Month: July 2024

AJ Styles & IYO SKY Victorious At Japan Events

On Saturday morning, WWE Superstars AJ Styles and IYO SKY participated in separate matches as part of their return to Japan.

During the Pro Wrestling NOAH Destination 2024 co-main event at Budokan Hall, AJ Styles faced off against NOAH Vice President Naomichi Marufuji. Styles emerged victorious after executing a Styles Clash.

Before joining WWE in 2016, Styles had been a regular competitor in Japan for NJPW, where he won the IWGP World Heavyweight Title twice.

Meanwhile, IYO SKY also participated in a co-main event at the Marigold Summer Destiny show at Sumo Hall. SKY emerged victorious against Utami Hayashishita after executing a tombstone piledriver and a moonsault.

Post-match, SKY expressed her gratitude to Hayashishita, WWE, and Marigold. She used her WWE entrance music for the match and wore a mask reminiscent of the one she wore at STARDOM before joining WWE.

You can check out some highlights from the matches below:

https://twitter.com/PuroresuFlow/status/1812045692367437994
https://twitter.com/PuroresuFlow/status/1812038995330683294

Source: eWn

AEW Collision Preview 7/13/2024

AEW taped tonight’s episode of Collision following the June 10th episode of Dynamite in Calgary, Alberta, CA.

  • Konosuke Takeshita vs. Tommy Billington
  • The Bang Bang Gang (Juice Robinson, Austin Gunn, and Colten Gunn) vs. London Lightning, Michael Allen Richard Clark, and Shaun Moore
  • Dalton Castle vs. Roderick Strong
  • Nyla Rose vs. Ava Lawless
  • Lee Moriarty and Anthony Ogogo vs. Top Flight (Dante Martin and Darius Martin)
  • Skye Blue vs. Harley Cameron
  • The Undisputed Kingdom (Matt Taven and Mike Bennett) vs. Orange Cassidy and Kyle O’Reilly

WWE Hall Of Famer Dory Funk Jr. Set To Wrestle In Japan At 83 Years Old

Dory Funk Jr. is penciled in to return to the ring at 83 years of age for Atsushi Onita’s Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling in Japan. The infamous hardcore promotion is due to hold a memorial show for Dory’s brother, Terry Funk, on August 24 at the Kawasaki Stadium. Per the announcement, Onita will be teaming with a yet-to-be announced partner against Funk and Osamu Nishimura — confirmed to be participating on July 9 — with “Padre Del Deathmatch” living up to the moniker by expressing his desire for it to be an explosive death match, though the stipulation has yet to be finalized. 

Dave Meltzer reported in the “Wrestling Observer Newsletter” that the match was slated to be a six-person affair, with Onita teaming with two unannounced partners against Nishimura, Funk, and their own TBA partner. That appears to contradict what was announced by the promotion. He also noted that the event was being sponsored by the city of Kawasaki as part of their 100-year celebration. However, there is also no mention of FMW, Onita, Terry, or Dory Funk Jr. available on their official website as of writing. 

Nishimura is a significant partnership for Dory Funk Jr., considering both the facts that he is currently battling stage four cancer and that he was the last opponent Funk wrestled. They faced one another in a brief 10-minute exhibition in 2018 at a Tokyo indie event, renewing their affinity with one another in the ring after working together occasionally during Funk’s 2017 run with AJPW both as teammates and opponents.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Big Update On Natalya’s WWE Contract Status

The contract status of many WWE stars has been a big talking point over summer 2024. Multiple members of the WWE roster have had details of their contracts made public, with many of them only having weeks, and in some cases days, left on them. One person who has been a hot topic in the contract world is Natalya, who has been in negotiations with WWE since May, after it was reported that her contract with the company would be expiring. While many people assumed that Natalya would stick around due to how long she has been with WWE, others speculated she might spread her wings and try something new for that same reason.

Now there has been an update, and it’s a big one, as PWInsider Elite have been able to confirm that Natalya is locked into a new deal with WWE. Details of her new deal such as length and how much money she is making are unclear at time of writing, but it seems likely Natalya will continue her run as WWE’s longest-tenured female performer for years to come.

With Natalya sticking around in WWE, she joins the likes of Chad Gable, Seth Rollins, and Drew McIntyre who have all put pen to paper on new deals over the past few months, rather than joining the likes of Ricochet and Becky Lynch who have allowed their deals to expire and explore free agency. Natalya hasn’t wrestled in WWE since appearing on the June 4 “WWE NXT” against Izzi Dame, but now that she is set to stay with the company, perhaps the 22-year veteran of the business could have one more big push in store before her career begins to wind down.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Ricochet Leaving WWE

WWE might still rule the wrestling world, but soon they will no longer be able to say they own “the one and only.” According to a report last week from Pro Wrestling Insider, former Intercontinental and United States Champion Ricochet has informed WWE he intends to leave the company upon the expiration of the five-year contract he signed in 2019.

Considering earlier reports that indicate Ricochet’s deal is up this summer, the news means his time in WWE is rapidly nearing its end, and PWI claims the company is expected to quickly begin writing him out of storylines. Those who attended “WWE SmackDown” live in Louisville Friday (7/5/2024), likely got the first taste of that process, as the first-ever “WWE Speed” Champion lost his title to Andrade in a match taped prior to the June 7 episode of the blue brand. Ricochet has also been part of a recent angle with Ilja Dragunov and Bron Breakker; he lost to Breakker on “WWE Raw” and lost to Dragunov in the first round of the 2024 King of the Ring Tournament last month.

PWI quoted one source who gave Ricochet “all the credit in the world for betting on himself.” Still just 35 years old, he will almost certainly make a splash on the free agent market and could be considered likely show up in AEW, especially considering a recent interview with old foe (and current AEW International Champion) Will Ospreay, who lamented WWE wasting Ricochet’s talent.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Former CMLL Star Stephanie Vaquer Signs With WWE Instead Of AEW

Stephanie Vaquer is bound for WWE. The former CMLL and NJPW champion is set to debut with the United States-based promotion, but there’s been some question about her status with CMLL ahead of her signing.

According to the Wrestling Observer, Vaquer was under contract with CMLL but the promotion and its partner NJPW knew that Vaquer would be negotiating with both AEW and WWE. However, both promotions asked that she still work the upcoming NJPW/CMLL Fantasticamania show in San Jose, CA, as she had been advertised for the show. CMLL also asked her to lose her CMLL Women’s title on her way out.

Vaquer signed with WWE but was unable to commit to the original Fantasticamania show and she vacated her title, leading to a Three-Way Match for the CMLL Women’s Championship taking place that night. CMLL and NJPW have already announced Vaquer’s departure, which signaled her going to WWE, as AEW is a business partner of both companies and would’ve allowed her to complete her booked dates.

WWE Hall of Famer and “NXT” creative head Shawn Michaels confirmed the news on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Wednesday, formally welcoming Vaquer to the white-and-gold brand.

https://twitter.com/ShawnMichaels/status/1811151655544496619

According to reports ahead of the announcement, Vaquer had entered WWE’s radar specifically after her outing against Mercedes Mone at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door. She was booked in two appearances, wrestling Lady Frost prior to Forbidden Door during “AEW Collision,” and had reportedly been offered a deal to continue with Tony Khan’s company. However, she decided to join WWE, foregoing any of her future bookings with NJPW and CMLL and allegedly upsetting all three promotions. CMLL is said to be upset they were unable to have Vaquer drop the CMLL Women’s World and Women’s Tag Team titles prior to her departure as they had intended; they were vacated instead. Vaquer lost the NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship to Mone at Forbidden Door, simultaneously failing to capture the TBS Championship. She is the latest international women’s talent to be brought into WWE after Giulia agreed to terms to join the “WWE NXT” brand in the near future.

Dave Meltzer is reporting that WWE has no plans to change Vaquer’s ring name. This approach contrasts with WWE’s typical practice of creating new names for talents joining from other promotions, allowing the company to retain intellectual property rights.

However, it is essential to note that WWE can always change Vaquer’s ring name in the future.

AEW Rampage Preview 7/12/2024

Tonight’s AEW Rampage on TNT.

  • Kings of the Black Thorne vs. Premier Athletes
  • Rey Fenix vs. Angelico vs. Komander vs. AR Fox
  • Top Flight & Action Andretti vs. Shane Taylor Promotions
  • Thunder Rosa vs. Rachael Ellering
  • Roderick Strong in action

WWE SmackDown Preview 7/12/2024

WWE SmackDown airs live tonight on FOX from the DCU Center in Worchester, MA.

  • Its Tiffy Time! Ms. Money in the Bank Tiffany Stratton to appear
  • Michin vs. Nia Jax
  • Baron Corbin and Apollo Crews vs. Angel Garza and Humberto Carillo
  • Solo Sikoa’s rise in The Bloodline continues

WWE RAW & NXT To Air On SYFY During Olympic Games

Due to the upcoming Summer Olympic Games, WWE’s regular programming, including Monday Night RAW and NXT, will be affected multiple times over the next month.

This is a recurring pattern every four years for RAW, although it is expected to change in 2025 when the show moves to Netflix. In the meantime, NXT will move to The CW in the fall, as the Olympic Games will be broadcast across various NBCUniversal networks, including the USA Network.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter is reporting that RAW and NXT will be relocated to SYFY during the Olympics for four shows: RAW on 7/29, NXT on 7/30, RAW on 8/6, and NXT on 8/7.

Source: eWn

New Report Details The Latest Available Info On Long-Absent AEW Star Jamie Hayter

All Elite Wrestling has been fortunate enough to have some of its major stars return from injury in recent months, including MJF, Kyle O”Reilly, and Dr. Britt Baker. One person who still has yet to return, however, is Jamie Hayter. The former AEW Women’s World Champion was last seen at the 2023 Double or Nothing pay-per-view where she lost the belt to Toni Storm, and had reportedly been working through an injury at the time. She’s now been out of action for more than a year, with little to no word on the nature of the injury or when she might be ready to return. On Thursday, a new report from Fightful Select didn’t exactly provided good news, but it did give us a little more information and perhaps the hope that Hayter might be back soon.

 The report stated that Hayter was backstage at a recent episode of “AEW Dynamite” as the roster had to undergo their yearly physicals. While it was noted that talent who weren’t being used on TV still had to show up for physicals, Fightful claims the feeling inside AEW is that the backstage appearance indicated “some positive movement towards a potential recovery for Hayter.” There’s also a sense of optimism about a potential return for Hayter as far as some AEW talent are concerned, primarily because her name has been brought up in match pitches in case she is cleared.

Hayter is said to largely be keeping to herself during her recovery and rarely makes backstage appearances, which has contributed to the lack of information about her injury and rehabilitation. While there has been discussion of her possibly returning by the end of 2024, there is still no official timetable, though Fightful’s sources in AEW remain broadly confident that she will return at some point.

Source: Wrestling Inc.