Author: John Bass

Roman Reigns Was Presented A New Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Belt

The Undisputed WWE Universal Championship is finally unified in the form of a singular physical title belt. On the June 2 episode of “SmackDown,” Roman Reigns was presented with a new belt by Triple H as a part of the festivities to mark him reaching 1,000 days as Universal Champion.

Although the new belt doesn’t have a radically different design from the two pre-existing belts, its introduction does appear to mark the retirement of both the WWE Championship belt and the Universal Championship belt. The reveal of a new world championship belt had previously been reported to be in the plans for Friday night’s “SmackDown.”

Though celebrations were held Friday night, Reigns hit his 1,000th day as Universal Champion this past Saturday, on May 27. His run with the belt started in 2020 when he defeated “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman in a Triple Threat Match at the Payback premium live event. Since then, Reigns has defended against a cavalcade of WWE stars and picked up the WWE Championship to go with the Universal Title at WrestleMania 38.

Though Reigns’ days with two belts have apparently come to an end, he came close to holding four title belts this past Saturday at the Night of Champions PLE. Reigns and Solo Sikoa challenged Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for the WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championship but came up short after Reigns was struck with a superkick from Jimmy Uso. The turn from both Usos was reiterated on Friday night’s “SmackDown,” when the pair interrupted Reigns’ celebrations with his new championship belt only to be betrayed by their brother, Sikoa.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Braun Strowman Undergoes Neck Fusion Surgery

There was reports that former WWE Universal champion Braun Strowman was sidelined indefinitely with the fear that he may need to undergo some sort of unspecified surgery. As per an Instagram post this morning, Strowman has already gone under the knife, revealing that he underwent neck fusion surgery. It is not clear how long he will be sidelined, but usually this type of surgery would see the patient back to 100% within six months.

“Road to recovery starts now!!!! Level one #fusion on my c4/c5 #vertebrae was in the great hands of #DrCordover at @andrews_sports_medicine was a great experience considering. Thank you to @wwe for always taking the up most care of us.

This was very scary to find out about having to have done and they were there every step of the way reassuring that I was going to have the best care possible. This will take a little bit of time to heal from. But I assure you ( in the words of the #Terminator ) I’ll be back!!!! Thank you all in advance for the well wishes.

Much Love
Adam Scherr”

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cs_cDDhAh6R/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=4dc3f946-a513-4927-abb5-b637be8c91de

Source: rajah.com

AEW Rampage Preview 6/2/2023

Tonight’s AEW Rampage on TNT at 10/9C.

  • AAA Mega Championship: El Hijo del Vikingo (c) vs. Komander vs. Dralistico
  • NJPW Strong Women’s Championship: Willow Nightingale (c) vs. Emi Sakura
  • NJPW TV Championship: Zack Sabre Jr (c) vs. Action Andretti
  • ROH Pure Championship: Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs. Lee Moriarty
https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1664602764813676546

WWE SmackDown Preview 6/2/2023

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown, which is the fallout from last Saturday’s Night of Champions, will air live on FOX and emanate from the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

  • Fallout from Night of Champions
  • Fractured Bloodline
  • Roman Reigns celebrates 1000-plus days as WWE Universal Champion – Possibly a new Title belt for Roman to be revealed
  • Men’s Money in the Bank qualifying match: LA Knight vs. Montez Ford
  • Women’s Money in the Bank qualifying match: Zelina Vega vs. Lacey Evans
  • New RAW Women’s Champion Asuka

Tay Melo Addresses In-Ring Future After Announcing Pregnancy

Tay Melo has assured fans that her in-ring career isn’t over despite her recently-announced pregnancy.

It was during AEW Double or Nothing 2023 that Melo and her husband Sammy Guevara announced that they are expecting their first child.

Despite several examples of wrestling moms, some have speculated that becoming a parent will end Melo’s in-ring career.

Taking to her Instagram Story, Melo refuted the idea that her in-ring career is over. She said,

“Definitely not, I don’t understand why everybody thinks my career’s gonna be over because I’m gonna have a kid. I’m gonna be out the same amount as someone that has like an ACL injury or surgery. I don’t understand. But, well, it’s not over, I’m coming back as soon as I can.”

Tay was later asked how she feels about putting her wrestling career on hold for the time being. She said,

“I don’t feel bad at all. Being a mom was always a dream of mine and I think it’s the perfect timing. And I feel like it’s gonna motivate me so much more to come back better and stronger. Imagine, just imagine with me, having a little one cheering for you in the crowd and you [turning to Sammy Guevara] holding a belt?”

Source: eWn

Impact Wrestling Preview 6/1/2023

Tonight’s episode of Impact Wrestling on AXS TV is all-new. Here are the matches that have been announced for the show:

  • Bully Ray To kick-off tonight’s Impact
  • Trinity vs. Savannah Evans.
  • Sami Callihan & Jake Crist vs. Decay.
  • Jody Threat vs. Dani Luna
  • Eddie Edwards vs. Yuya Uemura
  • BTI – Tyler Tirva vs. Brian Myers

ROH TV Preview 6/1/2023

ROH will air a new episode of its weekly television show tonight at 7 pm ET on HonorClub. 

You can sign up for the streaming service here. Below is the lineup for the show: 

  • NJPW World Television Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Rocky Romero
  • ROH Pure Championship: Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs. Alex Coughlin
  • ROH Women’s World Championship: Athena (c) vs. Kiera Hogan
  • Kip Sabian & The Butcher And The Blade (The Blade & The Butcher) (w/ Penelope Ford) vs. Bryce Saturn, Jakob Austin Young & Shogun Jones
  • The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) (w/ Maria Kanellis-Bennett) vs. The Infantry (Carlie Bravo & Shawn Dean)
  • Brian Cage vs. Willie Mack
  • Bandido, El Hijo del Vikingo & Komander vs. Spanish Announce Project (Angelico & Serpentico) & Jack Cartwheel (w /Luther)
  • Action Andretti & Darius Martin vs. The WorkHorsemen (Anthony Henry & JD Drake
  • Skye Blue vs. Trish Adora
  • Diamante vs. Promise Braxton
  • Stu Grayson & The Righteous (Dutch & Vincent) vs. The Dark Order (Alex Reynolds, Evil Uno & John Silver)

Fans Who Pre-Order AEW Fight Forever Will Be Able To Play More Than One Matt Hardy

“AEW Fight Forever” will be available to play on all major consoles come June 29, 2023. However, fans who pre-order the game will be able to play as Matt Hardy for free when it’s released later this month.

Furthermore, AEW Games has released a trailer for “Fight Forever” to promote Hardy’s inclusion. The teaser features the veteran wrestler as his “Broken” and Hardy Boyz personas, both of whom will be included as playable characters in the game. Both iterations of the wrestling veteran even sit down to play the game in the trailer.

https://twitter.com/AEWGames/status/1664255668025425928

It’s worth noting that the trailer states pre-ordering the game is the only way to get Hardy added for free. However, it remains unclear if he’ll be available as a downloadable character at a later date. Of course, it’s been speculated that some top AEW stars will be left out of the upcoming release. FTR was reportedly dropped from “Fight Forever” last year, but they’re expected to feature as DLCs down the line. Jake Hager, Isiah Kassidy, Jeff Hardy, and The Acclaimed may also have missed the first cut, but the full roster is expected to be confirmed very soon.

The good news, though, is that Eddie Kingston and the Young Bucks have been confirmed for “Fight Forever.” They join a list of names that includes Chris Jericho, Britt Baker, MJF, Kris Statlander, and many more. Interestingly, Cody Rhodes is also expected to be part of the game, despite leaving AEW to join WWE last year.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Ron Simmons To Receive Lou Thesz Lifetime Achievement Award

Ron Simmons was already a two-time All-American at Florida State University as well as a WWE Hall of Famer. Now the Cauliflower Alley Club has named him their 2023 Lou Thesz Award Honoree, celebrating his lifetime worth of achievements. The CAC was founded in 1965 and has been celebrating professional wrestlers, as well as professional boxers and actors who have crossed paths with pro wrestling, ever since. Thesz, widely regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, served as President of the CAC from 1992 until 2000.

While Simmons is typically associated with tag team success, winning tag team championships across multiple promotions such as Memphis Championship Wrestling, Ohio Valley Wrestling, WCW, and WWE, he also was a one-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion. And by beating Big Van Vader on August 2, 1992, he made history by becoming the promotion’s first ever Black World Champion. It’s a title he’d hold for nearly five months before losing it back to Big Van Vader at a house show as 1992 came to a close.

Upon returning to professional wrestling in 1996 following a brief break, Simmons debuted for WWE under the ring name Faarooq Asad. He’d drop the last name soon after and eventually form the Nation of Domination, but arguably found his greatest successes in WWE alongside fellow Hall of Famer John “Bradshaw” Layfield. Initially named The Acolytes before forming The Acolytes Protection Agency, He and Layfield went on to win the WWE Tag Team Championships three times.

Simmons, who recently celebrated his 65th birthday last month, more or less retired from in-ring action in the mid-2000s before being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012. He has appeared on WWE programming sporadically for several years, however, and over time became known for his catchphrase — or rather, catch-word — “Damn!” during many cameo appearances along the way. 

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Tony Khan Confirms CM Punk Return For AEW Collision Debut

Tony Khan took to the TBS airwaves during Wednesday night’s “Dynamite” to announce that former AEW World Champion CM Punk will indeed be featured on the “Collision” debut on June 17 at the United Center in Punk’s hometown of Chicago, Illinois. The announcement was met with a mix of cheers and boos from the live crowd in San Diego, California.

Tony Khan Confirms CM Punk Return For AEW Collision Debut
Vivien Killilea/Getty Images
BY ROSS W BERMAN IV/UPDATED: MAY 31, 2023 9:19 PM EST
With “AEW Collision” on the horizon, one question has lingered in the minds of AEW fans, when will CM Punk return to the company?

Tony Khan took to the TBS airwaves during Wednesday night’s “Dynamite” to announce that the former AEW World Champion will be featured on the “Collision” debut on June 17 at the United Center in Punk’s hometown of Chicago, Illinois. The announcement was met with a mix of cheers and boos from the live crowd in San Diego, California.

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Wrestling’s Secret Signals Explained (And Why This One’s Alarming)
Punk had long been rumored as returning to the company, with his difficulties with some members of the locker room creating the necessity for “Collision” and what is rumored to be a roster split for AEW. Khan had been tight-lipped about Punk’s possible return, even as he continued to tout the “Collision” premiere. The announcement that the show would take place in Chicago’s United Center, the location of Punk’s AEW debut, further fed the speculation that Punk would be returning to action.

“AEW Collision” will air on Saturday nights at 8 PM ET on TNT and run two hours, making it the second major show for AEW behind its flagship program “Dynamite.”

Punk has not been on AEW programming since his infamous tirade after AEW All Out in September of last year that led to a backstage brawl between Punk, Kenny Omega, Matt and Nick Jackson, Punk’s friend and trainer Ace Steel, members of the AEW talent relations staff, and Punk’s dog Larry. Omega recently downplayed rumors of animosity, seemingly making light of the situation during his feud with the Blackpool Combat Club. 

Source: Wrestling Inc.