Damage CTRL are scheduled to attend Friday’s edition of WWE SmackDown from Anaheim, CA. The group is comprised of Women’s Tag team champions Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai, as well as team captain Bayley.
Now that Sky and Kai are the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions fans can expect to see them on both brands more often. It remains to be seen what WWE has planned for the tag team champions this weekend on SmackDown.
Thus far, the only match announced for the show is a Fatal 4-Way Tag Team match that will determine the new No. 1 contender for the Unified World Tag Team Championship.
The teams competing in that match are The New Day, The Street Profits, Alpha Academy and Los Lotharios. With that being said, the men and women’s tag team divisions will likely get a lot of shine this Friday.
SKY and Kai won the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles this week on Monday Night RAW, defeating the now-former title holders Aliyah and Raquel Rodriguez. Perhaps a rematch will be taking place Friday night. We’ll keep you updated.
AEW star Claudio Castagnoli thinks Vince McMahon’s criticisms of his charisma during his WWE days were wrong.
Back in 2014, Vince McMahon was a guest on WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin’s podcast. During the podcast, McMahon talked on a number of big topics.
Two of the biggest stories that came out of that interview, where the firing of CM Punk, and some criticism McMahon had about Cesaro, now known as Claudio Castagnoli.
McMahon noted that he felt Cesaro was lacking charisma, verbal skills, and a connection with the audience. Many seemed to disagree with McMahon, including Castagnoli himself.
“I thought he was wrong. Yeah, I feel that charisma comes in very different forms, shapes and sizes. Not everybody has that over-the-top Ultimate Warrior shaking the ropes and running around crazy, yelling and screaming charisma.
“Not that I’m sitting here telling you all how awesome my charisma is, but I felt like I had a connection with the fans, with the WWE Universe, whatever you want to call it, in the United States and all over the world.
“While other people were known for long promos that get translated into many other languages and doesn’t necessarily come across, mine was about the in-ring work and people can connect with that. It may take a bit longer, but I did connect with the fans and they were behind me.
“I don’t know if that was not what he was looking for, but the end effect brought me here and you get to see that.”
Castagnoli ran with WWE from 2011 to 2022. During that time, he had one run with the United States Title, five as RAW Tag Team Champion, and two as SmackDown Tag Team Champion. He also won the 2014 Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
Sadly, he never got the opportunity to hold a singles World Title despite many fans supporting him for such a push. Castagnoli would then debut with AEW in June of this year, and currently reigns as the Ring Of Honor (ROH) World Heavyweight Champion.
Former WWE star Marty Jannetty is back in the hospital.
Jannetty, a former WWE Intercontinental and Tag Team Champion, was initially hospitalized back in 2020 for ankle surgery. He had been dealing with related issues throughout his career, and claimed in 2021 those ankle issues had been fixed.
However, on September 12, Jannetty took to Facebook and revealed that he’s back in the hospital after his ankle became “slightly damaged.” The post includes a picture of his foot, which as a pretty bad scar on it.
Here’s what he had to say:
“I’m very proud to say that ankle right there it’s just slightly damaged from all them years of putting my foot in people’s rear end otherwise called ass and jumping off top ropes to the floor not just into the ring but to the floor and I’m very proud to say I’ll do it again right now I ain’t scared well wait a minute swaggy just looked at me and extended is claws which means don’t you even try oh well it was a fun thought,” Jannetty said.
Jannetty has been competing in professional wrestling since 1983, signing with WWE in 1988. His run in WWE is better known for his tag team with WWE Hall Of Famer Shawn Michaels as The Rockers.
He left WWE in 1992, but re-signed with the company later that year before ultimately leaving the company again in 1994. Since, Jannetty has had several more runs with WWE, working for various other promotions in between.
The 62-year-old hasn’t competed in a singles match inside the ring since 2018 when he wrestled a match against Joey Janela.
MJF has hit back at ex-WWE referee Jimmy Korderas for his recent comments about All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and their promos mentioning WWE.
Recently, Korderas took to his latest “ReffinRant” on Twitter and discussed MJF’s promo on AEW Dynamite after All Out.
During the promo, MJF made several references to WWE, indicating he’d win the AEW World Title and take it to a “real” wrestling company – referencing WWE.
He also made a mention of Triple H, calling him his favorite wrestler, and teased following his good friend Cody Rhodes. Korderas took issue with this, suggesting AEW and their stars shouldn’t mention WWE so frequently in their promos.
MJF isn’t the only AEW star to reference WWE stars in promos on AEW TV. Even the likes of CM Punk has done so.
However, Korderas noted that AEW is making mistakes similar to that of WCW, who ultimately folded and went out of business.
Now, MJF has taken to social media to respond to Korderas’ comments. It’s safe to say he doesn’t agree with the ex-WWE referee’s opinion.
Former Referee jimmy Korderas try’s to tell greatest promo of all time MJF how to do his job.
Former bell times keeper Herbert ponzarelli try’s to tell MJF how to do a headlock
With his victory in the Casino Ladder match as The Joker, MJF now has a guaranteed shot at the AEW World Title. He’ll likely wait to use it until after the current AEW World Title tournament has concluded.
Kenny Omega got the opportunity to reunite with Kota Ibushi recently in Japan.
Omega is currently dealing with a suspension from All Elite Wrestling (AEW) due to his involvement in the backstage altercation that took place after the All Out pay-per-view (PPV). However, he’ll still be making an advertised appearance in Japan soon.
“The Cleaner” is slated for the Tokyo Games Show and was spotted in Japan recently ahead of the event. During his time there, Omega apparently got the chance to reunite and hang out with his friend and former Golden Lovers tag team partner, Kota Ibushi.
As noted, Omega is currently dealing with a suspension after being involved in a brawl that broke out after the All Out PPV earlier this month. Omega and The Young Bucks confronted CM Punk backstage following Punk’s comments about them in his post-show press conference.
(AEW)
That apparently led to a physical altercation in which Kenny Omega found himself getting physical with Ace Steel. It was later reported that Omega and The Young Bucks were all handed suspensions for their involvement.
As for Punk, who has since been forced to vacate the AEW World Title, it remains to be seen if he’ll even remain with the company moving forward.
There was one big reason why Johnny Gargano decided to make his return to WWE after hitting free agency.
Gargano had his contract with WWE expire back in December, and was a free agent for several months after. Much was made about his future, with some speculating Johnny Wrestling could make the jump over to All Elite Wrestling like so many other former WWE stars have.
However, the former NXT Champion ultimately returned to WWE on the August 22 episode of RAW, officially having signed back with the company. Speaking to Ryan Satin on his “Out Of Character” podcast, Gargano he on his decision to return to WWE.
Gargano noted he was perfectly content staying at home with his family during the several months he was off. However, when he heard about the head of creative change, putting Triple H at the helm after having worked with “The Game” for so long in NXT, it was a no-brainer to return to WWE.
Gargano was quite the figure in NXT. During his five years with the brand, Gargano amassed an NXT Title run, three NXT North American Title wins, and an NXT Tag Title run.
Undoubtedly one of NXT’s best creations, it will be interesting to see if Johnny Gargano is able to replicate that success now that he’s on the main roster.
WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin has praised Brock Lesnar as a “charismatic force of nature.”
Austin was recently interviewed by Sportskeeda, where he praised Lesnar’s legendary career in, not only professional wrestling, but sports. Lesnar has competed at the top levels in college wrestling, professional wrestling, mixed martial arts, and even a stint in the NFL.
“The Rattlesnake” praised Lesnar as a “charismatic force of nature,” touching on “The Beast’s” most recent run as a babyface in WWE.
“Love Brock Lesnar. That guy’s been in the game forever. He tried to make pro football. He never really played a whole lot of football. A couple times All-American in wrestling.
“Almost makes the football team, the Minnesota Vikings. Then he says hey, I’m gonna go fight in the UFC and becomes the UFC Heavyweight Champion and then gets back into the business.
“He’s still, after over 20 years, the biggest draw, him in Roman [Reigns], in the business today.
“So Brock Lesnar has had one of the most amazing, different runs, in the history of the business and no one will ever do it like Brock Lesnar has done it, whether it’s Suplex City or in the Octagon, or whatever it is Brock is doing.
“That baby face run he had right before Wrestlemania 38, when you have this big mass of an alpha male and he shows that vulnerability and people just clamor to him. So just a charismatic force of nature.”
(via WWE)
Lesnar was last seen at SummerSlam when he was unsuccessful in capturing the Undisputed WWE Championship from Roman Reigns. Prior, Lesnar was defeated by Reigns at WrestleMania 38.
Reigns topped Lesnar to take home the WWE Championship, unifying the title with his own WWE Universal Title – establishing himself as the Undisputed Champion of WWE. It remains unclear if or when Lesnar will make his return to WWE.
Ex-WWE referee Jimmy Korderas believes that All Elite Wrestling (AEW) should stop mentioning WWE in their promos.
Korderas took to Twitter to release his latest “ReffinRant” in which he discussed MJF’s promo on AEW last week. In the promo, MJF made several references to WWE and the likes of Triple H.
In fact, MJF seemingly painted WWE as being far superior to AEW, which came off a bit odd given they were on AEW TV. He also teased signing with WWE in 2024 when his AEW contract is up.
Korderas, having seen WCW meet its downfall making similar choices, advices AEW stop mentioning WWE.
“I know I’ve talked about this in the past, but you don’t want to repeat the mistakes that others made previously going forward into the future trying to grow your business…
“Look, a big debate about the promo from MJF on Wednesday night: yes he was fantastic on the mic, and he hit home, but all those references to the other company, and The Game and all that sort of stuff.
“It draws big time attention to the other company. Especially coming from one of your biggest stars, who that audience knows all the inside ‘behind-the-curtain’ goings on about him, and possibly reaching out to the other side or them reaching out to him, and all this sort of stuff.
“Look, ignore the other team, because that was the biggest downfall for this company right here [WCW] when they were in competition with the WWE, they didn’t ignore them, they kept referencing them. Ignore them, stick to your business, and grow your audience that way.”
In today's #ReffinRant 1 of the biggest things to avoid is making mistakes others made in the past especially when you have some buzz about your own players & team. Just saying ? #StaySafepic.twitter.com/CVZSoHIGBL
MJF isn’t the only star who has mentioned WWE in promos. There have been several other stars, such as CM Punk, who have made references to the rival promotion and its stars. It will be interesting to see if AEW heeds Korderas’ advice moving forward.
Roman Reigns currently holds both the WWE Championship and WWE Universal Title – a situation reportedly being described as “complex.”
While Reigns holds both of WWE’s World Titles, that means he occupies duties as “top guy” on both Monday Night RAW and SmackDown Live. However, Reigns is “officially” a member of the SmackDown Live roster.
Not to mention he’s working on a reduced schedule these days. Therefore, the champion’s presence is absent from both brands for a good amount of time – but mostly RAW.
This certainly poses some questions heading into WrestleMania season, as fans begin to wonder if the titles will be separated, kept together, or officially unified to one singular belt.
According to a report from WrestleVotes on Twitter, the current situation with Reigns and the dual titles is described as “complex.” The report suggests WWE wants to go into WrestleMania with two champions.
The trouble is, WWE also doesn’t want Reigns to lose “AT ALL” prior to “The Show Of Shows.” Triple H and other creative heads are open to all ideas in this regard.
The situation w/ the world titles & Roman Reigns is “complex” according to a source. They would like to go into “Mania season” & WrestleMania itself with 2 champions, but they also don’t want Reigns losing AT ALL prior. I’m told HHH & co are open to all things creatively here.
Roman Reigns has certainly been built up as one of WWE’s most dominant stars and champions of all time. He’s now gone over 1,000 days without having been pinned.
As the months pass and we approach WrestleMania season, it’s likely his opponent at the event could be tapped with the responsibility of dethroning “The Tribal Chief.”
The question remains, however, if it will be for one title, or two?
For those who missed it, MJF returned at the All Out pay-per-view (PPV) this past weekend, winning the Casino Ladder match as a masked mystery Joker opponent in the contest. He now has a guaranteed shot at the AEW World Title in the future.
Later in the show, CM Punk defeated Jon Moxley to win the AEW World Title. After the match, the lights went out and a voicemail from Tony Khan was playing, pleading with someone to return to AEW and offering them a lot of money to do so.
MJF then made his way out, standing on stage and starring down Punk, motioning for the title around his waist.
According to Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Google Trends shows that MJF was actually the highest-searched wrestler over the weekend.
(via AEW)
That’s certainly quite the accomplishment, as he out-scored WWE’s Roman Reigns after the Clash At The Castle event, which was a massive show for the promotion. MJF out-scored Reigns on Saturday as well as Punk on Sunday.
Of course, after the drama that occurred after All Out, Punk then out-scored MJF on Monday and Tuesday.
In fact, Punk’s interest did over 70% more than what his title win generated after the stories broke about his backstage altercation with The Elite.
Triple H has scrapped two longstanding Vince McMahon edicts.
It’s “The Game’s” show now, and he’s certainly making his presence felt. Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Triple H first has done away with the notion that, in a tag team match, the illegal man can only attack a legal competitor in the ring when the referee is done.
The long running Vince McMahon rule stated that WWE producers have been told for years that an illegal competitor can’t successfully attack a legal competitor in a match without it being a DQ.
You can get away with doing the five-second double team spot, however, if it’s a straight up attack on the legal competitor from the illegal one, the referee had to be down. That is no longer the case.
The second rule “The Game” has done away with has been banned by McMahon for years, but was a staple in major matches during the Attitude Era.
(BT Sport)
There was a pin spot where the babyface of the match would look like they had the match won, but someone would pull the referee out of the ring from outside to kill the count.
Vince McMahon reportedly banned the spot because “it makes no sense.” However, as Dave Meltzer points out, nothing in pro wrestling makes sense.
The spot is no longer banned and was returned with Solo Sikoa debuting at Clash At The Castle by assisting Roman Reigns in defeating Drew McIntyre.
Malakai Black has been pulled from an upcoming appearance due to “health issues.”
Black was slated for the upcoming Northeast Wrestling show on Friday, where he was billed to face Matt Taven. Jay Lethal and Enzo Amore. However, the promotion has announced that Black has been pulled from the show due to “health issues.”
The promotion is currently searching for a replacement for Black.
Malakai Black was recently granted a conditional release from his contract with All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The former leader of the House of Black faction joined AEW in 2021.
However, reports suggest that Black was dealing with personal issues and could be considering a hiatus from professional wrestling. Of course, Black’s release was a conditional one.
Malakai Black (Photo: Scott Lesh)
With that being said, the conditions of those release have not been made public. However, it’s believed that a big one could be not signing with WWE until the duration of their original agreement is complete.
This is certainly interesting considering AEW president Tony Khan noted in July that “Malakai Black has almost five years left on his deal. I wouldn’t expect him going anywhere anytime soon.”
Black’s exit was subtly hinted at after he bowed and waved goodbye to the Chicago crowd a AEW All Out this past weekend, after House of Black’s loss to Sting, Miro, and Darby Allin.
An ex-WWE writer is claiming that he’s heard it “sucks backstage” in All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
Former WWE writer and actor Freddie Prinze Jr. took to his podcast, “Wrestling With Freddie,” to offer his thoughts on the current backstage environment in AEW.
Prinze stressed that AEW is in desperate need of leadership right now. He added that he has spoken to several people who work for the company, who say that the environment backstage “sucks.”
“It’s bad there, man. There’s no leadership. He was saying stuff in front of his boss that was making Tony cringe and become this shrinking violet, and that’s his boss. So there is no leadership backstage. Things have to be a mess back there.
“They have to find someone that everyone universally respects that can, not have a wrestlers court, but at least, or maybe that’s what they need is a wrestlers court. I mean, one of their EVPs, Adam Page, said he doesn’t need advice. He doesn’t take advice.
“I know a lot of actors that talk like that and they’re in their 20s, and I’m like, ‘Yo man. This is Peter Falk. You like not going to take a minute?’ They said, ‘I’m going to do what brought me here.’ All right, dog. I don’t know what’s going on there. I have a couple of friends who work there who just say it sucks backstage.
“They need leadership or someone from the outside that is in a position of power above the EVPs that ain’t having this or at least can bring people together and say have it, like hash it out right now even if that means you guys gotta throw some punches.
“I’ll drive you to the doctor as soon as it’s over. I don’t know what’s going on there, but if they don’t get their sh*t together, Triple H is going to run away with the wrestling business. Run away with it.”
(via AEW)
There have been several stories coming out of AEW about stars not getting along with one another. One being Sammy Guevara and Eddie Kingston. And of course, the most recent and biggest to date – CM Punk and The Elite.
Punk has been having issues with Hangman Page, and voiced his frustrations with Page in the AEW All Out post-show press conference. During the presser, Punk also took harsh shots at AEW EVPs Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks.
The then-AEW World Champion and former WWE star stated that The Elite “couldn’t manage a Target.”
Two-time WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair has reacted to CM Punk’s recent All Out press conference comments, as well as his brawl with The Elite.
As noted, CM Punk made some pretty strong comments about Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks during his press conference interview after All Out this past weekend.
Shortly after returning backstage, The Elite confronted Punk in his locker room, which led to a brawl.
Speaking on his podcast, “To Be The Man,” Ric Flair offered his thoughts on the entire situation.
In regards to Punk’s comments at the presser, and the AEW World Champion inviting people to come see him if they have a problem with him – Flair loved it.
“I’ve been watching it from afar and it’s very entertaining. If it’s entertainment the fans want, it’s entertainment they’re getting. Punk is giving them a lot of it. We just barely got to say hi [in WWE].
“I was long gone when all the bad blood seemed to appear between he and Hunter, then the lawsuit with the doctor and all that. I wasn’t aware of any of it and saw it like everybody else on social media. I always sided with Hunter on that because I didn’t know the other guy.
“But [Punk] is creating excitement now, and if he’s not afraid to say it – I like the way he said, ‘I’ll walk down the hall and be ready.’ That’s Harley Race talking right there. I don’t know if he’s that tough, but I love that.
“That’s old-time stuff right there. ‘If you got a problem with me, you can find me right there in the building.’ It’s got to be dividing the locker room.’
The Elite certainly took Punk at his word, as they did confront him immediately after his comments, leading to the altercation.
Flair doubled down that he loves that Punk felt strongly enough to speak up on the situation, but was reluctant to take sides in the end, as he has had nothing but pleasant experiences with Omega and The Young Bucks.
“There’s two kinds of brawls. There’s one where a guy will start a fight because he knows it’s gonna get broken up because there’s so many people around. I would think this is probably the situation with these guys.
“It’s not like they’re walking into the dressing room to talk to Harley Race or Blackjack [Mulligan]. That would take a lot of thinking and talking and walking to talk to Harley Race about something they didn’t like as an individual.
“The fact that Punk said, ‘I’m in the building if you want to find me,’ or something like that, I like that. It’s probably not what Tony [Khan] or anybody wants to hear, but if he has the courage to say that and he feels that strongly about somebody, then I don’t blame him for saying it.
“I like Omega and I like the Young Bucks. They seem like really easy guys to get along with, but I don’t know them that well. For me, it’s how they treat me as an individual, and they treat me great.
“I was able to be around Kenny when he wrestled [Andrade] in Mexico, and the Young Bucks have been awesome, so I don’t know. CM Punk, I don’t know him. But he said it.”
The fallout from CM Punk’s backstage altercation with Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks has led to significant changes to future AEW storylines. Jon Moxley is among the wrestlers whose creative plans have been thrown into disarray.
Moxley lost the AEW World Title to Punk in the main event of Sunday’s All Out pay-per-view. However, after the backstage incident between Punk and Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks, things were forced to change in a major way.
According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, there was a longterm storyline in the works for Moxley that had nothing to do with the championship. He was also approved to take time off, as as he alluded to during his promo on Dynamite, when he said he was supposed to be on vacation this week.
As a result of the ongoing investigation into the backstage melee at All Out (and subsequent suspensions that have been levied), AEW President Tony Khan called upon Moxley and Jericho to work Dynamite on short notice.
Another talent meeting that was held prior to Dynamite to address uneasiness in the locker room. Locker room veterans Moxley, Jericho and Bryan Danielson preached unity and reinforced the positive aspects of what has made AEW such a desirable place to work up until recently.
For more on the big shakeup to AEW’s creative plans, check out:
Finn Balor has offered up his thoughts on Edge departing The Judgement Day.
Balor was recently interviewed by BT Sport’s Ariel Helwani, ahead of Clash At The Castle this past weekend.
During the interview, Balor was asked for his thoughts on WWE Hall Of Famer Edge being removed from the Judgement Day faction so quickly.
Several weeks ago, upon Balor being introduced to the group, Balor, Damian Priest, and Rhea Ripley attacked Edge, seemingly kicking him out of the group. The creative decision was one that confused fans greatly at the time, seeing as it had only started a few weeks ago.
(via WWE)
As for Balor, he thinks the idea worked out in the long run, allowing the group to make it their own rather than playing “sidekick” to Edge.
“Things could always be different, and we can pick apart things that happen on a TV show weekly. But we have to adapt on the fly, unlike television. It is what it is. It wasn’t how I imagined it to be, but it’s a little cooler this way.
“For me personally, if Edge had been in the group, the reactions we would get – maybe myself, Rhea, and Damian – we would say ‘that’s because of Edge.’ But now the reactions we get, that’s because of us.
“We’re not leaning on Edge in any way, so it gives me more responsibility, Damian more responsibility, and Rhea the same. We can dive into this as ourselves as not as a sidekick to Edge. We’re excited with how it’s going.”
Currently, Edge is still feuding with The Judgement Day; which now consists of Balor, Priest, Ripley, and now Dominik Mysterio. The young Mysterio joined The Judgement Day on RAW this week after he turned on Edge and his father, Rey Mysterio, at Clash At The Castle.
Pat McAfee will have his SmackDown Live commentator role on hold after the announcement that he’ll be joining College Gameday full-time.
It was recently announced that McAfee will join ‘College GameDay’ on ESPN starting this Saturday. This won’t affect McAfee’s daily sports show on YouTube, which is currently in the middle of a four-year $120 million dollar deal with FanDuel.
However, with McAfee’s commentator duties for WWE taking place on Friday nights on SmackDown, and College Gameday taking place the following morning, that could pose some travel concerns for the ex-NFL punter.
(via WWE)
As a result, McAfee announced on his show, “The Pat McAfee Show,” today that his role as a commentator on SmackDown Live will be put on hold. However, he’s still a member of the WWE family.
SmackDAHN will be on hold for a little bit while I do College GameDay.. I'm still VERY much in the WWE family & will still be doing things with WWE#PMSLivepic.twitter.com/bhSpOYg3wW
Triple H followed up with a Tweet confirming the news, suggesting that WWE is looking forward to McAfee’s return in the future.
.@PatMcAfeeShow approached us about his amazing opportunity with College GameDay. We’d never stand in Pat’s way, as he continues to architect his exceptional career.
Pat will remain a member of the @WWE Universe and we look forward to his return. #UpToSomethingSZN
McAfee has been competing for WWE as an in-ring performer sporadically over the past few months. He’s become quite the fan-favorite, especially on commentary, so his absence will certainly be felt.
The college football season ends in January, making that a likely return timeframe for McAfee should he decide to do so.
Eddie Kingston is not shy about letting it be known which fellow All Elite Wrestling (AEW) stars he doesn’t like.
Kingston was recently a guest on Busted Open Radio, and actually revealed several people within the company he legitimately doesn’t like.
He commented on how fans think a lot of what he does and says is a work, but proceeded to confirm he legitimately doesn’t like several of AEW’s top stars.
“People think a lot of the stuff I do is a work or whatever they want to call it right? Everybody likes to use insider terms. Everybody loves to be in the know and all the dirt sheets and all that stuff, right? I’ll give it to you plain and simple.
“I don’t like Jericho. I don’t like Bryan. I don’t like Claudio. I don’t like Punk. Those are the people I don’t like in this company. There’s nothing you can say or do or tell me that makes them different to me.”
Eddie Kingston & Chris Jericho
Kingston was pressed on why he doesn’t like those stars, but was reluctant to give any insight. He prefers to keep some things behind the curtain, unlike others who he says gets things leaked out to the media.
“I’m gonna keep that to myself because people don’t need to know inside baseball. No offense to the fans, but the curtain doesn’t have to be getting pushed back all the time.
“Look at the people who let stuff leak out. They need it leaked out so they can have interest in them. I don’t need anything leaked out about me for the people to relate to me, to like me, to hate me, whatever you want.”
There seems to be quite a bit of turmoil backstage within AEW at the moment. Kingston has had his fair share of issues backstage, and now with the ongoing situation between CM Punk, Kenny Omega, and The Young Bucks, it will be interesting to see how this affects the company overall moving forward.
Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks have been suspended by All Elite Wrestling (AEW) for their participation in a physical altercation with CM Punk this past weekend.
Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, Pat Buck, Christopher Daniels, Michael Nakazawa, and Brandon Cutler have all been issued suspensions.
The report also suggests that Punk and Ace Steel are expected to either be amongst those suspended, or will no longer be with the company by the end of today (Wednesday, September 7, 2022).
This past weekend at the All Out pay-per-view (PPV), CM Punk defeated Jon Moxley to win the AEW World Title.
He spoke alongside AEW president Tony Khan in the post-show press conference, where he made some very scathing comments about Omega, The Young Bucks, Hangman Page, and more.
Shortly after Punk’s comments, Omega and The Young Bucks confronted Punk in his locker room. This led to a physical altercation between Omega, The Young Bucks, Punk, and Ace Steel.
The Sports Illustrated report notes that Punk and Khan had a meeting on Tuesday to discuss Punk’s status with the company, as well as how a potential “exit could be handled.” It was also noted that an external third-party investigation into the backstage altercation will be conducted.
Former WCW president Eric Bischoff believes CM Punk disrespected All Elite Wrestling (AEW) president Tony Khan with his recent media scrum comments.
Recently, CM Punk reportedly got into a physical altercation with The Young Bucks backstage at All Out. The backstage drama that has been going on within AEW has caused quite a stir within the professional wrestling community.
Shortly after the All Out pay-per-view (PPV), where Punk recaptured the AEW World Title, Punk made some harsh comments towards AEW EVPs Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks, firing back at what he feels has been disrespectful rhetoric towards him as of late.
These comments seemingly fueled The Elite to confront Punk in his locker room afterwards, sparking the altercation.
Bischoff believes Punk was very disrespectful to Tony Khan, who was seated next to the AEW World Champion the entire time, with his media scrum rant.
“He’s paying that cat lots of money,” Bischoff said. “He’s paying CM Punk a fortune and CM Punk is cutting his balls off, not only in front of everybody else in the roster, the executive team, the production team, oh, by the way, his business partners, you know, like Warner Discovery, potential advertisers, potential sponsors, maybe even if need be, a potential network to sell their show to should something go wrong with the Warner Discovery merger. For what reason?”
The former WCW president did admit that, if this was all a part of an elaborate storyline, he’d be fully behind the idea. However, if this is truly Punk airing out dirty laundry publicly, he feels bad for Khan.
“If there was money in it, if it was part of a story, and everybody I just mentioned including TV partners are on board and understand what you’re doing, have had it man. It could work. I’ll be your biggest fan.
“I’ll support taking a risk like that because you have to take big risks to gain big rewards. You just do.
“Not all of them work out, but you gotta try, and if that’s what they’re doing, hats off if everybody’s on board, but if Punk is just venting his spleen, spreading the heat around the entire roster, instead of focusing on his opponent which is business, man, I feel bad for Tony.”
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) star Chris Jericho has addressed the criticisms of the promotion having too big of a roster.
AEW has amassed a tremendous roster with huge names such as CM Punk, Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe, Jericho himself, and so many more.
With so many massive talents on the roster, some suggest that the roster is too big, and there are too many top stars on the roster to get the shine they deserve.
Speaking on the Superstar Crossover podcast, Chris Jericho himself addressed these claims. The longtime professional wrestling legend argues that it’s important to have such a variety of talent on a roster, while acknowledging that it’s tough to get everyone on screen with three hours of television a week.
(via AEW)
“Maybe the misconception is that we have too big of a roster. I mean it’s hard to get everybody on TV with only 3 hours a week but it’s important to have a big roster and to have a lot of variety and a lot of different guys on different levels.
“You’ve got vets like myself and CM Punk. Then, you’ve kind of got guys in their prime like Bryan Danielson and Kenny Omega, then you’ve got the up-and-comers like Daniel Garcia, Sammy Guevara, Darby Allin, and Jungle Boy.
“It’s really like a grade football team where you have different levels of what you need to have a successful team. That’s why our team has been so successful.”
Of course, if certain reports are to be believed, the AEW roster could be getting cut one Superstar short after a recent backstage physical altercation.
A former AEW star is calling out CM Punk for a shoot fight.
During a recent interview with The Undisputed Podcast, former AEW star Bobby Fish called for a competitive fight against CM Punk.
Fish isn’t very concerned with what the rules are, as he’s willing to fight Punk in boxing, kickboxing, or mixed martial arts (MMA).
“Let’s just make this a formal invitation to Phil [CM Punk]. Yeah, I’m down. If that’s the direction he wants to go and I mean, he could pick the time, the place, we can do it in Chicago. Yeah, that would be kind of fun, right? It can be boxing, it could be kickboxing, it can be MMA.
“I mean sh*t, we can do this bareknuckle. Whatever sounds good to Phil. He can pick the weight, he can pick the place like I said. I mean whatever he wants to do but yeah, let’s make it official. Like come on Phil [Fish chuckled].”
“Oh, they are atrocious [Fish described Punk’s kicks]. Well, you said what you heard on the sheets was that he came out throwing haymakers. He didn’t come out throwing kicks, because he ain’t hitting anybody with those [Fish laughed].”
Fish claims that during his time in AEW he actually tried to get AEW president Tony Khan to give him permission to do a fight several times.
Of course, he had no success on that front. Now, he’s hoping he can land a fight with Punk, who, for the time being, is under contract with AEW.
“So truth be told, since May, I have tried to get Tony Khan to sit down with me no less than five times to ask permission to do a kickboxing fight.
“It was actually something that I talked to other people in the company about but I could never nail Tony down and in Tony’s defense, he’s a busy man, especially on TV days, it is what it is but I wanted permission to do a fight and I couldn’t get there with Tony so now, it’s no secret, I don’t need anyone’s permission at this point so yeah, let’s make this sh*t official Phil… I’ll do you one better. Phil, let’s f*cking go! [Fish laughed] I think that’s how someone else would say it.”
We have some backstage news to pass along regarding Braun Strowman returning to WWE.
As noted, on this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW, Braun Strowman made his return to the company.
Strowman made a surprise appearance during the Fatal-Four Way Number One Contenders tag team match between The New Day, Alpha Academy, Los Lotharios, and The Street Profits.
Strowman came out and laid out everybody before celebrating with the crowd. PWInsider reports that, despite returning on RAW, Strowman will be used as a member of the SmackDown Live roster. He’s also slated to be used as a babyface.
The former WWE Universal Champion’s first run with WWE began back in 2013 as a member of The Wyatt Family. After several years with the faction, Strowman began a singles career in 2016.
That run saw him feud with top stars the likes of Roman Reigns, winning the WWE Universal Title, Intercontinental Title, and RAW Tag Team Titles. He’s also a former Money In The Bank winner, and an Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner.
Strowman was released from WWE in June of 2021 due to budget cuts. During his time away from WWE, Strowman still competed in professional wrestling on the independent circuit for the Control Your Narrative promotion.
Now, he’s back with WWE and could potentially rejoin the World Title picture as a potential opponent for Roman Reigns.
Bayley supports Sasha Banks and Naomi “100 percent, no matter what” amidst their current hiatus from WWE.
Back on the May 16 episode of Monday Night RAW, both Banks and Naomi, then the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, walked out of RAW over creative differences. The pair were subsequently suspended, and even the commentary team took some shots at the pair on live TV.
There were reportedly plans for both Banks and Naomi to enter into storylines for the RAW and SmackDown Women’s Titles, while remaining Tag Team Champions, but both losing their respective title pursuits. This was something seen as disrespectful, prompting the walkout.
In their absence, new Tag Team Champions have been crowned, and a new team has hit the scene. That being the returning Bayley, along with Dakota Kai, and IYO SKY.
This weekend at Clash At The Castle in Wales, the trio will take on Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss, and Asuka.
WWE.com
Recently, Bayley spoke to Sports Illustrated to hype up the pay-per-view (PPV), and was asked about the ongoing situation with Banks and Naomi. The RAW star said she supports her friends “100 percent.”
“I haven’t thought about whether they would join or whether we would be against them, but something would arise,” Bayley said. “I just want them to know I support them 100 percent, no matter what.”
With Vince McMahon now out at WWE, Banks and Naomi are reportedly expected to return “any week now,” as their issues were with the former Chairman. It will be interesting to see how WWE decides to re-introduce the pair when the time comes.
Theory now has the “Austin” back in his name as an on-screen WWE character.
With Triple H now at the helm of WWE creative, a lot of changes have been made to the on-screen product. One being the old Vince McMahon rule of having one name, and stars not being able to use their names from the indies, nixed.
Upon joining the main roster in 2021, Theory debuted under the name Austin Theory that he used in NXT. However, several months later, the “Austin” was dropped from his name, and he simply was known as “Theory.”
With Triple H now nixing the one name rule, the ex-United States Champion now has the “Austin” back in his name. Speaking to SHAK Wrestling, Mr. Money In The Bank offered his thoughts on the new name change.
“I love Theory. To me, Austin was always the throw-on, my first name. Theory is what I created in the backyard as a kid. I love it. Theory. It’s all we need.”
(via WWE)
Since joining the main roster, Theory has become one of the most promising young stars WWE has to offer. He already has a United States Title reign under his belt, and is currently the Money In The Bank briefcase holder.
In fact, he’s often received many comparisons to the likes of John Cena, someone the former NXT star has admittedly molded his career after. He even believes the pair will share the ring together at WrestleMania 39 next year.
