Author: Thomas Lowson

Corey Graves called the action at WWE X AAA Worlds Collide, and is grateful he was given the opportunity. On X, Graves addressed how a weekend like he hadcan renew one\’s passion for pro wrestling.

Graves\’ comment comes at an interesting chapter in his career as he currently serves as a commentator for WWE NXT. Upon being moved to the silver brand in early 2025, Graves fired of a series of social media posts, making clear he was frustrated by the move, seeing it as a demotion.

Graves was briefly taken off of WWE programming before being brought back. During his return, Graves declared that he was where he wanted to be, a line some believe he was told to say. It remains to be seen if/when Graves will return to the main roster, but Worlds Collide proved to be a massive night for the commentator.

The journey to crown WWE\’s next King and Queen of the Ring is officially underway with two Superstars advancing to the next round during WWE Raw. On the June 9, episode, Roxanne Perez advanced to the semi finals with a victory over Women\’s Tag Team Champion Liv Morgan. Perez will next face the winner of Rhea Ripley Vs. Kairi Sane in the next round.

On the men\’s side of things, Sami Zayn advanced with a hard-fought win over Penta. The four-time WWE Intercontinental Champion will face either Bron Breakker or current Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio in the next round.

The King and Queen of the Ring tournaments can propel a career to the next level, just ask GUNTHER and Nia Jax, last year\’s winners who would go on to win gold shortly after. Stay tuned to SEScoops for the latest on these tournaments.

Matt Riddle isn\’t mincing his words about CM Punk, who he believes is to blame for what many see as a drop in AEW\’s success. In a recent Going Ringside interview, Riddle was asked if he\’d work for AEW. After sharing he would, Riddle admitted he isn\’t sure if Tony Khan would hire him given past issues with WWE alum.

\”They hired a lot of former WWE guys and I think that left a bad taste in their mouth, because other than Moxley and maybe another couple, it didn’t really work out too well. Most of them just got fat checks and didn’t do much.\”

One name who certainly got a large check was Punk, who returned to wrestling in 2021 as part of AEW. Punk\’s run with AEW would end in controversy two years later, an explosion Riddle believes AEW has yet to recover from.

\”they’re using more homegrown talent. They had that issue with CM Punk and that went belly up for them—belly up and cost some fans, money, and everything else. They’re still rebuilding.\”

Riddle went further, sharing that he\’s not a \”big fan\” of Punk. Not only does Riddle believe Punk \”sucks at fighting,\” but he also questioned Punk\’s attitude behind the scenes.

\”He’s a b** to work with in the back… I’ve heard from my boys that still work there that he is a headache. And this isn’t a storyline. This is the facts.\”

While Riddle has some strong words about Punk, several reports have shared that Punk has done well backstage in WWE and has served as a mentor for young talent in WWE NXT. With Riddle\’s WWE run ending in controversy in 2023, it\’s likely, though not certain, that fans will never see the pair cross paths in the ring.

While some wrestlers go on to big things post-WWE, such as Cody Rhodes and Matt Cardona, others aren\’t so fortunate. In a recent interview with Wrestling In Middle, former WWE Superstar Nixon Newell admitted that life after WWE has been far from easy.

\”Not great, being honest. Um, severe lack of bookings. Uh, not sure where that’s from… yeah, it’s been slow. Hopefully it picks up soon, ‘cause it’s a nightmare. But hopefully soon it gets better.\”

While Newell, fka Tegan Nox, believes things could have gone better, her post-WWE chapter hasn\’t been all bad. Newell shared that a return to Attack Pro Wrestling and a showdown with TNA\’s Dani Luna have been highlights.

\”The bookings that I have done—like, I’ve been home to Attack, which has been phenomenal. Got to wrestle Dani Luna, who’s been on my list for years.\”

Newell was cut from WWE for the second time in 2024. While things haven\’t gone as she had hoped, she remains positive that things will pick up.

Stephanie Vaquer went through a grueling weekend and the former WWE NXT Women\’s and Women\’s North American Champion is still standing. After wrestling in three high-profile matches across SmackDown, Worlds Collide, and Money in the Bank in under 24 hours, the former NXT Women’s Champion took to social media to update fans on how she’s holding up.

Vaquer kicked off her painful weekend on SmackDown where she competed in a six-woman tag-team match, from there she spent the weekend teaming with Lola Vice at Worlds Collide, where they defeated Chik Tormenta and Dalys in Los Angeles. Less than a day later, she stepped back into the ring for the Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match, squaring off against Naomi, Alexa Bliss, Giulia, Rhea Ripley, and Roxanne Perez.

Naomi won the women\’s Ladder match but Vaquer left her mark in her Money in the Bank debut. Now, the Chilean Superstar is heading to Monday Night Raw, proving there\’s no time to rest in the whirlwind known as WWE.

Roxanne Perez appeared at her scheduled WWE Money in the Bank meet and greet in Santa Monica, but WWE was very careful to ensure the safety of The Prodigy. Following threats from a disturbing Twitter account that shared her alleged home address and posted a countdown to June 6, WWE enforced heightened security measures, Fightful Select reports.

These measures came after threats from a disturbing Twitter account that shared her alleged home address and posted a countdown to June 6. The account, named \”Is Roxanne Perez D3ad yet?” was asked if the former NXT Women\’s Champion had been killed and the account chillingly responded: “Unfortunately not.” WWE executive Adam Pearce acknowledged the threat and confirmed it had been reported to the appropriate authorities.

Despite this scary situation, Perez participated in the Money in the Bank ladder match, delivering a strong performance—even though she didn’t secure the briefcase. Fans have since shown strong support for the former NXT Women’s Champion, commending her resilience in the face of this ordeal.

With multiple female talent facing stalkers, including Sonya Deville in 2020, it\’s no wonder why WWE are being very protective of Perez. Hopefully, this is the last time that Perez or any wrestler has to deal with a situation like this.

Damian Priest and reigning Women\’s United States Champion Zelina Vega were more than happy to represent WWE at the recent National Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City. On X, WWE shared footage of the pair at the parade.

Also on X, both Priest and Vega discussed their experiences at the parade.

Neither Superstar has been shy about the significance of their Puerto Rican heritage. At WWE Backlash 2023 in Puerto Rico, Vega challenged for the WWE Women\’s World Championship but came up short against Rhea Ripley. In the show\’s main event, Priest battled Bad Bunny and lost to the Grmmy Award-winning artist in the San Juan Street Fight.

Today, both are regulars on SmackDown and are featured in high-profile feuds. With their roles on WWE TV defined, Priest and Vega are proud to represent Puerto Rico both in and out of the ring.

Naomi has a golden opportunity after winning the Women\’s Money in the Bank Ladder match, and she\’s ready to rise. In her first interview following her victory, Naomi reflected on the possibilities that await her.

\”This is career-changing for me. This can catapult me to where I see myself where I\’ve always should\’ve been. Been there, but could never really keep it there. But this time, I\’m going to get there and I\’m going to stay there.\”

2025 has also seen Naomi turn heel for the second time in her WWE career, and her first heel turn in close to a decade. For Naomi, turning from face to heel wasn\’t just a choice, but a necessity.

\”I had to pack the Glow away for a little bit. Glow just couldn\’t get the things done at this stage, at this caliber that we\’re at in the division. So I had to come up with something else and it\’s working. So I\’m gonna stay there.\”

Now, Naomi has a shot at a Women\’s Championship, an opportunity that could keep her on SmackDown or move to Raw. Whatever direction Naomi takes next, any woman with gold around her waist should learn to proceed with caution.

Naomi is Miss Money in the Bank, in one of the biggest victories in the lengthy career of the veteran Superstar. Speaking on the post-show event, Big E shared how Naomi\’s victory is long overdue.

\”I have known this woman for 16 years and to see you have your best run now, to see everything you\’ve been through over the last several years, to see your growth, to see you go to TNA, be a World Champion, to see everything you\’ve put up and endured. And I know that the people and I, we don\’t even know the half of everything that you had to deal with.\”

An emotional Naomi fought back tears as Big E spoke of her journey and the various ups and downs. After regaining her composure, Naomi made clear to the fans that she didn\’t need their support anymore, but appreciated what Big E had to say.

\”Thank you E, that means a lot coming from you because you have been there and seen me from day one. So thank you and I appreciate it.\”

Naomi hasn\’t held singles gold in WWE since 2017, but that could change very soon. Now, Naomi has a golden opportunity, and every champion should \’proceed with caution.\’

WWE WrestleMania will return to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2026 after weeks of speculation over the fate of next April\’s two-night event. During WWE Money in the Bank 2025, Paul \’Triple H\’ Levesque confirmed the news.

News of WrestleMania 42\’s location comes after the show was pulled from its original home of New Orleans, Louisiana. It has been reported that WWE intends to make Las Vegas the semi-regular home of its biggest event of the year.

Now, the WWE Universe knows where they\’ll need to be if they intend to watch WWE WrestleMania 42 in person. Stay tuned for the latest on WrestleMania 42 as the road to Allegiant Stadium is underway once more.

The June 9, edition of WWE Monday Night Raw will prove to be \’Fearles\’ thanks to the return of Nikki Bella. During WWE Money in the Bank 2025, it was confirmed that Bella will be a part of the upcoming Raw.

There\’s no word on what exactly Bella will do at Raw, though many believe it will be connected to the upcoming Evolution 2. Earlier this year, Nikki teased that both she and her sister Brie will be part of the all-women\’s event, WWE\’s first event of its kind since 2018.

Nikki has made a handful of appearances for WWE in 2025, including at Raw\’s debut on Netflix as well as in the 2025 Women\’s Royal Rumble match. Now, Nikki is set to return once more, leaving fans excited to see what the longest-reigning Divas Champion has in store.

The latest wave of WWE NIL signings include sons of WWE Hall of Famers among its crop of talented young athletes. The fifth wave of signings include:

• Fatima Katembo (Basketball)
• Jacob Henry (Amateur Wrestling, son of WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry)
• Garrett Beck (Lacrosse)
• Zuriel Jiménez (Track and Field)
• Bianca Pizano (Field Hockey)
• Hidetora Hanada (Football)
• Madison Kaiser (Ice Hockey)
• TJ Bullard (Football, Son of WWE Hall of Fame Warrior Award Recipient Titus O\’Neil)
• Kerrigan Huynh (Track and Field)
• Brock Rechsteiner (Football, Son of WWE Hall of Famer Rick Steiner)
• Gina Adams (Basketball)

The WWE NIL program launched in 2021 and gives young athletes the opportunity to access WWE\’s state-of-the-art training programs. The signings are also able to access WWE\’s expertise on controlling their name, image, and likeness in the wider world of professional athletics.

It remains to be seen if any of these signings go on to become WWE Superstars. Whatever\’s next, WWE is investing heavily in the future.

Becky Lynch has another championship to her name after capturing the Women\’s Intercontinental Championship at Money in the Bank. In the third match of the night, Lynch captured the gold from Lyra Valkyria, making Becky the second Superstar to hold the gold.

Lynch won more than just gold at Money in the Bank. As per the stipulation of the match, Valkyria was forced to raise Lynch\’s hand after the match. Lyra kept her word, but when Lynch demanded that Valkyria put the title around the new champion\’s waist, that proved too much. While Valkyria did just that, she also attacked the new champion.

Valkyria and Lynch kicked off their feud on the Raw after WrestleMania 41, when the pair lost the Women\’s Tag Team Titles they\’d won the previous night. Lynch would then attack Valkyria and subsequently reveal that she had attacked Bayley, Lyra\’s original WrestleMania partner.

Valkyria retained at WWE Backlash, but Lynch\’s attack after that match proved their feud was far from over. It remains to be seen where both go from here after this showdown at Money in the Bank.

Fans haven\’t seen Bayley on WWE TV in over a month, but the Role Model is making ways outside of the Sports Entertainemtn juggernaut. This week, Bayley has been training with Lyra Valkyria\’s fiance LJ Cleary and accompanied him to the ring at Big Time Wrestling.

Bayley hasn\’t been seen on WWE TV since before WrestleMania 41, where she was taken out of action by a mystery attacker. Her attacker was later revealed to be Becky Lynch, who replaced Bayley in a Women\’s Tag Team Title match at WrestleMania. At Backlash, Lynch goaded Cleary, who was in the crowd supporting Valkyria, but came up short against the WWE Women\’s Intercontinental Champion.

Bayley\’s teaming with Cleary came just one day before Valkyria and Lynch battle once more at WWE Money in the Bank over the Intercontinental Title. As for Bayley, it remains to be seen when fans will see her in a WWE ring again, but she\’s having a blast amid her hiatus.

Nixon Newell, released by WWE in November 2024 after being taken off television earlier that year, has remained active on the independent scene since being cut. In a fiery promo shared to social media, the former Tegan Nox took aim at the claim she is \’injury prone.\’

“Oh hey, it’s me—your favorite ‘injury-prone’ wrestler. Or at least that’s what you guys say, right? I mean, I see the comments you post online. So if you’re gonna keep talking, let’s at least get creative with it, because the jokes? They’re tired. It’s old.\”

Newell shared how she has wrestled hurt plenty of times, including once competing with a broken leg and \”busted knee.\” The Welsh star then took aim at her time in WWE, though avoided mentioning the company by name.

\”I was playing a game I couldn’t win. You’re told to speak up and be empowered, but when you actually do, suddenly you’re unprofessional and difficult. So tell me—how is that fair?\”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nixon Newell (@nixonnewell)

Newell also shed light on the all-too-familiar backstage experience for underutilized talent: long hours in catering, standing by doors. Like many, Newell did her time waiting, only to be told too wait even longer for something real.

“I sat for hours in catering, stood outside doors day after day, only to be told, ‘It’s just not the right time.’ But I’m done waiting. I’m telling you—now is the time. So consider this me knocking. Give me an opportunity.”

With her powerful message, Nixon Newell made it clear she\’s ready to carve her own path outside WWE. Whether that leads to another major signing remains to be seen.