WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg is always ready to return to the ring but isn’t contracted for any more matches.
Goldberg returned to WWE in 2016 and has had 12 matches so far, with a 5-7 win-loss record.
Highlights of Goldberg’s return include two Universal Championship victories, defeating Kevin Owens in 2017 and ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt in 2020.
Goldberg’s Contract
As part of his deal with WWE, Goldberg wrestles a handful of matches each year, traditionally at important events like WrestleMania, Summerslam or a Saudi Arabia-held event.
Speaking on the latest episode of WWE’s The Bump, Goldberg addressed his current contract, and a possible rematch with Roman Reigns.
“Well, I don’t have any matches left on my contract, but I know one way we could take care of him. I do need to give him a little receipt for that little choke-out in Saudi Arabia.”
The two-time former Universal Champion last competed at Elimination Chamber 2022 in Saudi Arabia, losing to Roman Reigns.
The Tribal Chief
Goldberg would love to be the one to dethrone Roman Reigns (now on day 760 of his title reign,) but he’s not the only one.
Speaking about possible challengers to the head of the Bloodline, Goldberg said that a mutual foe of theirs could do it.
“I think there are a number of superstars that are capable of dethroning him, most definitely. It’s got to be the right time, the right place, and it has to be one-on-one. That’s tough because nowadays with The Usos, he’s got a built-in bodyguard system working out pretty well for him. I think Brock most definitely has the opportunity to do it when he comes back.”
Lesnar hasn’t appeared on WWE TV since losing to Reigns at Summerslam.
The Tribal Chief will next defend the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at Crown Jewel 2022 against Logan Paul.
Triple H has brought back a number of people since coming to power in WWE. Now another interesting name is pushing for his return to WWE TV.
Retired wrestling star The Boogeyman recently posted a photo on Twitter wearing a WWE Network hat. In the caption, he wrote: “Bring Boogeyman Back To Tv”
The wrestling star was part of the WWE roster from 2004 to 2009. He took part in the fourth season of Tough Enough and later joined the roster at Ohio Valley Wrestling. He made his main roster debut during the October 14, 2005 episode of SmackDown.
The original idea was for him to be part of a TV show but it was canceled. Since WWE still had the talent under contract, they brought him in to wrestle. The Boogeyman would appear at unexpected places, holding clocks.
The wrestling star, real name Martin Wright was later moved to ECW back in 2007. His last wrestling appearance for the company came on March 3, 2009 where he competed against Kane. He was released the next day.
The Boogeyman has since been brought back by the company. He has made a number of appearances for the promotion in the last few years and he also signed a new contract with the company earlier this year.
Sasha Banks may have dropped a major hint at her WWE future today on social media.
It was reported last month that Sasha Banks and Naomi had reached an agreement to return to the company. That deal may have fallen through as The Boss has made change to her Twitter name today.
Her new name on the social media application is her real one, Mercedes Varnado. At the moment, WWE is still listed in her bio. “Sasha Banks – WWE Koska Reeves – The Mandalorian. She remembered who she was and the game changed.”
Sasha Banks just changed her @ from SashaBanksWWE to her real name Mercedes Varnado… pic.twitter.com/tGkVHEp2Ic
WWE has undergone a massive change at the top of the company in recent months. Vince McMahon stepped down as the company’s CEO in the midst of an investigation into “hush money” payments made to former female employees. Former EVP of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis was also involved with the scandal and was dismissed from the company.
Naomi and Sasha Banks walked out of WWE during an episode of RAW in May. They left their Women’s Tag Team Championships on Laurinaitis’ desk, left the arena, and have not been on WWE television since. Following the recent departures from the company, Triple H was named Chief Content Officer in addition to replacing Laurinatis in his role as EVP of Talent Relations.
The Game recently joined Ariel Helwani of BT Sport for an interview and said the following when asked about Sasha Banks returning to the company.
“Time will tell. In a lot of ways, communication breakdowns are terrible. And there was a communication breakdown there for whatever reason.
Starting back up that communication is not a difficult process, but it can be a process and you have to go through the process.
She is an unbelievably talented young woman that can do just about anything she wants. It just comes down to whatever she wants to do now with her life or career, whatever that is.
There’s a passion clearly for what we do, there is a passion for other things as well.
So it comes down to what she wants to do. Because it got to be right for her, it’s got to be right for everybody.
But she is, I think as you’ve seen over the course of her career, just coming into the PC at NXT, she’s just an unbelievable performer that I believe in with everything I have.
She’s one of the biggest stars in our business so it is just what she wants to do.”
Sasha Banks: "Time will tell. There was a communication breakdown"
Braun Strowman: "He's a polarising person sometimes, but he's an amazing athlete."
Bray Wyatt: "One of the most crazy creative people I've ever been around."
Naomi has reacted to a wrestling fan comparing her to WWE NXT star Lash Legend.
On last night’s edition of NXT, Lash Legend and Wendy Choo traded words to continue their storyline. A wrestling fan on social media mocked the segment and referred to Lash as an “off-brand Naomi”.
The two-time SmackDown Women’s Champion took to Twitter to respond to the comparison. She stated that she looks forward to watching Lash’s success in the industry and requested that fans stop comparing black women for the wrong reasons.
Absolutely NOT! Lash is in her own lane. I’m very proud of her and I look forward to her growth and success. Please stop comparing us black women for the wrong reasons. Respectfully.
Absolutely NOT! Lash is in her own lane. I’m very proud of her and I look forward to her growth and success. Please stop comparing us black women for the wrong reasons. Respectfully.??
Naomi and Sasha Banks captured the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships during Night 2 of WrestleMania 38. Queen Zelina and Carmella defended the titles in a Fatal 4-Way Tag Team match. Banks and Naomi performed a double team move on Carmella to win the titles.
A little over a month later, Sasha Banks and Naomi walked out of the company during the May 16th taping of RAW. WWE was building towards the Hell in a Cell PPV and the champions were set to battle each other in a Six-Pack Challenge in the main event to determine Bianca Belair’s opponent at the Premium Live Event.
Banks and Naomi walked into former EVP of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis’ office and claimed that they were not respected enough as the tag team champions. They then left the titles on his desk and exited the building.
On the May 20th of SmackDown, Michael Cole announced the two were suspended “indefinitely” and referred to their actions as unprofessional. He announced that there would be a future tournament to crown new Women’s Tag Team Champions.
Sasha Banks and Naomi have been suspended indefinitely. There will be a future tournament to crown the new WWE Women's Tag Team Champions. pic.twitter.com/8xhJe0l5bV
More than three months after Banks and Naomi walked out of RAW, Raquel Rodriguez and Aliyah defeated IYO SKY & Dakota Kai of Damage CTRL to win the titles in the finals of the tournament.
Rodriguez and Aliyah dropped the titles to Damage CTRL in a rematch on the September 12th episode of RAW. Naomi and Sasha Banks have been rumored to return to the company but have not appeared yet. They recently walked the runway at a fashion show in New York City and a member of Damage CTRL was in attendance.
Your friendship has never wavered that means everything to me love you DING DONG thank you for being here for us ? @itsBayleyWWE (just know you can still get swung on tho ?) @SashaBanksWWE #NYFWpic.twitter.com/8Mwha03mfe
The Southpaw Regional Wrestling was one of the most absurd yet entertaining pieces of programming WWE ever produced. It allowed the featured wrestlers to leave their usual personas behind and have fun with some of the most outrageous characters ever created in wrestling. Two such stars who had a lot of fun with the show were John Cena and Fandango. They did the commentary for the series.
The former WWE star who goes by the name Dirty Dango recently appeared on Cafe De Rene. He was asked to tell an interesting story about the web series. Replying to it, the former WWE star recalled the first time he worked with John Cena on the show:
“So they asked Cena to be the commentator for the show, which was set in the 80s. I was kind of the color guy adjacent to John at the desk.” recalled Fandango, “John had probably 10 pages, probably six episodes of verbiage. He looked at it for about 20 minutes, memorized the whole thing. I’m pretty shocked.
I’m like, ‘I’ll just go on the fly and go off you’ Because he had to remember all the verbiage and he did it all in one take. I’m like, ‘Holy shit – this guy.’ That was the first time I’m like ‘This is acting’ because this is what he does. His brain is wired for that. I was like, ‘Holy fuck. this guy’s pretty good,’”
You can check out Fandango’s full interview below:
Drew McIntyre is on the mend after battling a bad case of food poisoning. The 6’5″ 265-pound Superstar is as tough as they come, but even he was no match for the illness.
McIntyre was in bad shape last Friday, but still appeared on WWE SmackDown after undergoing intravenous treatments backstage before the show. He was originally scheduled to compete at the WWE live events over the weekend from Stockton, California (Saturday) and Fresno, California (Sunday), but was given time off to recover.
We’re happy to report that McIntyre is feeling better and is scheduled to be back on television this Friday for SmackDown. The 2-time WWE Champion is part of the creative team’s plans for the show, according to a report at PWInsider.
Looking ahead for Drew McIntyre
McIntyre is one of the most popular wrestlers in WWE. He just challenged Roman Reigns for the Undisputed Clash at the Castle event from Cardiff, Wales. Reigns was victorious, but needed help from (the debuting) Solo Sikoa to defeat the Scotsman. The Tribal Chief has moved on to a feud with Logan Paul, which will culminate at WWE Crown Jewel on Saturday, November 5th from Saudi Arabia. After that Reigns has another challenger waiting in the wings.
McIntyre is currently feuding with Karrion Kross, who recently returned to WWE. The two are scheduled to clash at next weekend’s Extreme Rules premium live event from Philadelphia. We’ve updated our post about Extreme Rules Betting Odds, if you’re interested in seeing who is currently favored to win that match.
Bayley has achieved a lot of things in her ten years long WWE career. While there are still things she wants to do in the company, the bigger goal for her is to leave the place better than when she started.
The former champion recently spoke to The Five Count podcast. When asked which star from the past she would be interested in wrestling, she took the name of Lita:
“Yeah, I guess I would say Lita because she was my childhood hero. I feel like that would just be the cherry on top for my story of my career.”
– Bayley
‘Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day’: Bayley
The leader of Damage CTRL then discussed her goals in wrestling. She mentioned how winning the Royal Rumble and main eventing WrestleMania are on her list. Ultimately though, it’s all about leaving the women’s division in good hands:
“There’s still a lot. There’s a lot of women in NXT that I would love to tell some stories with but I still haven’t main evented WrestleMania. I feel like that’s a big deal to everybody especially because it’s been done a couple times now in the Women’s Division. I would love to do that or just have a singles title match at WrestleMania.
[I] would love to win the Royal Rumble, but those are just little things. I think the bigger picture is just to leave the division in good hands. That’s what Damage CTRL is all about. I wrote on a post that Rome wasn’t built in a day. So I know it’s gonna be a little bit so I can feel satisfied.”
WWE NXT 2.0 may be over, but the goal of the paint-splattered show to focus on younger, newer stars continues to live on.
NXT 2.0 was launched in September 2021 and saw some extreme changes made to the established brand.
Many Superstars associated with the original NXT were released or moved to other brands ahead of the change last year.
Younger Talent
Arguably the biggest change made with the implementation of NXT 2.0 was a shift of focus, with more attention being spent on newer, younger stars.
NXT 2.0’s arrival saw the debuts of Superstars including Bron Breakker, Von Waner, Joe Gacy, Grayson Waller, Nikkita Lyons, and others.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reported that NXT will still focus on new stars despite ditching the NXT 2.0 branding (via eWrestlingNews.)
“No more 2.0, it’s just NXT again. They’re going back to the old colors. But the same philosophy in the sense of mostly younger guys coming in, and younger women coming in and everything.”
Dave Meltzer
Prior to the 2021 relaunch, the show had been treated as a third brand, equivalent to Raw and SmackDown.
NXT
Originally a reality show where wrestlers would compete for a chance for a WWE contract, NXT was revamped for the first time in 2012.
The change was made for NXT to become a developmental brand, replacing Florida Championship Wrestling, which had been producing talent for the main roster for years.
In 2019, NXT was moved to the USA Network and competed head-to-head with AEW Dynamite.
At that time, the decision was made for NXT to be its own third brand and competed against Raw and SmackDown at that year’s Survivor Series.
Former WWE star Fandango, who now goes by the name Dirty Dango is teasing a return to television very soon.
The 39-year-old recently appeared on Café De René with Rene Dupree. Among other things, he was asked about his future schedule.
Replying to it, Fandango teased a Television return very soon. He claimed that he will be starting with a company in the next couple of weeks:
“I’m starting with a company soon, I think in the next couple weeks that I can’t really talk about, but it should be on TV. I mean it will be on TV,”
– Fandango
Fandango was part of the WWE roster from 2006 to 2021. He spent a long time in various development territories including a couple years in NXT.
He made his main roster debut as a ballroom dancer back in March 2013. Dango would go on to defeat Chris Jericho in his debut match at WrestleMania 29.
However, the character didn’t go anywhere from there. He coasted around the WWE roster for the next few years before getting paired with Tyler Breeze.
The team of Fandango and Tyler Breeze received praise from fans for their character work. They even won the NXT tag team titles. Both the stars were released from their contract in June 2021.
Ronda Rousey is set to battle Liv Morgan for the SmackDown Women’s Championship in an Extreme Rules match at the Premium Live Event on October 8th.
The Baddest Woman on the Planet earned the title shot by winning a Fatal 5-Way on the September 9th edition of SmackDown. Liv Morgan sent a message to Ronda on this past Friday’s episode of the blue brand following her bout with Lacey Evans.
Morgan hit Oblivion to pick up the pinfall victory but wanted more. She climbed to the top turnbuckle and connected with a Senton to send Lacey crashing through the table. The 28-year-old then looked at the camera and stated “I’m ready for you Ronda! Let’s get Extreme!”.
"I'm ready for you @RondaRousey, let's get Extreme!"
What Does Ronda Rousey Think Is The Difference Between WWE & UFC Fans?
Ronda Rousey spoke about the difference between UFC and WWE fans on her latest gaming stream on her YouTube channel. The former UFC Women’s Champion said that WWE fans respect the legends of the business for a lot longer.
She pointed out how the WWE Universe will remember something a wrestler did twenty years ago, while UFC fans are ready to move on if you are no longer at the top.
I would say that the WWE fans care more about the wrestlers than the UFC fans care more about the fighters. UFC fans have much less respect for the veterans and legends of the sport than WWE fans do.
A lot of UFC fans are kind of like bandwagon fans in that way. The second you’re not on top, you’re dead to them. Where WWE fans are like, ‘this is the guy that did this 20 years ago’ and are still really excited whereas UFC fans now are like, ‘Forrest Griffin sucks.’ Uhh, you owe basically the whole sport to him. S*** like that. ‘Anderson Silva sucks. GSP [Georges St-Pierre] sucks.’
These are people that elevated the sport and paved the way for everybody else. I don’t see UFC fans having the same respect for people that got the sport to where it is as WWE fans. I’m not saying it’s completely absent, I’m just saying I see more respect for legends in WWE fans than UFC fans. There are exceptions to everything.
Ronda Rousey on the difference between WWE & UFC fans
Legendary wrestling faction The New Day recently reunited, but it wasn’t for WWE. Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods and Big E got together to film a comedy sketch for G4’s Attack of the Show Youtube channel.
The beloved trio teamed up with comedians Will Neff and Case Blackwell for a parody television commercial promoting Action Human, a fully opposable life-sized version of wrestling action figures. The sketch involved two friends are playing with wrestling action figures, but they were upset because the “barely-opposable” action figures don’t properly capture the intensity of a real wrestling match. A fireball erupts and the New Day emerge to save the day. The Superstars transformed one of the guys into a “Fully Opposable Action Human” and well, hilarity ensues.
Xavier Woods has been an on-air host for the G4 television network ever since the gaming channel was relaunched in 2020.
Big E has been off WWE television since he suffered a broken neck on the March 11, 2022 edition of SmackDown on FOX. He provided an update on his condition last month. At the time, he was 5 months removed from breaking his neck and said he was feeling great. He still doesn’t know if he will be able to wrestle again, but he’s living a normal life with virtually no pain from in the incident, which is nothing short of a miracle.
For more on Big E’s recovery from a broken neck, check out this article from last month:
McIntyre answered with Hell In A Cell matches, going as far as to say that he hates competing in the matches.
“Hell in a Cell matches, I have not had a good track record with them. I’ve had two, I have lost two. I’ve fallen off the side of the Hell in a Cell. You wanna talk about not liking heights, I’ve been on top of Hell in Cell twice, and it is terrifying.
“Legitimately 20-feet high. You’re scaling a cage to get up there. Technically there’s supposed to be little assist holes that help you climb your way up. When you’re live on the air, you can’t find those things.
“They’re invisible. So I’ve literally scaled up that thing with my bare hands, hating heights, falling off the side. Worst fall of my career against Randy Orton, knocked me ten feet off the side of a cell, which is 17 feet when you look back before you fall when you’re as tall as I am.
“Yeah, I hate Hell in a Cell. So give me a street fight, give me a weapons match. Keep me on the ground and let me swing a weapon at you. If you push me too far, I’ll swing my sword at you.”
(via WWE)
Drew McIntyre recently competed in a big match for the Undisputed WWE Title against Roman Reigns at WWE Clash At The Castle. The event took place earlier this month in McIntyre’s backyard of Cardiff, Wales.
Unfortunately for McIntyre, his efforts came up just short of capturing the gold yet again. However, he did have a rather exciting surprise for fans at the event.
Roman Reigns is currently advertised for the upcoming SmackDown season premiere in October.
The DCU Center is currently advertising “The Tribal Chief” for the WWE SmackDown on Friday, October 7 in Worcester, Massachusetts. That will be the season premiere for the show, and it will also be the go-home show prior to WWE Extreme Rules 2022.
WWE.com is also advertising Reigns for the show. It should also be noted that The Bloodline is also being advertised for the Monday Night RAW on the post-Extreme Rules edition of the program in October.
Check out the official advertisement from the DCU Center here:
BREAKING NEWS: Roman Reigns, WWE Champion… The Big Dog… will be at the DCU Center on Fri. Oct 7 for @WWE’s SmackDown!
Roman Reigns currently reigns as the Undisputed WWE Champion since capturing the WWE Title from Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania earlier this year. After successful title defenses against the likes of Lesnar and Drew McIntyre, Reigns’ next opponent is already booked for Saudi Arabia.
He’ll take on Logan Paul at Crown Jewel next month. While it’s highly unlikely that Reigns’ title reign ends with Paul, it will be interesting to see who else could challenge Reigns for the WWE’s top prize moving forward.
Names such as the returning Braun Strowman, AJ Styles, and Karrion Kross have all been tossed around as possibilities.
WWE has commissioned several sets of new championship belts in what is being seen as the latest big change to the company in the post-Vince McMahon era.
Since the ex-CEO’s departure in July, several changes have been made to WWE’s roster, with talent released in recent years being brought back. WWE has also made changes on a larger scale, ending the NXT UK brand in favor of the NXT Europe show expected to launch next year.
WWE is host to plenty of titles across Raw, SmackDown and NXT, and some of those titles are set to receive a new look. WWE has had newly designed championships for weeks, with at least three new sets of title belts fully finished, according to Fightful.
WWE Superstars who spoke to Fightful off-the-record are said to welcome the new titles. It’s also believed that Triple H’s rise to power following McMahon’s retirement sped up the process to introduce new title designs.
New Tag Gold
Championship belt creator Belt Fan Dan recently noted on Twitter that new tag team championship belts have been created and are ready to roll out.
The WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championships have been represented by the Raw and SmackDown tag-team titles since the championships were unified in May.
There are also never used tag team titles, which look like the designs used on the WWE Women’s tag titles on colored straps, but it is unclear if they will be used.
Velcro vs. Snaps
One change already made to WWE’s championships is the use of velcro on the titles.
Though WWE once used snap pins to hold titles around the waist of talent, velcro is now used, with the snap pins being used for aesthetic appeal.
WWE talent who spoke to Fightful said that they appreciate how velcro allows them to fasten and unfasten titles quickly, but it cosmetically looks bad.
More Changes
WWE’s championships are set to get a redesign, and the promotion has plans to change things across all three brands.
We recently saw WWE introduce a new logo for NXT and drop the “2.0” branding that was introduced last year. Aside from new championship belts on the main roster, there are said to be other cosmetic changes in store for the Raw and SmackDown brands.
WWE has announced that they’ve postponed two NXT live events in Florida this weekend as Hurricane Ian has caused mass evacuation orders in the state.
Live shows originally set for Friday, September 30, from Tampa, Florida’s University Area Community Complex and Saturday, October 1, from Dade City, Florida’s Dade City Armory have been postponed until December 17 and November 11, respectively.
A state of emergency has been declared in Florida due to Hurricane Ian, which made landfall in Cuba on Tuesday and is expected to impact Florida on Wednesday. Around 2.5 million Floridians are currently under evacuation orders.
WWE’s Statement
WWE issued the following statement regarding the shows being postponed:
“NXT UNIVERSE
Due to Hurricane Ian, the WWE NXT LIVE events this Friday, September 30th in Tampa, FL & Saturday, October 1st in Dade City, Florida will be postponed.
All tickets purchased for this Friday’s event in Tampa will be honored at the new event on Saturday, December 17th and all tickets purchased for this Saturday’s event in Dade City will be honored at the new event on Friday, November 11th.
If you have any questions about these events or would like a refund for your ticket please email nxttickets@wwecorp.com with your name and order number.”
AEW President Tony Khan announced via Twitter on Monday that it is voluntary for talent to travel to this week’s tapings.
Triple H has feuded with a lot of top names in wrestling, but the Game regrets never having a prolonged feud with Rey Mysterio.
When Mysterio joined WWE in 2002, he was put on SmackDown, while Triple H was the top star on Raw.
While Triple H would eventually be drafted to SmackDown in 2008, Rey would be drafted to Raw that same year.
The following year, Triple H was drafted back to Raw and Mysterio was moved back to SmackDown.
The Missed Feud
Speaking to LadBible, the Game spoke about the possibility of working with Mysterio and how the opportunity never arose.
“I always wanted to work with Rey Mysterio. I think I’ve been in the ring with him twice [in] my entire career. There’s certain guys like that… We just never ended up in the same place in the same storylines.
“I always wanted to work with Rey Mysterio.”
Triple H.
“I’ve thrown it out there a lot over the years of like, ‘Hey, what if Rey and I did something,’ But he was always on SmackDown [while] I was on Raw or vice versa. It just never panned out but he’s always a guy that I always thought ‘Man, I would have loved to have gone and done something big with him.’”
Rey Mysterio Vs. Triple H
While Rey and Triple H never feuded, the two did share the ring on occasion
Triple H and Mysterio were the #1 and #2 entrants in the 2006 Royal Rumble, which was later won by Rey.
Rey and Triple H would be on the same team as part of Survivor Series 2007, aligning with Jeff Hardy and Kane.
Trish is keeping tight-lipped on what this project could be, but another match is a possibility for the 2013 WWE Hall of Fame inductee.
Stratus’ most recent appearance for WWE came on the August 22, 2022, Monday Night Raw, which took place in her native Toronto, and where she teased having one more match.
Her promo was interrupted by Damage CTRL, leading to speculation among fans of a Bayley-Stratus match.
Stratus’ most recent match, which was billed as her retirement match, saw her lose to Charlotte Flair at Summerslam 2019, also in Toronto.
Stratus after Retirement
Despite leaving WWE in 2006, Stratus has made several appearances since then, and had several matches.
In 2008, Trish wrestled her first match in over two years, teaming with John Cena to defeat Santino Marella and Beth Phoenix.
Stratus also returned in 2018, having a series of matches around the time of WWE Evolution: the promotion’s first all-female Pay Per View.
Outside of wrestling, Stratus appeared in a 2013 music video for Mickie James’ song ‘Somebody’s Gonna Pay,’ and had a minor role for the TV movie ‘Christmas in the Rockies’ in 2020.
In March this year, she appeared as a judge on ‘Canada’s Got Talent.’
Roman Reigns could be in store for a phenomenal feud with AJ Styles for the Tribal Chief’s Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.
Styles, a two-time former WWE Champion, last held world title gold in 2018, losing the championship to Daniel Bryan (now AEW’s Bryan Danielson.)
Reigns has dominated as Universal Champion since August 2020, and unified the title with the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 38.
At recent WWE Live events, Reigns has been facing Styles in the main event of the evening.
Cageside Seats reports that there is belief that the two will soon be feuding on WWE programming.
WWE has used untelevised events to test possible feuds for Television.
Styles has been feuding with The Judgment Day in recent weeks but does not have a match at the upcoming Extreme Rules Premium Live Event
Get in Line
In AJ Styles could soon be challenging for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, he’s not the only one who wants a shot at the Head of the Table.
Roman Reigns is scheduled to defend his Championship against Logan Paul at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia next month.
It has also been reported that WWE is considering Reigns Vs. Karrion Kross at November’s WWE Survivor Series: WarGames.
Braun Strowman is also expected to face Roman Reigns in the near future.
After returning to WWE earlier this month, it was reported that Strowman will be the top face on the SmackDown brand, making a feud with Reigns likely.
Reigns Vs. Styles
Roman Reigns and AJ Styles last feuded in 2016, mere months after the latter’s WWE debut.
The babyface Reigns, then the WWE World Champion, defeated Styles at that month’s Payback, and later defeated him at Extreme Rules.
Seth Rollins is set to battle Matt Riddle in a Fight Pit at WWE Extreme Rules on October 8th.
Their rivalry has been going on for months and the two were originally supposed to face off at SummerSlam. The match was canceled at the last minute but Seth still attacked Riddle during the Premium Live Event. The rivalry has gotten incredibly personal as Seth recently noted that Matt’s wife and children left him during an interview on RAW. Seth defeated Riddle at Clash at the Castle via pinfall.
On this week’s edition of RAW, Seth vowed to win the bout at Extreme Rules and battled Rey Mysterio in a singles match. Dominik and Rhea Ripley interfered and allowed Seth to pick up a submission victory over Rey.
Riddle was in action tonight in the main event. He battled Damian Priest with The Judgment Day ringside. Riddle emerged victorious after rolling up Damian in the middle of the ring. After the match, The Judgment Day attacked but Edge returned to make the save. The Rated-R Superstar challenged Finn Balor to an “I Quit” match at Extreme Rules.
Matt Riddle was celebrating his victory over Damian Priest with the WWE Universe after RAW went off the air. Seth leaped over the barricade and the crowd erupted. The two stars brawled for a little bit before WWE officials broke it up. Seth then scampered around the ring and got in some more shots on Riddle before the two were separated.
The ‘White Rabbit’ mystery has become a very popular topic amongst the WWE Universe.
WWE has been playing Jefferson Airplane’s 1967 song “White Rabbit” at live events and during a commercial break on a recent SmackDown.
On last week’s episode of RAW, WWE displayed a QR code as Austin Theory made his way to the ring for a match against Kevin Owens. The URL took fans to a hidden WWE website with a game of Hang Man. The question was “Who killed the world and the answer was “YOU DID”.
On last week’s episode of SmackDown, another QR code appeared during a backstage segment with Hit Row and The Street Profits. The code took fans to another hidden website that revealed the word “patricide”, which means to kill one’s father. Bray Wyatt had previously referenced killing his father in a promo. It also had the coordinates for the arena of tonight’s RAW (Rogers Place).
WWE has released another clue for the White Rabbit during tonight’s episode of RAW. A QR code showed up during Seth Rollins versus Rey Mysterio. The Architect emerged victorious after Dominik distracted his father and Rhea attacked from behind. The code takes fans to WWE’s TikTok page this time and shows a video featuring clips from the past.
The video features Cody Rhodes, Kurt Angle, Edge, The Rock, Randy Orton, and legends from the past saying “Who killed the world? You did”. WWE also played the song during a commercial break of tonight’s RAW.
The number 40701 was displayed in the video and Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful noted that is the zip code for Corbin, Kentucky. Happy Corbin hasn’t been seen since he left in JBL’s limo on a recent episode of SmackDown. The Fiend also defended the Universal Championship against The Miz in the town in 2020.
To go with that QR Code video the coordinates of that number on the bottom of the video 44.244273,7.769737 leads to this. #WWERaw
This is been too good and cryptic of a build up to not be Bray but it is interesting that the zip code 40701 is for Corbin, Kentucky pic.twitter.com/h0M935FLxH
Candice LeRae is back in WWE as she made her return to the company on Monday’s episode of Raw when she wrestled Nikki Cross in a singles match. WWE internally had Doudrop listed as Nikki’s opponent on the show. LeRae went over in a short match.
After working on the independents for several years, she signed with WWE in 2018. LeRae was a one-time NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion with Indie Hartwell. LeRae became a free agent as her contract with WWE had expired this past May, and she was added to the alumni section of WWE.com.
Her deal was expected to be up this spring, but it was unknown whether WWE would add time to her deal because of the missed time she had due to her pregnancy.
LeRae and Johnny Gargano had their first child this past February. Johnny departed from WWE in December when his contract expired but returned to the company last month.
LeRae is the latest star that Triple H has brought back, including Karrion Kross, Hit Row, Braun Strowman, Dakota Kay, and more.
Braun Strowman showed off his insane body transformation since returning to WWE.
Since returning to WWE, Strowman has looked to be in ridiculous shape since his last departure. Strowman took to Twitter to show a photo of himself from his days beginning with WWE, compared to how he looks now.
The change is quite a thing to see. Check it out below:
Strowman began with WWE back in 2013, and eventually made his debut with The Wyatt Family in 2015. After branching out from the group, Wyatt began a singles run in 2016. He became one of the most dominant big men on the main roster, accomplishing quite a lot.
“The Monster Among Men” is a former Universal Champion, Intercontinental Champion, a two-time RAW Tag Team Champion, a 2018 Money In The Bank Ladder match winner, and the winner of the Greatest Royal Rumble in 2018.
Braun Strowman
Strowman also won the 2019 Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Unfortunately, Strowman was released from WWE as part of a large series of cuts in June of 2021.
However, earlier this month, Strowman was brought back on an episode of Monday Night RAW, laying waste to several tag teams, making his presence felt.
Ric Flair has fans talking again about the possibility of him coming out of retirement again to have his final match again.
The wrestling legend broke into the business in 1972, which marks 2022 as his 50th year in wrestling, and has become one of the most decorated wrestlers of all time. In addition to being a 16-time world champion, he’s also held other titles in the NWA, WCW, and WWE.
During his career, he has shared the ring with several legends such as Sting, Shawn Michaels, Hulk Hogan, Dusty Rhodes, and more.
One More Match?
In a post on Twitter, Flair said he will never retire, which comes after he previously hinted at coming back after hearing about Ricky Steamboat coming out of retirement.
Steamboat will be stepping back into the ring on November 27 for Big Time Wrestling, although his opponent has yet to be confirmed. Steamboat turned down the offer to compete in Flair’s final match at Starrcast V.
Thank You To Everyone Who Helped Me Celebrate My 50 Years In The Business! One Thing Is For Certain… I WILL NEVER RETIRE! WOOOOO! #50YearsOfFlairpic.twitter.com/tOhGVpcrJB
Flair won his last match on July 31 by teaming with Andrade El Idolo to defeat Jay Lethal & Jeff Jarrett. Since then, he has continued making wrestling appearances and will be cornering his son in law Andrade for his World Wrestling Council match against Carlito on August 6.
Drew McIntyre was pleased to celebrate his WWE Championship victory at WrestleMania 36, despite being confident part of his celebration would be cut.
McIntyre’s win over Brock Lesnar marked the Scottish Warrior’s first of two WWE Championship wins, with his second coming in late 2020 over Randy Orton.
His win also came over a decade after being declared ‘The Chosen One’ by Vince McMahon, and nearly six years after his release from the promotion.
Cutting it Short
McIntyre’s monumentous title win was a long time coming but played out in front of zero fans due to COVID-19 protocols at the time.
Speaking to SEScoops correspondent Steve Fall, McIntyre spoke about his post-match moment, when he reached out to the camera.
“I was so grateful for that moment and wanted to let them [the fans] know ‘hey you might not be here but you’re here with me and it was an organic moment.”
McIntyre was thrilled to see his moment with the fans make it to the broadcast, as he first believed it would be cut by WWE.
“WrestleMania was pre-taped the week prior. I assumed that moment would be edited out because generally we don’t look down the camera lens and break the fourth wall, but it just felt like the right thing to do with nobody there because I couldn’t look out to the crowd and make that connection because there was nobody there.
“I assumed that moment would be edited out because generally we don’t look down the camera lens and break the fourth wall.”
Drew McIntyre on reaching out to fans after his WrestleMania 36 win.
“So I just looked right into the camera lens had that moment assumed they would never see the light of day, and it was cool to see it during WrestleMania and people to have such a positive response.”
The Pandemic Champion
Drew would carry WWE as the World Champion throughout the majority of the Pandemic, defending his title to absolute silence several times.
It wouldn’t be until Summerslam 2020 that WWE would introduce the ‘Thunderdome’ allowing a fan-like atmosphere without live audiences
Addressing what was an unprecedented time, McIntyre acknowledged his work as the face of the company, but called it a team effort.
“I appreciate when people give me credit for stepping up during that period but I always say everybody stepped up during that period. Our entire rosters across Raw, Smackdown and NXT when every other entertainment and sports company shut down, we pushed ahead.
“Everybody [in WWE] said ‘okay if we’re gonna be the only place around to take people’s minds off what’s going on in the world, we’re going to give it our all.’ And for me personally as champion, I get to lead by example.”
WWE would bring back fans for WrestleMania 37 in April 2021, before allowing audiences to return full-time in July that same year.
3MB
Years before McIntyre became WWE Champion, he was part of 3MB, the comedy trio of wannabe musicians comprising of himself, Jinder Mahal and Heath Slater.
While McIntyre has said in the past that the group felt like a downgrade from the lofty heights once expected of him, he acknowledges how the group has remained popular.
“I think Nostalgia is a hell of a thing because I don’t know if a lot of people who were watching 3MB as kids maybe and got a little older or just people remember it different than actually was but the way that people talk to me about 3MB now you would think over the shield. So I’m like ‘okay you remember a little different than me I’m gonna go with that.’”
McIntyre and Mahal would be released from WWE in 2014, with both returning and becoming WWE Champion.
Slater was released by WWE in 2020 and has since gone on to work in Impact Wrestling.
For use of these quotes please give a h/t to SEScoops.
Drew McIntyre won’t be competing for the time being after contracting food poisoning last week.
PW Insider’s Mike Johnson reports that WWE made the decision to pull McIntyre from the Saturday Night’s Main Event show in Stockton, California.
Before being pulled, the two-time former WWE Champion was scheduled to team with the New Day’s Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods against The Usos and Solo Sikoa.
In his place, Braun Strowman teamed with the New Day in a winning effort, which also marked Strowman’s first WWE Live event since returning to the promotion earlier this month.
SmackDown
McIntyre didn’t make it to the weekend WWE Live events, but he did appear on SmackDown on FOX.
In his report, Johnson added that under the weather during the SmackDown taping, and required IV treatment in order to help him get through the show.
SmackDown saw McIntyre be attacked by Karrion Kross, as part of the build towards their Strap match at WWE Extreme Rules.
WWE Extreme Rules 2022 will take place at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October 8.
McIntyre Vs. Kross
There has been no comment on whether McIntyre Vs. Kross will be delayed due to this recent food poisoning.
The two have been feuding since Kross’ return to the promotion in July, following his releases from the company in November 2021.
Kross was also ringside for McIntyre’s Clash at the Castle match earlier this month, where the Scottish Warrior came up short against Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns.
