WWE star Finn Balor has given high praise to Chris Jericho.
After signing with WWE in 2014, Balor has crossed paths with a who’s who of the industry’s best wrestlers, such as John Cena, Roman Reigns, and even several wrestlers who are AEW stars. Chris Jericho received high praise from the former WWE Universal Champion.
Finn Balor Praises Chris Jericho
While speaking with Josh Martinez of the Superstar Crossover podcast, Balor discussed Jericho’s legacy in the pro wrestling business after a pre-recorded prompt from the current ROH World Heavyweight Champion.
“Chris Jericho is not only an AEW legend, not only a WWE legend, or a Japanese wrestling legend. He’s a legend of this business. He’s an incredible performer. He’s been able to adapt and change his character to suit multiple generations, and I feel like he is a treasure of this industry.”
Balor and Jericho previously faced each other in WWE and share a similar pro wrestling journey with experience working in Japan.
Jericho recently successfully retained the title against Bryan Danielson on the October 12 edition of AEW Dynamite. On the flip side, Balor is coming off a win over Edge in an I Quit Match at Extreme Rules on October 8.
The only title change to happen at last Saturday’s WWE Extreme Rules event from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, saw Liv Morgan drop the SmackDown Women’s Title.
Up and down the card were grudge matches, and one other title match – Bianca Belair put the Raw Women\’s Title on the line in a Ladder Match against Bayley.
Morgan defended the SmackDown Women\’s Championship against Ronda Rousey in an Extreme Rules Match, but Rousey walked away with the title, ending Morgan\’s reign after 98 days.
The Reason
(WWE)
Following the event, it was reported that Rousey was officially listed as a heel within WWE. Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the long-planned heel turn was the reason why Rousey won back the title at Extreme Rules.
This heel turn could be linked to WWE’s plans for next year, as when Vince McMahon was still in charge, he wanted to have The Baddest Woman on the Planet face Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles.
With Triple H in charge, the match could still be on the cards. Lynch is now a babyface, meaning Rousey would likely have to be a heel for the match or they could do a babyface vs. babyface match.
The UFC is connected to pro wrestling as it has elements of the drama that wrestling uses for its storylines. In wrestling, the storylines are scripted, while in MMA, the promotion uses storylines from real life to promote its fights.
Since 2020 when WWE began releasing wrestlers, on-air talent, employees, and production staff, rumors of WWE potentially selling the company ramped up.
Many fans have speculated that Vince McMahon made Nick Khan the President & Chief Revenue Officer of WWE after he helped negotiate its US television rights deal with NBCUniversal and FOX, to prepare the company for a sale. Key figures, including Khan, Vince McMahon, and Stephanie McMahon, have publicly stated that they’re open to hearing an offer regarding a sale.
Endeavor President Speaks
On Thursday, Endeavor President Mark Shapiro appeared on Matthew Belloni’s The Town podcast and expressed interest in buying WWE. He also spoke highly of Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel\’s relationship with WWE, Khan, Vince, Stephanie, and others.
\”That would be something that would be interesting and worth exploring,\” said Shaprio. \”Would we buy it? Who knows? Last I checked, it wasn\’t for sale. \”We\’re interested in anything in the owned sports properties segment.\”
Endeavor closed a deal to obtain a controlling interest in the UFC back in 2016 for just over $4 billion. WWE\’s current market cap is estimated to be $5.63 billion.
With WWE’s US TV rights renewal coming up in approximately mid-2023, a potential buyer might think the time is right to buy the company as WWE has been able to get higher increases each deal for its rights.
Currently, FOX has the broadcasting rights to Friday Night SmackDown, while NBCUniversal hosts Monday Night Raw. Both television deals will be up at the end of 2024.
The AEW All Out media scrum is one of the most talked about press conferences in the history of the wrestling business.
CM Punk ripped Colt Cabana, Hangman Page, and The Young Bucks. The former AEW World Heavyweight Champion was involved in a backstage brawl with The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega. Ace Steel was also part of the brawl.
No Timetable
A third-party investigation into the brawl was started and is still going on. Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that there is still no timetable for the investigation to be concluded.
Meltzer stated that none of the five (Punk, Young Bucks, Steel, and Omega) have heard anything from AEW but are continuing to get paid.
At least one person (not one of the five) who was there had not been interviewed, and there may be others. It was said that most are frustrated because they want to be back working at this point. Punk may be the exception to that belief since he can’t work for a long time due to getting surgery.
Meltzer continued by noting that none of the five stars are allowed to speak, but several of them want to discuss the incident.
“Any rumors of anyone being fired, anyone being told they aren’t coming back, or anything like that are incorrect as of midweek at least. None have been given any impression of a timetable.”
Fans can expect to see Charlotte Flair back on WWE television soon.
The daughter of WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair has been used as a top star since her main roster debut in 2015, where she has gone on to hold multiple championships. Now, it is time for The Queen to return to her kingdom.
Flair last wrestled at WrestleMania Backlash on May 8 in an I Quit match against Ronda Rousey. She lost the match, and WWE did an injury angle where they announced that she broke her left arm based on the finish. This was done to write her off television as she was getting married to AEW star Andrade this past summer.
Flair Returning Soon
(via WWE)
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Flair may be on her way to return soon as Dave Meltzer wrote, “Charlotte Flair is scheduled to return soon.”
Flair is one of the biggest names in the business right now and a draw for the company. Andrade mentioned in an interview before his AEW suspension due to a brawl with Sammy Guevara that Flair was away from WWE due to personal reasons.
Almost a week after returning to WWE at Extreme Rules, Bray Wyatt will kick off his WWE return storyline tonight on Friday Night SmackDown. There is a lot of speculation about who will be revealed as part of his Wyatt 6 stable.
Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that there are long-term plans for the group that leads up to WrestleMania. No other details are available, but there has been a lot of speculation that Joe Gacy is Huskus, Grayson Waller is Mercy the Buzzard, and Alexa Bliss is Sister Abigail. That’s not confirmed.
The Members
The speculation about Joe Gacy was fueled by him posting rabbits on social media, while speculation about Bliss is due to her being presented as someone who has lost her edge since Wyatt has been gone.
The Sister Abigail character had a pair of WWE Women\’s Titles shown next to her at Extreme Rules, while The Mercy character is the same height and build as Waller. He also wore a shirt that Waller had previously worn on television.
Finally, the Ramblin Rabbit is rumored to be Erick Rowan, who was part of The Wyatt Family, and The Fiend is Taylor Rotunda (Bo Dallas), Wyatt’s brother.
Meltzer added, \”Others internally have said some of those are believed to be accurate but said things are up in the air, mentioning others could be part of it, mentioning The Dyad, in particular, are possible, and other names listed are not sure things. While obviously, this won’t happen, there was talk of Aleister Black for this group.\”
Black is instead expected back in AEW at some point.
Former WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon and former Talent Relations head John Laurinaitis passed on renewing Saraya’s contract when it expired.
Fightful Select has a new report regarding the WWE departure of Saraya, formerly known as Paige. When she was informed of the news that WWE wasn’t going to re-sign her, she went public with her statement. Saraya’s WWE contract was surprisingly low, and many of her outside projects were restricted to some degree.
It was said that while Saraya was on the shelf for the majority of the last five years, there were “some confusing messages sent regarding about her physical status, ability to wrestle, and the way that things went down.”
WWE\’s Offer
(AEW)
The new WWE regime did offer her the role of General Manager a month after her deal was not renewed. When the regime made that offer, she was told that if she ever wanted to return to in-ring action, the company would help make that happen. There had been rumors of WWE getting Saraya multiple doctors to get her medically cleared, but this report dismissed it and said WWE didn\’t go to the extent of getting her checked out for an in-ring return.
Instead, Saraya went through three extensive health checks herself to gain clearance. WWE reportedly was not interested in bringing Saraya back before the new regime. Also, that regime wouldn’t sign off on X-rays to have her examined. The case of her wrestling again was said to be closed as far as the old regime was concerned.
When Triple H took over, his regime did make efforts to get Saraya back into the mix, as there is a positive relationship between the two sides. Triple H was reportedly said to be shocked when the old regime did not renew Saraya’s deal.
Ultimately the freedom to do outside projects without giving up a cut in pay, and other contract terms, led to Saraya going with AEW instead of returning to WWE.
Shawn Michaels had the chance to work for Vince McMahon as both an in-ring wrestler and someone working in creative in WWE.
That all changed when McMahon resigned from his duties as Chairman and CEO of WWE amid the WWE Board investigating him for alleged sexual misconduct and hush money.
WWE later confirmed that from 2006 through 2022 (including amounts paid and payable in the future totaling $14.6 million), funds were not appropriately recorded as expenses in the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.
Also, WWE identified two additional payments totaling $5.0 million, unrelated to the alleged misconduct by McMahon that led to the investigation from 2007 and 2009, that were not appropriately recorded as expenses in the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.
Shawn Michaels on Vince McMahon’s Departure
While speaking on The MMA Hour about NXT, where he oversees creative for the brand, Michaels was asked if he ever envisioned a day that McMahon would not be running WWE:
“No. You can talk about it, but I never envisioned the time when Vince wasn’t there running stuff. All of us who have known him and worked with him for as long as we have, everyone knows, and I mean this lovingly, but he wanted to pass at his desk. That’s who he is. That’s how he’s built. I had every reason to believe that’s exactly what he was going to do. He always made jokes that, ‘If I die at Gorilla position, the show has to go on. Don’t move me. We got to get to seg 10 and 11 and finish the show.” You can talk about it, again, there’s lots of big talk in our line of work, but very rarely you see it get delivered on, but he’s always done what he’s felt was best for business.”
Following Vince’s departure, Triple H took over creative for the main roster while Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan were named co-CEOs.
Warner Bros. Discovery continues to be happy with the television ratings of AEW.
Since the merger in April, there has been a lot of synergy between AEW and WBD with multiple events having WBD branding and the company sending out press releases touting AEW ratings.
Currently, AEW Dynamite airs every Wednesday night on TBS, while AEW Rampage airs every Friday night on TNT. Four Battle of the Belts specials also air throughout the year.
Warner Bros. Discovery Happy With AEW
While speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Kathleen Finch, Warner Bros. Discovery US Networks Group chair and chief content officer, discussed how TNT and TBS can maintain a male audience over time.
\”We really play in the sports space. One of the things that we’re doing around sports is creating shoulder programming to hold onto those fans. AEW [All Elite Wrestling] pulls huge numbers, so we are working with the wrestling team to figure out what new kind of content can we build that’s not in a wrestling ring,\” she said.
TNT previously aired \”Rhodes To The Top,\” a reality show starring Cody & Brandi Rhodes before the married couple left All Elite Wrestling earlier this year.
Triple H isn’t done with bringing back former WWE stars who were released under the Vince McMahon regime.
According to a report by WrestleVotes, WWE is interested in bringing back Chelsea Green, who was among the names to be released by the company last year because of \”budget cuts.\”
Chelsea Green Returning?
Chelsea Green
Her departure happened shortly after she was moved from the main roster to NXT. Should she return to the company, she will likely re-debuting on the main roster. WrestleVotes tweeted the following about Green:
\”I’m told another name WWE has significant interest in bringing back is Chelsea Green. I would think if a deal is offered, it’s for the main roster. Time will tell.\”
If Green returns to WWE, it will be interesting to see whether WWE would also be interested in her husband, Matt Cardona, also known as Zack Ryder, in WWE. Cardona has been able to draw money for several promotions since his WWE departure as he has reinvented himself with a more serious gimmick, unlike the comedy character he had in WWE.
While away from WWE, Green made a surprise debut at Ring of Honor\’s Best in the World pay-per-view event last July before returning to Impact Wrestling.
Enofe and Blade defeated The Dyad and Briggs and Jensen
Alba Fyre defeated Jacy Jayne
Wes Lee defeated Stacks
Kiana James defeated Thea Hail
Ilja Dragunov defeated Grayson Waller
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Malik Blade & Edris Enofe vs. Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen vs. The Dyad
Malik Blade & Edris Enofe vs. Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen vs. The Dyad
The next challengers for Pretty Deadly\’s NXT Tag Team titles were determined on this show when WWE booked a triple threat number one contender\’s tag team match with Malik Blade & Edris Enofe, Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen, and The Dyad (Rip Fowler & Jagger Reid).
Last week\’s NXT ended with Pretty Deadly being confronted by Blade & Enofe and Briggs & Jensen after they retained their titles against The Brawling Brutes (Ridge Holland & Butch) in the main event.
Grimes tripped up Fowler to prevent Ticket to Mayhem. Enofe rolled up Reid for the win.
NXT North American Championship Ladder Match Qualifier
Axiom vs. Nathan Frazer in an NXT North American Championship Ladder Match Qualifier took place. Fazer went over with his finisher to advance and win the best-of-three series. It was a great match.
This was the final edition of the best-of-three series between them as both wrestlers in the series has one victory. The winner is eligible to compete in Halloween Havoc\’s North American Championship ladder match.
WWE NXT Champion Bron Breakker vs. Javier Bernal in a non-title bout took place.
On this week\’s show, Bernal interrupted a backstage interview with Breakker, setting up the match. On October 22, at Halloween Havoc, Breakker will defend the NXT championship against Ilja Dragunov and JD McDonagh in a triple threat match.
After the match, all three top stars got into a brawl to further build up their match.
Alba Fyre wrestled Jacy Jayne in a singles match on the show.
Last week, a six-woman tag match with Toxic Attraction facing Alba Fyre, Nikkita Lyons & Zoey Stark was booked, but didn’t take place. Toxic Attraction arrived in a SUV, and they were attacked with a baseball bat by Fyre, who sped away with NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose in it. On this same show, Gigi Dolin & Jayne fell short in their NXT Women’s Tag Team Titles No. 1 Contenders\’ Match against Zoey Stark & Nikkita Lyons.
Fyre hit Jayne with a kick and Gory Bomb for the victory. Following the bout, Fyre was grabbed and hit by an individual in a black hoodie who was revealed to be Sonya Deville. Fyre was taken out by Deville, Jayne and Gigi Dolin. They delivered a powerbomb to her through the announce table. In a backstage interview, Sonya stated that she would confront Fyre in the ring next week, but if Fyre did so, she wouldn’t make it to Halloween Havoc.
Fyre will challenge Rose for the NXT Women\’s Championship at Halloween Havoc on October 22.
Bray Wyatt made his expected return to WWE this past Saturday at the Extreme Rules premium live event, and now he is moving forward to what’s next.
Wyatt is reportedly set to work on the WWE SmackDown brand moving forward, according to Pwinsider.com. The outlet noted that as of last word, Wyatt is only scheduled for appearances on SmackDown, although it’s possible that this could change.
Bray Wyatt Part of SmackDown
(WWE)
It should be noted that the official WWE roster still has Wyatt listed as an Alumni Superstar, but that should change soon. As of this writing, WWE has yet to add him to Raw or SmackDown on the official WWE website roster.
WWE has already announced him for Friday’s SmackDown from the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA. The teaser video for SmackDown sks what Wyatt has in store for his return to the blue brand, which will mark his SmackDown appearance since The Fiend defeated Kevin Owens in the main event of the October 9, 2020, Draft edition of SmackDown.
Wyatt didn’t appear in front of the live fans on Monday Night Raw in Brooklyn. It’s unclear whether he will appear live in front of the crowd at SmackDown, but the WWE Events website has Wyatt listed along with other Superstars booked to appear live, indicating that he will be there in the ring.
Mustafa Ali shared an interesting video on Youtube where he declared that he is \”done” and expressed his frustrations. Ali stated he is not going to allow anyone to keep him down.
On Twitter, Ali tagged Joey Maloney, who is the Director of WWE Network documentaries. It’s possible that he did the video with WWE’s approval and it’s part of a push he is getting from the company. Ali said the following in the video:
Mustafa Ali’s Declaration
(via WWE)
\”I heard something the other day and it really hit me and it goes. \’if I always do what I\’ve always done then I\’ll always be where I\’ve always been.\’ And the reason that hit me is because I\’m done. I\’m done being here. I\’m done being where I\’ve always been. Everyone keeps asking me why did I pick a fight with Bobby Lashley? Why don\’t I just stay down? And listen, as complicated as it gets up over here I promise you the answer is simple. it\’s just done. I am done standing in line and waiting for my number to get called. A number that we all know was never gonna get called in the first place. I\’m done being the victim.”
Ali continued, “I\’m done blaming other people. I am done complaining about what I don\’t have. I\’m done not fighting. I\’m done with it. I got a fight, it is on me! This is World War me. And yes, sure there might be someone in front of me. Someone slamming the door in my face but it\’s on me to kick that door down. It\’s always been on me. Every night I used to pray to God. I used to pray to God to please calm my mind and heal my heart and to please please let my dreams come true. But now I realize even that\’s too much I\’m asking. You see for my dreams to come true I gotta be a little insane. I have to go through the pain. Now the only thing that I ask from God is to wake me up because I gotta handle the rest. I\’m gonna handle the rest. So to everyone in that locker room, the next time you lock eyes with me, brother – It is not just an opponent that you are staring at. You are staring at a problem! Realize that you are facing a man that is willing to die before he lets his own dreams die. Go ahead. Knock me down. I promise you. I promise you you\’re not going to keep me down.\”
Ali was off TV for several months late last year and in early 2022 after a dispute with Vince McMahon over creative for his character. He returned to television in April, but the company hasn’t done much with him besides working Main Event episodes.
MLW CEO Court Bauer has announced a partnership with Pro Wrestling TV that will kick off in November after teasing for months that a new deal was coming, which had been holding up new episodes of MLW Fusion
The news was announced on SI.com Tuesday. MLW\’s official streaming home will be on the free service and starts on Thursday, November 3rd, with Battle Riot IV. This is MLW’s June event that has yet to be aired anywhere.
MLW\’s Programming Schedule
MLW Blood & Thunder (Photo: Ho Ho Lun)
According to their website, MLW Fusion will debut on PWTV on Thursdays at 8 PM Eastern. Fusion will continue to air on BeIN Sports on Saturdays as their linear partner, but it\’s unknown if YouTube, where Fusion used to debut, will also continue to air during the week.
PWTV already broadcasts AAA, Control Your Narrative, and other indie promotions, airing 24/7. MLW\’s entire catalog of shows will be available on PWTV in the future.
MLW hasn\’t aired a new episode of Fusion since July. Once matches from Battle Riot IV air, MLW will transition to matches taped in September (Super Series) and then to this month\’s Fightland TV taping.
Aliyah has confirmed that she suffered rib and shoulder injuries last month.
The former WWE Women\’s Tag Team Champion posted an injury update on Tuesday via Instagram. She revealed she suffered rib and shoulder injuries last month. The injuries are an elevated first rib and AC sprain on the September 12 episode of Raw, where she and Raquel Rodriguez lost the WWE Women\’s Tag Team Titles to Damage CTRL\’s Dakota Kai & IYO SKY.
Aliyah mentioned she doesn\’t know when she will return to action, but she can\’t wait to get back in the ring.
Aliyah\’s Statement
“It’s been a month so here I go straight from the horses mouth: I have to say my last match was probably one of my most favorite. And I would like to thank my tag partner Raquel and Damage CTRL And everyone involved. Yes I got injured mid match, however I have this overwhelming gratitude towards the incident because I felt like it pulled out a version of me that I never even knew existed. \’Keep going!\’ I remember thinking. \’I never get opportunities like this one\’ another voice in my head screamed. So idc I’m going to keep going and keep showing out. The emotions and energy I was feeling in the moment truly lit me up inside and I felt INDESTRUCTIBLE in that moment (yes, with an elevated first rib and ac sprain and all.) I am very grateful to get to do what I do and I hope my passion and efforts transcended thru your television screen.
I don’t know what the future holds or when I’ll be back. But I just want to say thank you for everyone that has reached out. I really can’t wait to get back in the ring.”
Aliyah and Rodriguez became the Women\’s Tag Team Champions when they won the tournament to crown new champs after Sasha Banks and Naomi were stripped of the titles when they walked out. Aliyah & Rodriguez held the titles for 14 days before losing them.
Seth Rollins has dethroned Bobby Lashley as the WWE United States Champion.
On Monday’s episode of WWE Raw, Rollins was supposed to challenge Lashley for the title. However, before he did, Brock Lesnar made his return and attacked Lashley by hitting him with a few F5s and locking in the kimura submission hold.
Lashley was being helped from ringside by some referees when Rollins walked out, got into the ring to cut a promo in typical heel fashion, and talked down to Lashley as a way to try to fire him up and accept the match despite being injured.
Seth Rollins is a Champion Again
Lashley bit on the bait and accepted the match. Rollins managed to get some near falls with a pedigree and a frog splash off the top rope. WWE kept Lashley strong and had him connect with a few moves before Rollins laid him out with the stomp to become the new champion.
Rollins just lost to Matt Riddle in the Fight Pit Match at Saturday’s Extreme Rules, with UFC Legend Daniel Cormier serving as the special guest referee.
Brock Lesnar didn’t stay away from WWE television for long as he returned on the season premiere edition of Monday Night Raw.
It happened when Lesnar came out and hit a few F5s to United States Champion Bobby Lashley, who was slated to defend the title against Seth Rollins. Lashley also put him in the kimura. It appears this may have been done to set up a rematch between them at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia next month.
Lesnar was last seen on WWE programming when he wrestled Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in a last man standing match in the main event of the SummerSlam event. Lesnar came up short in that match that was supposed to put an “end” to their rivalry but went out in style when he lifted up the ring with a tractor that sent Reigns tumbling out of the ring.
As of this writing, Lesnar is advertised for the WWE Day 1 premium event on January 1, 2023, at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, the Royal Rumble next January in San Antonio, TX, and WrestleMania 39 next April in Los Angeles, CA.
WWE will likely add him to more shows in the coming days.
WWE has selected two agents to be in charge of training Logan Paul for his upcoming Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Match against Roman Reigns at Crown Jewel.
This match is expected to headline the Crown Jewel event on November 5 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. PWInsider reports that former WWE Cruiserweight Champions Shane Helms and Drew Gulak are training Paul.
Logan Paul Putting in The Work
(WWE)
The bout was made official during a press conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. Despite only working a handful of matches so far in his pro wrestling career, this will mark Paul’s first championship match and main event.
Reigns is undefeated in his previous two matches at Crown Jewel events as at last year\’s Crown Jewel, Reigns defeated his longtime rival Brock Lesnar to retain the Universal Championship.
Paul called out Reigns after having him on his podcast. Paul speculated that he\’d win in a match against Roman back in June, noting that his second-ever boxing opponent was Floyd Mayweather. He confronted Reigns on this past Friday\’s SmackDown, where he had a promo segment that involved Reigns, flanked by Paul Heyman and The Usos. Paul promised to smash Paul worse than he\’s ever been.
The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson) are back in WWE as they returned during Monday Night Raw.
There was a segment in the second hour where Finn Balor was doing a promo in the ring with Rhea Ripley, Damian Priest, Dominik Mysterio, and Rhea Ripley. He bragged about his win over Edge at Extreme Rules.
Balor gave AJ Styles a choice to side with Judgment Day or be against them. AJ came out and said he was not out there to argue with Balor, but everything he ever needed was standing in front of him.
Good Brothers Are Back
AJ Styles with The Good Brothers
He said he needed friends and hugged Balor, acting like he was going to join the group. Styles told him that he wasn’t talking about Balor. However, Gallows and Anderson walked out instead, leading to a brawl where Gallows and Anderson stood tall in the ring with Styles.
This was expected as the Good Brothers return was previously reported by PWinsider.com, where they were seen spotted filming content with Styles as they reunited The OC.
For what it’s worth, Anderson is the current NJPW NEVER Openweight Champion. Gallows and Anderson finished up with Impact Wrestling in August.
WWE made overtures over the summer about having the Good Brother return when Vince McMahon was still with the company. However, a deal wasn’t reached because Gallows and Anderson wouldn\’t come back for a cheap price. In 2019, they felt like they were burnt by WWE when they opted to re-sign instead of taking a deal with AEW, and WWE released them several months later.
Two WWE NXT stars got the chance to work in front of a large crowd for the first time in their careers at Monday’s Raw for the Main Event taping.
On WWE Main Event, Carmelo Hayes and Von Wagner will appear on this week’s episode. R-Truth shared the ring with Wagner while Hayes wrestled Cedric Alexander. Before the Hayes vs. Alexander match, Hayes got to do some promo work.
More NXT Stars Work Main Event
Just last week, WWE brought in Josh Briggs, Brooks Jensen, and Fallon Henley to work the Main Event taping at Monday Night Raw. It appears that WWE is going back to the trend of looking at its developmental talent on a bigger stage than NXT to see if they’re ready for the main roster.
At the October 22nd Halloween Havoc special, Hayes will work a Ladder match for the NXT North American Championship alongside Oro Mensah, Wes Lee, Wagner and the winner of Nathan Frazer vs. Axiom on Tuesday’s episode of NXT.
Hayes lost the North American Title to Solo Sikoa on NXT TV last month before Sikoa was stripped of the title because he wasn’t authorized to participate.
Carmelo Hayes Vs Cedric Alexander was was filmed for this weeks episode of Main event ?? Melo is going places https://t.co/IDNNh75ffu
Finn Balor believes that his and AJ Styles’ unspoken competitive rivalry needs addressing in the ring on WWE programming.
Their pre-WWE careers have some similarities as both stars arrived in WWE with over a decade of experience under their belts in the business and after stints as the leader of the Bullet Club faction in NJPW.
They’ve only faced off in singles action once on WWE TV, which came in 2017 at the TLC pay-per-view event. Balor was victorious in this bout. Styles had accepted with less than two days\’ notice after Balor’s original opponent Bray Wyatt was medically unable to compete.
Finn Balor on Potential AJ Styles Feud
While speaking with the New York Post, Balor noted that he feels there’s potential for a big rivalry with his and Styles’ pasts.
“I feel like for 20-plus years, myself and AJ.’s careers ran side by side and never really overlapped with each other. The one match we did have (at TLC 2017) was by pure happenstance. I was scheduled to wrestle Bray Wyatt, but I think Bray came down with an illness and was pulled by WWE medical from the event and then we had the match with AJ.
“That’s really the only interaction we’ve had up until very recently. I feel like me and AJ. have a big story to tell and a lot to prove to each other as well. I feel like we have an unspoken competitive rivalry, and I feel like that need to be addressed in the ring. I respect everything that AJ.’s done in his career. I’m very excited that the opportunity of the next couple months could lead us to that singles match with AJ.”
As previously reported, Balor is set to receive a major push under the Triple H regime. At last Saturday\’s Extreme Rules, he beat Edge in an I Quit Match.
The Rock is staying busy building his various brands and being a leading man in Hollywood, but the former WWE Champion still pays attention to the company he helped grow.
The Rock has acknowledged The Tribal Chief – Roman Reigns – and recently praised the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion and The Usos. He has seen what his cousins have been able to accomplish and is proud of their success as part of The Bloodline.
While speaking with Chris Van Vliet, The Rock was asked if he acknowledges his Tribal Chief. He also spoke about the unexpected shift in the company with Vince McMahon resigning, Stephanie McMahon, and Rock’s good friend Nick Khan taking over as co-CEOs while Triple H is in charge of creative.
\”Of course I do. That\’s my family. I think those guys are doing a great job, and I think what an interesting shift the company has gone through this year. Unexpected in many ways, but when unexpectations happen in that kind of way, form, and fashion, especially in that business, you\’ve got to have the ability and the agility to pivot, which they have. With Roman, I think he\’s doing a pretty good job, and the boys, too, The Usos.\”
WWE reportedly wants to have The Rock return to do a match with Reigns at WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles, but it all comes down to The Rock’s schedule.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit with an h/t toSEScoops for the transcription.
At WWE Extreme Rules, the company revealed that The White Rabbit was indeed Bray Wyatt.
The lights went out after the main event before we heard Wyatt singing he’s got the whole wide world in his hands. We saw people dressed up as puppets from the Firefly Fun House placed throughout the arena. There was a door on the stage, and we went through a haunted house with the fun house music playing. We see a man with a mask on a TV laughing, then the door opens withWyatt appearing and he had a lantern. Wyatt took off the mask and turned off the lantern.
There had been various fan theories about the mystery and clues left behind by various QR codes. WWE had also played the song at live events. The belief had been that it could have something to do with Karrion Kross, but all indications pointed to the return of Wyatt.
Fightful previously reported that the reveal behind the mysterious thing on WWE television would be revealed at this show.
Wyatt was released by WWE last July due to budget cuts despite the fact that he was slated to return just weeks before the company cut him. It was previously reported that Impact Wrestling was interested in signing him, but he also had interest from AEW.
He never wrestled a match outside of WWE while away, but did make select public appearances for autograph signings.
Matt Riddle and Seth Rollins met in the Fight Pit Match with former UFC Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Daniel Cormier serving as the special guest referee at Saturday’s WWE Extreme Rules premium live event from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA.
The Fight Pit is a unique stipulation and had never been done on the main roster until now. The ring is surrounded by a steel cage-like structure. It’s different from the traditional steel cage match because one cannot win by escaping. A wrestler can only win by knockout or submission, which makes a Fight Pit match more MMA-bout-like.
The match saw Riddle did the Showtime Pettis kick off the cage. Rollins with a frog splash off part of the cage. They went onto the platform above the ring and brawled. Rollins with the buckle bomb into the cage. Rollins with the pedigree on the platform. Riddle with an RKO on the platform then a floating bro off the platform into the ring. The finish saw Riddle put him in a choke and Rollins tapped out.
Before tonight, it had only taken place under the banner of NXT, where it was first introduced. The first-ever Fight Pit match saw Timothy Thatcher defeat Tomasso Ciampa in January of 2020. The second one Riddle, where he fought Thatcher in a losing effort.
WWE Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair made her latest title defense against Bayley at Saturday’s WWE Extreme Rules premium live event.
Bayley hit a flying elbow off the apron onto Belair, who was on a ladder in between the barricade and ring steps. Bayley knocked her off the apron. Belair hit the KOD and climbed the ladder before being knocked off due to IYO SKY and Dakota Kai. Belair ended up hitting a double KOD to them. Belair hit the KOD to Bayley with a ladder for the finish.
On the September 19th episode of Raw, Bayley challenged Belair to a match at Extreme Rules after Damage Control beat down Alexa Bliss when Bayley had defeated her. Asuka and Belair came out, but the e numbers game played in Damage Control’s favor, and Bayley soon laid out Belair with a Rose plant.
Bayley ended the show saying that she wanted the title match at Extreme Rules. Bayley did pinn Belair in a six-woman tag team match at Clash at the Castle last month.
Time will tell whether WWE continues this feud or goes into a different direction heading into the Crown Jewel event on November 5th
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