SEScoops

Author: Anutosh Bajpai

  • Brodie Lee Reveals He Wasn\’t Originally Going To Win The TNT Championship

    Brodie Lee has had a successful stint in AEW so far which includes leading his own group filled with many talented stars in the Dark Order and a run with the TNT title as well.

    However, during a recent interview with AEW Unrestricted podcast, the former WWE star talked about his title run and revealed that he wasn\’t originally going to win the belt.

    The Dark Order leader claimed that the original plans did not call for him to have a run with the belt and Brodie Lee explained why he tries not to know too much about the plans for his future:

    \”I believe that the original plan was for me to not become TNT Champion, I\’m kind of not privy to the ins and outs, the nuts and bolts of it all, probably because I don\’t want to be.

    Because if I get a thought in my head, I become quickly married to it, and then if something changes, I go insane. So, I try not to know too much about what\’s supposed to happen and kind of just live in the moment.\”

    While the former WWE star did not reveal the reason for the change in plans, it was likely influenced by the fact that Cody had to take time off to film the STARZ Heels series with Stephen Amell.

    Apart from this, Brodie Lee also talked about the original plans for his debut being altered due to the coronavirus pandemic, leading the Dark Order and more.

  • SmackDown Star To Make Appearance On Raw, Cross Brand Battle Royal Announced

    WWE has announced a number of interesting matches and segments for this week\’s special draft edition of Monday Night Raw including a cross-brand battle royal and more.

    The first night of the WWE draft on SmackDown this past week saw Seth Rollins being drafted to SmackDown for the first time since the return of brand extension in 2016.

    After this, the company has announced that the former Universal Champion will be making one final appearance for the Red Brand to say goodbye this Monday.

    WWE has also announced a dual-branded Battle Royal which will see the female wrestlers from Raw and SmackDown competing for an opportunity to challenge Asuka for her Raw Women\’s Championship.

    The other segments and matches which have been announced for the episode include a no disqualifications match between Kevin Owens and Aleister Black after Black ambushed Owens last week and a segment featuring Mustafa Ali speaking to the WWE Universe after he was revealed as the leader of Retribution.

    All this will be in addition to the night two of WWE drafts which will determine the future of many big stars and former world champions such as Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan and \’The Fiend\’ Bray Wyatt.

  • WWE Star Reveals Recent Injury As Reason For Absence From TV

    Mickie James hasn\’t been seen on WWE programming in recent weeks and the female star recently revealed the reason behind her absence.

    The former women\’s champion revealed in a recent video on her YouTube channel GAW TV that she actually broke her nose during a match.

    Though thankfully James confirmed that the damage was not severe. She claimed that it was more like a curve where she couldn\’t breathe out of one side of her nose and revealed that she will only be out of action for a couple of weeks:

    \”So, [I] legit broke my nose in a match, and now I can\’t wrestle for a couple of weeks, unfortunately that sucks. It wasn\’t severe.

    It wasn\’t like my nose was blasted across my face. It was more like a curve and I can\’t breathe out the one side and I\’ll be honest, I thought it was gonna be a lot more painful, to get it fixed.\”

    Mickie James had a championship match against Asuka on the September 14 episode of Raw which apparently ended earlier than planned because the referee thought that James was legitimately injured.

    She then lost a #1 contenders match for the Raw Women\’s Championship to Zelina Vega during the September 21 episode of the show and the wrestling veteran hasn\’t been seen on WWE programming ever since.

    While the confirmation from James that she won\’t be out of action for long is good news, we still don\’t know the exact date for her return and it would be interesting to see if she is involved in the upcoming WWE draft.

  • Kevin Nash On Which Current Star Would Fit In nWo

    The nWo is one of the most impactful factions in the history of the wrestling business and even to this day, people discuss the possibility of a modern-day version of the group.

    Kevin Nash, who was one of the original three members of the group was recently interviewed on The Hashtag show where he talked about many different things.

    During the interview, the former WWE star was asked which current female star he would want in the early version of nWo and the former champion took the name of \’The Boss\’ Sasha Banks:

    “Gotta be Sasha … I thought her match at SummerSlam that she lost; I thought the psychology was amazing at the end.\” said Kevin Nash \”I mean, there was some thought put into it. There were several times she had her in the, ‘Is she gonna tap, no she doesn’t tap.’

    And they just worked it back and forth. And I thought, ‘I’m not seeing that anywhere else.’ I mean, I’m seeing it here, I’m seeing it in her match. And she’s, you know, she’s very attractive. I mean, that goes without saying. But she has that swag, you know. She’s the total package.”

    Nash also explained the importance of a wrestler\’s theme music saying that it\’s the first thing that gets a reaction from the crowd when you are having a match.

    Which current female star from WWE do you think would be the right fit for nWo? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below

  • Ken Shamrock Explains Why He Asked The Rock To Do The Greeting For His Impact Wrestling HOF Induction

    Ken Shamrock made some headlines recently when he publically asked The Rock to deliver a greeting for his Impact Wrestling Hall Of Fame induction and received a reply from the great one.

    The MMA legend recently had an interview with Busted Open Radio where he talked about a number of things and also explained why he wanted The Rock to be a part of his induction.

    Shamrock recalled his feud with the People\’s Champion and his Nation Of Domination faction in 1998. The former WWE star explained that the feud helped him tremendously in his pro wrestling career:

    \”I\’ll never forget the things that he did for me, and the times that we spent together were special because it really did help me in my pro wrestling career, and I know he\’ll tell you the same thing with me and the things that we did because that shot him up into stardom, and it wasn\’t because of me.

    It was because of what we were able to do together and be able to give ourselves a chance to be able to step away and do greater things at other places, but that was a start for me and for him, and he was a big part of that. So, I thought it was fitting for him to be a part of that induction because I believe that\’s where it started – was with him.\”

    Elsewhere in the interview, Shamrock who is in both the UFC and Impact Wrestling Hall Of Fame said that you shouldn\’t get in the Hall Of Fame of any industry unless you have contributed to it at a high level and you are respected by the fans of the community.

    Ken Shamrock\’s Hall Of Fame induction was announced earlier this year and he was inducted into the Impact Wrestling Hall Of Fame in February.

  • Backstage Update On Finn Balor\’s Injury

    Finn Balor defended his NXT Championship against Kyle O\’Reilly in a gruesome match at the NXT Takeover: 31 event where the title holder managed to retain his championship.

    Though the champion did not come unhurt out of the bout and WWE announced that he suffered a broken jaw during the fight. However, latest reports suggest that his injury is not as serious as it\’s being reported.

    Dave Meltzer talked about Balor on the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio. While he revealed that the reports of Finn\’s injury are not inaccurate, the wrestling journalist noted that it was \”made to be worse than it is.\”

    There is still no word on how long the current champion will stay out of action but the typical recovery time from a broken jaw is around 6 weeks.

    Finn Balor made his return to NXT during the October 2nd episode of the show back in 2019 and he confronted the NXT Champion at the time, Adam Cole, during his return.

    He went on to have feuds with the likes of Matt Riddle, Damian Priest and Johnny Gargano in the coming months before finally winning the NXT title back during the NXT: Super Tuesday II event last month.

    So far WWE has not announced a time table for his return, but with reports of his injury not being as serious, it doesn\’t look likely that Balor will stay out of action for very long. it would be interesting to see who challenges him for the title next when he comes back.

  • Zack Ryder On How He Felt On Losing The IC Title The Night After WrestleMania

    Zack Ryder finally got a WrestleMania moment after being with WWE for more than a decade when he won the Intercontinental Championship in a ladder match during the WrestleMania 32 event.

    However, the former WWE star did not have a very long reign with the title and fans were not very happy with the fact that the company actually took the belt off him the next night on Raw in a match with the Miz.

    Though while talking about his short reign during a recent session with Pro Wrestling Junkies, Ryder claimed that losing the title actually made the moment because it fitted his underdog character:

    \”I think losing the next night made the moment, I wish I could have lost it that same night. Why have the title for two weeks or two months? Unless I\’m going to go undefeated for two years or something, just take it off me. That\’s just the Zack Ryder character – the underdog that finally gets it and then it gets taken away.\”

    Zack Ryder continued by saying that the loss made his win special because nobody thought that he was going to win in the first place and people resented the fact that he lost it so soon.

    Apart from this, the former WWE star also talked about things like his recent AEW stint and he revealed that he has actually made a list of AEW stars he wants to face. You can check out his comments on the matter at this link.

  • WWE Responds To Reports Of New Lawsuit From Matt Riddle Accuser

    Reports came out earlier today that Samantha Tavel, a.k.a. Candy Cartwright has filed a civil lawsuit against Matt Riddle, WWE, and former Evolve owner Gabe Sapolsky.

    The news was first reported by the Chicago Sun Times and court documents that have surfaced online suggest that Tavel is seeking $10 million dollars per defendant for actual damages, damages from emotional distress, punitive damages, attorney\’s fees, and costs.

    WWE has now responded to these reports about a lawsuit. The company released a short statement claiming that they have not been served yet but they will defend themselves if they do get served:

    \”WWE has not been served with a lawsuit by Ms. Tavel. However, if served, we will vigorously defend ourselves and contest it.\”

    For those who don\’t know, Samantha Tavel accused Matt Riddle of sexual assaults during the \”#SpeakingOut\” movement earlier this year.

    The female star claims that Riddle committed a series of assaults against her from 2017 through January 2020 and the first incident of assault took place in a parking lot following an Evolve show in April 2017.

    This new lawsuit comes after Matt Riddle had withdrawn his petition for a restraining order against Cartwright and filed a civil lawsuit of his own back in mid-September.

    Matt Riddle has so far not reacted to this new lawsuit from his accuser but we will keep you posted on any updates in the situation.

  • Rumour Killer On Potential Partnership Between AEW And NJPW

    Ever since AEW came into existence and even before they had produced their first show as a company, people have been talking about a potential relationship between them and NJPW.

    However, so far there has been no indication of the same and while officials have maintained the never say never attitude, there hasn\’t really been any solid development that could suggest a future partnership between the two.

    The rumours picked up once again after the Japanese promotion was referenced a number of times during this week\’s episode of AEW Dynamite including a cameo from Hiroshi Tanahashi.

    However, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer killed the rumours recently and replying to a tweet about the references, he revealed that the Tanahashi appearance was Chris Jericho\’s doing:

    This week\’s Dynamite saw Chris Jericho celebrating the 30-year anniversary of his pro wrestling debut. The episode included multiple video messages from various wrestlers congratulating Y2J, including one from the NJPW star.

    Though this wasn\’t the only NJPW reference on the show. A video package hyping the match between Jon Moxley and Lance Archer featured footage from their previous encounter at the Japanese promotion and Excalibur name-dropped the company on commentary as well.

    While the two companies do not have a working relationship at the moment, the recent departure of NJPW CEO Harold Meij has given a new life to the rumours and it would be interesting to see if this change turns out to be a positive development for a future relationship between the two promotions.

  • Chris Jericho Calls Crown Jewel Match The Worst He Has Ever Seen

    Chris Jericho has seen his fair share of bad matches in his three-decades-long wrestling career but the worst match he has ever seen is fairly new.

    The former world champion appeared on Busted Open Radio ahead of the 30-year celebration of his debut on this week\’s episode of Dynamite and talked about things like why he decided to join AEW and more.

    During the interview, he was asked about the worst match he has ever seen and Jericho claimed that it was the Crown Jewel match between The Brothers Of Destruction and DX:

    \”The worst match I ever saw, and here\’s your clickbait, was Saudi Arabia, Triple H and Shawn Michaels vs. Kane and The Undertaker. It was such a stupid idea in booking, it should have never happened.

    It should\’ve been Shawn and Hunter vs. Roman and Seth, and Taker and Kane vs… I don\’t know; give me two names of guys. Cesaro and Kevin Owens, whatever you want.\” said Chris Jericho, \”That\’s exciting.\”\”But it\’s like, \’Oh we\’ll just go out there and wing it brother,\’ that doesn\’t work anymore. That old school mentality doesn\’t work.\”

    The match Chris Jericho is talking about took place in Saudi Arabia during the Crown Jewel 2018 event. The PPV saw Shawn Michaels coming out of retirement for one more match.

    The whole event had been controversial in the wake of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The match was also criticised by the fans for its poor execution, which was largerly attributed to the old age of the participants.

  • Elijah Burke On If Anything Felt Off With Chris Benoit During His Final Match

    The death of Chris Benoit and his family is one of the most tragic incidents in the history of the wrestling business and a lot of things surrounding the case remain a mystery to this day. One of the biggest points of investigation is how the former world champion was feeling in his final days and if the people around him noted any significant difference in his behaviour before he took his own life.

    Former WWE star Elijah Burke who was the final person to wrestle Benoit before his tragic demise was asked the same question during his recent interview with The Wrestling Epicenter. Replying to the question, Burke, who wrestled the former champion during an ECW episode on June 19, 2007, said that everything seemed normal to him:

    \”No, not at all. One thing Chris was big on, and hindsight is 20/20 on this if I could say, \’Oh, that kind of makes sense\’ is just the fact that he said, \’Talk to me out there. I might forget.\’ So, after everything that happened, when it came back that he had like the brain of an 80-year-old with Alzheimer, that was like, \’Hmm, that is interesting,\’

    In this business, I was always taught that we should communicate in rings. So, I didn\’t think anything of it. That could have been a sign.\” said Burke, \”Chris Benoit asking me to talk to him? But other than that, there was nothing that could have tipped me or anyone else off to the extent of the degeneration of his brain per the results of his test.\”

    The recent episodes of the Dark Side of the Ring series documenting the final days of Chris Benoit have brought the topic of his death back in the discussion. During the interview, Elijah Burke was asked if he was approached for the episodes centred on Benoit and he revealed that he was not contacted. You can check out the full interview of Elijah Burke here.

  • Renee Young Returning To WWE For Special Appearance

    Former WWE broadcaster Renee Young will be returning to the company for the first time since SummerSlam for a special appearance next week.

    WWE and Fox Network announced earlier today that they will be celebrating the season two of SmackDown on Fox during the upcoming episode of the show on October 16.

    The episode will feature a special kick off pre-show and the company has announced that Young will be returning to host the pre-show alongside WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T.

    The celebration also includes a special on the \”Best WWE Moments of 2020\” which is scheduled to air on this Sunday, October 11 alongside the other NFL programming on Fox.

    Renee Young ended her 8 year long stint with WWE earlier this year after her husband Jon Moxley also left the company following the expiry of his contract last year in May.

    In later interviews, the former WWE announcer explained the reasoning behind her decision to leave the company, saying that she felt like she had hit her ceiling in the promotion.

    There has been no news on what Young is planning for her future and the WWE return is only expected to be a one-off appearance as of now.

  • Robert Roode Comments On Potential NXT Return Ahead Of WWE Drafts

    Robert Roode made his return to WWE programming after almost 7 months of absence during the September 28th episode of Raw where he answered the open challenge issued by the WWE Champion Drew McIntyre.

    While the former champion was unsuccessful in his quest to win the title, a lot of people have been wondering what\’s next for the former NXT star.

    With the WWE draft looming around, people have been wondering if we can see Roode changing brands. During his recent interview with ComicBook.com, Robert talked about the possibility of moving back to NXT, saying that he will try to be the guy on whichever brand he ends up in:

    \”Wherever the job takes me, I\’m going to be there and I\’m going to do everything I can to be a guy that the brand can lean on, and to be in the mix, and to take every opportunity that is given to me and make the best of it.

    So whether that\’s on Raw, whether that\’s on SmackDown,\” said Robert Roode \”Or whether that\’s on NXT, I\’m going to do everything I can to stand out and to work my way towards being a champion again.\”

    While WWE has not confirmed the participation of NXT in this year\’s edition of WWE drafts, there have been a lot of rumours of the Black and Yellow brand being represented in the process.

    Though if Robert Roode does end up moving back to NXT, he won\’t be the first main roster guy to do so as we have seen people like Finn Balor returning to the brand in recent times.

    The WWE draft this year will begin with the October 9th episode of SmackDown and it\’s expected to conclude with the following episode of Raw on October 12th.

  • Backstage News On The Future Of WWE Tag Team

    WWE has been teasing the break up for the team of Andrade and Angel Garza for a while now and latest reports suggest that we may have already seen the last of the two together.

    WWE officials have made the decision to split the duo and they are not expected to be seen together after Garza returns to action, per a report at Pwinsider.

    For those who don\’t know, Angel Garza suffered a torn quad during his tag team match at the Clash Of Champions PPV. He had teamed up with Andrade to challenge the Street Profits for the Raw tag team titles at the show.

    However, the injury caused this match for the Raw tag team championships to be cut short and it helped the champions in retaining their title at the PPV.

    While WWE has not provided any update on his status, the high flying star himself revealed on his YouTube channel that he is not expected to stay out of action for long and he should be back in the ring within a few weeks.

    This is not a big surprise as WWE has been teasing the break up of this tag team for a while and just recently their manager Zelina Vega also left the group to focus on her own singles career.

    Now with the drafts set to begin on this week\’s episode of SmackDown, the big question is if we are going see the two getting drafted to different brands as well, to effectively end their pairing.

  • Kurt Angle On Why He Refused WWE\’s Offer To Manage Matt Riddle

    Kurt Angle had revealed in previous interviews that WWE had offered him a role as the manager for the Ultimate Bro Matt Riddle but he turned down the proposal from the company.

    The Olympic Gold Medallist had not revealed the reason behind his refusal at the time but during a recent interview with Pwinsider, the former champion finally opened up about the situation.

    Angle explained that there were mainly two reasons why he did not take the offer from WWE. The first being the supplement company he has started and the second was the amount he was being offered:

    \”Two reasons – one was my company I started needed my attention 100%, especially with the virus thing and I had to just be there for the company and the other thing was the money, it just…it wasn\’t enough. I wasn\’t going to manage somebody for the amount of money they wanted to give me.\”

    Though while he declined the offer for a longer role, Kurt Angle still made an appearance to hype Riddle and he was actually the one who announced the main roster call up of the former UFC star on SmackDown.

    Apart from this, Kurt Angle talked about things like his start in wrestling, why he refused the initial offer from WWE, and more. You can check out his full interview at this link.

  • Miro Explains How His AEW Deal Came Together

    Miro was one of the biggest names released from WWE during their budget cuts back in April and fans had been wondering since then where he will end up after leaving the company.

    The former US Champion finally answered these questions last month when he made his debut for AEW and during his recent appearance on the AEW Unrestricted podcast; the wrestling star explained how this deal came to be.

    The star formerly known as Rusev detailed his conversation with the AEW President Tony Khan and Miro revealed how they took their time while deciding the details of his contract:

    \”We started talking to Tony, and he wanted to bring us [to Florida] and we took time, and we wanted to execute the exact amount of the right contract for the right time, the right opportunity.

    The former WWE star continued by explaining how he wanted to work on other projects as well and Khan\’s attitude towards the same was the deciding factor:

    \”I was very keen on telling him that I\’m very passionate about different projects, about my Twitch, about working in other places and doing different things, like outside projects, and he was very open to it.

    And it was a huge, like wow, like you really care that I can succeed on my own on the outside, and we can use that.\” said Miro, \”So that was the biggest plus out of everything, and as soon as I heard that he\’s willing to do that for me, I was willing to work with Tony at the same time.\”

    Miro made his AEW debut during the September 9th episode of Dynamite. He was revealed as Kip Sabian\’s best man for his wedding with Penelope Ford. The former WWE star has revealed since then that he is planning to stick with the best man gimmick for the long run.

    Apart from this, the former champion talked about his controversial debut promo on Dynamite, how Tony Khan supports his talents and more. You can check out his interview at this link.

  • Damien Sandow Opens Up About His Failed Money In The Bank Cash In

    Former WWE star Damien Sandow did not get a lot of spotlight moments in WWE but he made the most out of the stories given to him. There was a point during his run where he was one of the most over acts in the roster.

    However, his run was bogged down with many missed opportunities as well and probably the biggest fail of his WWE career was his failed Money In The Bank cash-in attempt in 2013.

    Sandow opened up about the decision from WWE management during his new interview with WrestlingInc and the Intellectual Savior of the Unwashed Masses revealed what the officials had told him about it:

    \”Yeah, I wasn\’t wasn\’t happy about it, but I talked to a very high-ranking official, not Vince, but in the family, and [it was] pretty much, \’look, we\’re going up against Monday Night Football and the World Series. We need this. You have three segments.\’

    OK, so I knew what I had to do. “said Damien Sandow,” In the long term, I was frustrated, but in the immediate, I had to worry about going on TV and get the ratings up and we did.\”

    The former Impact Wrestling star went on to explain that his frustration was not so much with the immediate decision for the Money In The Bank contract but the fact that the company did not have any plans for him afterwards.

    Damien Sandow won the Money In The Bank during the PPV of the same name in July 2013. He went on to hold the briefcase for several months before he unsuccessfully cashed in his contract on John Cena in October, making him the first person in the history to have an unsuccessful Money In The Bank cash in.

  • Eric Young Reveals Original Plans For Sanity\’s Main Roster Debut

    The current  Impact Wrestling World Champion Eric Young recently appeared on Sitting Ringtside with David Penzer podcast where he talked about his WWE release and more.

    Many believe WWE missed a big opportunity with the Sanity faction led by the current Impact Champion when they made their debut on the main roster back in June 2018.

    During the interview, Young revealed that the original plans for the group\’s debut were different and they were originally going to debut a week earlier:

    “We were supposed to be with New Day and during the show which was our debut. The main event was an 8 man or a 6 man, I can’t remember, but it was 3 guys vs New Day.

    New Day was going over and then our music would hit and we would stand at the top of the ring to end SmackDown and that would be the first time you see us. SmackDown would go off the air with the three of us standing there.\”

    However, the match involving the New Day went longer and according to Eric Young, producers then decided to nix their planned debut because they didn\’t have enough time.

    Sanity ended up debuting a week later, attacking the Usos before their match but the company did not have any long term plans for the group and they got disbanded less than a year later in April 2019 during the drafts.

  • Matt Cardona Reveals Which AEW Stars He Wants To Face

    While Matt Cardona does not have an active contract with AEW at the movement, he is hopeful about making a return to the company and the former WWE star recently revealed the names from AEW roster which he wants to face.

    The former US Champion recently joined Pro Wrestling Junkies for a virtual Q & A where he talked about things like how his AEW deal came to be, what he wants to do in future and more.

    Talking about AEW, Cardona revealed the names from the promotion he wants to face, mentioning people like Chris Jericho and Darby Allin:

    \”There\’s so many people, I made a list and I don\’t want to leave people off by accident. I look at it like I look at wrestling toys, you know? There\’s just so many that I want to play with.

    Whether it\’s guys that I\’ve wrestled before, like Brodie Lee or Cody or Jericho.\” said Matt Cardona. \”There\’s so many that I haven\’t wrestled before, like Darby Allin, The Young Bucks, and Kenny Omega. I\’m already forgetting people, but that\’s what\’s so cool about it, and it\’s a lot of fun to think about wrestling again.\”

    Matt Cardona formerly known as Zack Ryder was one of the stars released by WWE this past April as part of the coronavirus budget cuts.

    He made his AEW debut during the July 29th episode of Dynamite and went on to wrestle in an 8 men tag team match at All Out in September. Though his short term contract with AEW expired at All Out and Cardona hasn\’t made any appearances for the promotion since.

  • WWE Wants To Make Current NXT Champion A Big Star (Report)

    NXT North American Champion Damian Priest picked up a big win over Johnny Gargano during the NXT Takeover: 31 event and latest reports suggest that he might get even bigger opportunities in future.

    Dave Meltzer talked about Priest on the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio and he claimed that the WWE officials want to make him “a big star.”

    Meltzer continued by saying that the officials see him as someone with a lot of potential and he explained that Johnny Gargano was used as a setup guy to get him there.

    Damian Priest made his wrestling debut in 2004 but he first got famous during his run with ROH. He attended an ROH training camp in 2014 and went on to have a run with the company from 2015 to 2018.

    He was signed to a contract by WWE in late 2018. He spent a year making sporadic appearances for the company and Priest has been competing regularly on the NXT programming since last October.

    Damien Priest won the NXT North American Championship in a ladder match during the NXT TakeOver: XXX event and the win over the former NXT Champion Johnny Gargano further solidifies his spot in the NXT roster.

    Now with the reports of WWE management being behind Priest, we can expect him to continue this momentum in the upcoming times and become part of some big matches in future.

  • Mustafa Ali\’s First Comments After Being Revealed As The Leader Of Retribution

    The Retribution storyline saw a big development during this week\’s episode of Monday Night Raw when Mustafa Ali turned heel and was revealed as the leader of the group.

    The former 205 Live star had a match with MVP on the show and the other members of the Hurt Business in Shelton Benjamin and WWE United States Champion Bobby Lashley were at the ringside.

    Halfway through the match it looked like the Hurt Business was going to attack the high flying star but Retribution came out just in time. For a moment it seemed like Ali will join forces with MVP and others to fight the invaders.

    However, the light weight star then turned heel. He joined Retribution and later instructed the members of the group to attack the Hurt Business, revealing himself as the leader of the new WWE faction.

    The segment ended with Mustafa Ali standing tall in the ring with people like Mace, T-BAR, Slapjack and some other lower ranked members of the group standing behind him.

    While the Retribution Leader did not make any comments on his heel turn during the show, he took on his Twitter after the broadcast and made the following tweet:

    It would be interesting to see where Retribution goes from here and if any other members of the WWE roster join the group in near future.

  • Robert Roode On James Storm Possibly Joining WWE

    Fans have been wanting to see a Beer Money reunion in WWE ever since Bobby Roode joined NXT and these talks were rejuvenated when James Storm recently revealed that the coronavirus pandemic actually derailed his WWE return.

    The former NXT Champion recently had an interview with TVInsider, where he talked about things like staying at home during the coronavirus pandemic, his WWE return and more.

    When asked about the claims from his former tag team partner and the possibility of him coming to WWE, Roode refused to comment on the matter revealing that he hasn\’t talked to Storm in years:

    \”That’s above my pay grade. I haven’t talked to James in years. During this time especially, I don’t know what’s going to take place or who is coming in or not. I have to worry about myself. I’m quite happy doing what I’m doing with Dolph and doing my thing.\”

    Robert Roode hadn\’t been seen on WWE TV since the Elimination Chamber PPV in March this year because of the travel restrictions put in place due to coronavirus.

    He returned to WWE during the September 28 episode of Raw and the former NXT star has shown interest in reuniting with Dolph Ziggler and winning back the Raw tag team championships.

  • Speculation Over Nikki Cross\’ Status For Clash Of Champions PPV

    WWE has announced Nikki Cross vs. Bayley for the SmackDown women\’s title at the Clash Of Champions PPV tonight but some latest developments have started speculations about the status of the former Sanity member.

    The female challenger did not appear on this week\’s episode of SmackDown despite it being the PPV go home episode of the show and Dave Meltzer noted on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio that she was not backstage either.

    The wrestling journalist further speculated on Cross\’ availability for the PPV tonight, revealing that he did not get a clear answer when he inquired about it:

    \”If she\’s there [at Clash of Champions], she\’s there. I asked [on Saturday] morning if she was going to be there, and nobody got back to me, which is your answer,\”

    The speculations about Nikki Cross have been amplified further by the recent confirmation of a COVID-19 outbreak in WWE.

    The standard company protocols call for a person to be quarantined for at least 14 days if they test positive, making them unavailable for active competition.

    Though the company doesn\’t reveal the name of any person who tests positive so the speculation about the SmackDown star are only rumors at this point and we should get a better idea about her status during tonight\’s PPV event.

  • Update On Jimmy Uso\’s Recovery

    While his brother Jey Uso is all set to challenge for the Universal Championship at the Clash Of Champions PPV, Jimmy Uso is currently out of action with an injury.

    Though the good news for the former champion is that the latest reports suggest that his recovery is going well and he is on track to return to the ring early next year.

    Alex McCarthy of TalkSport recently spoke to Jey Uso ahead of his big match on Sunday and the SmackDown star confirmed that his brother is on course to return to action in early 2021.

    The wrestling journalist provided the update via a tweet and he wrote \”Jimmy Uso is on course to return to action from his knee injury in January/February 2021, Jey Uso told me.\”

    For those who don\’t know, Jimmy Uso suffered a leg injury during the triple threat ladder match for the SmackDown tag team championship at WrestleMania 36.

    The injured star revealed in later interviews that he suffered the injury early in the bout and he apparently tore his ACL while jumping off a ladder during the opening minutes of the match.

    Now it would be interesting to see what the company is planning for his return and if we can see Jimmy being a surprise entrance in the Royal Rumble next year.

  • Erick Rowan Comments On Potential Reunion With Brodie Lee

    Both Erick Rowan and Luke Harper once wrestled under the leadership of Bray Wyatt. After the disbanding of the Wyatt Family the two had numerous stints as a tag team before being released from WWE.

    However, things have changed now as Luke Harper has joined AEW as the leader of the Dark Order, Brodie Lee and Rowan will likely have to accept the leadership of the current TNT champion for a possible reunion between the two.

    The former WWE star talked about the possibility of reuniting with Lee during a recent Q & A with Pro Wrestling Junkies and Erick Rowan said that he is not sure how to answer that question:

    \”I\’m not really sure how to answer that question because I\’m not used to him being the leader, I\’ll have to watch a little bit more of his stuff. Yeah, I\’d love to lock back up with Brodie and get back together, but there\’s a place and a time for it, you know? Now just might not be the right time.\”

    Rowan also talked about his future in pro wrestling and explained that he hasn\’t joined any company because he doesn\’t want to get lost in the shuffle once again.

    Though later in the session, the former Wyatt Family member revealed that he has been training recently and according to him, he is staying ready for a potential in ring return.