Triple H continues to make more public appearances for WWE after suffering a life-threatening medical situation last year as he recently was with the new WWE NIL class.
On Monday, the company announced that 15 college athletes will be joining the “Next In Line” program. The second NIL class features athletes from 14 universities. The first NIL class was announced last year.
Ali Mattox of Ole Miss, a 5-foot-7 cheer & dance athlete from Little Rock, Ark.
Case Hatch of Arizona State, a 6-foot-1, 230-pound football player from Gilbert, Ariz.
Chandler Hayden of Tennessee, a 5-foot-11 track & field athlete from Pittsfield, Ill.
Cohlton Schultz of Arizona State, a 6-foot-2, 285-pound wrestler from Parker, Colo.
Derrian Gobourne of Auburn, a 5-foot-4 gymnast from Sarasota, Fla.
Ericka Link of Elon, a 5-foot-6 volleyball player from Hedgesville, W.Va.
Keshaun Moore of Hampton, a 6-foot-3, 270-pound football player from Suffolk, Va.
Luke Ford of Illinois, a 6-foot-6, 260-pound football player from Carterville, Ill.
Maliq Carr of Michigan State, a 6-foot-5, 245-pound football and basketball player from Inkster, Mich.
Mikala Hall of Central Michigan, a 5-foot-5 basketball player from Danville, Ill.
Rachel Glenn of South Carolina, a 6-foot track & field athlete from Long Beach, Calif.
Ruben Banks of Arkansas, a 6-foot-4, 270-pound track & field athlete from Binfield, England
Thunder Keck of Stanford, a 6-foot-3, 245-pound football player from Northfield, N.H.
Tyanna Omazic of Miami, a 6-foot-2 volleyball player from Kansas City, Mo.
Zachary Knighton-Ward of Hofstra, a 6-foot-2, 285-pound wrestler from Rosedale, N.Y.
Triple H is back full-time in the WWE office after he suffered a cardiac event last September where he was struggling with viral pneumonia and was at risk for heart failure.
Fans should expect to not see at least three AEW stars compete at the upcoming AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door – Andrade El Idolo and The Lucha Bros
Andrade had previously tweeted that he cannot work with NJPW and cited CMLL and AAA Lucha Libre as the reasons why which led to speculation about his status for the June 26th show.
Lucha Blog reports that not only will Andrade be missing AEW’s crossover show with New Japan, but Penta Oscuro and Rey Fenix will be missing the show as well.
“I’ve since been told Andrade was booked on Forbidden Door and is no longer booked on Forbidden Door. Fenix & Penta will also not be appearing on Forbidden Door, as confirmed to me by multiple sources. Andrade’s tweet should be taken at face value. This is bad for everyone,” The blog stated.
Penta is one of the eight men in the AEW All-Atlantic Championship Tournament where if he beats Malakai Black then he would be going on to the pay-per-view to compete for the title. However, with him not being scheduled for the show, that’s a clear indication he won’t be going over in the bout to advance.
Jeff Hardy was arrested and charged with DUI for a third time on early Monday morning.
Pwinsider.com reports the AEW star was bonded out of jail in Volusia County, Florida this evening at 7:07 PM paying a $3,500 bond. He is slated to appear in court on Tuesday at 1:30 PM.
Hardy has been charged with Driving While License Canceled/Suspended/Revoked, Violation of Restrictions Placed on Drivers License, and DUI Alcohol/Drugs Third Offense within 10 Years.
ESPN’s Marc Raimondi was able to get more information on Hardy’s arrest as a police officer observed a white car “swerving” and “running off” the roadway on Monday around 12:30 am. An officer made the traffic stop and noticed Hardy seemed to be “in a stupor and confused.”
As Hardy left his car, he was unsteady and smelled of alcohol and through conversations, the officer learned that Hardy had been drinking. Hardy was not able to complete the sobriety exercises successfully and his blood alcohol level read 0.294. While the second sample read 0.291. The legal limit to drive in Florida is .08, which means that he was over 3-times the legal limit.
It appears Jeff has been pulled from Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite where he and his brother Matt were scheduled to face The Young Bucks and Tag Team Champions Jurassic Express in a 3-way Ladder Match.
Big E recently took a step further to make his return to in-ring action after suffering a broken neck as he shared a video on Instagram of him tossing his neck brace in the trash can, an indication he isn’t required to wear it anymore.
Big E shared a video of him getting rid of his neck brace.
Last month, the former WWE Champion shared a photo on Instagram of himself where he was not wearing a neck brace because he was using an Exogen device that is an ultrasound bone healing system, which helps by sending waves to amplify your body’s natural bone repair processes.
Big E suffered the neck injury this past March when he landed awkwardly on the top of his head after taking a suplex from Ridge Holland on an episode of SmackDown.
He fractured the C1 and C6, but didn’t suffer a non-displacement. He also didn’t damage his spinal cord nor suffer any ligament damage and didn’t need surgery.
Although Big E previously stated on Twitter that his C1 wasn’t healing optimally and had to be in the brace for another 4-6 weeks to avoid getting fusion surgery, the fact that he isn’t wearing the neck brace anymore is great sign.
Gunther has dethroned Ricochet as the WWE Intercontinental Champion as he won the title from him on Friday’s episode of SmackDown.
The match took place in the second hour and featured Ricochet trying to avoid the big power shots of Gunther. Ricochet tried to make a comeback but was cut down by a powerbomb for the finish.
Gunther finished up his short run in NXT on April 5th by losing to NXT Champion Bron Breakker. While in NXT UK, he was the NXT UK Champion for 870 days as he held it from 2019 through 2021.
Since making his SmackDown debut in April, Gunther has been booked strongly. In recent weeks, he crossed paths with Ricochet after the former champion came to the aid of Drew Gulak.
When WALTER went through the major name change, WWE received backlash over it. WWE abandoned its trademark filing on the original name, Gunther Stark because there was a person with the same name who severed as a Nazi Germany military commander during World War II.
As previously reported, Vince McMahon is high on Gunther’s in-ring work and he has impressed people of influence in WWE for many things including being willing to play ball by losing weight, changing his name, and handling the Imperium split in a positive way.
Jim Ross has been through and seen a lot during his time in the pro wrestling business.
He got a chance to speak with Martha Hart, widow of Owen Hart at AEW Double Or Nothing where the promotion held the finals of the Owen Hart Cup Tournament that saw Adam Cole win the men’s tournament while Britt Baker won the women’s.
The WWE Hall of Famer explained on Grilling JR how his backstage interaction with Martha went and noted that he got emotional.
“I had a chance in the little green room environment in there, to sit and chat with Martha,” Ross stated. “I did exactly what I told myself I was not going to do and that was cry. I couldn’t help it and so it was very emotional. She was a gracious and glorious host, shall we say, of this event.”
Not only did Ross call matches for WWE, but he was also Head of Talent Relations in the company and got to know Hart over the years. Hart passed away in May 1999 at the Over The Edge PPV when he fell from his harness while being lowered down into the ring as The Blue Blazer.
Ross broke the news to fans that Hart had passed away. WWE continued with the show, which was heavily criticized due to the nature of the situation.
The Rock gave his thoughts on the Hell In A Cell match from this past Sunday night between Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes that saw Rhodes put on a gutsy performance by wrestling with a torn pectoral muscle.
Entering the match, Rhodes had two straight wins over Rollins, but unfortunately, he tore his pectoral tendon off the bone less than a week before it took place.
Rhodes went over in the match that was built around the injury with Rollins targeting it by using various weapons. Many fans have praised Rhodes for gutting through the injury to still put on the match.
Rhodes posted a reel from the match on social media, which drew the attention of The Rock. The Rock praised them on Twitter by writing the following: “Holy shit. Proud of both, you and Seth. Go make your money.”
On Thursday, Rhodes underwent successful surgery on his torn pec. Although Rhodes hinted at participating in the Money in the Bank ladder match at the premium live event on July 2nd, It is unknown when he will return to the ring, but former WWE medic Dr. Chao has said that Cody should be healed up within four to six months. He could even do some stuff within just over three months if it was carefully done.
Holy shit. Proud of both, you and Seth. Go make your money!! ??????
Although AEW has a loaded roster, there have been several wrestlers out with injuries. The good news is some of those stars are getting closer to returning to in-ring action, which is much needed after AEW World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk went down with an injury that will result in him getting surgery.
He’s expected to be out of action for several months and the promotion is crowing an Interim World Champion at the Forbidden Door pay-per-view event later this month.
AEW President Tony Khan is thanking fans for watching this week\’s Dynamite — and also hinted at several injured stars coming back soon.
\”I appreciate you wrestlers/staff/fans, & excited for *many* injured stars returning as we approach Road Rager + Forbidden Door!\”
– Tony Khan
AEW\’s Sidelined Stars
Kenny Omega, Bryan Danielson, Sting, Orange Cassidy, and Kip Sabian are just some of the names that have been sidelined. Of course, AEW World Champion CM Punk is also out of action with a foot injury, but won\’t be back in action any time soon.
Omega’s last match came when he dropped the AEW World Championship to “Hangman” Adam Page at Full Gear. He took time off to heal up from various injuries and has since undergone arthroscopic knee surgery as well as surgery to repair a sports hernia.
In late May, Sting took a double superkick from The Young Bucks and he had his ankle smashed by Kyle O’Reilly. It’s possible that the angle was done to cover for a nagging injury that he needed to take care of as he was pulled from the AEW meet and greets over Double Or Nothing weekend.
Danielson was hurt in the Anarchy in the Arena match at Double Or Nothing, although there’s no exact word on the injury. He is only expected to be out of action for 1 or 2 weeks.
KiLynn King is no longer working for AEW at least for now.
King did an interview with Fightful and confirmed that she was done with All Elite Wrestling after spending two years there and working dozens of matches.
The promotion didn’t offer her a new contract so she let them know that she was very appreciative for them giving her a chance but wanted to explore some different paths, as well as help, make an impression in wrestling somewhere else.
Billy Gunn, who works as a producer/wrestler for the promotion, told her that the door remains open. She said that she was very grateful for her time there, and hopes she can return in the future. She is not under a full-time contract with NWA and is still a free agent.
King stated that when she was booked to go over in her matches despite originally being brought in as an enhancement talent was a shock to her. After she got her first win in AEW, she thought they were getting a look at the TNA veteran Lei\’D Tapa, but Dustin Rhodes told her that she was winning, then it just kept happening.
King will challenge Kamille for the NWA Women’s Title at the Alwayz Ready pay-per-view this Saturday that will air on FITE TV at 7 pm EST with the price tag of $24.99.
WWE has changed its internal roster following Tuesday’s episode of NXT.
As previously noted, Apollo Crews returned to WWE NXT last night following Bron Breakker asking for someone new to step up to be his new challenger. In the main event, Crews teamed with Solo Sikoa where they beat Carmelo Hayes and Grayson Waller.
Crews is back in NXT to stay as PWInsider reports that he is now officially internally listed as part of the NXT roster as is Commander Azeez.
Azeez did not appear on last night\’s show with Crews so it remains to be seen if they will be paired moving forward.
WWE put the two stars together from WWE WrestleMania 37 onward. When Crews showed up on NXT TV, he had dropped his Nigerian accent that he was using all throughout his time as a heel on the main roster with Azeez.
Crews worked briefly in NXT when he first joined WWE, but was called up after WrestleMania 32 in 2016. Azeez, also known as Babatunde and Dabba Kato, never had a notable run in NXT. He worked The Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia back in 2018.
The June 7, 2022 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
Josh Briggs (w/Brooks Jensen & Fallon Henley) def. Von Wagner (w/ Mr. Stone & Sofia Cromwell).
Roxanne Perez def. Tiffany Stratton to win Women’s Breakout Tournament
Nathan Frazer def. Santos Escobar.
Alba Fyre def. Tatum Paxley.
Apollo Crews & Solo Sikoa def. Carmelo Hayes & Grayson Waller.
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Roxanne Perez vs. Tiffany Stratton
Roxanne Perez vs. Tiffany Stratton in the NXT Women\’s Breakout Tournament finals took place with the winner receiving a contract for a future NXT Women\’s Championship shot.
Perez defeated Kiana James in the first round of the tournament and Lash Legend in the semifinals while Stratton was a late addition to the tournament as she replaced Nikkita Lyons in the semifinals because of Lyons being out of action with an injury. Stratton defeated Fallon Henley to advance to the finals.
The match took place in the middle of the show and was back and forth. Tiffany botched a moonsault and Perez hit a sunset flip powerbomb for the win.
Post-match, Toxic Attraction came out. Mandy Rose said that Perez needs to enjoy this moment and it’s all downhill from here. She said that Perez will fail if she challenges her. Rose talked trash about Cora Jade and a brawl broke out. Indie Hartwell came out to even the odds and the babyfaces stood tall.
Josh Briggs vs. Von Wagner
Josh Briggs vs. Von Wagner in a singles match took place.
This match was set up when Wagner caused a distraction that allowed Grayson Waller to defeat Briggs in a singles match last week. Post-match, Wagner attacked Briggs, but was eventually called off by Sofia Cromwell.
This was the first match of the night. Briggs went over after taking Brooks Jensen’s cast and hitting Wagner in the face before hitting a clothesline.
At Saturday’s In Your House, there was a video package shown about Fyre. Backstage, Lash Legend didn’t seem impressed by Fyre and didn’t want to face her. However, Paxley disagreed and said that she would be the one to step up and challenge Fyre.
Fyre went over with a swantom bomb off the top rope for the win. Post-match, Lash Legend laid out Fyre.
WWE NXT Champion Bron Breakker retained the title over Joe Gacy at Saturday’s In Your House special. So what was next for him on this show?
Breakker said Gacy was a tough challenge, but no matter what he did to test him, Gacy wasn’t going to take the title from him. He said NXT is special. He said everyone wants a shot at the title and the question is who is going to step up. Apollo Crews came out. Crews said he’s here for as long as he wants to be. He said Bron is one of the best athletes in all of WWE and he loves NXT. He said he left NXT way too soon and he wants to accomplish those things. He’s back to change history and to make it by becoming NXT Champion. Crews said he would see him down the road. They shook hands.
In the main event, Apollo teamed with Solo Sikoa to take on Cameron Grimes and Grayson Waller.
Bron Breakker appeared on tonight’s NXT 2.0 after successfully defending the NXT Championship at In Your House this past Saturday night over Joe Gacy. Breakker cut a promo about it before asking who is next to challenge him for the title. Answering the call was the Raw star.
Crews thanked the crowd for their warm welcome and put over Breakker for his rise in NXT. He said they’ll cross paths for the title soon, but until then, Crews will see him around.
Crews also noted that left NXT way too soon in his first stint and left many goals unaccomplished. He plans to change history by becoming NXT Champion.
Crews spent several years on the NXT brand before being called up to the main roster in 2016. In 2021, he went to a ‘Nigerian Royalty’ character that kicked off his reign as Intercontinental Champion, but he eventually lost the title this past August.
Last October, he was moved from SmackDown to Monday Night Raw as a part of the WWE Draft. Crews had been paired with Commander Azeez.
Crews previously stated he would love an NXT return and felt his first run was cut short. Now, that wish has been granted.
CM Punk provided additional comments about his injury during the latest AEW Road To video that was done to promote Wednesday’s Dynamite from Kansas City.
The AEW World Heavyweight Champion announced on last Friday’s AEW Rampage that he suffered an injury, and will be out of action for some time as he recovers from surgery.
Punk stated that although he offered to give up the title, AEW President Tony Khan nixed that idea.
“I probably wasn’t as clear as I should have been. I offered to relinquish the title, but Tony told me that under no circumstances was I allowed to do that.\”
He added, \”It means a lot to me that this place as a whole believes in me enough to let me just go get fixed.”
There’s still no word yet on exactly when Punk will be getting surgery, but it will be very soon, possibly as soon as this week.
Crowning an Interim AEW World Champion
Tony Schiavone talked about how it impacts not only Punk but also the promotion as he is one of their biggest stars.
“The injury to CM Punk was horrible not only because it took him out of action, but of course what it did to us in AEW because he’s one of the biggest stars in pro wrestling in the world.”
Punk will not be relinquishing the title. Instead, an Interim World Champion will be crowned at the June 26th AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door PPV event. An Eliminator Series was created by Khan that will see battle royal be held at the top of Dynamite this week. In the main event of this same show, the winner will take on Jon Moxley.
The winner of the AEW side of the tournament will face the winner of the NJPW Dominion match this Sunday between Hiroshi Tanahashi and Hirooki Goto in the finals at Forbidden Door.
Schiavone praised Khan for coming up with this tournament so quickly and it makes the matches happening on Wednesday’s Dynamite that more special as it’s part of history.
William Regal has opened up on a situation during a plane flight in 1997 that resulted in him being arrested. This was at a time when he was working for WCW and was battling addictions to drugs and alcohol. The flight was from Tokyo, Japan to Detroit Michigan.
During the latest episode of his “Gentleman Villain,” Regal described the incident. He noted that the story has been blown out of proportion to what actually happened.
Regal admitted he took some pills before everything happened. He went to the toilet and there was a concertina door so he stood there and his foot was stopping the door from shutting.
“I hadn’t locked the door. A stewardess came behind me and said, ‘Excuse me, sir.’ I turned around and nothing funny or clever about it, I peed on the lady’s foot. They landed the plane and I woke up in a jail cell in Alaska. I wasn’t the only person on that plane. I wasn’t the reason that they landed that plane.”
Regal continued, “There was a paparazzi guy in the back who flipped out and started punching people. That was the reason they landed that and they just threw me off. I’m not going to incriminate anyone, but they threw a couple of other wrestlers off because they were doing things as well. They were like me. They won’t have any idea what they were doing. But I do know what they were doing because WCW investigated this and I found out what they were doing. They got away with it. I didn’t. Soon as this went to court, this lady said, ‘No, he wasn’t doing anything malicious. It was just a drunken incident.”
After being let go by WWE last year following 21 years with the company, he signed with AEW this past March where he has since managed The Black Pool Fight Club.
As advertised, Edge revealed the latest member of The Judgment Day faction on Monday Night Raw and it’s Finn Balor. However, there was a twist.
Edge, Rhea Ripley, and Damian Priest came out to the ring for a promo. Edge talked about how proud he is of them and says Rhea is a superstar wrecking machine. He said Priest has confidence like no other because they listened. He introduced the newest member of the group, which was Balor.
At Sunday’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event, Judgment Day went over AJ Styles, Balor, and Liv Morgan in a six-person tag team match.
Edge said Balor reached out and put Balor over for being so great. Edge wanted to know what made Balor change his mind. Balor said he saw clarity after Hell in a Cell and joining the group was a calling that he refuses to fight because he’s tired of pretending who he is.
Priest said they were finally to let go of what was the last thing holding them back, which was Edge. They beat down Edge and kicked him out of the group. Edge was seemingly written off TV after Priest hit him with a chair.
Over the last few weeks, The WWE Hall Of Famer has been teasing that the group would be getting another member and hinted at several different names including Ciampa, Paige, Beth Phoenix, and Corey Graves.
WWE announced on this week’s episode of Raw that John Cena will be returning to television on the June 27th episode of Raw from Laredo, TX to celebrate his 20-year anniversary with the company.
A video package hyping his career with the company over the last 20 years aired before the announcement was made. As of this writing, he is not advertised for any other WWE shows, but that could be changing as when he usually returns, it’s not for a one-off, but rather a short run.
John Cena returns to WWE Raw on June 27, 2022
There will be speculation that Cena is returning to start a feud with Theory as they’ve been trading words as of late. Theory previously pitched the idea of facing Cena at SummerSlam which just so happens to take place on July 30th.
Cena recently named Theory as his favorite current star and someone when asked who needs an attitude adjustment, the name of Cena’s finisher. Theory has been reported compared to Cena as Vince McMahon sees him as a younger version of the former WWE Champion.
Cena last wrestled on TV at SummerSlam last year where he lost to Roman Reigns for the Universal Title.
Hiroshi Tanahashi wants to give fans the match they were expecting to see at the AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door pay-per-view event where he was supposed to wrestle AEW World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk.
Last week on Dynamite, the match was revealed for this upcoming show, but was nixed once Punk revealed he had an injury that will result in him getting surgery. Punk will not be able to compete at Forbidden Door.
While speaking to Tokyo Sports (translation via golden_kuma), Tanahashi threw out the idea of Punk competing at Wrestle Kingdom in January against him.
\”1.4 Wrestle Kingdom. Punk owes me one. I\’d like to invite him to Japan. I\’ve been to the US a lot, so come here with a special price. Tokyo Dome is a prestigious stage,\” he said.
Tanahashi also talked about the decision that Punk would not give up the title, but instead, an interim AEW World Title will be made while he\’s out of action, which will be decided at Forbidden Door with a tournament.
\”I think it\’s overprotective,\” Tanahashi said of Punk not relinquishing the title. \”If it were in Japan, you would give up the belt normally. Or maybe he will come back in a short period of time.\”
Tanahashi has a chance to compete in the tournament as he will wrestle Hirooki Goto at NJPW Dominion. The winner of that bout will advance to the finals at Forbidden Door to meet Jon Moxley or the winner of a battle royal.
Weeks after Stephanie McMahon announced that she was taking a leave of absence from WWE to focus on her family, a Business Insider report was published this past weekend that alluded to Vince McMahon driving his daughter out of his company.
The report stated Stephanie \”is being replaced in her corporate role as part of a shakeup executed by her father, Vince McMahon, the organization\’s 76-year-old CEO.\”
If McMahon does return to WWE it may not be in the same role as when she left as the company is already interviewing candidates for a director of brand and marketing position that will take over many of her old responsibilities.
There were some quotes from WWE insiders that did paint a negative picture regarding Stephanie. Meltzer noted on the F4Wonline.com message board that it appears to be a burial by the company
The BI report focused on the lack of growth of sponsorship which was around $20 million in Q1. During the investors call for that quarter, McMahon said there\’s no reason WWE couldn\’t be bringing in hundreds of millions a year in the next three-to-five years.
\”We weren\’t seeing that growth,\” said the company insider of McMahon\’s tenure. \”When someone is moved out of a company, it\’s usually the result of something not working. We took stronger control of that a few months ago.\”
McMahon’s exit is the latest of the departures the company has had over the last few years since WWE fired co-Presidents George Barrios and Michelle Wilson in early-2020 and Nick Khan took over as President.
The third and final match in the feud between Cody Rhodes and Seth Rolins ended with them meeting inside the Hell in a Cell Structure at the themed event.
As previously reported, Rhodes entered the match with a torn pec that he suffered while lifting weights. He’s expected to be sidelined anywhere from six months to a year once getting surgery.
The match was saved for the main event. Despite the injury looking nasty, Cody pushed through the pain and that was the story of the match. Rollins wore polka dots tights, a mental edge as Dusty Rhodes wore them during his WWE run. Rollins missed a frog splash off the top rope through a table.
Cody pulled out a bullrope and they tied it to their wrists. Cody with a superkick then hit him with the bell for 2. Cody with the crossrhodes for 2. Rollins powerbombed him in the corner through a table. Cody hit the pedigree for a near fall. Rollins with the crossrhodes, but then Cody hit one of his own. The finish saw Cody hit two crossrhodes then hit him in the face with the sledgehammer.
On the May 16th edition of Raw, Rhodes issued the challenge to Rollins as a response to Rollins attacking Rhodes during his United States title match with Theory on the previous week’s episode of Raw. Once Rhodes made the challenge Rollins started laughing at him before accepting it.
Rhodes made his return to WWE at WrestleMania 38 in April where he beat Rollins and then won the rematch at WrestleMania Backlash on May 8.
Theory put his WWE United States Title on the line in a match against Mustafa Ali at the Hell In A Cell event in Allstate Arena in Chicago, IL.
The bout was the co-main event of the evening. Theory heeled it up early. Ali tripped him in the corner, but was tossed off the top rope to the floor. Ali planted him with a DDT and went to the top rope, but missed his fisher and Theory hit his for the win.
The match was announced this past Monday night on Raw after Ali faced Tommaso Ciampa where Ali could earn a future United States title shot if he won. Ali ended up winning by disqualification when Theory attacked him. Post-match, Theory said they should just have their title match on this show and Theory continued the attack during the break. Ali chose to fight on despite being hurt. Theory retained after hitting the ATL on Ali.
After that match, Adam Pearce made his way out to tell Theory that even though Vince McMahon was impressed with Theory\’s tactics, McMahon has booked a rematch for Hell in a Cell.
This feud started after Ali had returned to WWE TV last month. Ali had been away from WWE TV for several months and even had publicly requested to be released from his WWE contract in January.
Kota Ibushi remains with New Japan Pro Wrestling and has not been fired, but he is being punished for being vocal about his issues with the promotion of late via social media.
Ibushi has stated that was going to expose the “cheaters-gun and sexually harassing bosses.” He also shared conversations between himself and New Japan higher up Yusuke Kikuchi.
One included a conversation with Kikuchi about him returning from a shoulder injury he suffered in the G1 Climax Final last August. Ibushi called the company out for abusing its power because they wanted him to return before he felt ready. He also shared that Kikuchi chewed him out for making an appearance at a Just Tap Out event where Kikuchi indicated that NJPW could potentially release Ibushi because his appearance was a breach of his exclusive contract.
He wants his release from the company and he doesn’t feel he can go back following his recent comments.
“During a press conference on May 27 2022 regarding events concerning Kota Ibushi and a member of NJPW staff (henceforth “The Official”), it was announced that both Mr. Ibushi and The Official would be subject to penalties as a result of their actions. Upon consideration, these penalties have been determined, and in the interest of transparency, are outlined below.
KOTA IBUSHI: A ten percent (10%) reduction in pay for the three month period between July and September 2022 as a result of a breach of contract.
Representative Director TAKAMI OHBARI: A ten percent (10%) reduction in pay for the three month period between July and September 2022 as a result of executive responsibility.
THE OFFICIAL: A ten percent (10%) reduction in pay for the three month period between July and September 2022, as well as a transfer to a different position as a result of inappropriate comments toward a wrestler representing a breach of duty.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling would like to once again apologise for the concern and inconvenience caused by these events, and humbly ask for your continued support.”
Bianca Belair put her WWE Raw Women’s Title on the line in a triple threat match against Asuka and Becky Lynch at the Hell In A Cell event in Allstate Arena in Chicago, IL.
The match opened the show and saw Lynch get double teamed by the babyfaces. Lynch hit a leg drop off the top rope for 2 on Belair. Belair with a standing moonsault on both stars. Lynch with man handle slam to Belair for 2 as Asuka broke up the pin attempt. The finish saw Lynch hit the hit man handle slam to Asuka and Belair tossed Lynch to the floor then pinned Asuka.
Originally, Naomi was slated to be Belair’s opponent at this event as she was planned to win the six-pack challenge on Raw a few weeks ago, but once Naomi and Sasha Banks walked out, WWE had to change plans. Asuka ended up beating Lynch to become the #1 contender to the title.
On the May 23rd Raw, Lynch was added to the bout after defeating Asuka in a match where she would be added to the Hell in a Cell card if she won. She earned the win in that bout when Asuka went for a kick that missed Lynch and hit Belair, which allowed Lynch to get the victory.
Lynch talked her way into the bout with Asuka as she was unhappy about the loss and claimed that Asuka cheated so Adam Pearce gave her the bout.
Time will tell whether WWE continues this feud or goes into a different direction heading into the Money in the Bank event next month
What are your thoughts on Bianca Belair retaining the Raw Women’s Title? Was this the right call by WWE officials? Sound off in the comment section.
\”Cody hurt himself weight training this week. The story going around backstage last night in Champaign, Illinois is that he tore his pec. I don\’t know that 100 percent [if] that is the injury. That\’s definitely the story going around. That\’s what multiple wrestlers were saying last night, and Cody was there, so he probably told them,\” Meltzer said. \”The presumption everyone had was he\’s working Hell in a Cell tonight and from there we\’ll see. But a torn pec is, you know, that\’s a pretty serious injury, if it is that.\”
Cody has indicated on his Twitter account that he will be in action tonight.
At Saturday’s live event in Champaign, Illinois, WWE did an angle where Seth attacked Cody, which nixed a tag team bout and a triple threat match took place instead as McIntyre beat Rollins and Sami Zayn. Post-match, Cody appeared to chase Rollins around the ring and to the back.
The injury is expected to keep Rhodes on the shelf for months and comes at a bad time for WWE, which needs star power on house shows because Roman Reigns is working a limited schedule.
The WWE NXT In Your House special aired live on Peacock from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT In Your House Results:
Tony D\’Angelo, Troy Donovan & Channing Lorenzo def. Santos Escobar, Cruz Del Toro & Joaquin Wilde
NXT Women\’s Tag Team Champions Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne def. Katana Chance & Kayden Carter
Carmelo Hayes def. Cameron Grimes to win WWE NXT North American Title
WWE NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose def. Wendy Choo
The Creed Brothers def. Pretty Deadly to win Tag Team Titles
WWE NXT Champion Bron Breakker def. Joe Gacy
Here are the takeaways from this show:
Six-Man Tag Team Match
Santos Escobar, Cruz Del Toro & Joaquin Wilde vs. Tony D\’Angelo, Troy Donovan & Channing Lorenzo in a six-man tag team match took place with the stipulation that the losing team will join the winning team’s stable.
This was the opening contest and they went full throttle. The finish was clever as Tony grabbed a crowbar while Santos had brass knuckles. Lorenzo was hit with the brass knuckles while Wilde was hit with the crowbar and Lorenzo landed on Wilde for the pinfall.
Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne vs. Katana Chance & Kayden Carter
NXT Women\’s Tag Team Champions Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne defended the titles against Katana Chance & Kayden Carter.
Two weeks ago, Toxic Attraction responded to a challenge from Chance and Carter for the match at the show and noted they will make them official at a championship summit. Earlier in the show, Dolin and Jayne were ambushed by Chance and Kayden Carter while they were accompanying Rose to the ring for her match against Indi Hartwell.
The match was the second bout on the card. It was a standard tag bout for the majority of it, but down the stretch, they hit some sweet tag team moves and Carter even connected with a cutter on the apron. The finish saw Dolin hit a nasty german suplex that dumped Carter on her head.
WWE NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose vs. Wendy Choo was booked.
After weeks of teasing the bout, Rose defended the NXT Women’s Title against Hartwell two weeks ago. Choo attacked her and dumped a bag full of balls on Rose before holding up her title.
The match was mostly comedy although it was dominated by Rose, who destroyed Choo’s pillow. Choo hit a drop kick. Rose pulled her off the top rope and hit a running boot.
WWE NXT North American Champion Cameron Grimes defended his title against Carmelo Hayes
It was at Stand and Deliver in April when Hayes lost the title and Grimes became the champion in a ladder match.
The bout saw them go for quick pin attempts early on. Hayes beat him down before they went back and forth. Grimes hit a spinning powerslam for 2 and the crowd chanted, “that was three.” Grimes with a posionronna. Grimes missed a dive in the corner and Hayes hit the leg drop off the top rope for the win.
WWE NXT Tag Team Champions Pretty Deadly defended their titles against The Creed Brothers.
It all started when Pretty Deadly, who are former NXT UK Tag Team Champions, made their NXT 2.0 debut by attacking The Creed Brothers in April as they were revealed as the mystery attackers. Pretty Deadly then won the NXT Tag Team titles in a gauntlet match on April 12 that also featured The Creed Brothers.
The match was controlled by the challengers. At one point, the Creeds had them in double submissions. Julius sold for a few minutes as the champs controlled him. Brutus got the hot tag and cleared house. The Creeds with a powerslam then a shooting star press then a clothesline for the win.
WWE NXT Champion Bron Breakker vs. Joe Gacy served as the main event of the show.
Breakker previously beat Gacy on an episode of NXT 2.0 last month to retain the title. Gacy and his druides later attacked Breakker, which led to Breakker wanting revenge. Gacy then proposed the stipulation, which Breakker also agreed to – if Breakker got DQ’d then he would lose the title.
The match saw Gacy control him in the early going. Bron hit a series of shoulder blocks then an outside dive. Gacy did the old Eddie Guerrero chair spot. There was an announce table spot where Gacy was speared off the apron. Bron with a bulldog off the middle rope for 2. Bron tossed the chair away and Gacy hit a low blow for 2. Bron with a spear then hit his finisher for the win.
WWE NXT Champion Bron Breakker made his latest title defense against Joe Gacy in the main event of the In Your House event in Orlando, Florida at the Performance Center on Peacock.
The match had the stipulation that if Bron got DQ’d then he would’ve lost the title. The bout saw Gacy beat him down in the early going with holds and chops. Bron hit an outside dive. Gacy did the old Eddie Guerrero chair spot but a second referee stopped the main one from DQing Bron. Gacy was speared off the apron through the announce table. A near fall came when Bron tossed the chair away and Gacy hit a low blow. The finish saw Bron hit a spear then his finisher.
Their first match came on the Spring Breakin’ edition of NXT 2.0 last month where Breakker went over. On the May 17th edition of NXT 2.0, Breakker responded to Gacy\’s invitation to join his movement and declined. However, he did accept Gacy\’s challenge to a title match at In Your House. Gacy then added the stipulation.
Breakker won the NXT Title for a second time on the April 4th edition of Raw when he beat Dolph Ziggler. Breakker previously won the NXT Title from Ciampa at New Year’s Evil in January from Ciampa.
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