Author: John Bass

Backstage Update On Gable Steveson’s Development In WWE, NXT Appearance

Gable Steveson was drafted to “Raw” during last year’s WWE Draft but has remained almost completely absent from WWE programming. According to “Wrestling Observer Radio,” Steveson is still very busy with amateur wrestling.

Gable Steveson appeared last night in a segment on WWE NXT. Steveson offered to help train Eddy Thorpe for his Raw Underground match against Damon Kemp — Steveson’s real-life brother.

While WWE has yet to confirm Steveson’s involvement in the match, the Raw Underground bout between Kemp and Thorpe is set for the July 4 episode of “NXT.”

Earlier this week, a report from “FloWrestling” suggested that Steveson was interested in a return to NCAA Wrestling, following his return to freestyle wrestling at the US Open and Final X this spring. Although Steveson had previously retired from NCAA and Olympic wrestling, he still has one year of NCAA eligibility left, meaning his return to the mat in 2024 is a real possibility. 

Furthermore, Steveson has expressed his desire to capture another gold medal for his country at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, telling “MMA Fighting” earlier this year that he intends to “become one of the best American amateur wrestlers ever” and still has “a lot more left in the tank” with regards to amateur wrestling. According to “The Wrestling Observer,” Steveson’s return to the Olympic stage would be incumbent upon WWE clearing him and allowing him to take time off pro wrestling.

Before his return on Tuesday, Steveson was last seen on WWE programming on the December 9 episode of “WWE SmackDown” where he celebrated Kurt Angle’s birthday by hosing down Alpha Academy with a milk truck.

“He’s got stuff he wants to do and now it’s a question of WWE clearing him,” Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer said.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Update On Ticket Sales Following Saturday’s AEW Collision Premiere

It was reported last week that All Elite Wrestling had been struggling to shift tickets for upcoming live episodes of “AEW Collision” in Canada and the United States. The premiere broadcast of “Collision” took place this past Saturday night, and now an update has been provided regarding ticket sales across the board. 

“AEW has picked up on ticket sales, though, in a lot of markets since Saturday,” Dave Meltzer said on the “Wrestling Observer Radio” show. “‘Collision’ and ‘Dynamite.’ You know what? It sometimes only takes a big angle, and people think there’s a big angle. The problem is there may not be a big angle. But I think people think that there is because if you watch the TV, you’d probably come to the conclusion that there is. 

“So yeah, ticket sales are up for several of the shows. Some of the Canadian shows are also having to do with lowering ticket prices. Hamilton and Toronto both lowered prices. I think they were doing four packs, where you could get four tickets for, like, 16.50 each. So that sold a decent amount of tickets. Toronto’s still down, but it’s for Saturday, but it’s over three thousand, so it’s not horrible. If they get to four, I would say, based on what they’ve been doing, I would say that’s okay. If it’s at 2,500 or 3,000, I wouldn’t call that good. Chicago might sell out Wednesday night, though.” 

The debut episode of “Collision” saw CM Punk return to the promotion for the first time since the All Out pay-per-view last September. It has been reported that Punk may appear on this week’s episode of “AEW Dynamite” at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois. 

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Gold Rush: Night 1 Preview 6/20/2023

Week one of the two-week NXT Gold Rush special edition of WWE NXT goes down tonight at 8/7c on USA Network from the Capitol Wrestling Center inside the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.

  • WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins (c) vs. Bron Breakker
  • NXT North American Championship (with Mustafa Ali as special guest referee): Wes Lee (c) vs. Tyler Bate
  • Dana Brooke vs. Cora Jade
  • NXT Tag-Team Title No. 1 Contender Match: Brooks Jensen & Josh Briggs vs. Tank Ledger & Hank Walker vs. Malik Blade & Edris Enofe
  • NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes and Baron Corbin going face-to-face
  • Thea Hail Pep Rally

Gable Steveson Reportedly Intends To Use Final Year Of NCAA Eligibility

A new article from FloWrestling states that Gable Steveson has confirmed he intends to return to NCAA competition next year.

Steveson won national titles while attending the University of Minnesota in 2021 and 2022 before retiring from NCAA competition to focus on his career with WWE, with whom he signed a Next In Line deal in 2021.

After making a few appearances on WWE programming, Steveson recently returned to freestyle wrestling this past spring, competing at the US Open and Final X.

Scheduling details are reportedly still being sorted out with WWE, but with 2021 not counting toward his eligibility due to circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, Steveson does have one final year remaining as noted on his UMN roster page.

Source: WrestleView

CM Punk Rumored To Be At This Week’s AEW Dynamite, Not The Elite

After making his return to the ring on Saturday night, CM Punk is now rumored to show up again this Wednesday on “AEW Dynamite,” per Fightful Select.

Punk turning up on Wednesday is not officially announced, but as of this past weekend those close to Punk had claimed he was planned to be part of the June 21 show, which also happens to be in Chicago. However, his possible appearance seems to mean that The Elite will not be present, as they’re not expected to be in Chicago later this week, which was also the case this past Saturday. 

“AEW Dynamite” takes place at the Wintrust Arena on Wednesday, but Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks have reportedly already done pre-tapes to ensure that they’re still part of the show without being in the arena physically. This will allow their angles to continue progressing with the trio currently feuding against Blackpool Combat Club while Omega has issues with Konosuke Takeshita and Will Ospreay as well. 

It has previously been reported that Punk and The Elite will be getting kept separate following their long-standing issues following the infamous ‘Brawl Out’ situation. There have been conflicting claims regarding a brand split, but it appears that Punk could end up floating between both shows, even though he is being pushed as the face of “Collision.” WBD officials have been expecting Punk to be part of “AEW Dynamite,” which could be why he is turning up. 

During his promo segment on Collision, Punk took a not-so-subtle shot at The Young Bucks by saying that Warner Bros. Discovery President David Zaslav nicknamed him “one bill Phil,” due to the fact that he was authentic and draws money, unlike some “counterfeit bucks.” Punk seemed to give a mock apology by saying he is a “money maker” who isn’t “soft.” Punk said the money he makes isn’t “counterfeit bucks.”

Punk referred to the fact he never officially lost the AEW World Championship during his return promo on “Collision,” referencing current champion MJF in the process. Therefore that could be part of his appearance, meanwhile, AEW could look to set up a match for him at the upcoming AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door event, with a dream match against KENTA being something that fans have speculated about.

Sources: Wrestling Inc. and eWn

WWE RAW Preview 6/19/2023

Tonight’s WWE Raw from the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio on the USA Network at 8/7c.

  • Seth Rollins defends the World Heavyweight Championship in an open challenge
  • Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bronson Reed
  • Money in the Bank qualifying match: Trish Stratus vs. Raquel Rodriguez
  • Non-title match: Women’s World Heavyweight Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Natalya
  • Matt Riddle vs. Ludwig Kaiser
  • Logan Paul returns

Jim Ross Apologizes For How He Sounded At AEW Collision – Stepping Away To Heal

AEW commentator Jim Ross has apologized for his performance during the premiere episode of AEW Collision.

Ross appeared during last night’s episode of Collison, mere hours after suffering a fall that resorted in the legendary broadcaster sporting a nasty black eye.

Taking to Twitter, Ross apologized for the way he sounded on commentary and announced that he would be taking time off to heal.

https://twitter.com/JRsBBQ/status/1670271806668787712

Source: eWn

The Original Concession Stand Brawl

It was announced that this Wednesday June 21, 2023 on AEW Dynamite “The Last Outlaw” Jeff Jarrett will Face Mark Briscoe in a Concession Stand Brawl.

It will commemorate the original Concession Stand Brawl that took place June 15, 19, 1979 in Tupelo, Mississippi at the Tupelo Sports Arena.

Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee versus The Blond Bombers, Wayne Farris (Honky Tonk Man) and Larry Latham (Moondog Spot), spills out of the ring at the Tupelo Sports Arena to become the first legendary concession stand brawl to enter wrestling lore.

Commentary: Lance Russell – Referee: Jerry Calhoun

Preview For The Debut Of AEW Collision 6/17/2023

Tonight is the debut of AEW’s new weekly 2-hour TV show Collision on TNT at 8/7C from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.

  • The Return of CM Punk
  • CM Punk & FTR vs. Samoa Joe & Bullet Club Gold
  • AEW TNT Championship: Wardlow (c) vs. Luchasaurus
  • Miro vs. TBA
  • Skye Blue & Willow Nightingale vs. Toni Storm & Ruby Soho
  • Buddy Matthews vs. Andrade El Idolo
  • We’ll hear from The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn

AEW Collision commentary team revealed

AEW CEO, President and General Manager took to Twitter on Friday, revealing the commentary team for Collision.

Khan has announced that Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuiness and Jim Ross will be the weekly announce team for Collision.

Collision debuts tonight, live on TNT, beginning at 8:00 pm ET.