Swann and a melee ensued after Young shoved D’Amore. As Young retreated up the ramp, D’Amore made the match official for Bound For Glory.

Tag Team Controversy Headlines Show

The Rascalz were replaced in the night’s main event by the Good Brothers. Wentz and Dez had been attacked in the back earlier in the show by the North and Ace Austin & Madman Fulton. The match seemed to be more every team for themselves rather than 4-on-4 at times and this was noted on commentary.

The finish of the match came when The North delivered a double-team move onto Sabin but Ace Austin got the pin off the blind tag. The North looked annoyed at Austin after the match. The Good Brothers and MCMG also seemed to take issue with each other after the match’s conclusion.

Did Moose Call Chris Jericho For Advice?

Moose has been searching for EC3, who stole the TNA World Heavyweight title from him and has been threatening to destroy it. Moose called someone on the phone this week looking for help. He referred to this person as “Demo God” and asked them what they did that time they lost the World Championship belt, something Jericho did shortly after becoming AEW World Champion. Moose thanked the person on the other end of the phone for some advice the audience was not privy to and then said the next time they see each other, that the “Bubbly” would be on him.

Kiera Hogan Scores Huge Victory Over Taya Valkyrie Thanks To Tasha Steelz

Taya Valkyrie was perhaps more concerned with Rosemary and John E Bravo’s upcoming wedding than she was with this match. Valkyrie told Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz last week that they would not be involved in the wedding leading to this match.

With the referee distracted, Steelz kicked Taya in the head and allowed Hogan to hit a fisherman suplex for the win. One has to wonder how this match would have gone if Rosemary had been in Taya’s corner, however. Rosemary was seen approaching Havok backstage this week. She needs Father James Mitchell to officiate her wedding as she is a demon and all, but to bring him back she either needs a virgin sacrifice or Havok’s help. Havok seems unwilling, however.

Jordynne Grace Confronts Tenille Dashwood During Photoshoot

Tenille Dashwood was in the middle of a photoshoot with her own personal photographer this week when Jordynne Grace confronted her about “showing up to work.” A match between the two has been scheduled for next week.

Willie Mack Gets Measure Of Revenge On Brian Myers

Willie Mack came into this one having dropped 5 straight singles matches. He lost two in a row for the X-Division belt to Chris Bey, then he lost to Eric Young and recently he had dropped two in a row to the debuting Brian Myers.

Mack kicked out of Myers’ big DDT and then threw him into an uncovered turnbuckle that Myers himself had exposed before then giving him a Stunner for the win. Willie Mack is back in the win column and Brian Myers suffers his first loss in Impact Wrestling.

Trey Miguel Makes Case For X-Division Title Shot, Rascalz Attacked

Trey Miguel was seen challenging X-Division champion Rohit Raju in the back for a title shot this week. He then went out and had a great match with TJP, scoring the victory with a Meteora from the top rope.

Unfortunately, while Trey was out in the ring wrestling TJP, The North and Ace Austin & Madman Fulton attacked his Rascalz teammates in the back. Wentz & Dez had been scheduled to team with the Motor City Machine Guns later in the show but “Dr” Ross Foreman was unable to clear them to compete. Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows then volunteered to replace the Rascalz.

Later in the show, Chris Bey, TJP, and Trey Miguel confronted Raju. The champion then suggested the 3 contenders face each other to determine the next contender.

Susie Channels Su Yung To Score Victory

This week’s episode kicked off with Susie and Kylie Rae teaming up to take on Deonna Purrazzo and Kimber Lee. It would be Susie picking up the win for her team on Kimber Lee but the innocent Susie seemed to channel some of her darker Su Yung persona to close the match.

Susie would use a modified hurricanrana out of the corner followed by the Panic Switch on Kimber Lee to score the pin. Those two moves are more associated with her Su Yung persona than Susie. It seems possible that the former undead bride and Knockouts Champion Susie could be returning.

Team XXXL Picks Up Win Over The Deaners

This week a story appeared on SI.com covering Acey Romero’s astonishing weight loss. Perhaps Team XXXL will have to drop one or two of the “Xs” in their name soon.

The heavyweight team also picked up a big win this week over Cody Deaner and Cousin Jake. It was Larry D, who gained so much confidence in himself on Wrestle House as Lawrence D, picked up the win for his team when he knocked out Cousin Jake with a big right fist.

Next Week On Impact Wrestling

The following matches have been confirmed for next week:

• Trey Miguel vs TJP vs Chris Bey (X-Division #1 Contender)
• Kimber Lee vs Susie
• Tenille Dashwood vs Jordynne Grace

Mickie James vs Asuka for the RAW Women’s Championship was stopped early last night. It looked as though James may have injured her shoulder leading to the premature ending to the match.

Mick Foley then noted on Twitter that he heard James had injured her shoulder.

“I’m hearing that Mickie James may have injured her shoulder in tonight’s RAW match – which would explain the quick ending to the match. If true, I’m wishing Mickie a quick and complete recovery…and hoping she gets another shot at the title.”

According to Bryan Alvarez, however, James is fine and the referee made a mistake ending the bout.

Mickie James’ Mission

Before her title match with Asuka, James spoke with SI.com about wanting to change how women are perceived in wrestling.

“My goal has always been to change the way women are perceived in wrestling, and that’s still my goal,” says James. “It was very different when I first broke in. I never wanted to be a valet or a manager. I wanted to be a wrestler. I wanted to have the best match of the night. That mentality has kept me leveling up. I always want more for women in wrestling.”

The full interview can be read here.

Paul Heyman was removed from his role as Executive Director of RAW this summer. He has since become Roman Reigns’ advocate and is reportedly involved in the creative process of the character. According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, there are 2 stars from the RAW brand who are being negatively impacted by Heyman’s departure from the brand.

“When Heyman got replaced, I was kind of told – not so much the Viking Raiders cause that obviously came from the injury – But Aleister Black and Andrade were like the two guys that I was told that were really going to be in trouble because Vince doesn’t necessarily see a lot in them as compared to what Heyman saw in them.”

This week on RAW, it appeared the faction of Andrade, Angel Garza, and Zelina Vega has split up.

Aleister Black recently turned heel after sustaining an eye injury via an attack by Seth Rollins and Murphy. Black attacked Kevin Owens and turned heel a few weeks later.

“I really see Andrade from tonight’s show, when I saw that split, it was just like ‘oh god’. Yep, that thing with Andrade is going to come true exactly like I was told,” Meltzer continued.

• News On AOP Being Released After Paul Heyman Lost Power On WWE Raw