Today is the 9-year anniversary of Money in the Bank 2011. The main event of the show and the crowd response to it are arguably one of the most iconic moments in wrestling’s recent history. CM Punk defeated John Cena to win the WWE Championship on that night in front of a loud and raucous Chicago crowd.
Punk took to Twitter recently to note the 9-year anniversary of the event:
“I did a thing nine years ago. Couldn’t have done it without John Cena, Scott Armstrongand most importantly the fans. That crowd, that atmosphere is something I’ll never forget. Thank you all,” Punk Tweeted.
I did a thing nine years ago. Couldn’t have done it without @JohnCena, @WWEArmstrong and most importantly the fans. That crowd, that atmosphere is something I’ll never forget. Thank you all. #MITB
The Money in the Bank PPV from 2011 resulted in 195,000 pay-per-view purchases. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter awarded the match between Punk and Cena 5-stars, which at the time, was the highest rating a match could receive.
In storyline, Punk was leaving the promotion but in reality, he had signed a new deal to stay. The next night on RAW a tournament took place to determine a new WWE Champion. Rey Mysterio won the tournament and the belt but would later drop it to Cena. Punk would then win it back from Cena at SummerSlam before Alberto Del Rios cashed in his MITB briefcase to close the show.
Apollo Crews was first called up to the main roster in 2016. In the 4 years since, he’s done less than many fans would have expected him to. He recently became the WWE United States Champion, the first title he has won since signing with the promotion.
Paul Heyman’s year running WWE creative provided Crews with more opportunities than he had in his previous 3 on the main roster. Crews spoke with Newsweek recently about what it was like working with Heyman and what it’s like now that he has been removed from the creative team.
“Working with Heyman was fantastic. He was so hands-on with me and he helped me a lot. He was one of the main reasons for me getting this opportunity and I’m very thankful for everything he’s done for me and helped me with,” Crews said to Newsweek. Crews would continue to say he doesn’t feel Heyman being gone will work against him.
“All I could do is look toward the future and I’m looking forward to working with Bruce [Prichard] as well. We’re going to make magic together and I’m excited for what’s to come and where I’m at right now. The company is seeing what I’m capable of after these past few months taking this opportunity and running with it.”
Crews has a big PPV match this Sunday at Extreme Rules. He’ll take on MVP with the newly-designed United States title belt on the line.
The wrestling world lost the greatest ring announcer in its history on April 16th, 2020. Howard Finkel was 69-years-old when he passed this spring. Finkel’s voice did the ring introductions for the Greatest Wrestling Match Ever between Randy Orton and Edge at Backlash last month. Edge recently spoke to WWE.com correspondents about the decision to have Finkel’s voice serve as ring announcer for the match.
“We’re going to have the old MSG microphone come down and we’re going to have Howard Finkel audio introducing Randy and I because how do you even contemplate calling this the greatest wrestling match ever unless you have Howard Finkel introducing it. That was my mindset,” Edge said.
Edge is currently on the shelf with a torn triceps suffered during the match. There is currently not timetable for his return. He spoke about when he suffered the injury recently on Booker T’s radio show.
“I did a springboard into the 2nd RKO and I went ‘ew, okay I got the cold sweats and I feel like I’m going to throw up’ that’s usually a sign. That’s where it popped.”
Many AEW fans have been speculating about a possible 4 Horsemen type group coming to the promotion. A few potential members of such a group have been dropping hints on social media and Tully Blanchard has been scouting matches of certain wrestlers as of late on Dynamite.
Jim Ross recently spent some time on his Grillin JR podcast and talking a bit about some incarnations of the faction that were not overly well-received. Conrad Thompson asked JR about a version of the group from 1990 which included Sid Vicious as a member.
“You’ve whittled away and whittled away and you make changes and you allow politics and personalities and egos to adversely affect an institution,” JR said. “Shame on us, shame on everybody involved.”
This version of the Horsemen did not include Tully Blanchard, who had left WWE in 1989. Arn Anderson has previously expressed some skepticism regarding the drug test that led to Blanchard’s release from WWE.
“The actual drug test that they claim Tully failed was like two drug tests ago, it wasn’t the last one that he had taken, does that make sense?” Arn asked on his podcast last December. “So if you go back and say ‘ok, well if he failed that one why did they let him work up until the point where he took another supposed drug test that he failed?”
JR and Conrad suggested that Tully’s failed drug test in WWE led to him not coming into WCW during that period either. JR suggested that this played a role in the 1990 version of the Horsemen not measuring up to previous incarnations.
“We needed Tully and we didn’t have him,” JR continued.
“I think there is just so much to be made about failing a drug test. It should have been kept confidential. There’s no reason for it to become public information. It was handled wrong. I don’t know that Tully even had a chance to come in and talk about it.”
Henry Cejudo appeared on a recent episode of AEW Dynamite as part of Mike Tyson’s entourage. The former Olympic gold-medalist and 2-division UFC champion recently retired from MMA, although some feel this is just a negotiation tactic for a new contract. In a recent interview with former TMZ reporter Adam Glyn, Cejudo confirmed he has had talks with AEW about coming in for future dates.
“I meant it when I said I’m retired,” Cejudo said. “There’s a boatload of money that could bring me back, but I think more importantly more than money for me is just legacy.”
Cejudo then continued to say his team has been in contact with AEW about a possible PPV event.
“We’ve been in contact with AEW,” Cejudo continued. “There’s a potential big pay-per-view event that they may want to hold but, there’s a lot, even amateur wrestling. There’s so many options that I don’t really know which one to pick because they all seem a little appetizing to me.”
Last January, Cejudo made headlines in wrestling circles for publicly asking Nikki Bella on a date.
Brock Lesnar hasn’t wrestled since dropping the WWE Championship to Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania this year. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there are no plans for him to come back anytime soon either.
“Lesnar is not scheduled for this year’s SummerSlam show. One of the reasons he put over McIntyre so strongly was because he was not coming back any time soon,” wrote Dave Meltzer. The report continued to note that Lesnar’s manager/advocate, Paul Heyman, has not been on the show since being let go as the head of creative for RAW.
With Lesnar not returning for SummerSlam, it appears the most likely main event for the show will be Drew McIntyre defending against Randy Orton.
“Most signs point to McIntyre vs. Orton as the SummerSlam main event,” Meltzer continued.
McIntyre is scheduled to defend his title on Sunday at the Horror Show at Extreme Rules. He’ll be facing Dolph Ziggler on the card. Ziggler will announce a stipulation for the match just before it begins.
Randy Orton is currently in a feud with the Big Show on RAW. They are scheduled to face-off in an unsanctioned match next week on the show.
Arn Anderson recently spent some time talking about Randy Orton on an episode of the Arn Show. According to the Enforcer, when Orton’s allowed to get heat, he’s the best heel in the business.
“When he’s a heel and allowed to get heat, he’s the best heel in the business and I believe that,” Anderson said. “Randy works old-school, Randy doesn’t do a one-and-a-half off the top. He doesn’t dive out on the floor, he doesn’t do any of those things.”
“Once Randy starts getting heat, you feel that. It’s an old-school, straight-forward beatdown but he’s just so smooth in the ring.”
“He just has that look man. He just looks like a guy that would reach over and bite your nose off.”
Anderson also noted that Orton is not as comfortable playing a babyface role.
“He’s an excellent heel. Now, when he gets forced into a babyface role and trying to work babyface, Randy will tell you he’s not as comfortable. I agree with him, he’s a much better heel.”
Kylie Rae left AEW last summer. She took a little break from wrestling before eventually signing with Impact Wrestling last fall. “Smiley” Kylie took part in an interview with Chris Van Vliet recently. During the conversation, she spoke about signing with Impact after appearing at the Bound for Glory PPV last fall.
“I just wasn’t ready, I was very honest with them. I wasn’t ready mentally, physically, or emotionally,” Kylie said. She continued to say that Impact was very supportive after she told them she wasn’t ready. A couple of months later when the two sides spoke again, Kylie said she felt ready and motivated to come back to wrestling.
“I felt like I was starting to get back into a groove and the days weren’t hard anymore,” she continued.
Kylie has previously stated mental health issues led to her departure from AEW.
“I firmly believe that if I would have continued going at the rate I was going at, I would never have come back. It just wasn’t healthy. Where I’m at today, it’s a completely different person,” she continued.
“I’ve loved it there,” she said of Impact Wrestling. “It’s such a supportive group of people.”
Kylie Rae On Mental Health & Taking A Break From Wrestling
She also spoke about issues surrounding mental health and her break from wrestling between AEW and Impact.
“I went to like 2 or 3 different therapists. It was a long battle but I look back now and I’m very grateful for that because I know that was hands down the toughest hardship I’d ever been through in my life and I think I came out a completely different person in the best way possible.”
“I think this is the most at peace I’ve been with myself in my entire life,” she continued.
In incredibly controversial fashion, Kylie Rae also mentioned during the interview that her favorite Star Wars was Episode 1. She says this is because she really likes Darth Maul.
Kylie’s interview with Chris Van Vliet can be viewed in the player below:
Tammy Sytch (aka Sunny) was paroled this February after serving a 1-year prison sentence. Her time in jail was due to a string of DUI convictions. Sytch was then recently arrested again in New Jersey.
Current charges faced by the 47-year-old include 2 counts of violating a domestic restraining order, driving with a suspended license and evading a police officer.
According to a report from PW Insider, the state of Pennsylvania has now filed a motion to have Sytch’s parole revoked in light of the new charges. She is currently being housed in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution. Sytch was not granted bond upon her arrest on July 13th.
The former Sunny was out on parole when she was jailed in 2019 as well. She was on parole stemming from 3 DUI convictions from 2016. While out on parole, she missed a scheduled drug test and “failed to maintain a stable residence,” according to court records. Her original sentence was for 5-years minus 97 days already served.
Tammy “Sunny” Sytch is a WWE Hall of Famer. She was inducted in 2011 and is often credited with having been the first “Diva” in company history. WWE publicly announced in 2013 that they would no longer pay for her rehab but it’s been suggested that they quietly went back on that claim later. It is rumored that WWE helped financially with Sunny’s court-ordered rehab in 2017.
Konnan and Disco Inferno were both with WCW when the Montreal Screwjob took place in WWE. The next night on Nitro, several NWO members came out with Canadian flags in an apparent nod to Bret Hart coming in.
Konnan and Disco Inferno recently addressed the backstage reaction to the Montreal Screwjob in WCW.
“We didn’t know if it was a shoot or a work, at least I didn’t,” said Disco Inferno. “This was the day after.”
It was then brought up on the show that even Eric Bischoff wasn’t sure if what had happened was real or staged. Bischoff evidently only knew it was real when Rick Rude had told him so and Bischoff trusted him.
Konnan then said he knew what had happened was real because Bret told him so.
“I knew Bret very well because, as he’s put in his book before, when I was in WWE, I showed him the sharpshooter,” said Konnan. “So he knew me from Canada because I used to work for his dad, Stu Hart. He had told me it was a shoot, he told me about the story between him and Shawn Michaels where he pulled his hair because Shawn said he’d never drop the title to Bret.”
The screwjob was only referenced on WCW Nitro when the NWO came out with Canadian flags and sang a bad rendition of the Canadian National Anthem.
“I knew what was going on, I don’t remember that promo, I don’t know who wrote it, I don’t remember none of that,” Konnan concluded.
Billy Corgan purchased the NWA in 2017, taking over ownership of the company that October. The promotion recently parted ways with Executive Producer Dave Lagana due to allegations made as part of the #SpeakingOut movement.
According to comments made recently by Raven, he has heard that Corgan is disillusioned with wrestling at the moment and is likely not bringing the NWA back.
During an interview with Hannibal, Raven was asked about possibly helping with the creative for the NWA. This is when Raven responded that he has heard Corgan will be shutting the NWA down.
“Me and Billy get along really well but I think Billy’s shutting it down, from what I hear,” Raven said. “Billy really does the booking, Billy does all the booking, at least he did with Resistance Pro. He liked me there to have my wrestling mind so I could say yay or nay to ideas. Like if they make sense or they don’t but ultimately he was the final say on everything as he should have been.”
Raven continued to say that he’s heard Corgan will not be bringing the NWA back.
“I heard it through the grapevine that Billy’s not opening it back up, he’s really disillusioned.”
The NWA recently parted ways with Executive Producer Dave Lagana due to allegations made as part of the #SpeakingOut movement.
There have been numerous reports lately regarding Kairi Sane’s WWE status. According to a recent report from Tokyo Sports, Sane is likely returning to Japan by the end of the summer.
According to the article, Sane recently was married and the couple plans to move back to Japan. The report continues to say that Sane is hopeful to maintain some type of relationship with WWE, however. Earlier reports had suggested Sane could be involved with a potential NXT Japan developmental territory. Plans for a Performance Center and brand in the country have been shelved, however, due to the ongoing global pandemic.
Tokyo Sports’ report continues to say that there should be some type of announcement regarding Sane’s status by SummerSlam. They also noted that WWE Japan representatives stated they had not heard anything on the matter.
“It seems that there will be some announcement by the summer festival ‘Summer Slam’ (August 23). WWE Japan said, ‘We have not received any information here,'” a translation of the report reads.
Sane’ status was also addressed in a recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
“Sane, 31, is returning to Japan to be with her husband. This has been in the works for a while and the company has known about it since May if not earlier,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
AEW presents Fight or the Fallen tonight. Ahead of tonight’s card, the promotion has released new top-5 rankings for its men’s, women’s, and tag-team divisions.
AEW Men’s Division
AEW World Champion: Jon Moxley (13-0) TNT Champion: Cody (14-1)
Brian Cage (6-0) (+1)
Maxwell Jacob Friedman (7-0) (-1)
Lance Archer (9-1)
Chris Jericho (3-1) (+1)
Brodie Lee (5-1) (-1)
Champion Jon Moxley will defend against #1 Brian Cage tonight at Fight for the Fallen. Cage moved up one spot this week after picking up a victory over Brian Pillman Jr. (with the FTW title on the line) on AEW Dark.
TNT Champion Cody will look to defend his title tonight against the unranked Sonny Kiss.
#2 MJF falls down one spot. He didn’t wrestle last week.
#3 Lance Archer picked up a victory over Joey Janela on Dynamite last week.
#4 Chris Jericho moved up one spot after defeating the unranked Orange Cassidy last week.
#5 Brodie Lee tamed with Colt Cabana and Stu Grayson in a win over SCU but dropped one spot regardless due to Jericho’s win.
AEW Women’s Division
AEW Women’s Champion: Hikaru Shida (13-1)
Nyla Rose (7-2)
Big Swole (5-3)
Penelope Ford (4-4)
Kris Statlander (4-4) (injured)
Britt Baker (4-4) (injured) (role model)
There was no movement in the rankings of the women’s division this week.
#1 Nyla Rose picked up a win in a 2-on-1 handicap match against Kenzie Paige and KiLynn King last week. She later teased that she could be bringing in a manager soon.
#2 Big Swole is currently suspended for kidnapping Britt Baker. Wrestlers are not allowed to kidnap each other.
AEW Tag Team Division
AEW Tag Team Division: Kenny Omega & Hangman Page (10-0)
The Dark Order (7-0)
The Best Friends (10-4)
Jurassic Express (5-1) (+2)
The Young Bucks (4-2)
Private Party (5-3) (-2)
#5 Private Party falls down 2 spots this week after dropping a tag title match to the champions.
#4 The Young Bucks were on the losing side of an 8-man tag along with FTR against the Lucha Bros and Butcher and the Blade.
#3 Jurassic Express picked up a victory over Peter Avalon and Brandon Cutler on AEW Dark. They moved up 2 spots with the win and Private Party loss.
Stu Grayson of the #1 ranked Dark Order was on the winning side of a trios match this week. He teamed with Brodie Lee and Colt Cabana in a win over SCU.
The Best Friends had the week off after dropping their title match to Omega and Page at Fyter Fest.
AEW President Tony Khan recently addressed concerns surrounding the recent spike of COVID-19 cases in Florida. Not only does Khan’s AEW promotion run in the state but his family’s Jacksonville Jaguars do as well. During an interview with the NY Post, Khan addressed the situation.
“I think we are dealing with the same issues as a lot of the other pro sports that are building bubbles in Florida,” Khan said. He continued to say that the rising rates are concerning to him as someone who lives in the state.
“I think logistically you don’t like to see it, so as a person that lives in Florida it’s concerning. I have not really left my own little bubble here and that is the key thing,” Khan continued.
Khan also spent some time discussing the different ways his various companies have handled live events during the pandemic. The Jaguars are potentially planning to have the stadium at 25% capacity meanwhile Fulham F.C is playing games in front of no fans.
“The Jaguars are making a choice for their stadium, whereas, they are planning in a few months and we’re kind of going week to week here (at AEW) and I think that’s a general kind of plan for the Jags. We haven’t for the Jags released a seating plan, what that 25 percent would look like and I think there are still a lot of questions to be answered before we get into playing football games. Fulham, on the other hand, we’re playing with no fans in England and piping in crowd noise, which the broadcast people have enjoyed.”
Khan’s AEW has an important card tonight from Florida. The Fight For the Fallen event will help raise money for COVID-19 relief. The Khan family has already donated $1 million to the cause. Jon Moxley will defend the AEW World Championship on the show against Brian Cage.
Impact Wrestling presented its go-home show for Saturday’s Slammiversary PPV. The upcoming PPV has mainly been built on teases of what free agents might be coming in. This week featured several segments building up the scheduled matches on the show, however.
Impact Results 7/14:
Havok, Nevaeh, Su Yung, Kylie Rae, Alisha Edwards defeated Taya Valkyrie, Rosemary, Tasha Steelz, Kiera Hogan & Kimber Lee
The Deaners defeated Team XXXL
Crazzy Steve & Tommy Dreamer defeated Moose & Rohit Raju
Here are 7 takeaways from Impact Wrestling 7/14:
A New Wrestler Has Officially Signed With Impact Wrestling
The most important segment from recent episodes of Impact Wrestling takes place just after the closing credits. This week, an unseen wrestler signed a contract and FedEx’ed it off to Scott D’Amore. The Impact Co-Vice President then remarked that Slammiversary “just got even more exciting.”
Backstage Brawl Between Trey & Ace Austin Previews Slammiversary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLNaod67aUk
Ace Austin and his new ally, Madman Fulton, traveled to Dayton, Ohio this week to train. Trey and Wentz from the Rascalz figured out where they were and went to the gym to confront them. Wentz locked Fulton in a room which allowed Trey to get Austin all to himself.
This week’s episode concluded with Austin and Trey battling it out in a preview of the Impact World Championship match at Slammiversary. Eddie Edwards and a mystery competitor will also be in the title match.
Fulton escaped and was about to join in the attack on Trey when Wentz arrived and held him off.
Tommy Dreamer & Moose Prepare For Slammiversary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTBYuKijJRY
Tommy Dreamer and Moose will clash at Slammiversary with the TNA World Heavyweight Championship on the line. This week, Moose needed to find a tag-team partner to face Tommy Dreamer and Crazzy Steve. Moose ended up going with his “last resort” Rohit Raju, who accepted the match anyway.
Dreamer and Moose ended up brawling to the outside which allowed Steve to hit Raju with a top-rope DDT for the win.
Slammiversary Comes Early Between Jordynne Grace & Deonna Purrazzo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXHH47U_FbY
A contract-signing took place this week for the Knockouts title match at Slammiversary. Deonna Purrazzo told champion Jordynne Grace that after Slammiversary, there will be a new champion. Grace slammed Purrazzo’s head into the table and sent the Virtuoso scattering to end the segment.
Rhino and Hernandez Arm Wrestling Match Finally Reaches Its Conclusion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLNaod67aUk
Rhino and Moose began having an arm wrestling match last week. It finally ended this week. Moose showed up as the two continued their 7-day long competition. He slapped Hernandez on the back which allowed Rhino to win. Hernandez wasn’t so keen on giving up the money they had bet on it, though. The two ended up brawling all around the arena until they eventually opted to split the money.
Team XXXL Turns Heel, Attacks The Deaners
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlwkyDEFA5Y
The Deaners defeated Larry D and Acey Romero of Team XXXL this week. As numerous tag-teams try and earn another shot at the North, tensions are running high. Team XXXL turned heel after the match, taking their frustrations out on Cousin Jake and Cody Deaner in a post-match assault.
Here is the lineup for this Saturday’s Slammiversary PPV:
Impact World Championship Ace Austin vs Eddie Edwards vs Trey Miguel vs TBD
Knockouts Championship Jordynne Grace (c) vs Deonna Purrazzo
X-Division Championship Willie Mack (c) vs Chris Bey
Impact Tag Team Championships The North (Ethan Page & Josh Alexander) (c) vs Sami Callihan & Ken Shamrock
TNA Championship (Unofficial) Moose (c) vs Tommy Dreamer
#1 Contender Knockouts Gauntlet Match Taya Valkyrie vs Kylie Rae vs Kiera Hogan vs Tasha Steelz vs Kimber Lee vs Havok vs Nevaeh vs Alisha Edwards vs Rosemary vs Su Yung vs Madison Rayne
Tony Khan recently appeared as a guest on the 83 Weeks podcast with Conrad Thompson and Eric Bischoff. Early in the show, Khan addressed a recent public conflict between him and Bischoff. The conflict stemmed from an interview the AEW President took part in with the Financial Times.
“WCW was badly mismanaged,” Khan said to the Financial Times. “They teased audiences with matches that never materialized and lost tens of millions of dollars on talent, some earning six figures without ever working. It was a real disservice to fans.”
Bischoff would respond to the comments by pointing out Khan has barely been in the wrestling business for long at all.
Khan addressed his comments early on during his appearance on 83 Weeks.
“Just so you know, and over the course of this conversation I’m sure it will come across, I am such a huge fan of your work and you are such an incredible innovator in the business,” Khan said to Bischoff.
“I wouldn’t be here and there would not be an AEW without you and there would not be wrestling on TNT right now without you,” Khan continued. “You gave me the opening to talk to the President of TNT to talk about the previous success you’d had on his network which he didn’t realize because it’s been 20 years.”
Khan continued to talk about how he had said numerous positive things about WCW during the interview with the Financial Times. The reporter evidently only ran with certain quotes, however.
“I’m such a huge believer in what you built,” Khan said to Bischoff.
The full podcast can be viewed in the player below:
64-year-old Diamond Dallas Page believes he has COVID-19. It does not appear that he has tested positive for the virus but several of his family members have. DDP put out a video on his YouTube channel today detailing his family’s situation.
“One of our family members was having a bridal shower, so Brittany and Paige went to the shower and there were 16 other women there and no one was wearing masks because everybody feels super comfortable with each other,” Page said in the video. As it turns out, at least 7 of the women ended up with COVID-19 from the shower.
“Around the 2nd or 3rd day, I started feeling sick,” DDP continued to say. “And then Paige was feeling sick and then we thought wow is this COVID? Because our minds are going to go right to that and like where could that even come from? Not even thinking about the bridal shower.”
DDP then continued to talk about the trouble he had getting people he knew tested for the virus. He finally did get tested and between taking the test and getting the results, his symptoms worsened.
“I felt like Big Show had a hold of my back, I mean it was so painful,” DDP said about the experience.
They got the test results back and DDP tested negative but Paige tested positive.
Page continued to say that AEW’s QT Marshall has tested positive for the virus.
“He tells me, 20 days ago he was tested, he’s got COVID. He had 3 days of symptoms, nothing after that. His wife Caroline, she came back negative, she’s had one symptom after another.”
DDP said that Marshall had another test today and he came back positive still.
“Please try to care about other people. If you don’t wear a mask for you, wear it for other people. Be cautious, do the social distancing and just be good to each other. We’ve only got ourselves so be good to each other.”
Konnan recently stated on his podcast that the reason CM Punk never joined AEW is that he was simply asking for too much money. Cody was recently interviewed by TalkSport and confirmed that his understanding is that there were negotiations between AEW and CM Punk and he did ask for a great deal of money. According to Cody, however, Punk is worth it.
“As far as the CM Punk negotiations go, everyone heard the famous ‘he got a text from us’. Yeah, of course, there were negotiations and he did ask for a great amount of money and Punk is worth a great deal of money,” Cody said during the interview.
According to Cody, he doesn’t believe talks with Punk about coming in ever got too serious. He also said, however, that he believes he has a good relationship with Punk and so does Tony Khan.
“I don’t think they ever got too serious,” Cody said in regards to negotiations between AEW and Punk. “Doesn’t mean they won’t one day, but they never got entirely too serious. I think there is a good relationship there. I think I have a good relationship with Phil, I believe Tony does too and I’m not sure really when it comes to him, it’s not so much about the money. It’s about are you interested in doing this?”
Punk recently responded to Tweets from Cody and Tony Khan online regarding the TNT title tournament as well.
Duly noted. Fun facts: I saw you on a house show in Champaign on Super Bowl Sunday 13.5 years ago with Domino and Cherry (and Deuce). Also, New Jack was really really nice to me when I was a 13 year old kid visiting Philadelphia. My dad loved New Jack.
Keith Lee is the new NXT Champion. He defeated Adam Cole on the 2nd night of NXT’s Great American Bash. Booker T spoke about his thoughts on Keith Lee recently on his podcast and YouTube channel.
“I must congratulate Keith Lee the new NXT as well as the North American Champion,” Booker T said. “His trainer just passed away a couple of weeks ago, ‘Killer” Tim Brooks, a guy that I got a chance to mix it up with, a guy that taught me so much.”
“I can only imagine how Keith Lee feels right now. Crashing that glass ceiling is something everyone of us hopes to do in this business. It’s being looked at as the elite, as literally the upper classmen in the business. This guy, Keith Lee, he’s one of the guys you look at him and say ‘man, this guy is good.’ Then you look at him and go ‘wow, this guy’s really good.’ He’s special in so many different ways.”
Booker then said he expects Lee to move to the main roster at some point.
“I’m sure he’s going to move on to the main roster. This guy is going to do big things. I’ve been waiting on Keith Lee. I’ve been waiting on a guy like this to come around for me as a black fan to say ‘man, the brother is doing it and he’s doing it big.'”
WWE Hall-of-Famer Tammy “Sunny” Sytch has been arrested again. She was booked into the Monmouth County Correctional Institution in Monmouth, New Jersey yesterday. Records indicate she has not been granted bond.
According to the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Department website Sytch has been charged with the following:
Eluding Police Officer
2 counts of Contempt/Violate Domestic Violence Restraining Order
Operating Motor Vehicle during second license suspension
Sytch had just been released from prison earlier this year. She served 1-year in prison from February 2019 to February of this year. Sytch’s sentence was as a result of numerous DUI convictions. The charges she currently faces, however, do not involve alcohol.
In the few months that Sytch was not in jail, she promoted several business ventures. Sytch had been promoting services for fans on Only Fans, Snapchat, and Cameo.
Sytch was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011. She is often credit from being the first “Diva” in the company. Sytch is also often lauded as helping to have kick-started the Attitude Era in WWE. In addition to her time in WWE, Sytch had stints in both ECW and WCW as well.
Cody will defend his TNT Championship Wednesday night against Sonny Kiss. A person on Twitter responded to the match announcement by using a homophobic slur. Cody was having none of this and ripped the fan online. His older brother Dustin also let his feelings about the comment be known.
This is terrible. And you’re not worth the signal boost.
But I’ll make this clear to fans worldwide.
If you have a problem with a gay man receiving a title shot, you can kiss my ass.
“Seriously Cody Rhodes this is supposed to compete with WWE now? You having a match with this low class f*****t he’s a joke that I’ll never take seriously. He Twerks in the ring like a stripper one of his moves is banging your face into his ass really?!!”
Dustin was a little more aggressive than Cody with his response:
You are one of those guys, a jackass of monumental proportions. Don't you ever speak like that again, you piece of shit! No room for that kind of crap. Now go bury your head forever. https://t.co/kCVeoN750t
Cody also spoke about Sonny Kiss in response to a Tweet from Taz. He noted that Sonny Kiss is talented and untested but ultimately stands no chance against him.
Strongest legs in the company, great balance, and explosive/flush offense(ie 450) when he executes. Really talented and untested.
Cody and Sonny Kiss have never wrestled against each other yet in their careers. The TNT Champion will come into this one having held the title for 53 days (as of Wednesday) and with 4 defences already under his belt. Cody has defeated Jungle Boy, Marq Quen, Ricky Starks and Jake Hager in successful title defences.
Sonny Kiss comes into this match with a 6-9 career record in AEW. He has recently been apart of a successful tag-team along with Joey Janela as well.
Earlier this month, WWE made it mandatory for spectators inside the WWE Performance Center to wear masks. Failure to do so will result in a fine. Previously, WWE had sent a statement to media stating that since social distancing measures were being adhered to inside the Performance Center masks were not necessary.
According to Pat Laprade of the French-language podcast Les anti-pods de la Lutte, mask-wearing was made mandatory after Kevin Owens spoke to Vince McMahon about it. According to Post Wrestling’s report, Laprade says Kevin Owens spoke to Vince McMahon about the situation during the tapings held on July 3rd.
Owens reportedly told McMahon he wasn’t comfortable with people not wearing masks and standing so close. He said he was going home but McMahon asked what they could do to make him more comfortable. Owens said mandating masks and instituting a fine would be sufficient. Owens also noted that he was once fined for swearing on Smackdown and then never did it again, proving fines are a good deterrent.
The fine for a first offence is $500 and it doubles to $1000 for a second offence. Owens has since said he will continue to take part in the tapings now that the policy is in effect. He is scheduled to wrestle Seth Rollins tonight on RAW.
EDIT: Shortly after this piece was posted, Kevin Owens was quoted by SI.com on the matter:
“At first, the masks weren’t being taken seriously enough. Eventually, a fine system was implemented to make sure people took it seriously. That came from me. I thought that the masks weren’t being worn seriously enough, so I went and talked to the people in charge. They immediately did what they could to remedy the situation,” Owens said.
Charlotte Flair is currently taking some time off after having dropped the NXT Women’s Championship to Io Shirai and losing a match to Asuka on RAW. It was initially reported that she was undergoing surgery but the nature of the surgery was not revealed.
In a series of Tweets, Flair recently revealed why she is taking time away from WWE.
“My air conditioning is broken, and we have a little free time. These tweets may be spaced out a bit, but we’re going to talk time off, plastic surgery and boobs,” Flair began the thread on Twitter.
Flair would then reveal she got sick in 2018 due to silicone poisoning from a leaking implant.
I’m going to save the history of my boobs for a different bedtime story, so:
Picture it. Charlotte, North Carolina, 2018. A young queen, shortly after a career defining Wrestlemania victory, finds herself sicker than sick at her brother’s house.
A trip to the doctor tells us the likely culprit is silicone poisoning, and that my implant had been leaking for quite some time. It was one of the worse cases the doctor had seen.
“At that time, I had a few options to fix the issue. Each option had a specific recovery time. I love this job more than anything, so I picked the option that allowed me to return the soonest. That was the choice I made,” Flair continued.
To clarify: I do not have silicone poisoning this time. The surgery is cosmetic to fix an issue from a prior surgery
“I’ll be back when I’m ready. The body will be rested, and the mind still focused on legacy. Focused on this job. Focused on being better. Always being better,” she ended the thread with.
Miroslav Barnyashev, better known to wrestling fans as Rusev, announced on a Twitch live stream yesterday that he has tested positive for COVID-19. Rusev also posted to his social media about his diagnosis. This news comes on the heels of both Lana’s parents testing positive for the virus as well.
I tested positive for COVID-19. Thank you for all the support. I will be okay and Miro Day will continue.https://t.co/Kpyr1LxPuP
There had been some speculation that Rusev could appear at Slammiversary this weekend. Impact has been teasing many names released from WWE in April could appear on the show. A Bulgarian flag has been shown in promo videos for the PPV. This led many to believe he could be on the show. His COVID-19 diagnosis will almost certainly prevent him from being there, however.
WWE has declared that this upcoming week will be “Women’s Evolution Week.” The celebratory week is in recognition of the 5-year anniversary of Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch making their debut on the main roster. All 3 debuted on the July 13th, 2015 episode of Monday Night RAW.
“Five years ago on July 13, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks arrived to Raw, signaling a change for women’s wrestling in WWE. In honor of this landmark night in sports-entertainment history, WWE will celebrate Women’s Evolution Week on its digital and social channels all this week,” a WWE press release for the week reads.
