Author: John Bass

Mustafa Ali Says He’s No Longer Working With WWE

It looks as if Mustafa Ali‘s time with WWE has come to an end.

“I am [no] longer working with WWE. I look forward to the future,” Ali wrote on Twitter.

There was some confusion about Ali’s initial statement, as it said, “I am longer working with WWE.” Ali replied and confirmed his departure before apologizing for the confusion.

Mustafa Ali was scheduled to face Dominik Mysterio for the NXT North American Championship at NXT No Mercy on September 30.

https://twitter.com/AliWWE/status/1704862785224450228

Mustafa Ali first appeared in WWE when he entered the Cruiserweight Classic in 2016. He signed a full-time contract with the company shortly after the tournament aired.

Ali spent time on 205 Live and SmackDown before he moved to RAW. He was part of the Retribution stable on the RAW brand, and went back to SmackDown after the stable disbanded.

He publicly requested his release in 2022, but it was not granted at that time. Once he returned to WWE after his request was denied, Ali challenged Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship and he was in the current program with Dominik for the North American title.

It is unclear for the reason for Ali’s departure this time.

Source: WrestleZone

Jon Moxley Believed To Have Suffered Concussion On AEW Dynamite Grand Slam

During the “AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam” special, Jon Moxley lost the AEW International Championship to Rey Fenix, though that’s not what caught the attention of the fans. After Fenix hit his Black Fire Driver, Moxley did not kick out of the move. It appeared something was wrong as referee Rick Knox only counted to two even though Moxley’s shoulders were still on the mat. Fenix quickly hit the move again, and this time around, Knox counted to three and Fenix won the title.

According to “PWInsider,” the reason behind the awkward finish was Moxley reportedly suffering a concussion. After being checked over by doctors for some time, Moxley walked out of the arena by himself. It’s also believed that Fenix winning the title was not the original plan and only happened because of Moxley’s injury. 

On social media, both Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp and Wrestling Observer’s Bryan Alvarez provided updates on the situation. Sapp noted that those he spoke with were “optimistic” that Moxley was fine, and that right after the incident AEW CEO Tony Khan and the other members of the Blackpool Combat Club went to check on him. Alvarez acknowledged that Moxley was hurt during the match, but said that “he is okay.”

Jon Moxley became the AEW International Champion on September 3 after he defeated Orange Cassidy at All Out in Chicago. He defended the title thrice before losing it to Fenix, with his previous defense coming against Big Bill on the September 13 episode of “Dynamite.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Details On Confirmed Deal For WWE SmackDown To Leave Fox, Return To USA Network

It’s official — “WWE SmackDown” will leave Fox next year (as previously predicted by Wells Fargo) and return to the USA Network. The company announced the move this morning, with a new five-year deal bringing “SmackDown” back to cable starting in October 2024. Included with the announcement was the news that “SmackDown” will remain on Friday nights, and there will also be four WWE specials aired on NBC’s broadcast channel each year.

“NBCUniversal has been a tremendous partner of WWE for decades,” WWE President Nick Khan said. “We are excited to extend this longstanding relationship by bringing SmackDown to USA Network on Friday nights and look forward to debuting multiple WWE special events annually on NBC.”

Despite the new agreement, a report from the Sports Business Journal, which broke the “SmackDown” news ahead of WWE’s press release, states that WWE and USA Network parent company NBCU have yet to reach an agreement for “WWE Raw.” With “SmackDown” returning to the network, however, NBCU reportedly remains a favorite to retain the rights to the company’s longest-running show, though corporations such as Disney and Amazon are reportedly still interested in WWE rights.

The report does note that it’s possible “Raw” moves away from Monday nights, which would obviously be a major shift, as the series has been a staple of Mondays since its inception in January 1993. While WWE will maintain some kind of partnership with NBCU through at least 2028, it’s not yet certain that their catalog will remain available on the company’s streaming app, Peacock, for the long haul. The streaming deal between WWE and NBCU, which saw the dissolution of the WWE Network in the United States in favor of Peacock, lasts until 2026.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Dynamite Grand Slam Preview 9/20/2023

AEW Dynamite Grand Slam will air live tonight on TBS from Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York.

  • AEW World Championship: MJF (c) vs. Samoa Joe
  • AEW World Championship: Saraya (c) w/Ruby Soho vs. Toni Storm
  • AEW International Championship: Jon Moxley (c) vs.Rey Fenix
  • Title For Title Match: ROH Champion Claudio Castagnoli vs. NJPW Strong Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston
  • Chris Jericho vs. Sammy Guevara

Randy Orton Is Working Out At The WWE Performance Center

Randy Orton has been spotted at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, FL in recent weeks.

According to a report from Pwinsider, numerous people training at the Performance Center have seen Orton at the facility over the past few weeks. The Viper has been spotted in the building and is often seen working out in the gym at the facility.

It’s worth noting that as of August, Orton had not been cleared for a return.

Finally, it was added that WWE has a very strict rule that talent who are returning have to work out in some capacity. As of this writing, there is no word on when Randy Orton will be making his return to WWE television. Of course, it’s obviously a good sign to see that he’s back at the Performance Center and beginning to work out again.

Source: eWn

WWE NXT Preview 9/19/2023

Tonight’s WWE NXT Live from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center on the USA Network: 

  • WWE NXT Women’s Champion Becky Lynch to appear
  • Champion vs. champion non-title: NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes vs. NXT North American Champion Dominik Mysterio
  • Roxanne Perez vs. Lola Vice
  • NXT Global Heritage Invitational: Tyler Bate vs. Butch
  • NXT Global Heritage Invitational: Duke Hudson vs. Joe Coffey

Reported Reason Behind Late Changes To Monday Night’s WWE Raw

Some late changes were made to the lineup for tonight’s episode of “WWE Raw.”

According to PWInsider, Tegan Nox was originally set to answer the open challenge issued by the new “NXT” Women’s Champion, Becky Lynch. However, at some point before the show, Nox was pulled from the title match and replaced by Natalya, who has reportedly earned plenty of praise backstage following her involvement in the Superstar Spectacle in India.

The segment started with Lynch coming out and cutting a promo about how important the belt is to her and revealing that she would also be live on “NXT” tomorrow night with the belt. Natalya eventually came out, calling Lynch a “hypocritical ginger witch” and answering the challenge. The 15-year veteran ended up losing the match to Lynch, getting rolled up by the new champion following a back-and-forth match.

Getting back to Nox, she was relegated to a match against Xia Li that was recorded for “WWE Main Event.”

Another key change to tonight’s episode, according to PWInsider, was to push the match between Shinsuke Nakamura and Ricochet deeper into the show. The reported reasoning behind this was a desire by WWE officials to position more star power later in the episode, namely WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, who was involved in segments before and after the Nakamura-Ricocet match.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

REPORT: The XFL Talks With USFL About A Merger

The XFL, owned by Dani Garcia, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital may merge with the USFL.

The XFL was purchased by Garcia, Johnson, and RedBird Capital in 2021 after Vince McMahon shut down the league due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The league made a deal with Disney to broadcast games on ESPN, FX, and ABC.

The inaugural season took place earlier this year, with the Arlington Renegades winning the championship.

Axios.com reports that the XFL is in advanced talks to merge with the USFL, with a 50/50 merger and games broadcast on FOX and Disney-owned stations. Sportico also reports the two leagues are in talks.

CM Punk Makes First Public Comments Since AEW Firing, Says He’s Free For ‘Two Months’

It’s been just over two weeks since AEW owner and CEO Tony Khan publicly announced that CM Punk had been fired by the company, “with cause,” due to a backstage incident involving Punk and Jack Perry during All In at London’s Wembley Stadium one week earlier. Despite initial reports that Punk might issue an “explosive response,” to being let go, he has since stayed silent on anything to do with the subject. That silence ended last night, at least somewhat. Punk returned to his occasional gig of doing color commentary for Caged Fury Fighting Championships on Friday, and he and broadcast partner John Morgan made several clear references to the incident at All In.

First, Morgan introduced Punk by saying “look who I ran into backstage,” and adding that Punk was back on commentary “with cause.” Later in the broadcast, Punk suggested the commentary team do a post-fight show, to which he was asked by another colleague if he had time on his hands, and Punk responded “yeah, I got some time on my hands, for the next two months.” At one point, Morgan also playfully mentioned that he and Punk had some things to discuss, and Punk replied with “what do you wanna talk about,” in an equally playful manner.

Nothing is known publicly about whether or not Punk has a noncompete clause with AEW following his firing that would prevent him from working for WWE or any other wrestling company for a certain period of time. That said, Punk’s comment about having two months on his hands has unsurprisingly already led to rampant fan speculation that after that time, he will be free to return to wrestling. Furthering that speculation is the fact that in just over two months, WWE is in Chicago for Survivor Series, although knowing Punk’s penchant for messing with the internet, he may well just be trolling fans on purpose.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE RAW Preview 9/18/2023

WWE Raw airs live tonight on the USA Network, from the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, UT.

  • Two-out-of-three-falls match: The New Day vs. Viking Raiders
  • Cody Rhodes vs Dominik Mysterio
  • Shinsuke Nakamura vs Ricochet
  • Jey Uso vs Drew McIntyre