Month: July 2024

WWE NXT ‘The Great American Bash’ 7/30/2024 (Night 1)

WWE NXT “The Great American Bash” 2024 will air as a two-part special episode on Syfy. The event will take place on July 30 and August 6 at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, FL.

  • WWE NXT Women’s Championship Match: Roxanne Perez (c) vs. Thea Hail
  • WWE NXT Heritage Cup Championship Match: Tony D’Angelo (c) vs. Tavion Heights
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships Match: Unholy Union (Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn) (c) vs. Jakara Jackson & Lash Legend
  • TNA’s Joe Hendry in concert
  • Ethan Page/Oro Mensah contract signing
  • Fallon Henley, Jacy Jayne, and Jazmyn Nyx vs. Karmen Petrovic, Sol Ruca, and Lola Vice

Absent AEW Star Sammy Guevara Returns During ROH Taping

As part of AEW’s temporary residency in Arlington, Texas, this summer, numerous Ring of Honor events have been and will continue to be taped in the city’s Esports Stadium. Yesterday’s taping was notable as it featured the return of a long-absent AEW star — Sammy Guevara. During the show, Guevara came to the aid of Dustin Rhodes as he was attacked by The Dark Order, indicating that the controversial wrestler will be starting out as a babyface.

Guevara has been absent from AEW since February, when the young performer was reportedly suspended after not following proper procedure when Jeff Hardy was concussed during a match. The AEW star made several more appearances after the match with Hardy but disappeared later that month, when reports first emerged about his suspension.

That suspension was said to have ended months ago, but Guevara has not been brought back to television until now. It looks as though the Houston, Texas, native will now factor into ROH before presumably making a return to AEW sometime in the future.

The incident with Hardy earlier this year was not the first time Guevara has been attached to controversy. In the past, Guevara was reported to have had physical confrontations backstage with both Eddie Kingston and Andrade El Idolo. 

Additionally, Guevara was previously suspended from AEW in 2020 over highly offensive comments he made regarding the former Sasha Banks on a podcast in 2016. At the time, Guevara apologized and Banks (now known as Mercedes Mone) acknowledged that the two had spoken privately. However, Guevara has not yet made an appearance in AEW proper since Mone debuted in March and it’s unclear if there are any lingering issues regarding the controversy.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

https://twitter.com/5StarBasile/status/1817674252054897117
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WWE RAW Preview 7/29/2024

Tonight’s WWE RAW from the Xcel Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, will air live on SyFy, due to USA Network’s coverage of the Olympics.

  • Seth Rollins will give his instructions for CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre at SummerSlam. Rollins will be the special guest referee for this match.
  • Judgment Day’s Finn Balor vs. Gunther
  • Xavier Woods of The New Day vs. Final Testament’s Karrion Kross
  • Sonya Deville, Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark vs. Lyra Valkyria, Kayden Carter and Katana Chance
  • Sheamus vs. Bronson Reed
  • The Creed Brothers vs. Akira Tozawa and Otis
  • Will we see an appearance from The Wyatt Sicks

The Hardy Boyz Would Be Interested In The WWE NXT-TNA Wrestling Crossover

The Hardy Boyz, who are now working for TNA Wrestling, were recently asked by Bill Apter of Sportskeeda’s “Wrestle Binge” podcast if they were interested in making an appearance on the WWE NXT brand as part of the ongoing WWE-TNA Wrestling crossover.

You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:

Matt Hardy on the possibility: “In wrestling, never say never and I will say that the NXT Tag Team Titles are not on the list of titles that we’ve won so we are interested in that. I think this crossover between NXT and TNA is great. It’s exciting. It’s unpredictable and I think that’s a positive for the business and the industry.”

Jeff Hardy on the possibility: “I’m a fan of first time evers and us in NXT and just the vision of that is very exciting to me.”

Source: eWn

AEW Collision & Battle of the Belts XI Preview 7/27/2024

AEW will be running three hours live back-to-back tonight on TNT with a new episode of AEW Collision and Battle of the Belts XI. Tonight’s shows are being held at the Esports Stadium in Arlington, Texas as part of the Path to All In Summer Series.

Collision

  • Orange Cassidy vs. Johnny TV
  • The Beast Mortos vs. Hologram
  • MxM Collection vs. FTR
  • Thunder Rosa vs. Maya World
  • Premier Athletes vs. The Conglomeration
  • Lio Rush vs. PAC

Battle of the Belts XI

  • AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminator Match: Toni Storm (c) vs. Taya Valkyrie
  • CMLL Women’s World Championship Eliminator Match: Willow Nightingale (c) vs. Deonna Purrazzo
  • ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship Match: The Undisputed Kingdom (c) vs. Dustin Rhodes & The Von Erichs

Tony Khan Comments On Possibility Of Re-Branding ROH Programming Under AEW Umbrella

ROH’s annual Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view took place on July 26, leaving fans extremely satisfied with what they saw, as many are already praising the show for its quality wrestling and memorable moments. However, since Tony Khan purchased the promotion in 2022, there has been a notion that Khan doesn’t put as much effort or care into ROH as many would like, especially considering how influential the company was during its 2000s boom period.

During the Death Before Dishonor media scrum, Khan noted that ROH could potentially benefit from being re-branded in order to have more association with AEW, considering that AEW is much more recognizable in 2024. “It’s really interesting what the promotion has grown into, but I’m really proud of it,” Khan said. “I think ROH holds an important place. I recognize that AEW is at the very top of pro wrestling. The ROH brand could frankly benefit from even more association. I don’t think it’s out of the question to say or sacrilegious to say. I think it would only help grow the ROH brand if I were to license it or sublicense it if it were “AEW ROH.” I don’t think that’s a crazy thing or sacrilegious or bad. I think it would be good for everybody. People would see more of the connectivity that exists between promotions and what we’re going for.”

Khan also noted that if “AEW ROH” became a reality, it would likely give ROH more of a chance to be broadcast on Warner Bros. Discovery platforms, especially given that Khan is still in negotiations with WBD regarding AEW’s new media rights deal. ROH currently streams on the HonorClub subscription service, and is usually treated as a separate entity away from AEW.

Source: Wrestling Inc. with credit to AEW

WWE Champ Cody Rhodes Receives Father Dusty’s Robe In Emotional Moment At Tokyo Event

WWE are currently in Japan treating their fans to two nights of live wrestling at the legendary Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo for the company’s first tour of the country in five years. The live events have already presented a whole host of memorable moments, including Meiko Satomura announcing her intentions to beat Bayley for the WWE Women’s Championship after news of her pending retirement hit the headlines, and one wholesome moment saw Cody Rhodes presented with a very special gift. After successfully defending the Undisputed WWE Championship against AJ Styles in the main event of the first night of action, Rhodes was presented with a special robe and hat worn by his father, the late Dusty Rhodes.

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1816913760277434383

Rhodes would put on the jacket and hat before strutting around the ring in the same way his father did in his prime. He would then do the traditional bow as a sign of respect to the Japanese culture and bid farewell to the Tokyo crowd, thanking them for being so welcoming.

Despite being widely known as “The American Dream” during his career, Dusty was highly respected in Japan as he performed in the country a number of times, with the first notable tour he went on taking place in 1975 with AJPW when the company was affiliated with the NWA. Rhodes would later go on to tour with NJPW during the 1980s, even competing in the MSG Series tournament, the competition that acted as the spiritual predecessor to the G1 Climax. “The American Dream’s” final appearances in Japan took place in 2004, when he was part of a ZERO-ONE event, as well the first three HUSTLE pay-per-views, where he also got to team with his friend Steve Corino, and son Dustin Rhodes, who went by the name Dusty Rhodes Jr. in HUSTLE.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

ROH Death Before Dishonor 7/26/2024 (Results)

Zero Hour

MxM Collection defeated Angelico & Serpentico. Mansoor and Mason Madden made their ROH debut with nifty teamwork and stunning poses. Hot tag to Madden to clean house. Tag back to Mansoor for the double-team double underhook brainbuster on Serpentico to win. Afterward, Maria Kanellis complimented the work of the MxM Collection. The insinuation being that she is interested in managing them.

Marina Shafir defeated Angelica Risk. Shafir kicked ass to win via chokehold.

The Infantry defeated Griff Garrison & Anthony Henry. Maria Kanellis was ringside to support Garrison in a makeshift tag team due to the injured Cole Karter. As the match progressed, Henry argued with Maria. He ran the ropes and accidentally knocked her off the apron into the arms of Garrison. Meanwhile, the Infantry closed with the Boot Camp big boot to side Russian leg sweep finisher. Shawn Dean made the pin.

Top Flight defeated Outrunners. Dante Martin blasted a jumping knee to send Turbo Floyd tumbling out of the ring. Darius Martin finished Truth Magnum with a fireman’s carry cutter.

Death Before Dishonor

The Beast Mortos defeated Komander. Amazing highlight reel of cool moves. Komander gambled for a rope-walking shooting star press, but he missed the mark when Mortos moved. The beast hit a vicious backbreaker and the Power Bull inverted piledriver to win. Breaking news that Mortos will wrestle Hologram on Collision.

Melissa Santos interviewed the MxM Collection. They spoke in acronyms to call out FTR for Collision. Dax Harwood needs an extreme makeover, but Cash Wheeler has potential.

ROH World Tag Team Championship: Matt Taven & Mike Bennett defeated Kyle O’Reilly & Tomohiro Ishii to retain the titles. Epic action with a garbage finish. Drama was hot, then Don Callis and Kyle Fletcher entered the scene. Callis distracted the referee, O’Reilly lunged at Fletcher, and Bennett struck O’Reilly with a low blow to win.

Texas Death Match: Leyla Hirsch defeated Diamante. Badass violence. Hirsch was busted open when stuck in the Tree of Woe for a dropkick into chairs to the face. Diamante bled as well. I think that was from colliding face-first into a chair in the corner. Diamante duct taped Hirsch to the ropes to beat her on the head with a chancla stuck with tacks. Hirsch hit a Samoan drop off the apron through a barbed wire board. On the finish, Hirsch duct taped Diamante to the table. Hirsch climbed a tall ladder for a moonsault through the table. The referee began the ten-count. Hirsch rose to her feet at 9. Diamante was still down at 10.

ROH Pure Championship: Lee Moriarty defeated Wheeler Yuta to win the title. Pure rules in effect. Battle of technicians. Both men used all three rope-breaks. Yuta suckered Moriarty into an armbar. Moriarty reached the ropes, but no more breaks. Moriarty used the ropes to roll into top position for a pin, and he put his feet on the ropes for leverage to win.

ROH Women’s World Television Championship: Red Velvet defeated Billie Starkz to win the title. Starkz tried to fake a neck injury again, but it didn’t work this time. After Starkz ‘surprised’ her opponent to continue the match, Velvet played possum to throw her off the turnbuckles. Velvet pounced for a front reverse DDT to win.

ROH World Six-Man Championship eliminator match: Dustin Rhodes & the Von Erichs defeated Dark Order. Winners advance to wrestle the Undisputed Kingdom for the six-man straps at Battle of the Belts. Dark Order used cowbell and cowboy hat antics to take control. They worked a smart game plan consistently attacking Rhodes on the outside to keep him out of the match. That lasted only so long. Hot tag to Rhodes running wild with snap powerslams. Dark Order dumped the Von Erichs over the barricade to attack Rhodes with a numbers advantage. That led to an Iron Claw return from the Von Erichs to clear the path for Rhodes to deliver the Shattered Dreams kick to Reynolds. A Final Reckoning suplex sealed the deal. Afterward, Katsuyori Shibata entered the ring to give the Von Erichs his endorsement. The Texas crowd was hot throughout for this match.

ROH World Television Championship: Atlantis Jr. defeated Brian Cage, Johnny TV, Lio Rush, Shane Taylor, and Lee Johnson to retain the title in Survival of the Fittest. Elimination style of contest. The flow was often one-on-one action with highlights galore. Taylor was eliminated first by Rush via frog splash after everyone teamed up on Taylor. Rush was eliminated second by Johnson via lifting reverse DDT. Johnson was eliminated third by Cage via springboard kick powerbomb combo with Johnny. Johnny was eliminated fourth by Cage via Drill Claw. Cage was eliminated fifth by Atlantis Jr. via roll-up on countering the Drill Claw. Atlantis Jr. was the last man standing.

ROH Women’s World Championship: Athena defeated Queen Aminata to retain the title. Slow pace with hard hits. Athena crushed a tombstone piledriver onto the ring steps. Aminata kicked out on the cover and roared back with anger. Aminata headbutt Athena to set up a double underhook driver. Billie Starkz ran in with Red Velvet right behind to prevent interference. Aminata headbutt Starkz off the apron. Meanwhile, Athena called over Lexy Nair to take her microphone. Boom! Athena walloped Animata with the mic as the referee was dealing with Starkz and Velvet. Athena took flight for the O-Face to win.

ROH World Championship: Mark Briscoe defeated Roderick Strong to retain the title. As Briscoe had momentum setting up a Jay Driller, the Kingdom ran in to interfere. Mike Bennett bashed Briscoe with a title belt. 1, 2, dramatic kick out by Briscoe. Kyle O’Reilly and Tomohiro Ishii ran in to even the odds and brawl with the Kingdom. Briscoe surged for a froggy bow to win.

AEW Rampage Preview 7/26/2024

Tonight’s AEW Rampage on TNT.

  • AEW Royal Rampage to earn shot at AEW World Title at AEW Dynamite Grand Slam
  • Kris Statlander vs. Leila Grey
  • The Outrunners (Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd) vs. Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) vs. The Righteous (Dutch & Vincent) vs. Kyle Fletcher & RUSH
  • Lance Archer will be in action

WWE SmackDown Preview 7/26/2024

WWE SmackDown will air tonight on FOX from the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

  • Cody Rhodes to respond to the Bloodline
  • LA Knight vs. Santos Escobar
  • Queen of the Ring Nia Jax and Money in the Bank winner Tiffany Stratton vs. WWE Women’s Champion Bayley and Michin
  • WWE Tag Team Championship Top Contender Gauntlet: Street Profits vs. Baron Corbin & Apollo Crews vs. The OC vs. Pretty Deadly vs. Legado Del Fantasma vs. Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa
  • Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn to appear