AEW Champion Kenny Omega reportedly wants to face two major New Japan Pro Wrestling stars in Jay White and Will Ospreay.

This news was reported in the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter amid both Ospreay and Omega going back and forth on social media.

Although AEW does not actually have any plans to have the Kenny Omega vs Will Ospreay match in the company at this time, both men are eager to get the ball rolling and get the contest confirmed.

It remains to be seen if All Elite decides to bring in Ospreay, as clearly there is a want from the EVP and Champion of the promotion to have the match.

Jay White is also an intriguing proposition, as the leader of Bullet Club has more of a storyline intertwined with The Elite ‘leader.’

White has also been working for IMPACT Wrestling over the past couple of months, so there is potentially scope for him to make the move to All Elite based on the ‘Forbidden Door’ concept bringing AEW, IMPACT and NJPW together in a working relationship.

Ring of Honor star Kenny King recently spoke to Inside The Ropes’ Liam Alexander-Stewart. King discussed several topics during the interview, including the concept of the Forbidden Door and how he feels the time is right for WWE and ROH to work together.

“Well, I mean there’s a lot of guys that I would like to see come into Ring Of Honor. I mean, if we’re just fantasy booking I’d like love to do LFI versus The New Day, I think that would be an amazing match” Kenny King began.

“I’d love to step in the ring with Kofi Kingston. I Would like to see a guy like Eddie Edwards come home, you know. Eddie Edwards vs Kenny King, and Eddie Edwards Jay Lethal, and Eddie Edwards vs Jay Briscoe match I mean, those would be outrageous.

Kenny King would then discuss how Ring of Honor and WWE are the only two major promotions that aren’t ‘taking part’ in the Forbidden Door policy/concept currently, and how they should do so together.

Kenny King on WWE x ROH

“I mean, to be fair, the only two teams that aren’t participating as much as they should are us and WWE and I feel like maybe it’s about time, right?” King remarked. “Maybe it’s about time to bridge over to start working with NXT or working with some of the guys on SmackDown because, you know, it’s just time, right? It’s just time for all of these things to kind of switch up and I feel it feels like we’re entering into a new era of pro wrestling.”

Kenny King would finish by listing some of the names from WWE that he would like to see make their way over to Ring of Honor, including some returning faces.

“I mean, think about what the buzz would be, you know, just what the reciprocation would be, you know, AJ Styles shows up to challenge Jay Lethal if you know what I mean?” King stated.

“Or MVP comes, you know to rescue me from getting beat down from Shane Taylor. I mean, Bobby Lashley against SOS, you know? So these are just things that that that make people go ‘wow,’ that would be amazing and realistically it’s possible, there’s nothing that would stop it other than the regular old pro wrestling BS, which I feel like the people that want to survive we’re gonna have to get over.”

Would you like to see WWE and ROH working together? Do you think that it would work having Sinclair partnering with WWE? Let us know in the comments.

PROGRESS Wrestling held their Chapter 121 event this weekend on Peacock, WWE Network and demandPROGRESS.

The show featured three title matches, with Cara Noir defending his PROGRESS World Championship against Chris Ridgeway in a 30-minute Iron Man match as the main event.

Gisele Shaw also defended her Women’s Championship against Alexxis Falcon and Lykos Gym defended their PROGRESS Tag Team Championships against Charlie Sterling & Nick Riley (Smokin’ Aces).

Former TNA X-Division Champion Doug Williams was also back in action on the card, facing the young up and comer Danny Black in the opening contest of the night.

PROGRESS Chapter 121 Results

Here are the full results from Chapter 121: in twenty years this will all be orange:

• Doug Williams b. Danny Black
• The Sunshine Machine (Chuck Mambo & TK Cooper) b. Elijah &Charles Crowley
• Luke Jacobs b. Spike Trivet – via disqualification
• PROGRESS Tag Team Championship Match – Smokin’ Aces (Nick Riley & Charlie Sterling) b. Lykos Gym (Kid Lykos & Kid Lykos II) (c) – New Champions!
• PROGRESS Women’s Championship Match – Gisele Shaw (c) b. Alexxis Falcon
• PROGRESS World Championship 30-Minute Iron-Man Match – Cara Noir (c) and Chris Ridgeway – tied at 3-3, Noir retains his Championship

Here are some highlights from the show that were uploaded to the company’s YouTube channel:

The company will be presenting Chapter 122: Salsa Shark next Saturday, September 18th again on Peacock, WWE Network and demandPROGRESS.

IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay has teased that there will potentially be more members added to his United Empire stable.

The Revolution Pro Heavyweight Champion appeared on a card today in London for the promotion, teaming with the tag team of the Young Guns to take on Sunshine Machine and Ricky Knight Jr.

“These Young Guns better be the real deal,” Will Ospreay wrote on social media ahead of the match. “They have an opportunity to join me and the UE if they impress enough. Today at the 229 Next Week, York Hall!!!”

Will Ospreay on Young Guns

It has not been confirmed if Ethan Allen and Luke Jacobs of Young Guns and NorthWest Strong will be joining the United Empire, or if they will be making their way to New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Young Guns are regarded as one of the best up and coming tag teams on the British scene, with the duo having appeared for Rev Pro as well as Futureshock and PROGRESS Wrestling on Peacock and WWE Network.

Ospreay is due to return to the United States shortly for NJPW STRONG tapings ahead of a potential return to Japan for a unification bout against Shingo Takagi to crown the ‘true’ IWGP World Champion.

That match will hopefully be taking place at Wrestle Kingdom in January, which is set to be a three-day event for the first time in New Japan Pro Wrestling history.

PROGRESS Wrestling has confirmed that their Women’s Championship will be on the line at their next show, Chapter 121.

Gisele Shaw will be defending her title against Alexxis Falcon, who has already defeated her since the return of PROGRESS Chapters in 2021.

Shaw did however defeat Alexxis at a more recent event after The ‘Dragon of PROGRESS’ had won the top Championship.

The company released a hype video ahead of the anticipated rematch on Saturday, September 11th on Peacock, WWE Network and demandPROGRESS.

This match joins the already confirmed 30 minute Iron Man match between Cara Noir and Chris Ridgeway for the PROGRESS World Championship as well as the second-ever PROGRESS match for Charles Crowley.

Crowley will be joining ELIJAH to face Chuck Mambo and TK Cooper of Sunshine Machine on the card.

Many more matches are expected to be revealed over the next few days ahead of the card on Saturday, September 11th on Peacock, WWE Network and demandPROGRESS.

Check out the hype video for Gisele Shaw vs Alexxis Falcon via the tweet below:

PROGRESS Chapter 121

Here is the current confirmed card for the show:

• 30 Minute Iron Man Match for the PROGRESS World Championship: Cara Noir (c) vs Chris Ridgeway
• Charles Crowley & ELIJAH vs Sunshine Machine
• PROGRESS Women’s Championship Match: Gisele Shaw (c) vs Alexxis Falcon

WHERE AND HOW TO WATCH: 

WWE Network (worldwide)

demandPROGRESS (worldwide)

Peacock (US only)

WWE affiliated Scottish promotion Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) has revealed that their World Champion and NXT UK Superstar Noam Dar has been stripped of the title.

The company issued the following statement on their social media accounts today:

“As a result of COVID-19 restrictions, Noam Dar has been unable to compete for ICW since winning the ICW World Heavyweight Championship last year.

ICW on Noam Dar

“Due to the ongoing uncertainty around this, we have made the difficult decision to vacate the ICW World Heavyweight Championship.

“We hope that Noam Dar can return home to ICW in the near future. When he does, he will be granted a World Championship match at a time of his choosing.

“Two Fatal-4-Way Elimination Matches will now take place on 12 September and 26 September. The winner of each match will enter the main event of Fear & Loathing to challenge for the vacant ICW World Heavyweight Championship.”

ICW has also confirmed that Kez Evans, BT Gunn, DCT and Jason Reed will compete in the first Fatal-4-Way match this Sunday at ICW Fight Club.

The exact reason for Noam Dar being unable to compete for Insane Championship Wrestling has not been confirmed.

It is however worth noting that former PROGRESS Women’s Champion and NXT UK Superstar Jinny also had to vacate her title earlier this year, despite the company filming Chapter shows behind closed doors.

ICW has also been filming on closed sets recently, so it may well be an issue with regards to Dar’s NXT UK status that means he is unable to appear during the ongoing pandemic.

PROGRESS Wrestling held their Chapter 120 event this weekend on Peacock, WWE Network and demandPROGRESS.

Total Protonic Reversals featured a PROGRESS Tag Team Championship match between Lykos Gym & Greedy Souls as well as the second match in PROGRESS for Doug Williams since coming out of retirement, again against Chris Ridgeway.

Ridgeway was called out by Williams at the last Chapter show and the former X Division Champion requested that Smash Mouth’s #1 Contendership for the PROGRESS World Title be put on the line.

Ridgeway accepted, and the winner of the match would be solidified as the #1 contender to Cara Noir and his PROGRESS World Championship.

Dan Moloney was also back in action against British wrestling veteran Jody Fleisch, as well as Gene Munny in singles action taking on LK Mezinger.

PROGRESS Chapter 120

Here’s the full results for Chapter 120:

• Gene Munny b. LK Mezinger
• Ethan Allan & Luke Jacobs (Young Guns) b. Charles Crowley & Elijah
• Dan Moloney b. Jody Fleisch
• PROGRESS Tag Team Championship Match – Kid Lykos & Kid Lykos II/Lykos Gym (c) b. Brendan White & Danny Jones
• Alexxis Falcon & Ronnie Knocks b. Mercedez Blaze & Taonga
• PROGRESS World Championship Number 1 Contender Match – Chris Ridgeway defeated Doug Williams

The company will be presenting Chapter 120: in twenty years this will all be orange next Saturday, September 11th again on Peacock, WWE Network and demandPROGRESS.

New AEW signee CM Punk recently appeared on WFAN’s Moose & Maggie. The straight edge star discussed several topics during the interview, including his wife AJ Lee and her potential return to pro wrestling.

Although CM Punk did previously say that there’s no chance of the former WWE Divas Champion returning, he would “love” to see it.

“I would love to see it,” Punk began, “I get asked that question every single time I do an interview and I love it. I absolutely love it, I don’t (think she wants to do it), because she’s a teeny tiny person and she has a bad neck.”

CM Punk on AJ Lee

“So I think the shelf life for females in wrestling, wrestling a full schedule, is a lot shorter, it’s a lot smaller than men” Punk continued. “And I think she’s so focused on what she’s doing now, writing screenplays.”

“She’s working on a million different projects, being pulled in so many directions. I think she would probably, maybe be receptive to the idea of coming back, but that can’t even enter her vocabulary right now. She’s so focused on the movie scripts and TV adaptation of a book she’s working on” Punk concluded.

CM Punk is set to make his in-ring debut for AEW at tonights All Out PPV event from Chicago, Illinois.

WWE NXT Champion Samoa Joe recently spoke to Mediotiempo. The Samoan Submission Machine discussed several topics during the interview, including who he sees on the NXT roster as talents for the future.

“I open the doors to everyone, it’s time for them to stop looking and start acting” Samoa Joe responded when asked who should step up to him on the roster, including former WWE Cruiserweight Champion Santos Escobar.

“I didn’t see him show [what he has] when he should’ve done, but I always want to fight the best, regardless of whether they are Mexicans or of any nationality, [but only] if they worthy of challenging me for the championship. Of course I give the option to Santos, and all those who want to put themselves to the test,” Joe continued.

Samoa Joe on Santos Escobar

“He is an exceptional talent, comes from a family fighting legacy and knows perfectly well about this business” Joe added. “He is athletic, agile, he knows how to fly, but he has also understood what we are looking for in WWE, he shows personality and charisma, he is definitely one of the best in NXT. Not for nothing, but he has already held a championship.”

It remains to be seen if Santos Escobar will be used in a main event capacity on NXT going forward.

It will also be interesting to see how long Joe remains NXT Champion, as the company is reportedly looking to move away from ‘indie’ talents and develop more homegrown athletes to rise the ranks to the main roster.

PROGRESS Wrestling held Chapter 119 this weekend on Peacock, WWE Network and their own streaming service demandPROGRESS.

Two Championship matches were confirmed for the show this week, with Cara Noir defending his PROGRESS World Championship against British wrestling veteran Dean Allmark and Gisele Shaw defending against Alexxis Falcon.

The card also featured a Scramble/Thunderb*stard match to determine a new #1 contender to the PROGRESS World Champion, which would’ve been either Noir or Allmark, depending on the outcome of their title match.

Here are the full results from PROGRESS Chapter 119:

• The Sunshine Machine (TK Cooper & Chuck Mambo) b. The Big Money Gun Dogs (Big Guns Joe & Gene Munny)
• Warren Banks b. Sandy Beach
• MALIK (w/Kosta Konstantino) b. Man Like DeReiss
• Spike Trivet b. Ethan Allen
• Mercedez Blaze b. Ronnie Knocks
• PROGRESS Unified World Championship Match – Cara Noir (c) b. Dean Allmark – via referee’s decision.
• PROGRESS Women’s Championship Match – Alexxis Falcon b. Gisele Shaw (c) – via disqualification, Gisele retains the title.
• ThunderB*stard Match To Determine The #1 Contender For The PROGRESS World Championship – Chris Ridgeway b. Jody Fleisch, Kid Lykos, Dan Moloney, Luke Jacobs, Charlie Sterling, Danny Black and ELIJAH

The company will be presenting Chapter 120: Total Protonic Reversals next Saturday, September 4th again on Peacock, WWE Network and demandPROGRESS.

Adam Cole has been one of the major talking points amongst pro wrestling fans over the past few weeks.

It was recently revealed that Cole had not signed a new deal with WWE. His original contract had actually come due around the NXT Great American Bash event earlier this year.

Cole apparently signed an extension with WWE, keeping him with the NXT brand for a further month just beyond WWE SummerSlam 2021 weekend. Cole’s contract extension runs through today, according to Fightful.

Cole has since removed the link to his WWE Shop page from his Twitter bio. He has also cancelled the Twitch stream that he had planned for tonight.

“Hey Chugs Army….I’m very sorry but something has come up today and I won’t be able to stream today [frown emoji]” Adam Cole wrote to fans. “I really really wish that I could. But I will keep you all posted on when the stream will be Saturday! Love you Chugs Army and thanks for understanding as always [folded hands emoji].”

Adam Cole Leaving WWE?

With Cole becoming a free agent, he is free to go wherever he chooses. Most WWE talent contracts include a non-compete clause on the back end. Cole’s extension had no such clause.

With that in mind, WWE could cause a stir by having Cole appear on SmackDown and elevate him right from the word go.

WWE has come under flak from fans for their supposed ‘no indie stars’ mentality going forward for developmental. Cole making a huge debut on SmackDown would offset some of that blowback.

There’s also the fact that FOX is not happy with CM Punk making his debut for All Elite Wrestling. WWE may still be looking to help that relationship and bring another ROH alumnus to the show.

PROGRESS Wrestling has confirmed that PROGRESS World Champion Cara Noir will be defending his title this weekend on Peacock in the United States and WWE Network everywhere else internationally.

The Black Swan will be defending his PROGRESS World Title against British wrestling veteran Dean ‘Xtreme’ Allmark.

Allmark challenged the Champion at the last Chapter event after Cara Noir successfully retained his title against promising upstart Danny Black.

The winner of this match will go on to face the winner of the planned Scramble match that will also be taking place on the show.

PROGRESS Chapter 119

Danny Black, Jody Fleisch, Dan Moloney, ELIJAH, Chris Ridgeway, Charlie Sterling, Luke Jacobs and Kid Lykos have all attempted to defeat Cara Noir and have come up short; now the winner of the Scramble/Thunderb*stard match will be able to get another shot at the gold, should that be held by Noir or Dean Allmark.

Chapter 119 will be airing on Peacock, WWE Network and demandPROGRESS as of 5 pm BST, and the following matches have been confirmed for the event:

• Second Chance Scramble – Danny Black, Jody Fleisch, Dan Moloney, ELIJAH, Chris Ridgeway, Charlie Sterling, Luke Jacobs and Kid Lykos 
• Man Like Dereiss vs Malik w/Kosta K
• PROGRESS Women’s Championship – Gisele Shaw (c) vs Alexxis Falcon
• Ronnie Knocks vs Mercedez Blaze
• Sandy Beach vs Warren Banks
• Sunshine Machine vs Big Money Gun Dogs
• PROGRESS World Championship – Cara Noir (c) vs Dean Allmark

WHERE AND HOW TO WATCH: 

WWE Network (worldwide)

demandPROGRESS (worldwide)

Peacock (US only)

IMPACT Wrestling is reportedly “very interested” in trying to bring former WWE Superstar Bray Wyatt into the company.

The former WWE and Universal Champion was released from his contract back on July 31st. He is currently waiting out his 90-day non-compete and will be free to work elsewhere late October.

Dave Meltzer revealed on the Sunday Night’s Main Event podcast that IMPACT officials are “really after” Wyatt. There was no other information offered, but it is interesting that the promotion are going after someone of Wyatt’s level.

Bray Wyatt heading to IMPACT?

When Bray Wyatt was released from WWE, fans immediately began thinking about his next move. Wyatt is a top star of the past decade. At 34 years old, he’s in the prime of his career with a bright future ahead of him.

Naturally, AEW would be a top consideration for Wyatt. Dave Meltzer recently stated that there’s a strong chance he will end up working for Tony Khan’s promotion.

If Wyatt were to make the move to AEW, he might still be able to appear and perform for IMPACT, given their working relationship.

With Wyatt’s 90-day non-compete, he will be available to sign for a new company as of October 29, which incidentally is a week before AEW Full Gear on November 6.

AEW Women’s Champion Dr Britt Baker recently spoke to Vince Morales of Milwaukee Record. Baker discussed several topics during the interview, including one of the recently re-signed AEW talents, Jamie Hayter.

“Yeah, so when I wrestled her in England, right away we just clicked and I thought she was a fantastic wrestler” Dr Britt Baker began, discussing the former Rev Pro Women’s Champion Hayter. “She has a really cool, edgy personality. We’re kind of similar too in our dry, sarcastic humor and we just really clicked.”

Dr Britt Baker on Jamie Hayter

“We really got along” Baker continued. “They were using her pretty frequently for a while for AEW, but then with the pandemic, the travel ban, of course, everything kind of was at a standstill. But then when stuff is opening up again, you know, I was kinda nudging Kenny and Tony like ‘Hey, remember Jamie Hayter? Remember Jamie Hayter?’”

“Because she’s such a fantastic talent and everybody here—literally every single person in AEW—agrees that she’s fantastic and we need her here,” the AEW Women’s Champion concluded.

Jamie Hayter is scheduled to face Red Velvet on this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite, with Dr Britt Baker D.M.D and Rebel not Reba in her corner.

Baker has not yet been confirmed for a match at the AEW All Out PPV event on September 5th, although there is a very good chance she will be defending her title at the show.

The Casino Battle Royale has been confirmed, with the #1 contendership to Baker’s title on the line. Ruby Soho is being rumored for an appearance during the match, likely in the wildcard slot.

PROGRESS Wrestling has announced that there will be a 2nd Chance Scramble/Thunderb*stard match at the upcoming Chapter event this weekend.

Eight men who have all previously lost against PROGRESS World Champion Cara Noir will be competing to determine the next #1 contender to the World Championship.

Danny Black, Jiody Fleisch, Dan Moloney, ELIJAH, Chris Ridgeway, Charlie Sterling, Luke Jacobs and Kid Lykos have all been confirmed for the contest.

It has not been confirmed if Cara Noir will be wrestling on the show, although he was called out by UK wrestling veteran Dean Allmark during Chapter 118 in a backstage segment.

PROGRESS Announce 2nd Chance Scramble

The company has also released a hype video for the contest, with this being the first Thunderb*stard match since Chapter 105: Bring The Thunder, which was the second Chapter show back after the restart:

No other matches have been confirmed for the event thus far that airs on Saturday 28th August on Peacock, WWE Network and demandPROGRESS.

WWE Superstar Brock Lesnar made a shocking return to the company this weekend at the WWE SummerSlam 2021 PPV event. Lesnar appeared following the main event of the show, confronting Universal Champion Roman Reigns.

The plan now is for the two men to feud heading into the rest of the year, with the added storyline incentive of Paul Heyman in the mix adding more intrigue on top of a face Lesnar and heel Reigns feud.

According to Dave Meltzer, the original plan for Roman and Lesnar was for the feud to actually take place in 2023, with the two men meeting in the main event of that year’s WrestleMania.

Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns

Meltzer reported as such on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio show, claiming that WWE wanted to have Roman vs The Rock in 2022 and Roman vs Lesnar the year after.

It was not confirmed when these plans were changed, however with AEW bringing CM Punk back to pro wrestling, it appears as though both sides will be looking to fire on all cylinders.

Meltzer did not confirm when the first Lesnar vs Reigns match for the Universal Championship will be taking place in 2021, however, the Survivor Series 2021 PPV is likely the destination for the first bout.

The Rock will reportedly be a major element of the Survivor Series event, as it marks the 25 anniversary of his WWE debut as Rocky Maivia.

WWE SmackDown Superstar Sasha Banks has reportedly been pulled from the SummerSlam 2021 card this evening.

The company were still promoting her WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship match on the pre-show to the event, however WrestlingINC confirmed in the past few minutes that the former Champion would not be on the show tonight.

There had been rumors of WWE having to cancel the match earlier this week, however reports indicated that both women had been cleared to compete inside of Allegiant Stadium tonight.

Sasha Banks pulled from SummerSlam

It is not currently confirmed exactly why Banks is unable to compete on tonight’s show, however attention now turns to Bianca Belair and how WWE will address this situation on the PPV itself.

There have been rumors of Becky Lynch making her return to the company shortly, and with Sasha Banks unable to appear WWE may well pull the trigger and have ‘The Man’ return tonight as a make-good for fans.

We hope to update on the status of Banks as and when the information is available, keep checking back for more as the news comes through.

PROGRESS Wrestling held their Chapter 118 event tonight on Peacock and WWE Network.

Two major Championship matches were confirmed for the show prior to the air date, with Cara Noir defending his World Title against Danny Black and new PROGRESS Women’s Champion Gisele Shaw defending against Laura Di Matteo.

PROGRESS Chapter 118 Results

Here’s the full results for Chapter 118: Fake Tickets To a Hog Roast in Sumatra:

• Warren Banks, Kid Lykos & Kid Lykos II b. Sandy Beach, Big Guns Joe & Gene Munny
• Man Like DeReiss b. LK Mezinger
• Malik b. Screwface Ahmed
• Women’s Championship #1 Contender’s Match: Alexxis Falcon b. Taonga
• The Smokin’ Aces (Charlie Sterling & Nick Riley) b. The Greedy Souls (Brendan White & Danny Jones) – via DQ
• Dean Allmark b. Spike Trivet – via DQ
• Dan Moloney b. Jody Fleisch
• Chris Ridgeway b. Doug Williams
• PROGRESS Unified World Championship Match: Cara Noir (c) b. Danny Black
• PROGRESS Women’s Championship Match: Gisele Shaw (c) b. Laura Di Matteo

Check out some highlights from the show below:

The company’s next show Chapter 119 will be taking place next Saturday, August 28 and matches will be announced during the week.

One of the matches being rumored for the upcoming All Out PPV in September involves the ongoing ‘Forbidden Door’ storyline. Jox Moxley was slated to be taking on IWGP United States Champion and Japanese wrestling legend Hiroshi Tanahashi.

Moxley reportedly suggested the match to AEW owner Tony Khan a few months ago, and Khan was very receptive to bringing in Tanahashi for the contest and what will be their biggest pay-per-view to date.

It has now been confirmed that Tanahashi will be facing Kota Ibushi as part of the Wrestle Grand Slam event in MetLife Dome, Japan.

Forbidden Door

This puts the proposed match between Moxley and Tanahashi, the night after in Chicago, Illinois, up in the air.

With the current COVID restrictions, it may not be possible for Tanahashi to get out of Japan and over to the United States in time for the event. Let alone the strict quarantining rules he may have to adhere to.

Jon Moxley would cut a promo on this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite, where he slammed ‘newcomers’ to the company. Moxley would talk about how he was one of the original stars who helped build the company during turbulent times, whereas others now only come into the company because there are fans back and it is successful.

This promo may have been a backup plan for the company if the proposed Forbidden Door match isn’t possible, with a plethora of new talent making their way to AEW over the past couple of months.

CM Punk is being heavily touted for a debut on this week’s episode of AEW Rampage. Both the company and the straight edge star have been teasing his signing over the past couple of weeks, and now it looks as though he is finally coming back to the squared circle.

The betting odds for CM Punk’s first opponent in AEW have been updated by BetOnline. So here is how they stand currently:

• Darby Allin 1/2
• Byan Danielson/Daniel Bryan 11/4
• Christian Cage 15/4
• Orange Cassidy 6/1
• Matt Hardy 7/1
• Chris Jericho 8/1
• Cody Rhodes 8/1
• Jungle Boy 9/1
• Sting 10/1

It is not surprising that Darby Allin is odds-on favourite to face CM Punk in his debut match for the company. Allin has been teasing a showdown with the ‘Best In The World’ this Friday and this week’s Rampage may be the start of the feud between the two straight edge stars.

CM Punk Betting Odds

BetOnline has also confirmed the following odds for two of the confirmed matches on the ALL OUT PPV card:

AEW Championship Match – Kenny Omega (c) vs Christian Cage

• Kenny Omega -375 (4/15)
• Christian Cage +240 (12/5)

Andrade El Idolo vs Pac

• Andrade El Idolo -180 (5/9)
• Pac +140 (7/5)

Who do you think CM Punk is facing first in AEW? Let us know in the comments.

PROGRESS Wrestling has confirmed that a former TNA X-Division Champion will be making their return to the company this weekend as part of Chapter 118.

Doug Williams recently made his way back from retirement, performing for the likes of ICW and Rev Pro in the UK. This weekend will see the Ambassador of British Wrestling take on ‘Smash Mouth’ Chris Ridgeway.

Williams was part of the British Invasion faction during his time in TNA, and he won the X Division and TNA Television Championships during his tenure with the company in the last decade.

Doug Williams originally retired from PROGRESS after losing his ATLAS Title at the Hello Wembley show in September 2018. Williams would lose to Trent Seven in the biggest show of the company’s history, inside of Wembley Arena.

Doug Williams Returns To PROGRESS

Here is the currently confirmed card for PROGRESS Chapter 118:

• Smokin’ Aces (Charlie Sterling and Nick Riley) vs Greedy Souls (Danny Jones and Brendan White)
• PROGRESS Women’s Championship Match – Gisele Shaw (c) vs Laura Di Matteo
• PROGRESS World Championship Match – Cara Noir (c) vs Danny Black
• Man Like Dereiss vs LK Mezinger
• Dean Allmark vs Spike Trivet

Chapter 118 – Fake Tickets To a Hog Roast in Sumatra takes place on Saturday, August 21st.

The show is part of WWE SummerSlam 2021 weekend and will be available on Peacock, WWE Network and demandPROGRESS.

AEW star Chris Jericho recently confirmed on his Talk is Jericho podcast that two former WWE NXT Superstars have signed deals to stay with All Elite.

2.0, Matt Lee and Jeff Parker have apparently signed deals with AEW and will remain with the promotion going forward.

The tag team were previously known as Ever-Rise in NXT and were released from their WWE contracts in late June as part of the ongoing budget cuts from the company.

Chris Jericho Reveals 2.0 Signing

Interestingly, AEW has not posted the now-iconic graphic confirming that the stars are now contracted to All Elite. Cody Rhodes did mention back in November that there was a tier system for contract in AEW:

“The exclusivity thing is case by case, but we guarantee you x amount of dates. The goal is you don’t want to pay someone agree to appear, Chris Harrington would handle this much better than I am, you don’t want to keep giving them their weekly, their weekly, their weekly, their weekly vs. tier 1-ing them, which is our base contractor agreement. That’s another thing, we’re just talking about Tony, we built a middle card and a lower card. We have tier 1’s, tier 2’s, tier 3’s, tier 4 and tier Jericho.”

It is not clear what tier 2.0 are on, but they are officially signed to the company.

WWE Superstar and former RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch has been out of action for over a year. The ‘Man’ revealed during the WWE Performance Center era that she was pregnant, and would be taking time off ahead of becoming a mother.

That was at the RAW following Money In The Bank 2020, and Lynch’s child Roux was born in December 2020.

Fans have been speculating as to when/if the former Champion would return, and Lynch herself has been trolling fans online by suggesting that she could appear at anytime, most recently at the WWE Money In The Bank 2021 PPV event, where she was actually in attendance and training.

Becky Lynch Status

During a recent press conference call for WWE SummerSlam 2021, Seth Rollins confirmed that Becky Lynch is preparing to get back into the ring, but they do not currently have a firm date set for her return.

There had been rumors of Becky Lynch making an appearance at WrestleMania 37 earlier this year as part of Bayley’s Ding Dong, Hello segment.

Those rumors are back, and with the Sasha Banks vs Bianca Belair match being in jeopardy having The Man return for a segment with Bayley might be the best alternative at this point.

Seth Rollins will be facing WWE Hall of Famer Edge at the event this Saturday on Peacock and WWE Network.

PROGRESS has confirmed two major Championship matches for their upcoming Chapter show event on Peacock, WWE Network and demandPROGRESS.

The company’s World Champion Cara Noir will be defending against Danny Black; PROGRESS Women’s Champion Gisele Shaw will be defending against Laura Di Matteo.

This will be the return match for Cara Noir, who was last seen defending his title against Smokin’ Aces member Charlie Sterling.

Danny Black made the challenge to the champion during the last Chapter event. The Black Swan officially agreed to the bout earlier today.

PROGRESS Chapter 118

Gisele Shaw won the Women’s Championship at this past weekend’s event, after winning a triple threat match featuring Alexxis Falcon and Mercedez Blaze.

Former Champion Kanji had to relinquish the title due to injury, confirming that she had rebroken the arm that nearly caused her to end her career.

Here is the currently confirmed card for PROGRESS Chapter 118:

• Smokin’ Aces (Charlie Sterling and Nick Riley) vs Greedy Souls (Danny Jones and Brendan White)
• PROGRESS Women’s Championship Match – Gisele Shaw (c) vs Laura Di Matteo
• PROGRESS World Championship Match – Cara Noir (c) vs Danny Black

Chapter 118 – Fake Tickets To a Hog Roast in Sumatra takes place on Saturday, August 21st.

The show is part of WWE SummerSlam 2021 weekend and will be available on Peacock, WWE Network and demandPROGRESS.

AEW star and the former IWGP United States Champion Lance Archer recently spoke to Nick Hausman on The Wrestling Inc. Daily. The former champion discussed several topics during the interview, including Deathmatch King, Nick Gage.

“I’ll gladly put him through some broken glass and kick his ass,” Lance Archer revealed. “I’m good with that.”

Archer would also discuss the ‘forbidden door’ angle that has seen performers from several companies cross the borders over the past year. NJPW, NWA, AEW, IMPACT and more have seen wrestlers from around the globe perform on their cards.

Lance Archer on The Forbidden Door

“I think it intrigues everybody,” Archer noted. “I think that’s the fun part. Again, we keep going back and forth on the Forbidden Door, and the fact that we have a working relationship with New Japan right now, we have a working relationship with Impact.”

“And whatever it is, the different people that are coming in and out of AEW on a consistent basis” Lance Archer added. “I think that would be interesting for anybody. The fact if there was some kind of supershow  that involved several different companies with talents from every one of them, fighting each other, fighting for their championships, whatever the case may be. I think that’s the perfect element for a place like MSG.”