Io Shirai was successful in her latest title defense of the NXT Women’s Title.
She did so at Saturday’s WWE NXT TakeOver: XXX event in Winter Park, Florida when she pinned Dakota Kai.
The match was back and forth. With Kai being the heel, she was able to get the majority of the offense while Io battled back from adversity. They did some near falls towards the end including a referee bump. Io won with a moonsault.
Post-match, Raquel Gonzalez came out and attacked Io until Rhea Ripley walked out to scare off Raquel. Ripley and Io had a staredown.
WWE set up this contest back on the August 5th episode of NXT when they held a match that would determine who is next in line for a title shot. A singles match between Ripley and Kai took place with the winner becoming the next challenger to the title. Kai was victorious, earning the right to challenge Shirai for the NXT Women’s Title.
The next special for NXT comes on October 4th at a location that has yet to be announced before holding another event during Survivor Series weekend in November.
Cody Rhodes is no longer the AEW TNT Champion as he was dethroned by Brodie Lee.
The title change occurred during Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite on TNT. Lee beat Rhodes in dominating fashion, some people think it was a total squash to establish the new champion.
Lee went over in the main event. Post-match, Rhodes was stretchered out of the arena due to the damage that he suffered only to be attacked by members of the Dark Order.
The special edition of the weekly TV show from All Elite Wrestling aired on Saturday night due to TNT’s coverage of the NBA Playoffs.
Rhodes’ title reign as the AEW TNT Champion started at the AEW Double or Nothing pay-per-view event in Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place, All Elite Wrestling booked a championship match between Rhodes and Lance Archer that served as the tournament finals.
Since that time, Rhodes had held weekly open challenges against all comers including Ricky Starks and Warhorse along with members of the AEW roster.
Pat McAfee took part in his first match under the WWE banner when he battled Adam Cole.
The heated feud took place at WWE NXT TakeOver: XXX event in Winter Park, Florida. Cole ended up going over in the contest.
They did some basic wrestling moves before both the two groups got involved and McAfee laid out everyone with a springboard dive to the floor. This is when Cole took over and started to beat down his opponent. At one point, McAfee did a one-step leap to the very top rope in order to hit a superplex.
McAfee went for a punt kick, but hit the steel steps instead. McAfee hit a low blow when the referee wasn’t looking then a clothesline and hit a punt kick for a near fall. The finish saw Cole hit a Candian Destroyer for the win.
WWE started this feud when there was an angle between the two stars on the Pat McAfee Show when McAfee was taking jabs at Cole for being a small wrestler among other things. It ended when Cole started yelling at McAfee after pushing over a microphone. The former NXT Champion also pushed McAfee’s co-host, Ty Schmit.
Fast forward to the August 5th episode of NXT, WWE had McAfee work commentary for the main event NXT Tag Team Title Match. It ended when Cole threw water in the face of McAfee, which resulted in the two stars being separated.
McAfee landed a punt kick to the face of Cole. The following day on ESPN’s Get Up, Triple H made an appearance in order to issue a challenge to the former NFL punter to step into the ring for a match against Cole.
After weeks of building to it, WWE held the Ladder Match to crown a new North American Champion at NXT TakeOver: XXX.
The contest at the event that aired on the WWE Network saw Bronson Reed vs. Damian Priest vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Velveteen Dream. As expected, it was a chaotic and wild match.
Some of the more noteworthy spots included a power of doom with everyone in the corner and Reed hitting other competitors with a splash using a ladder. Priest went for a springboard flip and ate supper kick by Gargano. Grimes did a splash off the apron onto Gargano that set up Reed hitting an outside dive to take out everyone.
Near the end of the match, Grimes went climbing but Candice LeRae knocked over the ladder and she attacked him, which led to Gargano taking him out with a ladder. Reed was close to getting the title, but LeRae tried to push the title away. Reed put LeRae on his back and did a front body splash off the ladder onto Gargano with her. Dream was sent flying off a ladder over a barricade through a table.
In the end, it was Priest who cleared the scattered bodies and had enough energy left to climb the ladder and grabbed the championship to become the new champion.
The title became vacant when Keith Lee gave up the title on the July 22nd episode of NXT. He beat Adam Cole to win the NXT Title on a special episode of NXT last month in a Winner Takes All Match.
WWE held a series of qualifying matches to determine competitors in this ladder match. Reed defeated Gargano and Roderick Strong to become the first to qualify for the match. Lumis joined Reed as the second person to qualify by defeating Finn Balor while Priest defeated Oney Lorcan and NXT UK\’s Ridge Holland. Grimes defeated Kushida, Gargano beat Holland, and the returning Velveteen Dream beat Balor.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been preparing for months to get into top shape for his next role as “Black Adam” even though the former WWE star has kept up an incredible look for years.
The Rock took to his Instagram account on Saturday to share the first image of him in the character. This gave fans the first glimpse of the film, which is slated to premiere on Dec. 22, 2021.
He talked about the film during Saturday’s “Black Adam” DC FanDome panel as well. He posted the following in the caption of the photo:
“You’ve waited long enough. As have I, thousands of years to be exact. The hierarchy of power in the DC UNIVERSE is about to change. Join us NOW for the worlds first ever #DCFanDome. The man in black comes to crush them all. *Only at DCFANDOME.COM #Rage #NoCape #BlackAdam.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CEMwrXkFlAq/
Last November, Rock first announced his involvement with the film in a post on his Instagram account. He shared the concept art of the character in addition to an emotional caption describing what the role meant to him.
This upcoming film will be a spinoff of Warner Bros. and New Line’s “Shazam!,” which premiered in 2019. Although originally he was considered to play Black Adam as the movie’s villain, plans changed.
The director of the film will be Jaume Collet-Serra, who also worked with Rock for “Jungle Cruise.” That movie is slated for release on Dec. 22, 2021, after it got delayed in production shutdowns due to COVID-19.
The final betting odds have been released for the WWE NXT TakeOver: XXX event from Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University.
The card for the show that takes place this Saturday has been finalized as only 6 matches have been announced.
Some of the more notable odds include the main event between WWE NXT Champion Keith Lee and Karrion Kross being even at -140, which means the oddsmakers don’t know who will win in addition to Damien Priest being favored to win the North American Title in the five-way Ladder Match.
WWE NXT TakeOver: XXX Odds
As a reminder, we will be providing coverage of the show this Sunday. The favorites to win are listed as – while the underdogs are listed with +. Here are the final betting odds:
WWE NXT Champion Keith Lee (-140) vs. Karrion Kross (even)
WWE NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai (-700) vs. Dakota Kai (+400)
Bronson Reed (11/4) vs. Damian Priest (3/2) vs. Cameron Grimes (13/2) vs. Johnny Gargano (13/4) vs. Velveteen Dream (5/1) – Ladder Match to crown new NXT North American Champion
Adam Cole (-180) vs. Pat McAfee (+140)
Finn Balor (even) vs. Timothy Thatcher (-115)
Legado del Fantasma (3/1) vs. Breezango (2/1) vs. Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan (1/2) – #1 Contender’s Triple Threat Match (Pre-Show)
Jeff Hardy is now a five-time WWE Intercontinental Champion.
The former WWE Champion battled AJ Styles for the secondary title on SmackDown during Friday’s episode on FOX. This served as the main event match although there was a FireFly Fun House segment that followed the contest.
The two had plenty of time and worked a solid match. In the end, Hardy hit Styles with his knee brace before landing a Swanton Bomb to win the title.
This was the first show to be held live in months and first-ever episode from the ThunderDome, which has been transformed in Orlando, Florida at the Amway Center.
Hardy cut a promo after the match where he noted that he’s been through dark moments as life has all sorts of challenges.
However, he stands here in the ring with a painful knee, but more importantly with hope just like everyone who is struggling right now and he couldn’t be here without them.
What are your thoughts on Jeff Hardy winning the WWE Intercontinental Title? Was this the right call by WWE officials? Sound off in the comment section.
WWE has made some changes to one match at SummerSlam, which will be a battle between Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose.
Originally, WWE touted this as a Hair vs. Hair match, but that has been changed. Instead, it will now be a No DQ match and the loser must leave WWE.
WWE made the match change during Friday’s episode of SmackDown, which was the go-home edition of SmackDown for SummerSlam.
There was a segment that saw Rose cut a promo in which she tried to settle things with Deville and go back to how they used to be. That didn’t work when Deville cut a heel promo about her former tag team partner.
She told Rose to bring her A-game. She stated that Rose is bothered about possibly being bald, while she doesn\’t care if she\’s bald. Then Deville stated that she’s sick of looking at Rose’s face, so the new stipulation was added.
“No disqualification, and the loser is going to leave WWE.”
It should be noted that during the broadcast, there were some references to the attempted kidnapping at Deville\’s home last weekend. As noted, Rose was present as a guest in Deville\’s home. WWE didn’t directly talk about it though.
Finn Balor has opened up on his decision to take time off from WWE last summer before deciding to make a return to NXT.
Balor was destroyed by the debuting \’Fiend\’ Bray Wyatt at the 2019 SummerSlam pay-per-view event. He had requested time off before the contest and disappeared from television after the bout.
Balor did so while talking with Dan Matha on Spark in the Dark. He started out by talking about how he had been working since 2000 without a break unless it was due to injury. Even when he had his shoulder injury, he was working harder than ever by doing rehab three times a day to get back and get going.
He stated that the stress of the injury and the pressure to come back, that felt harder than when you\’re actually working.
“I had been going for 19 years straight and I came to a point where I needed a break, not just physically, it was more mentally to be by myself and be away from the boys. I love the boys, but it gets to a point where it\’s just too intense. When you\’re around them all the time, you just need some space. I needed space from everything; the business, bookers, writers, schedules, everything. It had become too intense. I was turning into a different person that I didn\’t like.
I was snapping at people, I wasn\’t giving people time in conversations. I was turning into a bitter dick and I could feel it building and building. Thankfully, the company gave me some time to get my head straight and get better. When I came back, the idea was pitched around to go to NXT.\”
Balor took a few months off before he returned to television on October 2, 2019 under the NXT banner where he confronted Adam Cole.
He stated that moving back to NXT has been great for him because he went from working 172 matches a year and traveling to only doing 50 matches a year and doesn\’t have to travel as much in NXT.
Randy Orton took part in a conference call on Friday ahead of his match at SummerSlam.
Around 4 minutes into the call, Orton was asked about his memorable segment on Monday Night RAW a few weeks ago that closed out the show. It saw him take out WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair with a low blow and punt kick.
This is where he revealed that original plans didn’t call for Flair to cut a full promo, but rather just to say a few weeks that the camera would pick up.
\”I\’ll tell you what he was never supposed to grab the microphone from me that night. He was just supposed to say a few things under his breath that the hand held camera in the ring may or may not have picked up.
You were supposed to see our facial expressions and get an idea that he was bringing me back in and eventually we had the hug. I turned on him but when he grabbed the mic I was thinking, \’Ah, come on Ric you\’re not supposed to grab the mic\’, but then he went on to cut that promo and it was very touching.”
Orton stated that Flair meant everything he said and that\’s why he\’s so special to the business. Orton stated that Flair has always left his heart out there in the ring and every emotion you get out there from Flair, which is why Orton thinks it\’s one of the reasons Flair is the best.
Orton will challenge Drew McIntyre for the WWE Title at SummerSlam.
As expected, Talking Smack is returning to WWE’s streaming service, WWE Network.
On Friday afternoon, WWE confirmed that the series is returning. The SmackDown review show will air each Saturday morning on the WWE Network. Just like Raw Talk, it will also be available on the free version of the WWE Network.
Obviously, with Renee Young departing from the company, she will not be reuniting with Daniel Bryan as the hosts. Instead, the new hosts for Talking Smack are Kayla Braxton and Xavier Woods.
WWE touted the first episode by writing, “Join hosts Kayla Braxton and Xavier Woods as they welcome your favorite Superstars and react to what promises to be an exciting episode of Friday Night SmackDown as it makes its debut inside the WWE ThunderDome just two days before SummerSlam.”
The former WWE Tag Team Champion is still out of in-ring action with an injury.
WWE is slated to film the first episode of the revival after tonight’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown from the WWE ThunderDome at the Amway Center in Orlando, FL.
It’s been reported that the reason Talking Smack is airing on Saturdays is to ensure that SmackDown can air in all markets first.
Velveteen Dream def. Finn Balor in an NXT North American Championship Ladder Match Qualifier
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Tag Team Action
Rhea Ripley
Rhea Ripley and Shotzi Blackheart were looking for payback on The Robert Stone Brand as they battled Aliyah and Mercedes Martinez.
This contest was set up last week when Martinez & Aliyah defeated Kayden Carter & Kacy Catanzaro and after the match, Ripley came out to the ring and fought with Martinez. This led to Blackheart helping Ripley even the odds against Martinez and Aliyah.
If you recall, just two weeks ago, Martinez interfered in Ripley vs. Dakota Kai where she cost the former NXT Women’s Champion from becoming the number one contender to the NXT Women\’s Championship.
Both stars have both feuded with the Robert Stone Brand since declining offers to join the group.
The finish saw Ripley powerbomb Mercedes over the barricade to the floor while Shotizi hit a dive onto Aliyah for the win.
Adam Cole and Pat McAfee were able to meet face-to-face ahead of their match at NXT TakeOver: XXX. This will be the promotional debut for the former NFL punter.
On the show, Cole came out with the rest of The Undisputed Era while McAfee came out with a few of his guys. McAfee stated that he knew Cole wouldn’t come alone so Cole told the group to leave and McAfee did the same. McAfee reminded him of when he laid him out with a punt kick and that outsmarted him in his own house.
McAfee said that it took one minute to knock out Cole, who claims to be the face of NXT. He said that he made Cole look like an amateur. He said that he has made money everywhere and Cole better hope that he doesn’t stay around. He said that he’s going to make Cole look bad in front of the fans and vowed to win come Saturday.
They had a staredown with security in between them. Cole took out the guards and made McAfee look intimidated. Until the groups came back down to the ring. Cole said that he would make McAfee his b*tch at TakeOver. Cole walked out of the ring to end the segment.
Johnny Gargano vs. Ridge Holland was the first of two second chance qualifying matches in order to decide the final two participants for the ladder match for the vacant North American Championship at TakeOver.
Both Gargano and Holland obviously had previous chances of winning their qualifying matches but failed. Holland is from the NXT UK brand, but has been on NXT TV more as of late.
It was a hard-hitting type of match. They actually left the botch spot that was scary, which was a powerslam by Holland that went wrong and saw Gargano land right on his neck.
Gargano went over in the contest with his finisher. He advances to the match. Mauro Ranallo mentioned on commentary that this will be Gargano’s 18th appearance at TakeOver, which is impressive.
Finn Balor vs. Velveteen Dream was the second of two second chance qualifying matches in order to decide the final two participants for the ladder match for the vacant North American Championship at TakeOver.
Dream had just returned last week after a hiatus. He filled the spot of the unknown star in a triple threat match that featured Kushida and Cameron Grimes, which saw Grimes win. Post-match, Dream snapped and attacked Kushida. This led to Balor appearing in the ring and having a staredown with him
In this contest, there was a lot of outside interference including a referee bump. Johnny Gargano, Damien Priest, and Cameron Grimes got involved. Eventually, Dream hit his finisher to Balor for the win.
After the match, Bronson Reed came out and laid out Dream with his finisher. He stood tall with the title to close the show.
EVERYBODY has their sights set on the NXT #NATitle!!
NXT Cruiserweight Champion El Hijo Del Fantasma is now Santos Escobar
Legado del Fantasma (NXT Cruiserweight Champion Santos Escobar, Raul Mendoza & Joaquin Wilde) vs. Isaiah \”Swerve\” Scott & Breezango in a six-man tag match was booked.
Yet another week with these guys. It’s been pretty clear that WWE is building to Scott challenging Escobar for the NXT Cruiserweight Title, but when that will happen still remains to be seen.
Escobar hit his finisher on Breeze for the win. The match was solid and it continues to the dominance of this group, but more importantly Escobar. It’s just a matter of time before they book Scott challenging Escobar for the title.
Scott nearly pinned the champion in this contest. Plus, they kept him strong by having Breeze take the pinfall.
WWE has confirmed the final two competitors for the Ladder Match at the WWE NXT TakeOver XXX event.
During Wednesday’s episode of NXT, WWE held two second chance qualifying matches to decide the final two participants for the ladder match for the vacant North American Championship at TakeOver XXX.
Those two qualifying matches were Johnny Gargano vs. Ridge Holland and Finn Balor vs. Velveteen Dream. The outcomes of those contests saw Gargano and Dream win.
As a result, they’ll join Cameron Grimes, Bronson Reed, and Damian Priest in the contest.
Also, Legado del Fantasma vs. Breezango vs. Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan in a #1 Contender\’s Match will take place on the pre-show.
WWE presents the NXT TakeOver XXX event on Saturday, August 22, 2020 in Winter Park, Florida.
Updated WWE NXT TakeOver XXX Card
WWE NXT Champion Keith Lee vs. Karrion Kross
WWE NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai vs. Dakota Kai
Bronson Reed vs. Damian Priest vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Velveteen Dream – Ladder Match to crown new NXT North American Champion
Adam Cole vs. Pat McAfee
Legado del Fantasma vs. Breezango vs. Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan – #1 Contender’s Triple Threat Match
Triple H has confirmed reports that WWE is planning to hold another Draft / Superstar Shakeup later this year. The Game commented on the situation during a media call to promote this Saturday\’s NXT TakeOver: XXX event from Orlando, FL.
\”That definitely has changed that mindset, there is different protocols and procedures, \’hey, we\’d like to move this talent, we\’d like to do that,\’ and you\’ll see that coming up in the Draft later in the year. You definitely have to think about it a lot more and think about those changes, but I think long-term, it\’s better for everybody.”
Triple H stated that it’s the opportunity where somebody who has their run on the main roster they can come change gears on a brand that feels totally different with a different style in NXT.
He thinks it could be a situation where they get a fresh coat of paint or somewhere they could start differently with a gimmick. He later stated that it opens up the door for them to be able to do that because each brand has its own primetime and live spot.
Dave Meltzer reported in a recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the current plan is to hold the Draft in October, which had been previously reported by Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.
There will be two dates with one Draft show for RAW and another for SmackDown.
Daniel Cormier is a big fan of pro wrestling and now that he’s no longer competing as an MMA fighter, the door to a potential pro wrestling run is still open.
The former UFC Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight Champion has previously expressed interest in doing something with WWE. The company, mainly Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, have also expressed doing something with the former UFC star.
While doing an interview with Sports Illustrated, Cormier stated that wrestling would be a vacation compared to being a full-time MMA fighter.
“That’s not my retirement,” says Cormier. “That would be a vacation.”
Cormier also expressed a desire to have a moment at the Royal Rumble by competing in the main event, the 30-man Royal Rumble contest.
“I’d love a Royal Rumble moment where I throw a dude into the ropes and I clothesline his ass over the top, or I dropkick somebody over the top rope,” says Cormier. “And I’ll take my bump and get thrown out.
“Let me chase somebody down, clothesline him with a Bradshaw-Layfield clothesline from hell and eliminate somebody from the Royal Rumble, then throw me over the top. Pro wrestling? I’m all in.”
Cormier recently retired from MMA as he lost for the second time to Stipe Miocic with the Heavyweight Title on the line in the headliner of the UFC 252 pay-per-view event.
Monday’s edition of WWE RAW averaged 1.643 million viewers with a 0.48 rating in the key 18-49 demographic. This was mixed from last week, which did 1.722 million viewers and a 0.47 demo rating.
Just one year ago, RAW averaged 2.534 million viewers. This was the go-home show for Sunday’s SummerSlam pay-per-view event and the third week of RAW Underground.
Last week’s third hour did 1.601 million and 0.46 in the 18-49 Demo. RAW also went up against the Democratic National Convention that aired on various stations.
Here’s the hourly viewership breakdown for Raw, courtesy of Showbuzzdaily.com:
Hour 1: 1.730 million, 0.52 in the 18-49 Demo
Hour 2: 1.697 million, 0.49 in the 18-49 Demo
Hour 3: 1.502 million, 0.44 in the 18-49 Demo
This week’s RAW featured an appearance by Shawn Michaels in the final segment of the show to be taken out by Randy Orton. Top matches included Asuka & Shayna Baszler vs Bayley & Sasha Banks, MVP, Shelton Benjamin & Lashley vs. Mustafa Ali, Ricochet & Apollo Crews, and Montez Ford vs. Andrade. This was the last show to be taped from the Performance Center.
SmackDown Viewership
Friday’s SmackDown averaged 2.002 million viewers on FOX. This is up from the 1.962million viewers that the show did for the previous week.
SmackDown averaged 1.979 million viewers in the fast nationals, which was up from the 1.956 million viewers a week ago. This number measured the top metered markets.
The first hour drew 1.932 million viewers while the second hour did 2.025 million viewers. For comparison, the first show of last week’s show did 1.924 million viewers while the second hour did 1.880 million viewers.
SmackDown pulled in a 0.50 rating in the 18-49 demos, the same from the 0.50 rating as last week’s show.
WWE is slated to lease the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida as its new residency to air weekly television shows – Monday Night RAW and Friday Night SmackDown.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer confirmed just hours after WWE announced that the company will run the venue for the next two months for RAW, SmackDown and pay-per-view events.
Orlando reporter Jon Alba tweeted a video from the press conference. It was noted that no fans will be allowed into the arena and additional COVID-19 safety and cleaning procedures in place.
Channel 13\’s Jeff Allen reported that the Amway Center will make about $450,000 from the residency, which the city of Orlando owns. Alba provided the following updates:
More news: My @MyNews13 colleague @News13JeffAllen says City of Orlando officials tell him Amway Center will be making about $450,000 off #WWE's residency.
Given WWE has been off the road for most of the year, that's a bargain for the company, and good money for venue.
I asked City of Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer if #WWE would eventually be able to extend its lease at Amway Center or allow fans, but he just reiterated the lease runs for 60 days and they plan to tape events on Mondays, Fridays, and Sundays (PPV). #ThunderDomepic.twitter.com/lVMbjAxNqQ
Seth Rollins did an interview with Bleacher Report to his WWE goals and how he thinks WWE could improve its product.
It’s no secret that WWE’s popularity has been declining for years. Although WWE is making more money than ever due to TV rights, investors have started to notice the problems the company is dealing with.
“There’s always stuff to work on and, gosh, I think it’s so hard to pinpoint one thing or two things really. I think things are tough creatively right now in the sense that we don’t know where this whole thing is going to fall and we’re in the Performance Center, so we’re doing the best we can as far as what the aesthetic looks like, trying to get a crowd in there to make noise.”
Rollins continued by noting that from a viewers’ perspective they aren\’t the same. He thinks making it more fan-friendly, more aesthetically pleasing to an audience of a television show might go a long way.
“That’s just pulling a rabbit out of a hat because there’s so many things we all need to work on every day. Not just the company, but myself, the talent around me, everyone in the back, the writers, the consistency, the conversations, the communication, everything could be better. It’s so hard to pick just one thing and say, ‘Ah, that’s going to be the ticket, that’s going to do it.’ It’s a work in progress, and I think going out there and consistently doing your job the best you can and helping other people out would be the best way to move this thing forward.”
Rollins noted that he would love for Raw to be at the top of the cable rankings every single week and be the most talked about thing going on. He added that he loves wrestling as he’s dedicated his whole life to it so he wants to do anything I can to make it the best it possibly can be.
Rollins also talked about staying in contact with Jon Moxley, Becky Lynch’s pregnancy, and more, which you can out here.
Triple H gave some interesting comments about the absence of The Velveteen Dream from NXT TV as well as the sexual misconduct allegations.
The NXT star was accused by underage fans of sexual misconduct in April and then again during the Speaking Out movement in mid-June.
He denied the first accusations but didn’t comment on the second allegation. Dream was also involved in a car accident in late June as well.
Speaking to CBS Sports, Triple H addressed Dream\’s return.
\”You know, in this day today, accusations are made and you take them all very seriously. You look into them the best you can, and you find out what is there and what isn\’t. In this situation, [Clark] was also involved in a car accident. That\’s what took him off TV.”
He continued by noting that at the moment, you look into it and find out there is a situation that people bring to everyone\’s attention. He said that when you look into and then find that there’s nothing there.
“Everything that we have done, we are comfortable with him continuing to do what he does and everything else. But he had a car accident. It stemmed down to people thought we removed him from TV for different reasons. We didn\’t. He was in a car accident. Once he was medically cleared to be able to return to the ring from his car accident, we continued forward the way we did. We looked into what was there and we didn\’t find anything.\”
Dream had been off television since NXT TakeOver: In Your House on June 7. That changed last week on NXT when he worked the main event.
This coming Wednesday, he’ll take on Finn Balor with the winner moving on to NXT TakeOver XXX to compete in the ladder match for the vacant NXT North American Championship.
Cody Rhodes has been a big supporter of the AEW TNT Title, which is widely considered the secondary title for the promotion.
His support dates back to when the title was first announced even before he won it. Rhodes responded to a fan on Twitter where he noted that he doesn\’t believe in midcard titles. He also thinks the person makes the belt and not the title making the titleholder.
The response came after a fan had asked, \”Shouldn\’t the world championship be more important than the TNT championship?\”
He wrote, \”Man/woman wearing any belt defines it, not the other way around. I don\’t believe in \”Mid card\” titles.\”
Another fan noted most believe the World Heavyweight Title should be the most important title.
Cody tweeted, \”She\’s a looker alright! My goal is to make it the most important and coveted belt of all time. (The walk from my office to the entrance tunnel on Wednesday was maybe my favorite bts moment ever. Stopped folks in their tracks)\”
Cody successfully defended the title against Scorpio Sky on last Wednesday\’s AEW Dynamite. As of this writing, Rhodes currently doesn\’t have an opponent lined up for the AEW All Out PPV event.
She’s a looker alright!
My goal is to make it the most important and coveted belt of all time.
There is speculation that WWE could be bringing back Saturday Night’s Main Event as the company filed new trademarks for it back on August 11th.
Whether this leads to the theme of the show being brought remains to be seen.
Saturday Night’s Main Event aired a few times per year on NBC from 1985 until 1991 before going to FOX in 1992 and then it went on hiatus. The company brought back the show on NBC from 2006 until 2008.
The “Saturday Night Main Event” trademarks are for the following:
“Toys, namely, action figures, accessories therefor; dolls; cases for action figures; toy wrestling rings; toy vehicles; board games; hand-held units for playing electronic game other than those adopted for use with an electronic display screen or monitor; tabletop action skill games; playing cards; puzzles; stuffed toys; plush toys; toy belts; knee and elbow pads for athletic use; toy foam hands; costume masks; costume masks; novelty face masks; Christmas tree decorations”
“Cardboard and paper hangtags; packaging, namely blister cards; paper for wrapping and packaging; collector albums for sticker collectables; stickers; sticker albums; collectable photos; photo albums; photographs; framed pictures; labels, namely printed paper labels; folders; paper place mats, paper table mats, paper napkins; paper tablecloths; paper table linens; paper lunch bags; postcards; greeting cards; pictures; calendars; posters; decals; temporary tattoo transfers; trading cards; brochures, magazines and newspapers concerning sports entertainment; coloring books; children’s activity books; souvenir programs concerning sports entertainment; books concerning sports entertainment; books featuring pictorial biographies; comic books; picture books; book covers; paper book markers; notebooks; memo pads; note pads; date books; address books; agenda books; markers; pens; pencils; calendars; pencil sharpeners; pencil cases; rubber stamps; stamp pads; chalks; paper banners; printed paper signs for doors; drawing rulers; erasers, rubber erasers, chalk erasers, blackboard erasers; bumper stickers; window decals; lithographs; paper party bags; paper party favors; stencils for tracing designs onto paper; paper gift wrap; paper cake decorations; paper; stationery; indoor ornaments of paper”
“Downloadable ring tones, graphics and music via a global computer network and wireless devices; decorative refrigerator magnets; video and computer game tapes, video and computer game discs, video and computer game cassettes, video and computer game cartridges, video and computer game CD-roms, video output game machines for use with televisions; video and computer game software; cinematographic and television films, namely, motion picture films in the nature of sports entertainment; pre-recorded phonograph records, pre-recorded compact discs, pre-recorded video tapes, pre-recorded video cassette tapes, pre-recorded DVDS and pre-recorded audio cassettes, all featuring sports entertainment; interactive video game programs and computer game cartridges; mouse pads; disposable cameras; sunglasses; sunglass cases; prescription glasses; and optical cases, namely, cases for spectacles and sunglasses; walkie talkies, protective helmets; sports helmets”
WWE also recently filed trademarks for several NXT and NXT UK wrestlers in addition to The Heritage Cup, NXT UK Heritage Cup, Raw Underground and Intercontinental Championship.
Joseph Park finally made an appearance on WWE television while under contract with the company.
He did so during Friday’s episode of SmackDown. He was seen backstage with a giant whiteboard to do two segments with AJ Styles. They then headed out to the ring. The WWE Intercontinental Champion did a promo about how he would use analytics and statistics to decide who should face him for the title.
This led to Styles revealing how no one was eligible to challenge him for the title. Jeff Hardy came out to the ring to do a promo, which resulted in a brawl and Hardy standing tall.
After the segments had aired, Park wrote the following on Twitter:
“My apologies to @AJStylesOrg, for my dereliction of duty in the “marker-gate” incident on #SmackDownOnFox tonight. That @JEFFHARDYBRAND assaulted you AJ. I saw the whole thing! @WWE @WWEonFOX.”
As of this writing, there’s no word yet on whether the former Impact Wrestling star will be appearing on future episodes of SmackDown as part of an act with Styles.
WWE has already confirmed that Styles will defend the Intercontinental Title against Hardy on next week’s episode of SmackDown.
Park signed with WWE in January 2019 where he works as an agent.
A new match has been announced for the upcoming WWE SummerSlam PPV and it involves Bayley’s SmackDown Women’s Title.
During Friday\’s episode of SmackDown, WWE booked a Triple Brand Battle Royal featuring women’s wrestlers from RAW, SmackDown and NXT. Stephanie McMahon made the match booking official on last week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown.
Those involved in the match included Asuka, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Teagan Knox, Shotzi Blackheart, Naomi, Shayna Baszler, Lacey Evans, Bianca Belair, Dana Brooke, Nikki Cross, Peyton Royce, and Billie Kay.
Asuka will go on to face Bayley for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at SummerSlam. The final two stars were Baszler and Asuka. She will be working two matches in one night at this show as she’ll also challenge Sasha Banks for the RAW Women’s Title.
Impact Wrestling star Ethan Page will become a free agent soon and will have some leverage thanks to AEW.
Wrestletalk reports that his contract with Impact is set to expire on Thursday, December 31. As of this writing, there’s no word on whether he is negotiating a new contract. What is known is that it was noted he has interest from other promotions.
AEW just so happens to be one of those promotions, but there’s also no word on whether the two sides have started talking just yet.
AEW Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes has stated in a past Q&A that he\’d be interested in bringing \”All Ego\” to AEW.
Page first appeared in Impact back in November 2017. He has also worked for promotions such as ROH and EVOLVE among others. He is currently in a tag team with Josh Alexander, known as The North.
Their historic Impact Tag Team Titles reign recently came to an end after holding them for 380-days.
It happened when they lost the straps to the returning Motor City Machine Guns on the post-Slammiversary edition of Impact Wrestling on AXS TV.
Velveteen Dream, real name Patrick Clark, made his television return this past Wednesday night.
He did so when he was revealed as the third person in the triple treat qualifying match where he battled Cameron Grimes and Kushida. It was booked to determine who would be next to move on to TakeOver: XXX to compete for the NXT Championship. Grimes went over in the contest to advance.
Fightful Select reports the return of The Velveteen Dream was kept very private, and most wrestlers only knew about it in the minutes ahead of the NXT show.
Sean Ross Sapp wrote, “There has long been significant heat on Velveteen Dream for behavioral issues and what is perceived as preferential treatment in multiple situations that would have had most anyone else fired.”
It was noted that this was also the case with his return. Regarding sexual assault accusations, WWE has not provided any update on disciplinary action taken towards him.
Dream is slated to battle former NXT Champion Finn Balor on next week’s episode of NXT on the USA Network from Full Sail University. This is considered a big match on a significant show.
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