Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX will take place from the Amale Arena in Tampa, Florida.
WWE has announced just one match for tonight’s show – Finn Balor vs. Baron Corbin.
SmackDown will also feature a follow-up to Sasha Banks returning last week to turn on SmackDown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair.
WWE has John Cena advertised for tonight’s show, but he has not been announced for a match or segment as of this writing. WWE Hall of Famer Edge is also scheduled. Matches advertised locally, likely as dark main events if they happen, are Belair vs. the injured Bayley, who could be replaced by Banks, plus six-man action with The Mysterios and a partner vs. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos and WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns.
Impact Wrestling’s Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo will defend her championship against former ex-WWE Superstar Melina at NWA Empower on Saturday, August 28.
Last night, on Impact Wrestling, Purrazzo and Matthew Rehwoldt came to the ring to celebrate their King and Queen Tournament victory from Homecoming. Just as Purrazzo was listing off her accolades since joining Impact, Mickie James came down to the ring and brought a contract in hand. Several weeks ago, James and Purrazzo made a handshake agreement that Purrazzo would attend NWA Empower later this month. James wanted to make it official.
Before “The Virtuosa” signed on the dotted line, she wanted to know who exactly her opponent was going to be. Lucky for Purrazzo, James brought Melina with her to the Impact Zone. As Purrazzo and Melina signed their half the contract, Melina guaranteed she’ll win the title the same way Purrazzo won her’s the first time around- in her first title request against Jordynne Grace at Slammiversary last year.
Melina made her NWA debut in November 2019. One month later, at Into The Fire, she made her in-ring debut teaming with Marti Belle. They took on and lost to former NWA Women’s Champion Allysin Kay and ODB. Since then, she has teamed with another former NWA Women’s Champion and current AEW star, Thunder Rosa, and recently fought against Kylie Rae back in June.
Currently, Purrazzo is on her second reign as the Knockouts Champion. Her first reign came at Slammiversary of last year against Jordynne Grace. This was the first title opportunity she received after making her first appearance with the company last summer. She lost the title to Su Yung at Bound For Glory last October but made up for it when she beat Yung at Turning Point to regain the title back. Purrazzo’s last title defense was against Thunder Rosa at Slammiversary.
Before she meets Melina, Purrazzo will face Faby Apache in a Champion versus Champion match for both the AAA Reina de Reinas and Impact Knockouts Championship at Triplemanía XXIX next Saturday. This could change the landscape of who faces Melina in a few weeks.
Below is the updated card for NWA Empower:
NWA Women’s World Championship:
Kamille (c) vs. AEW’s Lelya Hirsch
NWA Women’s World Tag Team Championship (Vacant):
TBA vs. TBA
Impact Wrestling Knockouts Championship:
Deonna Purrazzo or Faby Apache (c) vs. Melina
Chelsea Green vs. TBA (NWA Women’s Invitational Cup Finals)
NWA Empower will be available exclusively on Saturday, August 28, on FITE TV.
As Adam Cole’s NXT contract nears its end, AEW has reportedly approached the highly sought after Superstar with an offer.
AEW has reportedly made Adam Cole a contract offer as the former NXT Champion’s current WWE contract is set to expire after SummerSlam weekend.
Adam Cole’s time in NXT might be coming to an end. That would normally mean a call-up to the main roster. For Cole, it appears to mean that starting from the night after NXT TakeOver 36, he will no longer be a WWE Superstar. According to Wrestling Observer Newsletter, AEW has already offered Cole a contract.
The report also reveals Cole has still been negotiating a potential new deal with NXT as recently as the middle of this week. However, the former leader of the Undisputed Era is yet to strike a deal with either company. Cole’s contract actually came to an end in July. However, he signed a one-month extension, apparently so he can wrestle Kyle O’Reilly in a rubber match at TakeOver 36.
If Cole does decide to stay in NXT, it’s unclear what exactly there is left for him on the brand. NXT has been built as a brand in which wrestlers achieve all they can and then move on, preferably to either Raw or SmackDown rather than AEW. Cole has already been NXT Champion multiple times, UE has broken up, and there aren’t that many big opponents left in NXT that he hasn’t already faced.
In AEW, on the other hand, there’s a whole new slate of opponents and challenges waiting for him. Not to mention his girlfriend, current AEW Women’s Champion Britt Baker, and a number of other close friends he worked with prior to signing with NXT. Cole can even debut for AEW as soon as he wants after TakeOver 36. Since his contract is expiring, he won’t be subject to a non-compete clause.
That means Cole could turn up on Dynamite three days after TakeOver, the third episode of Rampage two days after that, or perhaps even at All Out in the first week of September. It’s going to be a fascinating period in Cole’s career the days and weeks after TakeOver. Not to mention the additional contract headache for NXT that is Pete Dunne. Apparently, The Bruiserweight’s contract is also nearing its end.
Former IMPACT X-Division Champion Chris Bey was officially inducted into Bullet Club by New Japan Pro Wrestling star Jay White.
Bullet Club leader Jay White officially inducted IMPACT Wrestling star Chris Bey into the group on this week’s edition of IMPACT! on AXS TV.
It all went down following Bey’s victory over Juice Robinson. After the bell, White came out to celebrate with Bey. White handed the American wrestler a Bullet Club t-shirt and threw up the Too Sweet gesture, which Bey was more than happy to reciprocate.
White is a former IWGP Heavyweight Champion who is currently under contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling. He walked through the proverbial forbidden door and made his IMPACT debut when he confronted Kenny Omega at the company’s Slammiversary pay-per-view on July 17.
On the July 22 post-Slammiversary edition of IMPACT’s weekly show, Jay White explained his presence in the promotion. The NEVER Openweight Champion said he was there for David Finlay, the man he will defend hit tile against at New Japan Pro-Wrestling Resurgence on August 14. Don Callis, The Good Brothers, and Kenny Omega confronted White and a war of words ensued. Gallows and Anderson demanded a “thank you” for building Bullet Club, but White refused. The two men attacked White, but Chris Bey made the save.
On last week’s edition of IMPACT’s weekly TV show, Bey and White teamed up to take on The Good Brothers. They came up short, but their alliance was far from finished, as the events of this week showed.
Chris Bey is a former X-Division Champion who debuted for IMPACT in November of 2018.
“I want to keep growing. I don’t think I’m the best in the world, but right now, I’m the best version of myself. I have the ability to be better tomorrow, and then better than that the day after. Over time, I want people to think of Chris Bey when they think of wrestling,” the 25-year-old told Sport Illustatrated’s Justin Barraso back in December of 2020.
Bey joins Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens, Gedo, Hikuleo, KENTA, Taiji Ishimori, Dick Togo, El Phantasmo, EVIL, Yujir, and Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa)in Bullet Club.
WWE Superstar Finn Balor has hinted that his ‘Demon King’ alter-ego could potentially return at some point in the future.
WWE SmackDown Superstar Finn Balor has commented on the future of his mythical alter-ego The Demon.
In a recent interview with WWE Deutschland, Balor was asked whether or not the WWE Universe could potentially see The Demon return anytime soon.
“You’re hitting me with the hard questions,” Balor replied. “Yeah, obviously yeah. I feel like ‘The Demon’ definitely has a future. But right now I’m very focused on ‘The Prince’ and this current invention of the character and the direction that we’re going in. But I’m sure we’ll get back to ‘The Demon’ at some stage.”
The last time Balor wore his Demon King body paint was for a match with Andrade at Super ShowDown back in July of 2019. Since then, the Irishman has admitted that he believed the character had been overexposed and that he wanted to retire it for a while.
“The ‘Demon’ was designed as something special,” Balor said in a 2020 interview with ViBe & Wrestling. “It was one of those things that should have been saved for breathtaking occasions, but it ended up being advertised in the media and that was one of the main reasons why it didn’t work. The surprise factor was completely gone and the ‘Demon’ became Finn Balor’s savior, which was also to my detriment because I could not develop my own character separate from the ‘Demon’. I think it hurt both of us – Finn Balor and the ‘Demon’.”
Despite his belief that The Demon schtick is played out, Balor did admit that he’d be willing to revive the persona for a match with The Undertaker.
As you might recall, Balor recently returned to WWE’s main roster when he appeared on SmackDown a few weeks ago following a two-year stint on the brand where his WWE began: NXT. During his second sting on WWE’s black and gold brand, Finn became NXT Champion for the second time but lost the title to a Karrion Kross 212 days later. His attempts to regain the championship a few weeks later were futile, as the dominant Kross proved to be too formidable a foe for Balor to overcome … Perhaps it might be time to bring back The Demon.
* The Elite vs. AEW’s Frankie Kazarian, Sami Callihan & Eddie Edwards
* Chris Bey (w/Jay White) vs. Juice Robinson (w/David Finlay)
* X-Division No. 1 Contender Match: Jake Something vs. Daivari vs. Rohit Raju vs. Trey Miguel
* Fire ‘N Flava vs. Jordynne Grace & Rachael Ellering
* Crazzy Steve (w/Decay) vs. Fallah Bahh (w/No Way) will kick things off on Before The Impact at 7 PM ET.
** Impact Wrestling will no longer air its flagship show on Twitch. The show will continue airing at its original time on AXS TV at 8/7c. For those of you who don’t have AXS TV, Impact has launched a YouTube membership called “Impact Insiders,” which will air the show, as well as other exclusive content for $0.99 a month.
Former WWE Superstar Ruby Riott, who now goes by Ruby Soho, is expected to sign with AEW once her non-compete runs out.
Ruby Riott is expected to sign with AEW once her 90-day non-compete clause with WWE comes to an end.
WWE has released a lot of people so far in 2021. More than 40 of them so far with Bray Wyatt and Ric Flair being shown the door over the course of the last few days. Some of those released have already found landing spots elsewhere, such as Andrade and Chelsea Green. A number of others are still waiting for their non-compete clauses to come to an end, or may just be weighing up their options.
One of those waiting for their non-compete to come to an end is Ruby Riott. Well, the Superstar formerly known as Ruby Riott. She will now be called Ruby Soho going forward, reportedly with the blessing of Rancid, the band who sings the song of the same name. She might even be able to use the track as her entrance whenever she wrestles next.
As for where that might be, according to Fightful Select (via WrestleTalk) Soho’s most likely landing spot is AEW. While the two parties can’t strike a deal until Soho’s time with WWE is officially over, which will be after the non-compete expires, apparently, once that time has passed fans can expect to see her become All Elite.
While AEW has been criticized for picking up a lot of the wrestlers WWE has released over the course of the past 18 months, Soho might be one of the wisest pick-ups so far. No element of AEW has been criticized more during its first two years than its women’s division. It is well on its way to improving that part of its promotion via the likes of Britt Baker and Thunder Rosa, adding Soho to the mix will further it even more.
Bobby Eaton, one half of the iconic tag team The Midnight Express, has sadly passed away at the age of just 62.
Bobby Eaton, famed for his time as one half of The Midnight Express, has passed away at the age of 62.
The wrestling world is waking up to the loss of another legend this morning. Bobby Eaton, one half of the iconic tag team The Midnight Express, has passed away at the age of just 62. Eaton’s sister confirmed the news on Facebook in the early hours of Thursday morning. What caused Eaton’s death is currently unknown.
“My Little Brother Beautiful Bobby Eaton passed away last night,” Eaton’s sister Debbie revealed on Facebook. Debbie posted a tribute to her late brother, also revealing Eaton’s daughter Taryn was the one who found him. A particularly tough time for the family as Taryn’s mom, Eaton’s wife Donna, only passed away a month ago, also aged 62.
While Eaton was also an incredibly talented singles wrestler, his most famous run in the business was as one half of The Midnight Express. Commonly referred to as one of the greatest tag teams in wrestling history, Eaton was the tandem’s mainstay throughout the team’s run. First alongside Dennis Condrey, and then partnered with Stan Lane after Eaton’s first partner departed JCP.
While Eaton’s stellar tag team work will always overshadow what he did as a part of The Midnight Express, it cannot be ignored. He may have never been a World Champion, but he did defeat Arn Anderson for the WCW TV Title in the early ’90s. Eaton even had the chance to be the one to break Goldberg’s legendary undefeated streak in WCW. Goldberg revealed that he pitched the idea to higher-ups, suggesting it happen off TV in Eaton’s hometown. They didn’t like the idea so it never happened.
While it is unclear what caused Eaton to pass away at this time, the former Tag Team Champion has reportedly been in poor health as of late. The wrestler suffered a bad fall last month which resulted in him being hospitalized. He was also hospitalized with heart issues back in 2019. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends at this time.
WWE issued a statement on Eaton’s passing:
WWE is saddened to learn that Bobby Eaton passed away at the age of 62.
A Huntsville, Alabama native, Eaton built a reputation as one of the greatest tag team wrestlers of all time during his nearly 40-year career. Eaton broke in at the age of 17 with NWA Mid-America and in just two years captured his first championship by teaming with Leapin’ Lanny Poffo to claim the NWA Mid-America Tag Team Titles.
After a stint with the Continental Wrestling Association, Eaton joined forces with Dennis Condrey to carry the torch for the memorable Midnight Express. “Beautiful” Bobby & “Lover Boy” Dennis quickly rose to prominence in Jim Crockett Promotions and won the NWA World Tag Team Titles from The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express. Following Condrey’s departure, Midnight Express carried on with “Sweet” Stan Lane teaming with Eaton for memorable rivalries against The Samoan S.W.A.T. Team, The Fabulous Freebirds, The Steiner Brothers and more on their way to a United States Tag Team Title reign.
Eaton would make a strong singles run following the departure of Lane and defeated Arn Anderson to win the World Television Championship at SuperBrawl I. An ensuing run with Rick Rude, Larry Zbyszko, Steve Austin and Anderson of The Dangerous Alliance culminated with a legendary double-ring War Games Match at WrestleWar 1992 against Sting’s Squadron. After stops with Smoky Mountain Wrestling and New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Eaton would return to WCW before competing on the independent circuit up until 2015.
Eaton amassed countless accolades during his career but perhaps none more meaningful than the impact he left on his peers with Mick Foley, Steve Austin and others having praised Eaton as one of the most underrated and nicest Superstars in the business.
WWE extends its condolences to Eaton’s family, friends and fans.
Former WWE NXT Superstars Ever-Rise are set to debut on AEW Dynamite tonight.
As seen below, AEW has announced that Matt Lee (fka Matt Martel) and Jeff Parker (fka Chase Parker) are now going by 2.0, and have joined the company. They will debut tonight on the Homecoming edition of Dynamite on TNT, which airs live from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville.
2.0 have aligned with Daniel Garcia, and will go up against Jon Moxley, Darby Allin and Eddie Kingston in six-man action tomorrow night.
2.0, known as 3.0 before signing with WWE in January 2019, were released from the company back on June 25. They had developed a following of fans on social media, and were endorsed by various WWE Superstars, including Kevin Owens. Ever-Rise worked the weekly NXT show at times, but also had several appearances on WWE 205 Live.
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