Month: September 2021

Mick Foley reacts to WWE cutting Zelina Vega’s match from SmackDown on the eve of 9/11

WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley reacted to the news that Zelina Vega’s match was cut from last night’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown.

Vega was in her gear and ready to wrestle in a tag team match but due to time constraints, the match was pulled from the show. Vega was trending last night and this morning after that news got out since she is the daughter of a 9/11 victim.

Foley’s Twitter post reads, “So @TheaTrinidad’s match was cut for time at @TheGarden on the eve of 9/11? That hurts ME – I can only imagine how Thea felt. Stay strong, my friend.”

Foley has been very outspoken about WWE’s creative issues while praising what AEW has been doing with their show. However, WWE’s creative issues mean nothing in comparison in the grand scale of things. Not including Vega on the show on the eve of the 20th anniversary of 9/11 in Madison Square Garden is mindboggling.

https://twitter.com/RealMickFoley/status/1436844772795224064

Vega honored her father Michael Angel Trinidad at the 9/11 memorial.

Source: WrestlingNewsCo

WWE RAW Preview 9/13/21

Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the TD Garden in Boston.

* WWE United States Champion Damian Priest will host an Open Challenge with the title on the line

* WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Natalya vs. Rhea Ripley

* RAW Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair vs. Shayna Baszler in a non-title bout

* The New Day, Mansoor and Mustafa Ali vs. AJ Styles, Omos, T-BAR and MACE

* WWE Champion Bobby Lashley defends against RAW Tag Team Champion Randy Orton

WWE’s Plane Ride From Hell On Dark Side Of The Ring, Sneak Peek With Chris Jericho

Vice TV’s Dark Side of The Ring will return with the second half of the third season this Thursday.

Thursday’s episode will look at WWE’s infamous “Plane Ride from Hell” that happened on May 5, 2002. The episode will feature interviews with one of the flight attendants, WWE Hall of Famers Rob Van Dam and Jim Ross, Tommy Dreamer, Justin Credible, and others.

Below is the official synopsis for the episode:

“A private 757 flight descended into a nightmare as intoxicated wrestlers clashed with their flight crew, erupting into one of wrestling’s most infamous scandals.”

For those who missed it, Vice released this video of DSOTR creators Evan Husney and Jason Eisener talking with show narrator Chris Jericho to break down the first half of season three and provide an inside look at the episodes to come this season:

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Samoa Joe Vacates WWE NXT Title

Samoa Joe has vacated the WWE NXT Championship due to injuries.

Joe released a video on Twitter Sunday evening, announcing he was relinquishing the NXT title after WWE medical informed him that due to “certain injuries” he will have to step away from the ring for a brief amount of time. Below is his full statement:

Recently WWE medical has informed me that due to certain injuries, they’d like to have me step away from the ring for a brief, but indeterminate amount of time. I realize this week we are on the cusp of a new NXT, we are on the brink of a new era in our history, and that era deserves a fighting champion. That’s why it makes a difficult decision very easy to make. Effective immediately, I relinquish the NXT championship. Best of luck to those who will vie for it. My sincerest condolences to whoever wins, because I will be along shortly to recollect what is mine.

Samoa Joe had won the title at NXT TakeOver 36 after he defeated Karrion Kross.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Reportedly Makes A Round Of Cuts To NXT Production

WWE made another round of production related cuts to NXT this week, according to Cassidy Haynes of Bodyslam.net.

NXT is apparently down to “a skeleton crew” as far as production goes as they gear up for a new look, starting this Tuesday. This comes after numerous NXT wrestlers were let go over the past year.

WWE has billed it as “NXT 2.0” while the company moves away from the darker look at the Capitol Wrestling Center. There have been plenty of backstage changes for NXT (full report here) with Vince McMahon, Bruce Prichard, and other higher-ups getting more involved in the big picture NXT items.

It’s currently unknown who will be running the NXT shows with WWE Executive Vice President of Global Talent Strategy & Development Triple H being sidelined while he recovers from his recent heart surgery. Previously, it was said day-to-day operations would still be handled by Triple H, Shawn Michaels, William Regal, and Matt Bloom.

Last month it was reported WWE was changing up what it’s looking for in development as a focus on younger, bigger talent would be the direction going forward. Although they wouldn’t be ignored completely, indie wrestlers weren’t necessarily going to brought in as frequently.

https://twitter.com/WWENXT/status/1434184557767667715

Source: Wrestling Inc.

ROH Death Before Dishonor XVIII Results 9/12/2021

15-MAN HONOR RUMBLE (PRE-SHOW)
Alex Zayne wins and earns a future ROH World Title Match.

Dalton Castle defeated Eli Isom

Taylor Rust defeated Jake Atlas

Homicide, Chris Dickinson, and Tony Deppen defeated John Walters, LSG, and Lee Mortiarty

The OGK (Matt Taven and Mike Bennett) defeated The Briscoes

ROH PURE CHAMPIONSHIP
Josh Woods defeated Jonathan Gresham to win the ROH Pure Championship

ROH WORLD SIX-MAN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Shane Taylor Promotions (Moses, Kaun, and O’Shay Edwards) (c) defeated La Bestia del Ring, Dragon Lee, and Kenny King

ROH WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (VACANT)
Rok-C defeated Miranda Alize to win the ROH Women’s World Championship

ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (FOUR-WAY ELIMINATION MATCH)
Bandido (c) defeated Brody King, EC3, and Demonic Flamita

Finn Balor’s Demon Alter Ego Returns To WWE And Confronted WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns

Finn Balor revived his Demon King alter ego and confronted WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns in Madison Square Garden on SmackDown.

The devilishly demonic alter ego of WWE Superstar Finn Balor made its long-awaited return on this week’s edition of SmackDown when it confronted Univeral Champion Roman Reigns as the show went off the air.

It all went down inside New York City’s Madison Square Garden on Friday, September 10. Roman’s cousins and Bloodline stablemates The Usos were defending their WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship against The Street Profits in the show’s main event when Roman decided to interfere.

To prevent his cousins from losing their titles, Reigns by locking Montez Ford in the Guillotine and initiating a disqualification in the process. The Usos lost the match but kept the championship, much to the chagrin of the New York City crowd. But despite being disappointed with the result of the main event, the crowd would go home happy because “The Demon” Finn Balor emerged and confronted Roman Reigns as SmackDown drew to a close.

As you might recall, The Demon’s return was teased during last week’s SmackDown.

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’.”

Source: TheSportster

ROH Death Before Dishonor XVIII 9/12/2021

DATE: September 12, 2021 8:00 pm
LOCATION: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
AVAILABLE ON:FITE, ROH HonorClub, Traditional PPV

ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (FOUR-WAY ELIMINATION MATCH)
Bandido (c) vs. Brody King vs. EC3 vs. Demonic Flamita

ROH PURE CHAMPIONSHIP
Jonathan Gresham (c) vs. Josh Woods

ROH WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (VACANT)
Rok-C vs. Miranda Alize

ROH WORLD SIX-MAN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Shane Taylor Promotions (c) vs. La Bestia del Ring, Dragon Lee, and Kenny King

The Briscoes  vs. Matt Taven and Mike Bennett

Dalton Castle vs. Eli Isom

Homicide, Chris Dickinson, and Tony Deppen vs. John Walters, LSG, and Lee Mortiarty

Jake Atlas vs. Taylor Rust

15-MAN HONOR RUMBLE (PRE-SHOW)
Danhausen, Beer City Bruiser, PJ Black, Dak Draper, Rey Horus, Brian Johnson, Joe Keys, Brian Milonas, Sledge, Silas Young, 5 TBA
Winner receives future ROH World Title shot.

AEW Rampage Preview 9/10/21

Tonight’s AEW Rampage airs on TNT from the Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio. More fallout from last Sunday’s All Out

* PAC vs. Andrade El Idolo (w/Chavo Guerrero)

* Darby Allin and Sting interview

* Ruby Soho, Riho & Kris Statlander vs. AEW Women’s Champion Dr. Britt Baker, Jamie Hayter & Rebel

* Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Max Caster

WWE Super SmackDown Preview 9/10/21

Tonight’s WWE Super SmackDown on FOX will take place live from Madison Square Garden in New York City.

John Cena is advertised to appear, likely for the dark main event. MSG has Cena and The Street Profits vs. WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos advertised

RAW Superstars are advertised to appear on the MSG and WWE websites – WWE Champion Bobby Lashley, RAW Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair, RAW Tag Team Champions Randy Orton and Riddle, The New Day, Drew McIntyre