Author: John Bass

Kenny Omega Pulled From AAA TripleMania Over AEW Suspension

AEW EVP Kenny Omega won’t be appearing at next month’s AAA TripleMania event due to his ongoing suspension from AEW.

Omega, along with The Young Bucks, CM Punk, and Ace Steel, have all been suspended from AEW following a confrontation backstage at AEW All Out 2022.

During his Keepin’ It 100 podcast, Konnan confirmed that Omega was meant to be part of the event, but is off the card. He said,

“Omega was gonna headline Triplemania and [AEW] won’t let him go.”

Konnan added that Omega and AEW’s Head of Talent Relations Christopher Daniels have both said he will be unable to make the show.

Matches announced for the October 15 show in Mexico City include Pentagon Jr. vs. Villano IV in a mask vs. mask match.

AAA Reina de Reinas Champion Taya Valkyrie will defend against Kamille, who is replacing the injured Thunder Rosa.

Source: EWrestlingNews

Trish Stratus Had Emergency Appendix Surgery

WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus is recovering after undergoing emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix.

Stratus recently took to Instagram to share the news, saying that she drove herself to the emergency room after dealing with pains in her abdomen during a ten-hour travel day. She wrote,

“A reminder that if you ever have a nagging pain in your lower right quadrant – do go to emergency…

After a crampy 10 hour travel day on Monday I was working through the pain on Tuesday prepping for an announcement (which I will post tomorrow). I have a pretty high pain tolerance so when what I thought was 💩 cramps but ended up getting pretty intense I drove myself to emergency and turns out my appendix was getting ready to burst – which can be really bad if it happens and like cause death and stuff so I’m really glad I went to check it out, you know to avoid the whole dying thing.

Some takeaways – listen to your body. Dr. Google told me appendicitis was pain in the lower right abdomen, so that’s why it took me a while to think it was that because at first the pain was all across my belly. But after getting another Dr. Google’s opinion (reading another article) I found out it will start as pain across your stomach (also was tender to touch) but as the appendix gets more inflamed the pain will migrate to the right side and continue to to get worse. And boy did it. Turns out it’s an organ that serves no function so good riddance old pal.

Got 3 new scars to add to my body badges and one less organ … recovery hasn’t been too bad so far, definitely manageable. Just wanted to check in! xo

Big thanks to my OR team at @mackenziehealth!!”

Source: EWrestlingNews

Triple H Reveals Survivor Series Will Include Two WarGames Matches

WarGames is finally coming to the main roster.

Triple H has quickly made a number of changes to WWE’s on-air product since being appointed head of creative. From bringing in released stars to giving some who never lost their jobs their names back. Some fans would argue the overall quality of what we see each week on Raw and SmackDown has already been upped considerably too.

The Game is clearly keen to make his mark on what WWE is with him in charge of its creative instead of Vince McMahon as swiftly as possible, and the next way he plans on doing that is via Survivor Series. As first reported by The Ringer, Triple H has revealed there will be two WarGames matches at Survivor Series. One with male Superstars, and another for female Superstars.

https://twitter.com/ringer/status/1571866744599216128

“The tradition of the Survivor Series has ebbed and flowed and changed slightly over time, but this will be similar to that,” Triple H explained. “This will not be Raw versus SmackDown. It will be much more story-line driven. I still look at it as a traditional component to Survivor Series in there because it’s large teams of people competing .”

WarGames lends itself to the Raw vs. SmackDown format, so it’s somewhat surprising WWE won’t be keeping it as simple as a battle for brand supremacy when it brings the two-ring cage to the main roster for the first time. It could be a sign that the battle of the brands at Survivor Series is scrapped entirely despite previous rumors it would remain in place.

Getting rid of the concept altogether would certainly make a lot of sense. Not only does a battle of the brands feel a little redundant when Superstars appear to be able to show up wherever they like, but The Bloodline currently has a lot of the main roster titles. Roman Reigns doesn’t have a World Champion to face on an opposing brand, nor do The Usos have another set of Tag Champions to face. As for WarGames, it’s unclear whether the original format from WCW will return or if Triple H plans on using the tweaked cage without a roof that has been used in NXT.

Source: TheSportster

Backstage Update On Jeff Hardy’s AEW Status

Jeff Hardy has not been seen on AEW television since June following his DUI arrest, and since that time he has been in rehab to recover from his addiction. However, according to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the wrestling veteran is expected to be out of rehab soon, and back inside the ring. 

No time frame was given for exactly when he will be leaving rehab, or when fans can expect to see him wrestle again, but it is a major step towards the former WWE Champion making his return to action. His last match took place back at AEW’s Double Or Nothing earlier this year when he and Matt Hardy teamed up to defeat The Young Bucks.

Hardy was arrested for a third DUI on June 13th, and following that Tony Khan suspended him from the company without pay because of his actions. The AEW President also made it clear that he could “only return to AEW upon successfully completing treatment and maintaining his sobriety,” which is what he has been working on ever since.

Jeff was referenced on “AEW Dynamite” this week when his brother challenged Darby Allin to a match, as he spoke about the encounter Allin and Jeff had in the past. Matt also teased an upcoming return for his brother, saying, “we’re getting close to the point where we meet the new Jeff and we figure out his future and what he ends up doing.”

Jeff pleaded “not guilty” to the charge against him, and a pre-trial hearing will be taking place in October in regards to the incident.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage News On Triple H Planning More Surprises

Since Paul “Triple H” Levesque became WWE’s head of creative, he has wasted little time putting his imprint on the promotion’s main roster, including bringing back several former WWE Superstars. Dakota Kai, Johnny Gargano, Hit Row, Karrion Kross, and Scarlett Bordeaux have all made their returns to the company since Triple H took control following Vince McMahon’s retirement, but that might not be the end of the surprises. 

While fans have speculated about the likes of Bray Wyatt, Sasha Banks, and Naomi all coming back to WWE television, Levesque is reportedly working on other surprises. According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, he has more coming in the future, but they are not the people about whom people are speculating. 

No information was given about who Levesque could be working on bringing to the WWE roster, and whether or not they are former WWE Superstars or talent who have never appeared before, but he is clearly pushing to make big moves to keep the fans engaged.

Braun Strowman’s return to WWE is the latest comback, with the former Universal Champion making his way back on the 9/5 episode of “WWE Raw,” in which he ran through four of WWE’s tag teams. Since then he has appeared on “WWE SmackDown,” taking out both members of the Alpha Academy.

Triple H has also been keeping things fresh on the main roster by bringing talent from “WWE NXT” to the shows, with Dexter Lumis, IYO SKY, and Toxic Attraction getting opportunities to shine.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Bray Wyatt Has Talked With WWE About A Return

Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE and Bray Wyatt have had discussions regarding his potential return to the company. 

Meltzer wrote the following regarding the recent talks that have occurred between the two sides. 

“Regarding talk of Wyatt returning, there were definitely talks in that direction. At one point the talks stalled but it was said it was not a dead issue. Talks with him outside WWE had also stalled in the past, as his asking price was well above what other companies were willing to pay.”

While with WWE, the belief was that Wyatt was among the top earners in the company just behind Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar. 

Since Triple H took over as head of creative for WWE, he has brought back several stars including Johnny Gargano, Dakota Kai, Karrion Kross, and Braun Strowman

Source: EWrestlingNews

AEW Rampage Preview 9/16/2022

AEW has announced the lineup for tonight’s new Rampage episode.

  • ROH TV Champion Samoa Joe defends against Josh Woods
  • Danhausen vs. Ethan Page
  • Darby Allin vs. Matt Hardy
  • Penelope Ford vs. Willow Nightingale

WWE SmackDown Preview 9/16/2022

Tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

  • Fatal 4-Way #1 Contenders Match for the WWE Undisputed Tag Team Title: Street Profits vs. New Day vs. Alpha Academy vs. Los Lotharios
  • Logan Paul to appear

WWE Bringing Back The TakeOver Tag For NXT Events Starting At Halloween Havoc

NXT events will be Takeovers again starting in October.

WWE made a lot of changes to NXT almost exactly one year ago. Rebranding the developmental show NXT 2.0 its color scheme was changed, the arena from which it airs was given a makeover, and the majority of the faces appearing every week were new. Tuesday marked the first anniversary of all those changes, and the first indicator that now Triple H is in charge, NXT might return to the old way of doing things.

That indicator came after Solo Sikoa defeated Carmelo Hayes for the North American Title in the main event. Before NXT went off the air, Shawn Michaels’ voice could be heard as the colorful 2.0 logo transformed. Not exactly like the yellow and black of old, but far closer to it than NXT imagery has been for the past 12 months.

A logo change doesn’t appear to be the only way Triple H and HBK are shaking things back up in NXT. Wrestling Observer has also noted the Halloween Havoc event slated for next month now has TakeOver in its name. NXT events were traditionally known as TakeOvers prior to the rebrand, but that was another element that was left by the wayside when it became NXT 2.0.

Halloween Havoc is a WCW event that was revived for NXT in 2020. Even though its revival came before the 2.0 changes, it has never had the TakeOver tag attached since it was previously used as a themed episode in the middle of the week rather than a premium live event at the weekend. That will also change this year as apparently, Halloween Havoc will take place on Saturday, October 22.

The wholesale changes made to NXT last year were done, for the most part, while Triple H was away. The Game was recently asked if there was any truth to the talk that the brand he built from the ground up was altered drastically to punish him for the show losing to AEW in the Wednesday night war. While he rubbished that idea, the changes he and Michaels are making now are evidence The Game wasn’t the biggest fan of what happened to NXT while he was away.

Source: TheSportster

Update On The Status Of Several AEW Suspensions

Earlier this week it was reported that Pat Buck has had his suspension lifted by AEW, and according to Dave Meltzer on the latest “Wrestling Observer Radio,” Brandon Cutler, Christopher Daniels, and Michael Nakazawa are now all in the same position, and are able to return to work. 

The four men were all suspended alongside Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, Ace Steel, and CM Punk due to the backstage fight following the post-AEW All Out media scrum, with Tony Khan taking action on everyone that was in the room that night. However, it is believed that those who have had their suspensions lifted were just trying to break up the fight, rather than actually being involved themselves, which is likely why they are all now able to work again. 

AEW is holding a private third-party investigation into the incident to get to the bottom of it, and that is why they were all initially suspended so that could be carried out. But while these four men are now able to work again, the status of the other five is still very much up in the air. 

Buck was the only one out of the four that was backstage at “AEW Dynamite” this week, but both Daniels and Nakazawa are currently in Japan, where they are going to be involved in promoting AEW’s upcoming video game “Fight Forever,” at the Tokyo Game Show. Omega was also going to be involved in that, but while he is in Japan himself it is unknown if he will have anything to do with it. 

Source: Wrestling Inc.