Author: John Bass

Report: WWE Not Bringing Back CM Punk

According to F4WOnline, WWE has decided against bringing back CM Punk. 

There have been previous reports that Punk had intention to return to WWE and he and the company were said to be in talks.

Also per the report from F4WOnline, WWE turned Punk down, with Vince McMahon, Nick Kahn and Paul Levesque deciding on not to bring Punk back at this time.

It was further noted the main reason for not to bring back Punk, was the negatives out weighted the positives.

When Nick Khan spoke last month with ESPN about WWE’s potential interest in Punk, he said they “only have respect for Phil” and “wish him nothing but the best.”

Undertaker Returns As American Bad-Ass, Chokeslams Bron Breakker On WWE NXT

The teases of the “Dead Man” appearing on “WWE NXT” on Tuesday as it went head-to-head against “AEW Dynamite” ended up being true, but it wasn’t the Undertaker’s undead persona that made it to the ring on Tuesday. The WWE Hall of Famer rolled down the ramp, instead, confronting Bron Breakker on a motorcycle as “The American Bad-Ass.”

Undertaker made his appearance after Breakker took out Carmelo Hayes following their match, which Breakker lost. The young star was the first to get on the mic against the Hall of Famer and asked if he understood there was only one badass around “NXT.” While Breakker received “you f***ed up” chants from the crowd in the WWE Performance Center, Undertaker told Breakker that he had been watching him for a long time, and that one day he is going to be a special talent. But not today.

The legend then decked Breakker and got him up for a chokeslam as Hayes sat grinning in the corner. Undertaker got back on the mic to give Breakker a little advice, telling him there’s always an older, bigger, badder badass waiting around the corner, and that he “just met the baddest of them all.” Undertaker and Hayes then posed for the crowd as “NXT” went off the air.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Brian Pillman Jr’s Emotional Vignette Debuting On WWE NXT — As Lexis King?

In the midst of a very eventful Tuesday night, a vignette played on “WWE NXT” providing the first look at WWE’s presentation of Brian Pillman Jr. Though he didn’t go as far as to confirm his full ring name, leaving out the rumored “Lexis” first name for now, the video does include Pillman revealing his new surname and the logic behind the change. After the show, the WWE star took to X to further explain himself.

The video shows former AEW star Pillman watching highlights of his father’s WWE career. Over the footage, short audio clips described the late Pillman Sr. as “crazy,” “unpredictable,” and more.

“My father was one of the most infamous superstars in this business,” Pillman says in the video. “Everywhere I go, people stop to tell me, ‘Man, I loved your dad. Such a trailblazer, he was.’ It seems like everybody has such fond memories of my father. Well, you know who doesn’t? Me — his own damn son.”

Pillman pointed out that he was only 4 years old when his father died. Additionally, the 30-year-old stated that wrestling was one of the last things he thought he’d ever want to do. However, despite earning a college degree and trying his hand at other sports, Pillman said that he keeps finding himself drawn to pro wrestling.

“I’ve got no choice but to inflict pain on the very business that has brought me so much grief,” Pillman continued. “But when they see this face, I don’t want them to think about my dead father. I want them to think about me. I’m nobody’s junior, and from this day forward, I’m going to take on the last name of the real man who raised me — the real father figure in my life — and his name was King. And now, so is mine.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Dynamite Title Tuesday Preview 10/10/2023

AEW Dynamite will hold a special Title Tuesday episode live tonight on TBS from the Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence, MO.

Tonight’s show will go head-to-head this week only with NXT, live on the USA Network.

Tony Khan announced on Monday evening that the first 30 minutes of tonight’s show will be commercial free. Also, according a report from Fightful Select, you can expect a 10-minute overrun.

Eddie Kingston will defend the ROH World Championship and NJPW Strong Openweight Championship against Minoru Suzuki on the pre-show. The match will be taking place at 7:30 PM EST on AEW’s Twitter, Facebook and YouTube:

  • No. 1 Contender’s Match to the TNT Championship: Bryan Danielson vs. Swerve Strickland
  • AEW Women’s World Championship: Saraya (c) vs. Hikaru Shida
  • AEW International Championship: Rey Fenix (c) vs. Jon Moxley
  • Adam Copeland vs. Luchasaurus
  • Christian Cage to explain his recent actions toward Adam Copeland
  • Jay White vs. Hangman Page
  • Chris Jericho vs. Powerhouse Hobbs
  • MJF will appear
  • ‘Timeless’ Toni Storm is ready for her close-up

WWE NXT Preview 10/10/2023

Tonight’s WWE NXT live in Orlando, Florida at the Performance Center on the USA Network, with the first 30 minutes commercial free.

WWE is certainly not selling tonight’s episode of NXT short as the company has deemed tonight’s show the greatest episode of all time.

  • Carmelo Hayes (w/ John Cena) vs. Bron Breakker (w/ Paul Heyman)
  • Roxanne Perez vs. Asuka
  • Cody Rhodes to make a major announcement
  • Pub Rules Match: Brawling Brutes (Butch and Ridge Holland) and Tyler Bate vs. Gallus (Mark Coffey, Joe Coffey and Wolfgang)
  • A possible appearance from The Undertaker

Backstage Rumors On Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque’s Role In WWE, TKO

Vince McMahon’s future in the WWE is unclear, with recent SEC filings leading to speculation that the longtime executive might be fashioning an exit plan from the newly-minted TKO Group Holdings, which formed in the wake of WWE’s merger with UFC, under UFC parent company Endeavor. This speculation has led to further speculation about who is running WWE’s creative branch; McMahon, or Paul “Triple H” Levesque, who assumed the reigns of Chief Content Officer following McMahon’s initial retirement. It’s unclear what the power structure is within WWE’s creative brain trust, though some believe the wind is blowing in a certain direction. 

PWInsider Elite’s Mike Johnson recently passed along that rumors within WWE have Levesque driving what he described as “99%” of WWE’s creative direction, with the word being that Levesque has been “knighted” by TKO to lead the promotion, instead of McMahon, a decision which is said to have had a positive effect on backstage morale.

However, this does not mean that McMahon is out of the picture, as the long-time WWE figurehead is currently Executive Chairman of TKO, and has remained active within WWE since his return in January. It is believed that McMahon, as long as he’s around, will always have some input in WWE and that an occasional “tug-of-war” between himself and Levesque may still pop up now and then, with the Chief Content Officer sometimes acquiescing to McMahon’s suggestions.

How much truth there is to these rumblings backstage remains unclear. The most recent word on WWE’s creative process had Levesque running the day-to-day creative, with McMahon overseeing and having final say over certain elements of “Raw,” “SmackDown,” and WWE PLE’s, though McMahon himself had indicated he would no longer be in the day-to-day weeds, as he had been in the past.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE RAW Preview 10/9/2023

WWE Raw will air live tonight on the USA Network from the CHI Health Center Omaha in Omaha, NE.

  • Fallout from Fastlane
  • NXT Women’s Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Tegan Nox
  • Viking Rules Match: Ivar vs. Kofi Kingston
  • Nia Jax vs. Raquel Rodriguez

Hiroshi Tanahashi Says The End Of His Active Career Is In Sight

Hiroshi Tanahashi has spent over 20 years with New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he has won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship eight times and held various other titles in the promotion.

Tanahashi recently spoke with “Number Web,” where he revealed that he believes his active career is coming to an end. He said,

“The end of my active career is in sight. So before the Coronavirus outbreak, I think I could have retired with peace of mind thinking, New Japan is fine now and I’ve done my best. New Japan Pro Wrestling, which had a lot of excitement, has once again been forced to struggle due to factors other than themselves, such as the Coronavirus, so we want to make it exciting once again…”

Source: eWn

NWA Announces A New ‘Official Territory’ Based In Ohio – Exodus Pro

NWA President Billy Corgan has revealed the introduction of a fresh territory where NWA champions will participate in the promotion.

During an Exodus Pro event, Corgan made the announcement while being accompanied by EC3, the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion and former WWE star, that Exodus Pro would become a new NWA territory. In the video, which was shared on NWA’s social media, Corgan stated that the NWA Exodus Pro Heavyweight Championship will be recognized by NWA.

“The company will be called NWA Exodus Pro,” said Corgan. “So what does that mean in real terms? The NWA Exodus Pro brand from Cleveland, Ohio, will now represent NWA champions coming to town, and very soon the NWA Exodus Pro Heavyweight Championship will be recognized as a title by the National Wrestling Alliance.”

EC3 established Exodus Pro earlier this year and held its first event in August. The former WWE star has stated that the promotion aims to help young talent by giving them a platform to “take initiative” and reach the highest level of pro wrestling. The promotion is an affiliate of cYn: Co-operative, as per their social media. EC3 launched Control Your Narrative [CYN] following his WWE release, which featured the likes of Braun Strowman. He revealed in an interview with WrestlingInc earlier this year that CYN isn’t a promotion but rather a place for young talent to learn and grow.

EC3, who officially signed with NWA at the start of the year, is the current NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion, beginning his first reign with the title when he defeated Tyrus at the NWA 75th Anniversary Show. 

Source: Wrestling Inc.

John Cena Clarifies Whether He Will Immediately Leave WWE When SAG-AFTRA Strike Ends

As the SAG-AFTRA negotiations continue, John Cena provides some clarity about his future in WWE when the actors strike eventually comes to an end. During the WWE Fastlane press conference, Cena revealed that he plans on returning to Hollywood to resume his acting duties once the strike is over.

“I’ve made it clear that you can’t do both [WWE and Hollywood] because of the liability insurance,” Cena said. “If I were to try and juggle both, that’s very selfish because that would put a whole lot of people in the movie business out of work if something were to happen to me. So yes, I stopped a project in the middle of it – I can’t even talk about the project because of the strike we’re in, but we’re in the middle of it. As soon as we get back to work, we go back to work. I don’t control any of that. I’m crossing my fingers and hope we can find a resolve everyone is happy with. For right now, I think this is the best way I can help, is come back home to my family.”

While it’s uncertain when the SAG-AFTRA strikes may conclude, WWE fans can still look forward to a few more appearances from the “GOAT” in the upcoming weeks. Following his tag team victory alongside LA Knight at WWE Fastlane, Cena is advertised for the next three episodes of “WWE SmackDown,” with his latest run scheduled to end on October 27 as WWE heads to the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Source: Wrestling Inc. credit to WWE Fastlane Press Conference