Author: John Bass

WWE NXT 2.0 Preview 8/30/2022

WWE NXT 2.0 airing tonight on USA Network at 8/7C.

Worlds will collide this Sunday at 4 p.m. ET, when “NXT 2.0” and “NXT UK” do battle. The “Worlds Collide” event will be a highly charged occasion for the UK-based brand, who will officially close their doors following this weekend’s tussle, with an expansion and relaunch set to occur next year as “NXT Europe.” However, before the two brands mix it up in five days’ time, a huge “NXT 2.0” vs. “NXT UK” encounter will go down on tonight’s episode at the WWE Performance Center. 

DDP Confirms Former NWO Member Buff Bagwell Has Entered Rehab

It’s been nearly six months since longtime wrestling veteran Buff Bagwell announced he was moving in with Diamond Dallas Page to live in the “accountability crib” and be part of his “Change or Die” docu-series. Unfortunately, DDP took to his YouTube channel earlier today to reveal that Bagwell has suffered a significant setback on his journey to a drug-free life.

“For the most part, [Bagwell] was doing really well, but a lot of times with addiction, it has everything to do with the people you hang out most with. And when he’s with us, our whole force is about positive reinforcement, a place you can be safe. When he goes outside of that, well, those people, they don’t really care about that, or they think they do, but they really don’t … Now, because of some of the negative influences in Mark’s life, and I’m talking about people who love him and enable him, he’s had a relapse, so we had a meeting with all of my people and Marcus, and we all agreed that it was time for him to go to a rehab facility.”

DDP added that they are uncertain how long Bagwell will be at the rehab facility, but he’s currently in a very positive and receptive mindset. According to DDP, the purpose of creating the video is to offer a reason for Bagwell’s upcoming appearances being canceled. Still, they plan to return to regular meet & greets once Bagwell feels confident enough to leave the facility and begin again on the road of recovery. “It’s a tough place, and I’m really hoping that you guys can help support him when he gets out,” DDP said.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Velveteen Dream Arrested Twice In The Space Of Six Days

The former WWE Superstar has been charged with trespassing, battery, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Patrick Clark, better known to wrestling fans as Velveteen Dream, has been out of the spotlight ever since he was released by WWE in May 2021. Well, actually, he’s been out of it for a little longer than as his last match in the company came five months prior. Dream is back in wrestling headlines this week, but for all the wrong reasons.

As reported by F4W Online, Dream has been arrested not once, but twice for two very different reasons this month. In fact, the two arrests were just six days apart. According to Orange County, Florida’s court records, Clark was arrested and charged with trespassing and battery on August 20. An arraignment for those charges was originally set to take place on September 28, but that has since been canceled.

Six days later on August 26, Clark was arrested again, this time for possession of drug paraphernalia. Clark’s photo showed up on a website called Orlando Mugshots, revealing the charges made against him. The former WWE Superstar has since paid bond for his release and has also pleaded not guilty to the battery and trespassing charges brought against him.

Clark showed a lot of promise as Velveteen Dream when performing under the NXT banner. His age combined with his talent made it seem likely he would be a huge star on the main roster for years to come. That trajectory was derailed when some serious allegations were made against Clark. The wrestler was alleged to have sent explicit photos to underage fans.

WWE claims to have conducted an investigation into the allegation, reporting back that it discovered no wrongdoing by Clark. His time with the company had already been irreparably damaged by that point, and Clark’s last outing as Dream was a losing effort against Adam Cole in December of 2020. News of the above arrests comes just days after Clark restarted his campaign to be rehired by WWE.

Source: TheSportster

WWE RAW Preview 8/29/2022

NWA 74 Night Two Results 8/28/2020

Pre-Show

  • Rhett Titus vs. Doug Williams in a submission match ended in a draw when the allocated time for the contest expired. 
  • Backstage, May Valentine interviewed Austin Idol. Idol hyped up Cyon. 
  • It is revealed that the OGK (Mike Bennett & Matt Taven) will be the 11th team in the tag team battle royal for the vacant NWA United States Tag Team Championship.
  • Angelina Love defeated Taryn Terrell using the Botox Injection finisher. Terrell initially rang the bell on her own accord and declared herself the winner. 
  • Mercurio was interviewed backstage by May Valentine. Bennett and Taven interrupted and took over the interview. 
  • Kerry Morton defeated Gustavo with a big knee to the face. 
  • May Valentine interviewed BLK Jeez backstage. 
  • It was revealed that Aron Stevens and Rodney Mack would team up to face JR Kratos and TBA on the main show in a Missouri tornado tag team match. 
  • Natalia Markova, Madi & Missa Kate defeated Jennacide, Taya Valkyrie & KiLynn King in a Queen Bee Match. The winning team went on to compete in an elimination triple threat match. 
  • Natalia Markova defeated Madi and Missa Kate in an elimination triple threat match to become Queen Bee. 

Main Show

* Colby Corino defeated Caprice Coleman in a 2/3 Falls Match.

* The Fixers won a battle royal to win NWA United States Tag Team Titles. There were 12 teams in the match.

Matt Cardona and The Cardona Family were interviewed. Matt claimed he was screwed in the match he lost to Rolando Freeman on Night 1 and claimed he wasn’t 100% after coming back so quickly after the biceps injury. Cardona apologized for what he was going to do to Rolando and said then he would get back the NWA Worlds Title.

* “Magic” Jake Dumas (w/Christi Jaynes) defeated Mercurio.

* Davey Richards defeated “Thrillbilly” Silas Mason (with Pollo Del Mar) by submission to retain the MLW National Openweight Championship.

The NWA’s lead play-by-play announcer Joe Galli proposed to his girlfriend in the ring and she said yes.

Wrestling legends Barry Windham and JJ Dillon were interviewed in the ring by Kyle Davis, the ring announcer. They talked about the history of the NWA for 74 years and thanked the fans supporting professional wrestling as well as the NWA.

* Cyon (w/Austin Idol) defeated Anthony Mayweather to retain the NWA National Championship.

* Pretty Empowered (Ella Envy & Kenzie Paige) defeated The Hex (Allysin Kay & Marti Belle) in a Kingshighway Street Fight for the NWA World Women’s Tag Team Championships. Envy & Paige pinned Belle at the same time after Kay was put through a table outside the ring.

* Homicide defeated Ricky Morton to retain the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. Homicide won with a punch to the back of the head. Morton is 65 years old.

* Nick Aldis defeated Flip Gordon. They shook hands. Odinson attacked Gordon after the match, Aldis got involved to save Gordon and then Odinson attacked Aldis as well.

* Pope & Kratos defeated Rodney Mack & Aron Stevens in a Missouri Tornado Tag Team Match.

* Thom Latimer defeated EC3 by disqualification when EC3’s buddies from Control Your Narrative attacked Latimer. EC3 teased a chairshot after the match, but instead he sat on the chair and said something to Latimer. EC3 left with his friends.

* Kamille defeated Max The Impaler (w/James Mitchell) to retain the NWA Women’s Championship.

The NWA President Billy Corgan did a promo in the ring. Billy said that they honor history and make history thanks to the fans. Corgan announced that they will back there next year in St. Louis for NWA 75. Corgan asked for a moment of silence for people in professional wrestling that passed away in the last year. They had a list of names on the screen along with a ten-bell salute. The fans applauded when it ended. It was a nice gesture.

* Trevor Murdoch defeated Tyrus to retain the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship. Murdoch did a low blow that the referee didn’t see followed by Murdoch hitting the top rope bulldog two times in a row for the pinfall win. They shook hands after the match.

Trevor Murdoch did a post-match promo where he seemed like he wanted to put over Tyrus by saying nice things, but Tyrus flipped a table and left to the back. Trevor was frustrated saying he wanted to give the guy a compliment, but he left. Trevor thanked the fans for showing up and left to the back. 

Sources: Wrestling Inc. and TJR Wrestling

Samoa Joe Could Be Returning To AEW Soon

Samoa Joe could be returning to the AEW ring sooner than later, according to PWInsider.

PWInsider reports that the Peacock series “Twisted Metal” has now wrapped shooting, which means Joe could be returning to the ring soon. Based on the PlayStation video games, the series will see Joe in a dual role with Will Arnett as the character Sweet Tooth. Arnett is the voice, while Joe will be the physical appearance of the clown. The series also stars Stephanie Beatriz, Neve Campbell, Thomas Haden Church, and Anthony Mackie.

Joe last wrestled at the ROH Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view, where he defeated Jay Lethal. Joe is the current ROH World Television Champion. He has held the title since defeating then-champion NJPW star Minoru Suzuki on the April 13 episode of “AEW Dynamite.”

After his WWE release on January 6, Joe signed with both AEW and ROH. He made his AEW in-ring debut on the April 7 episode of “Dynamite.” He won his debut match against The Acclaimed’s Max Caster and qualified for the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. Joe made it finals of the tournament but lost against Adam Cole at Double Or Nothing.

Before his AEW debut, he had made his return to ROH on April 1 at Supercard XV, where he saved Jonathan Gresham and Lee Moriarty from Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt. Supercard XV was ROH’s first event since being acquired by AEW CEO Tony Khan on March 2.

Along with his “Twisted Metal” role, Joe voiced King Shark for the upcoming DC video game, “Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Vince Russo says he secretly worked as a consultant for USA Network from 2020-2022

Vince Russo is claiming that he worked as a consultant for the USA Network for the past 2 years.

In a video posted on his YouTube account, Russo says the consulting job lasted from 2020 (just before WrestleMania) until 2022. Russo didn’t go into too much detail on his YouTube channel because he wants his followers to find out more by subscribing to his Patreon account.

Russo said the following on the free version posted on his YouTube account:

“I’ve been keeping a little secret for the last two plus years that I want to talk about on this show. I want to come clean. People tell me I don’t know what I’m talking about. When I start talking about the network, people actually think they know more about the network, and where the network stands pertaining to Raw and its audience and its numbers, than I do. Well, bro, I’m gonna break the news to you on this show. I’ve not said this publicly before from March, pre mania, bro. It was right before Mania in 2020 up until this past Mania in 2022. So basically, bro for two years, I was consulting for the USA Network, bro…”

“For two years, bro, the USA Network paid me very, very, very well. Now, if you want to know how this came about, let’s take a couple of steps back and I will explain this to you. I got in contact with the Vice President at the USA Network who was overseeing Raw, he knew who I was [and] called me back immediately. And we had a long, long, long discussion. And as the Vice President who oversaw Raw…so the first thing he did was he went directly to Vince McMahon….”

“So for two years, two years, I was consulting weekly with the USA Network. For two years, I heard the number and the rating and the viewership and the return on the investment…Don’t tell me I don’t know what the f**k I’m talking about. When it comes to numbers, when it comes to networks. I don’t care if it’s if it’s 1999 or 2020. I know where they stand. I know what they’re looking for. I know what’s acceptable and unacceptable because I had communication with them for two straight years. So don’t tell me I don’t know what the f**k I’m talking about bro when I am working directly with the network that WWE Raw is on.”

In 2021, Russo stated, “After knowing Vince McMahon for 30 years & having great success w/him during my time at WWE–yesterday he & I had our FINAL EXCHANGE. It’s an unfortunate story & sad in many ways, but, Closure is good.” Earlier this year, Russo claimed that Vince McMahon asked for his thoughts on the WWE product. Russo said he offered to work as a consultant for McMahon but he wasn’t going to do it for free. Russo said the following in May 2022: “But I certainly was not gonna do that for free because the product is horrible. I was just looking to help the guy because the product is horrible!”

Source: WrestlingNews.co with credit to Vince Russo

The latest on Sasha Banks and Naomi’s return to WWE

It looks like fans won’t be waiting much longer to see Sasha Banks and Naomi make a return to WWE.

Banks and Naomi reached an agreement to return, now with Triple H running creative. WWE has been waiting for the Women’s Tag Team Title Tournament to play out before bringing them back to television.

The finals of the tournament will take place on tonight’s episode of Raw when Dakota Kai & IYO SKY battle Raquel Rodriguez & Aliyah.

During today’s Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted that Banks and Naomi are expected back shortly, while Bryan Alvarez noted that both stars are back on the internal roster.

“Naomi and Sasha Banks should be back any week now,” Meltzer said.

Bryan Alvarez added, “they are back being listed on the roster, so they should be back at any time.”

Source: WrestlingNews.co

[Report] FTR removed from AEW video game

Fightful Select reported that FTR won’t be part of the first version of the AEW: Fight Forever video game.

The former AEW Tag Team Champions originally made it to the “model phase” of the game but were pulled this past Spring. FTR was told of the decision and wasn’t too happy about it because wrestlers being part of video games usually also comes with a significant bonus.

All Elite Wrestling and THQ Nordic announced the game earlier this month.

No official release date is still confirmed, but it is listed as December 31, 2022, on Amazon. The game is available for pre-order on Amazon for PC, Xbox, PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch with a price tag of $59.99.

FTR will team up with Wardlow vs. Jay Lethal & Motor City Machine Guns in a trios match at next Sunday’s AEW All Out.

Source: WrestlingNews.co

AEW Rampage Preview 8/26/2022

Tonight’s AEW Rampage episode on TNT was taped earlier this week from the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio.

AEW President, CEO, General Manager & Head of Creative Tony Khan took to Twitter last night and announced that exclusive backstage footage of CM Punk will air on tonight’s Rampage. The footage will show the aftermath of Punk’s loss to new Undisputed AEW World Champion Jon Moxley on Wednesday’s Dynamite.

https://twitter.com/TonyKhan/status/1562982229554315267

AEW has announced the following line-up for tonight’s Rampage:

* Exclusive backstage footage of CM Punk will air, showing aftermath of his loss to AEW World Champion Jon Moxley on Dynamite

* AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill will speak

* AEW TNT Champion Wardlow defends against Ryan Nemeth

* Sammy Guevara and Tay Melo vs. Ruby Soho and Ortiz

* House of Black vs. The Dark Order in a match for the tournament to crown the inaugural AEW World Trios Champions. The winners will face the Best Friends in the next round

* ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli defends against Dustin Rhodes