Roman Reigns has his next challenger as WWE determined the new #1 contender for the WWE Title that’s held by “The Big Dog.”
WWE announced heading into Friday’s episode of SmackDown from Orlando, Florida on FOX that the reveal of this contender, which also marks the second match to be added to the card of Clash of Champions pay-per-view event, would be determined.
WWE held a Fatal 4-Way Match with Jey Uso vs. Matt Riddle vs. King Baron Corbin vs. Sheamus. This contest took place in the final 30 minutes of the show. Jey actually replaced Big E in the contest as Sheamus attacked him before the match and they did an injury angle. It was told that Paul Heyman had gotten Jey into the match.
Jey Uso was victorious, which means he earned the right to challenge Reigns for the WWE Title. Also in this show, Reigns addressed the fans about his alliance with Heyman and recent heel actions.
WWE presents the Clash of Champions pay-per-view event on Sunday, September 27, 2020.
It\’s been reported that WWE is holding off Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt for a bigger event as that was the original WrestleMania 36 main event that never happened.
Word broke on Friday that WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon issued an edict this past week to make it clear that WWE stars can no longer \”engage with outside third parties.\” The belief is that this goes for platforms like Cameo and Twitch.
Pwinsider.com reports there are a lot of people worried about the vague wording of the letter and what exactly is allowed and won\’t be allowed. There are some wrestlers who have already reacted negatively to the request because there is a feeling that it was an order to shut down their personal streaming channels. There\’s no confirmation that this is actually the case.
Wrestlers told the media outlet that they have been using these platforms as a way to make additional revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic to make up for lost revenue that they usually get from live events and merchandise royalties. Bonuses have also been cut.
AJ Styles regularly streams his own content, but some of the wrestlers who aren\’t on the same level as Styles have used third party platforms to build their own brands and make extra money.
There are grumblings among wrestlers about how they feel WWE is hurting their ability to make money outside of the company. In fact, some wrestlers have pushed back on this because they feel like they’re losing the freedom to promote themselves. Thus, it makes some wrestlers consider working somewhere else where they would be allowed more freedom.
There has been some talk over the last 24 hours who are thinking about pushing back against the latest edict from WWE officials.
Daniel Bryan has been absent from WWE television since June.
Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that there\’s still no word yet on when Bryan will be back.
The former WWE Champion being away from the TV tapings at the Performance Center in Orlando was likely a COVID-19 precautionary measure as it was around the time that his wife Brie Bella was in the latter her pregnancy with their second child.
Brie had gone on record by expressing concerns about Bryan working during the coronavirus pandemic due to his weakened immune system. There’s speculation that he could be coming back in the near future as it’s been a month since Brie gave birth.
WWE has also bumped up its COVID-19 testing and moved to hold shows out of the Amway Center in Orlando. Since the move, wrestlers who had been hiatus such as Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn have returned to work.
Bryan joined the SmackDown writing team in July and reportedly has significant creative influence. He hasn’t wrestled since June 12 where he lost to AJ Styles in the Intercontinental Title tournament finals
WWE is using an interesting tagline to further hype a match that will take place on next week’s episode of NXT, which is titled WWE NXT Super Tuesday II.
The main event of this show has been confirmed to be the Steel Cage match between Rhea Ripley and Mercedes Martinez. WWE is now billing it as \”The Battle of The Badasses.\”
In the announcement it was noted, “Rhea Ripley is tired of playing games with Mercedes Martinez and The Robert Stone Brand, and she isn\’t hiding it.
That\’s why she has called for Martinez to face her inside a Steel Cage — a challenge her rival eagerly accepted, setting the stage for The Battle of The Badasses in the main event of NXT Super Tuesday II.”
This episode will feature a bigger match that will serve as the opener, which is the Sudden Death Battle between Adam Cole and Finn Balor for the vacant NXT Title.
When that announcement was made, there had been speculation on Ripley vs. Martinez being the main event. Now, it’s official.
Just like this week, the reason that NXT is airing on Tuesday is due to the NHL Playoffs on the USA Network. However, the show will return to the normal Wednesday night timeslot on September 16.
No other matches have been announced for NXT Super Tuesday Part 2 from Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University.
The card for Saturday’s (September 5, 2020) AEW All Out has been finalized.
There have been some changes to the card as AEW President Tony Khan announced on Friday that Private Party vs. 3 and 4 of The Dark Order in a tag team match will now take place on the pre-show portion.
On the flip side, Britt Baker vs. Big Swole in a Tooth and Nail Match, which is a Falls Count Anywhere cinematic match at Baker\’s dentist office, has been moved from the pre-show to the main card.
Hey let’s just make All Out tomorrow night the best wrestling ppv we can possibly do. Now on the main ppv card: Dr. Britt Baker v. Big Swole in the 1st ever Tooth & Nail Match emanating from Dr. Baker’s dental office, anything goes, no DQ + falls count anywhere. See you tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/lqLelCIfEL
The event is expected to begin at 8 p.m. ET and stream live on the BR Live platform in the United States.
AEW World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley vs. MJF
Chris Jericho vs. Orange Cassidy – Mimosa Mayhem Match
AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida vs. Thunder Rosa
AEW Tag Team Champions Kenny Omega & Hangman Page vs. FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler)
Dark Order (Brodie Lee, Colt Cabana, Stu Grayson, & Evil Uno) vs. Natural Nightmares (Dustin Rhodes & QT Marshall), Matt Cardona, & Scorpio Sky – Eight-Man Tag Team Match
Lance Archer, Brian Cage, Ricky Starks, Darby Allin, Eddie Kingston, Penta El Zero M, Fenix, Shawn Spears, The Butcher, The Blade, Billy Gunn, Darby Allin, Santana, Ortiz, Jake Hager, Chuck Taylor, Trent – Casino Battle Royale
Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara – Broken Rules Match
The Young Bucks vs. Jurassic Express
Big Swole vs. Dr. Britt Baker – Tooth and Nail Match
Private Party vs. 3 and 4 of The Dark Order (Pre-Show)
Vince McMahon is apparently done with his talent working with third parties and is trying to put a stop to it.
Wrestling Inc reported on Friday that the WWE Chairman and CEO sent out an edict this past week that talent can no longer \”engage with outside third parties.” This would be the likes of Cameo and Twitch.
The company held a call with wrestlers last Sunday about the reinvention of the product and it was stated that WWE owns the real names of talent, not just their character names.
Then on Thursday, McMahon issued a letter stating that it was imperative that they promote and protect the brand in every conceivable way. Thus, wrestlers have 30 days to stop engaging with third parties.
\”Some of you are engaged with outside third parties using your name and likeness in ways that are detrimental to our company,\” McMahon wrote. \”It is imperative that these activities be terminated within the next 30 days (by Friday, October 2). Continued violations will result in fines, suspension, or termination at WWE\’s discretion.\”
McMahon added that these actions are necessary as part of WWE\’s rebuilding process because they are set to \”enter the next phase of growth at WWE.\”
Shortly after the news broke, Renee Young, who recently departed from the company, sent out this funny message:
Sooooooo guess now would be a good time to launch my Twitch and Cameo??
It will be interesting to see whether everyone in WWE stops using Cameo or Twitch. AJ Styles has gained a big following on his Twitch account as of late.
Akam and Rezar are no longer under contract with WWE.
The company announced on Friday that they have decided to release the two stars from their contracts. WWE issued the following statement on their departures:
“Akam and Rezar released. WWE has come to terms on the release of Akam and Rezar (AOP). We wish them all the best in their future endeavors.”
WWE has come to terms on the release of Akam and Rezar (AOP). We wish them all the best in their future endeavors. https://t.co/26hOhQL2vS
As of this writing, the Authors of Pain have yet to comment on the news. Kevin Owens did comment on WWE’s decision by writing the following:
“Those guys beat the hell out of me for months…and I can say with complete honesty that I enjoyed every second of it. Good luck, boys. Hopefully, we’ll share a ring again one day and if so, you can bet you have some receipts coming you way!”
Rezar suffered a bicep injury in March. This injury put the team on the shelf once again. As a result, it halted their push on the RAW brand and ended their alliance with Seth Rollins.
It had been reported that Paul Heyman was a big fan of the tag team when he was working creative as the RAW Executive Director at that time.
Because Rezar was out of aAkam and Rezar Released By WWEction, the decision was made then to also pull Akam off TV until Rezar was able to return.
The tag team was created in February of 2016 where they would hold the NXT Tag Team Titles once.
Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Finn Balor vs. Tommaso Ciampa ends in tie
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Timothy Thatcher vs. Bronson Reed
Timothy Thatcher vs. Bronson Reed in a singles match took place with the two stars putting on a stiff yet entertaining contest.
Austin Theory attacked Reed during the match and laid him out on the floor when the referee wasn’t looking. Once back in the ring, Thatcher locked on an armbar for the win.
This was expected coming off last week’s segments with the first being Thatcher thinking he should be the #1 contender to Damian Priest\’s North American Title. Later in the show, Reed also did an interview where he questioned the request by Thatcher and pointed out that he holds a win over Priest.
Perhaps, WWE is building towards a Triple Threat Match between Priest, Reed, and Thatcher for the title. Whether they keep it for an upcoming episode of NXT or the next TakeOver special remains to be seen.
NXT Cruiserweight Champion El Hijo Del Fantasma is now Santos Escobar
The feud has continued as Legado del Fantasma, which consists of NXT Cruiserweight Champion Santos Escobar with Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde, battled Isaiah “Swerve” Scott and Breezango in a six-man tag team street fight.
This comes after the two teams have squared off before in addition to Scott recently coming up short against Escobar in a match with the Cruiserweight Championship on the line.
There were typical spots such as ladders, fire extinguisher, and other weapons used in the contest.
The finish was wild as Scott and Fandango jumped off a forklift onto everyone else who was in the ring. Scott hit his finisher to Escobar for the win.
As expected, the final hour of the show featured a 60 Minute Iron Man Fatal 4-Way Match to determine the new NXT Champion. Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Finn Balor vs. Tommaso Ciampa were the competitors in the contest.
As expected, the way the match worked was that whoever had the most points at the end of the match won it whether that be pinfall, submission, or DQ. This was due to Karrion Kross suffering a separated shoulder and vacating the championship.
The match was really good as it allowed everyone to shine given the amount of time that it played out. It wasn’t just a spot fest, but it told a story of who could overcome the odds in not just the competitors in the ring, but the time that they had to survive.
Balor scored the first point when he pinned Cole. Ciampa joined the scoreboard when he hit a facebuster on Cole. When the match was over, Balor and Cole had two points while Ciampa and Gargano had one point apiece.
This led to William Regal coming out and announcing that Balor and Cole would face off next week in a sudden death match to determine a new champion.
Rhea Ripley did a backstage segment where she issued a challenge to Mercedes Martinez to a Steel Cage Match for next week.
Ripley stated that she is sick and tired of not only Mercedes but also the Robert Stone Brand getting in her business. She said that she thought that Mercedes got the message when she powerbombed her on the floor, but she is too thick-headed for that.
She said that now she’ll have to rip her limb from limb and wants to do it in a Steel Cage Match. Mercedes later agreed to the match and now it’s on.
Heading into Tuesday’s episode of WWE NXT fans were promised that there would be a new NXT champion crowned and that didn’t happen.
WWE booked a unique contest as there was a 60 Minute Iron Man Fatal 4-Way Match to determine the new NXT Champion. The contest took place in the final hour of the broadcast on the USA Network from Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University.
Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Finn Balor vs. Tommaso Ciampa was booked. So the way that the match worked was whoever had the most points at the end of the match whether that be by pinfall or submission was declared the winner.
However, there wasn’t a winner. Instead, WWE booked an angle where Cole and Balor were tied with the most points, which was two while Gargano and Ciampa each had one point.
Balor will face Cole in a singles match on next week’s episode to crown a new NXT Champion.
The title became vacant on last week’s show in the opening segment as Karrion Kross relinquished the championship. He’s on the sidelines due to a separated shoulder.
Back in June when she did first test positive, Dave Meltzer reported in an edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Young didn’t receive any contact from Vince McMahon, Kevin Dunn, Paul Levesque or Mark Carrano to see how she was doing. However, a lot of wrestlers did contact her.
Young recalled how she sent out the tweet to reveal the news and she was doing it because she got and in case there was anyone around her, she wanted to make sure those people got tested as they were exposed to the illness.
“But yeah, it was … not well-received.” She was then asked how soon after the tweet did she hear from someone in WWE.
“Well I tweeted it in the evening west coast time. So by the time I woke up was like a couple texts. You shouldn’t … not even that like you shouldn’t have posted it, but it was like, ‘We really wish that you gave us a heads up that you were gonna post it.’ It was, you know, bad for PR and whatnot.
But again, I just like, I wouldn’t have even thought to be like, ‘Hey guys, I’m gonna tweet that I have COVID!’ That was just not what I was thinking about when I posted about it.”
At the time that she had COVID, it was reported WWE officials were keeping talent in the dark regarding the names that had positive test results and how many positive cases of COVID-19 there were
Just a week after working her final date with WWE, Renee Young has discussed her decision to depart from WWE after working for the company over the last 8 years.
She did so when she appeared on the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast with Jimmy Traina. She was asked about whether there was one thing that made her want to leave, which she stated there wasn’t an exact incident.
Instead, when WWE Backstage was canceled on the same day that she tested positive for COVID-19, it did factor into her decision.
“It was really with Backstage being canceled that I was like, ‘What am I doing? I’m not really doing anything anymore and my skill set of being a host … there’s just nowhere for me to do it anymore.
Even with Talking Smack coming back, I had heard the rumblings that Talking Smack was making its way back, I was planning on perhaps doing that. But I was like, ‘You know what? I feel like I’m taking steps backward. I’m sorta spinning my wheels to go back and do a show. To not be doing it with Daniel Bryan. To not be doing it with Mike Mansury, who also is no longer with WWE. But that was sort of the magic of what that show was to me.”
Young stated that when she stepped away from doing commentary it left a bad taste in her mouth. Thus, she was happy when she was able to do something else at FOX when Backstage came up.
Young first told Michael Cole about the decision and no one from WWE tried to talk her out of leaving as she thinks they had seen her frustrations build over the years.
Young felt that returning as a backstage interviewer on SmackDown was a step back. She stated that she did make a few pitches about being used as a special correspondent for the brand.
Young is under a non-compete clause with WWE that is longer than 90-days.
MJF is just days away from the biggest match in his tenure as a pro wrestler and spoke with The New York Post to promote it.
During the interview, he was asked about his ultimate goal in pro wrestling, which he revealed to be remembered as the greatest of all-time.
“My ultimate goal is when I pass away for people to go, ‘That guy was the greatest professional wrestler in the history of our sport.’ That’s my only goal.”
The rising prospect will challenge AEW World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley at the All Out pay-per-view this Saturday night.
MJF knocked Moxley for coming from WWE and how he plans to be in AEW for the rest of his career.
“It’s great that they had their handheld sometimes by VKM, awesome. But I didn’t. I didn’t come from that product. I didn’t come from that land. I am AEW born and bred. I will be AEW until I die. This is my company. This is where I started. This is the company that I’ll end in.”
Monday’s edition of WWE RAW averaged 1.896 million viewers with a 0.58 rating in the key 18-49 demographic. This was down from last week, which did 2.028 million viewers and a 0.66 demo rating.
It has to be noted that last week’s show got a big boost thanks to it coming the night after SummerSlam. In fact, that show did the best viewership number since April 6th, the day after WrestleMania in addition to the best demo number since March.
This was the post-show for Sunday’s Payback pay-per-view event and the second episode of RAW that was held from the ThunderDome.
To compare, just one year ago, RAW averaged 2.507 million viewers.Here’s the hourly viewership breakdown for Raw, courtesy of Showbuzzdaily.com:
Hour 1: 2.104 million, 0.63 in the 18-49 Demo
Hour 2: 1.882 million, 0.59 in the 18-49 Demo
Hour 3: 1.703 million, 0.53 in the 18-49 Demo
RAW featured three singles match that served as qualifying matches for the main event that saw Keith Lee, Randy Orton, and Seth Rollins to determine the new #1 contender for the WWE Title and challenge Drew McIntyre for the strap at Clash of Champions.
SmackDown Viewership
Friday’s SmackDown averaged 2.144 million viewers on FOX. This is down from the 2.198 million viewers that the show did for the previous week.
SmackDown averaged 2.181 million viewers in the fast nationals, which was up from the 2.168 million viewers a week ago. This number measured the top metered markets.
The first hour drew 2.210 million viewers while the second hour did 2.151 million viewers. For comparison, the first show of last week’s show did 2.189 million viewers while the second hour did 2.146 million viewers.
SmackDown pulled in a 0.60 rating in the 18-49 demos, the same from the 0.60 rating as last week’s show.
The next challenger to WWE Champion Drew McIntyre will be Randy Orton and it’s the first match to be added to the card of the upcoming WWE Clash of Champions pay-per-view event.
During Monday’s episode of RAW from Orlando, Florida on the USA Network, WWE held three separate singles matches with the winners of those bouts advancing to a Triple Threat Match later in the show.
The singles matches were Keith Lee vs. Dolph Ziggler, Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton, and Dominik Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins. The winners of these bouts were Lee, Orton, and Rollins.
In the main event, the three stars battled it out with Orton coming out on top. Because Orton was victorious, he earned the right to challenge McIntyre for the WWE Title.
McIntyre didn’t have a match booked at this past Sunday’s Payback pay-per-view event due to an injury storyline thanks to Orton hitting him with a punt kick to the head last week on Raw. At this same show, the former WWE Champion put over the ex-NXT Champion in a clean finish.
WWE presents the Clash of Champions pay-per-view event on Sunday, September 27, 2020.
Fans of The Big Show’s sitcom on Netflix can stop wondering if the show will be back for a second season.
Deadline reported today that the streaming service has decided not to order a second season of \”The Big Show Show.\” The good news is that there will be one more episode of the series as a new Christmas special will be released on Netflix this December.
Per the report, the episode isn\’t a series finale, but rather it\’s a standalone episode that was filmed before the COVID-19 pandemic. It also doesn\’t continue the storylines of season one. Thus, there’s no official ending to the series.
\”The Big Show Show\” co-creator Jason Berger sent out a tweet about the series not being renewed by writing, “On behalf of the staff, cast, and crew of #thebigshowshow…thank you to everyone who watched either with your fam or alone in your basement. Netflix was a dream to work with AND we had a blast making the show. Rare air! Please take care of each other!\”
The series premiered on Netflix this past April and eight episodes aired. It starred The Big Show, Allison Munn, Reylynn Caster, Juliet Donenfeld, Lily Brooks O\’Briant, and Jaleel White.
The description for the sitcom was: \”When the teenage daughter of Big Show, a retired world-famous WWE Superstar, comes to live with him, his wife, and two other daughters, he quickly becomes outnumbered and outsmarted. Despite being 7 feet tall and weighing 400 pounds, he is no longer the center of attention.\”
Unfortunately, Rey Mysterio is on the sidelines with a torn triceps.
On Monday evening, WWE issued a statement on its website to confirm the news. The injury happened at Sunday’s pay-per-view event when he took part in a tag team contest.
Rey teamed up with his son Dominik to defeat the team of Seth Rollins and Murphy at this show.
“Rey Mysterio suffered a torn triceps during his match at WWE Payback Sunday night, WWE.com has learned.”
WWE had announced last week that the former WWE Champion was slated to compete against Rollins in a singles match on Monday’s episode of RAW on the USA Network. However, plans had to be changed due to this injury. As a result, WWE moved Dominik into a match against Rollins.
The winners of not only this match but two other matches would then compete in the main event of the show in a Triple Threat match to determine who would challenge Drew McIntyre for the WWE Title.
This will serve as the top match of WWE’s next pay-per-view event, Payback, which takes place on September 27th from the WWE ThunderDome.
Roman Reigns is heeling it up on both WWE television and social media.
A fan was complaining on Twitter about how WWE is shoving the Universal Champion down the throats of people once again.
The fan wrote, “Roman being forced down people\’s throats again…..such an overrated performer. The belt has changed hands so many times it just has no prestige. Rubbish.”
Reigns responded to the fan with, “Only reason I’m down your throat, is because you keep your mouth open. I’m the best performer of this generation period and the title is finally in the right hands for it to hold true value.”
Reigns made his return at SummerSlam after the main event before aligning himself with Paul Heyman as his advocate.
At this past Sunday at the Payback pay-per-view event, he beat Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman in a No Holds Barred Triple Threat Match to win the Universal Championship. He did so in heel fashion by coming out at the end of the match after Strowman and Wyatt had collapsed the ring.
The reason for the alliance between Heyman and Reigns is due to WWE needing to justify Heyman\’s big-money deal as he hadn\’t been on television since WrestleMania.
All Elite Wrestling has announced a new match for their upcoming All Out pay-per-view event and it’s certain to be an extreme one.
It was confirmed on Monday night that the bout between Matt Hardy and Sammy Guevara will be a Broken Rules Match. This comes after the two stars have been in a heated feud on television and even on social media.
The heat was turned up when Hardy got busted open when he took a chair shot to the face a few weeks ago. Fast forward to last Thursday’s episode when Guevara was bloodied during a Tables Match against Hardy.
The AEW All Out pay-per-view event will take place on Saturday, September 5, 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place.
AEW World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley vs. MJF
Mimosa Mayhem Match: Chris Jericho vs. Orange Cassidy
AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida vs. Thunder Rosa
AEW Tag Team Champions Kenny Omega & Hangman Page vs. FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler)
Dark Order (Brodie Lee, Colt Cabana, Stu Grayson, & Evil Uno) vs. Natural Nightmares (Dustin Rhodes & QT Marshall), Matt Cardona, & Scorpio Sky – Eight-Man Tag Team Match
Darby Allin, Lance Archer, Brian Cage, Ricky Starks, Pentagon Jr, Rey Fenix, The Butcher, The Blade, Eddie Kingston – Casino Battle Royale
\”I appreciate the opportunity I had to realize my childhood dream of working in sports entertainment, and I wish WWE well in the future. Now I want to direct my focus and devote my time to my other projects and to my mental health charitable activities and the well-being of my mother and myself.”
WWE confirmed the situation Monday night with a brief statement confirming they have \”amicably agreed to part ways.\”
WWE and Mauro Ranallo have mutually and amicably agreed to part ways. Mauro’s passion and enthusiasm left an indelible and exciting mark with WWE and its fans, and we wish him the best in his future endeavors. https://t.co/9y99UhfRhl
Ranallo was not present at last week’s NXT and or at TakeOver: XXX event nor did he work the NXT TV tapings from Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University. This taping included last week’s show as well as this Tuesday’s episode.
At TakeOver, Corey Graves filled in for Ranallo while Wade Barrett replaced him at the last set of tapings. The reason for his absence was due to him needing to fly back to Canada to tend to a family issue.
It was reported on Monday that Barrett is in talks with WWE about a full-time return to the company. Whether that has anything to do with Ranallo’s departure remains to be seen.
Mauro Ranallo Talks Pop Culture References and Tegan Nox Botch
Roman Reigns worked his first match in several months in the biggest contest featured on the Payback card.
“The Big Dog” took part in a Triple Threat No Holds Barred Match against Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt, who was portraying The Fiend character, for the Universal Title.
WWE saved this match for the main event spot at the WWE Payback pay-per-view event in Orlando, Florida at the Amway Center. The contest saw Strowman and Wyatt work the majority of the match.
It was a brawl up until a superplex spot that sent the two big men breaking the ring. Reigns walked down to the ring as he signed the contract on his way. They did a spot where Reigns covered both men, but they kicked out. Moments later, Reigns hit a spear to Strowman for the win and to become the champion.
Although this match only had a one week build, WWE did a big angle at the SummerSlam pay-per-view event. Wyatt had beaten Strowman in a Falls Count Anywhere Match. After the match, Reigns made a surprise appearance by not only spearing The Fiend but also Strowman in addition to whacking Strowman several times with a chair.
Rey and Dominik Mysterio had the chance to get back at their arch-rivals, Seth Rollins and Buddy Murphy.
This tag team contest was booked at the Payback pay-per-view event. It was a back and forth contest with the father and son going over.
The finish featured Murphy accidentally kicking Rollins in the head before Rey hit a sunset flip powerbomb to Rollins into the barricade. Dominik hit the 619 then a frog splash off the top rope to Murphy for the win.
This has been a long term feud that dates back to the original program between Rey and Rollins. Rollins took out an eye of the future WWE Hall of Famer in an Eye for an Eye Match at Extreme Rules.
After being off television for a few weeks, Rey made his return in order to be in the corner of his son when he battled the former Universal Champion in a Street Fight at the SummerSlam pay-per-view event just one week ago that saw Rollins go over.
WWE has already confirmed that Rey will wrestle Rollins in a singles match on this Monday’s episode of RAW on the USA Network in Orlando, Florida at the Amway Center
What are your thoughts on Rey & Dominik Mysterio going over Seth Rollins & Buddy Murphy in this tag team contest? Was this the right call by WWE officials? Sound off in the comment section.
Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler have captured the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship.
The unlikely tag team took on Bayley and Sasha Banks for the titles at Sunday’s WWE Payback pay-per-view event. The match aired in the middle of the card in Orlando, Florida at the Amway Center on WWE’s streaming service.
Baszler and Jax are just the seventh team to hold the titles. The finish of the contest saw an interesting finish as Baszler had Banks in a leg submission while also putting Bayley in a rear-naked choke and in the process, used Banks’ arm to put over the throat of Bayley for the win.
WWE made the match announcement this past Monday night on RAW when Baszler battled SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley in a non-title match. Jax pulled her partner out of the ring and stood with her to stare the champs down.
They would later have an exchange of words and Baszler said she would help Jax win the titles if Jax left her alone and stayed off her back. This led to Baszler slapping Jax and walking off.
Bayley and Banks first won the titles on the June 5th during an episode of SmackDown when they beat Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross.
What are your thoughts on Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler winning the WWE Tag Team Titles? Was this the right call by WWE officials? Sound off in the comment section.
There is a new WWE United States Champion and that’s Bobby Lashley.
WWE had Lashley challenged Apollo Crews for the championship at Sunday’s (August 30, 2020) WWE Payback pay-per-view event.
This is where Lashley connected with a chokeslam and his full nelson finisher in a competitive match to win the title and end Crews’ reign. Post-match, Crews attacked Lashley before running away from MVP and Shelton Benjamin.
Crews dethroned Andrade as the champion by beating him in a match on the May 25th episode of RAW on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center.
This championship match took place just one week after Crews had successfully retained the title over MVP during the pre-show of the SummerSlam pay-per-view event.
Crews has been feuding with The Hurt Business (Lashley, MVP, and Shelton Benjamin) as of late on the red brand.
Time will tell whether WWE continues this feud or goes into a different direction heading into the Clash of Champions pay-per-view event on September 27th.
One of the bigger pieces of news to come out this week was the pairing of Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman.
It’s been reported that WWE had plans to give Reigns more of an edgier side coming out of WrestleMania 36 where he was supposed to beat Goldberg for the Universal Title. That didn’t happen as Reigns went on hiatus.
Dave Meltzer noted on today’s Wrestling Observer Radio that the reason for the alliance between the two men was due to WWE needing to justify the big-money contract that Heyman has.
t was also done as a way to cement Reigns’ heel turn. Heyman hadn’t been used on television since WrestleMania and there’s no word on when Lesnar is expected to return. Thus, Heyman was being paid without working.
It should be noted that Heyman did have two different deals with WWE – one for being a performer and the other being for the role of RAW Executive Director. Of course, Heyman lost on the second deal when Vince McMahon decided to remove him.
With such grand plans that WWE has for Reigns as a heel, it made sense to pair Heyman with him another big star.
The card for Sunday’s (August 30, 2020) WWE Payback pay-per-view event has been finalized, which means the final odds are out.
The company hasn’t officially announced the main event of this event that takes place in Orlando, Florida at the Amway Center and will air on the WWE Network but it will most likely be WWE Universal Champion Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman.
This will be a No Holds Barred Triple Threat Match and the first match involving Reigns in months. Reigns is actually the favorite to win the championship.
As a reminder, we will be providing coverage of this special on Sunday evening starting at 6 PM EST. The favorites are listed with (-). Here are the final betting odds for the show:
Final WWE Payback Betting Odds
WWE Universal Champion Bray Wyatt +250 vs. Roman Reigns -120 vs. Braun Strowman +500 – No Holds Barred Triple Threat Match
Keith Lee -130 vs. Randy Orton +110
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Bayley & Sasha Banks +110 vs. Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler -150
WWE United States Champion Apollo Crews +200 vs. Bobby Lashley -300
Rey & Dominik Mysterio +200 vs. Seth Rollins & Buddy Murphy -150
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