KUSHIDA is set to make his Impact Wrestling in-ring debut on tonight’s episode of “Impact on AXS TV”.
The following line-up is announced for tonight’s episode:
Big E has addressed his future in the square circle after breaking his neck earlier this year during the March 11 edition of “SmackDown.”
In an interview with “The MMA Hour,” Big E stated that he is currently unsure if he will ever be able to wrestle again, with doctors telling him that if he breaks his neck again it could be “even worse and more catastrophic.”
He provided an update on his injury, saying that when he initially sustained the injury back in March, he was told that he would be able to return in three months. When doctors did another scan at the 8-week mark, his neck looked worse than it previously had. After the 12-week mark, his C-1 had been healed fibrously but had not yet ossified, meaning that if someone bumped him, it would not break his neck again. However, he is not yet ready to make his in-ring return. He also mentioned that the current plan is to look at his neck again in March next year and get a prognosis from there.
Big E continued to say that he has put his body through a lot after the various injuries he picked up in his sports career over the years. He said that his perspective has shifted over the years and has thoroughly enjoyed his time working for WWE.
“When I got hired, I was 23 … I think it was a time in my life where if I had died in the ring, cool. I got to do what I love, and I went out there in the ring. Now at 36, having worked through a lot of those things and being mentally healthier, this job has allowed me to meet so many different people from so many different walks of life and have so many different experiences.”
Big E went on to say that he thinks about what his life will be like after 36. He says that while he still feels great, he must think about the miles he is putting on his body and the damage he is doing to it. He stated that there are various other things that he would like to do with his life, but he is not making any decisions anytime soon.
Source: Wrestling Inc. with credit to The MMA Hour
The biggest party of the summer will have to party on without one of the marque matches.
During today’s episode of “WWE’s The Bump,” Kayla Braxton broke the news that Riddle is currently dealing with a brachial plexus injury. The injury occurred when Seth Rollins brutally attacked him on Monday Night Raw, leading to their WWE SummerSlam match having to be postponed. The injury was described by Braxton as “a really bad stinger that’s resulted in some weakness,” and Riddle is “medically disqualified” until he’s strong enough to return.
The brutal attack by Rollins sent “WWE Raw” off the air Monday night, as Rollins hit Riddle with his patented Stomp on the arena floor and the ring steps. The show closed with Rollins laughing at an injured Riddle, with commentary stating “How will Riddle be ready for Saturday?”
The feud between Rollins and Riddle took place both on television and, supposedly, in real life, dating back to 2019 when Riddle’s former wife body shammed several female WWE superstars on social media, including Rollins’ wife, Becky Lynch. Riddle confirmed the disdain between the two in 2021, stating that he doesn’t think they like each other and that they’re just “two different people.”
It’s unclear at this time whether or not the Riddle injury is legitimate or part of a storyline, but it’s hard to imagine a star as big as Rollins not having any involvement in SummerSlam this Saturday. This weekend’s event is still set to feature eight matches, headlined by Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar in a Last Man Standing Match for both the WWE and Universal Championships, which Reigns unified by defeating Lesnar at WrestleMania 38. The card will also see both “Raw” and “SmackDown” Women’s Champions defend their belts, and will include Logan Paul’s first match since signing his WWE contract.
UPDATE
New information has started to trickle out regarding the postponement of the match, not all is as it seems.
According to Fightful Select, Riddle’s injury is in fact not a real injury, but a kayfabe one, written to explain why the match will not be taking place this weekend. Sources told Fightful that there are still plans to do the match down the line, and that the change was made due to “creative adjustments.”
Fightful would go on to reveal that Rollins and Riddle were informed of the change Monday before “Raw,”which saw Rollins attack Riddle at the close of the show. As of now, the tentative plan is for the two to wrestle at WWE’s next Premium Live Event, Clash At The Castle, in September, but those plans aren’t final due to the changes that have occurred in WWE over the past week, with Paul Levesque, fka, Triple H, taking over as new head of creative and EVP of Talent Relations.
Despite this, fans can still expect to see Rollins this weekend, as Fightful noted the former WWE Champion is expected to travel to Nashville for SummerSlam weekend and is still booked for certain media obligations before the event. Fightful had no information regarding whether Riddle would also be traveling to Nashville or would remain home to sell the injury.
Even with Rollins vs. Riddle now off the card, SummerSlam will still feature eight matches, headlined by Roman Reigns defending the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Brock Lesnar in a Last Man Standing match. As always, the Premium Live Event will air on the Peacock streaming service.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
AEW will hold a tournament to crown its first-ever Trios Champions at All Out 2022.
AEW has announced that it will crown the first-ever All Elite Wrestling Trios Champions. The inaugural championship team will be decided via a tournament that will culminate at All Out, which goes down on September 4 at the Now Arena in the Chicago suburb of Hoffman Estates.
The announcement was made by the AEW Dynamite announce team of Jim Ross, Excalibur, and Taz on last nights edition of AEW Dynamite on TBS, during which the three championship belts were also unveiled.
Three title matches and some major returns are set for tonight’s special Fight For The Fallen episode of “AEW Dynamite”.
Bryan Danielson will return to in-ring action for the first time since AEW’s Double Or Nothing pay-per-view last May. An undisclosed injury has kept Danielson sidelined and forced him to bow out of a match against Zack Sabre Jr. at the Forbidden Door pay-per-view. Danielson is set to face Daniel Garcia tonight in the latest clash between the Blackpool Combat Club and the Jericho Appreciation Society.
The following line-up is announced for tonight:
Nick Wayne provided an update this evening via Twitter after news of he and his mother were detained due to a potential bomb threat.
Wayne tweeted, “Made it back to Seattle I appreciate all of you for everything.”
As reported, the flight traveling from Frankfurt, Germany, to Seattle, Washington, was diverted when a bomb threat was written on a bathroom mirror. A decision was made for the plane to be diverted to Keflavik, Iceland, where the entire passenger manifest were detained.
It was reported that Wayne’s mother was interrogated for “quite some time” due to the fact that she had an item of make-up that could have been used to write the bomb threat in the bathroom.
The 17-year-old was in London, England for Progress Chapter 136: 24/7, where he defeated Robbie X in his debut match.
This weekend for Starrcast V in Nashville, TN, Wayne will be facing Alex Zayne at GCW: The People Vs. GCW and on the card for Ric Flair’s Last Match event, Wayne is set to face Jonathan Gresham, Konosuke Takeshita, and Alan Angels in a fatal four-way match.
AEW had signed Wayne back in February 2022 and is set to make his debut when he turns 18.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
WrestleMania 39 is now less than a year away, with both nights scheduled to take place in SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on April 1 and April 2. But that doesn’t mean WWE can’t start getting ready for the 40th iteration of WrestleMania in 2024, which they are doing by announcing the location, and dates, for the historic event.
“BREAKING NEWS,” WWE tweeted. “Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia will host WrestleMania 40, on Saturday, April 6 and Sunday, April 7, 2024, as first reported by Philadelphia Inquirer and Sports Business Journal.”
Shortly after the announcement, WWE also issued a press release regarding the blockbuster news.
“Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, the Philadelphia Eagles, the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, PHL Sports, and WWE are proud to announce that Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia will host WWE’s pop-culture extravaganza, WrestleMania 40, on Saturday, April 6 and Sunday, April 7, 2024,” the statement read. “WrestleMania is more than a two-day event; it’s a week-long celebration.
“In addition to WrestleMania, other events will include ‘Friday Night SmackDown’, the 2024 WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony, and ‘Monday Night Raw’ at Wells Fargo Center as well as other fan events at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. In addition, WWE will also host multiple community outreach events, including hospital visits and Be a STAR bullying prevention rallies, designed to give back to the local region.”
This will be the first WrestleMania to take place in the Northeast since WrestleMania 35 in 2019, which emanated out of MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It’s been an even longer wait for Philadelphia wrestling fans, who last experienced a WrestleMania in their city back in 1999 with WrestleMania 15. The event, which took place at the height of the Attitude Era, saw Steve Austin defeat The Rock for the WWE Championship in the first of three major WrestleMania events the two stars would have over the next four years.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Tonight on WWE NXT 2.0 at 8 pm ET on USA Network:
Cody Rhodes has previously indicated that one of the traits of his American Nightmare character is to go against the grain and challenge WWE’s time-honored verbiage.
On the April 11 “WWE Raw” episode, for example, Rhodes would refer to “Superstars” as “Wrestlers” and “Titles” as “Championship Belts” during a Miz TV segment, for which he was corrected on live television by The Miz.
Turns out, Rhodes is fine being charged a $1,000 fine every time he uses a banned word on WWE TV.
Rhodes made his intentions known during Mattel’s recent WWE San Diego Comic-Con 2022, where panelist Steve Ozer pointed out how “title belts” were being added to the 2-pack WWE figures before he quickly corrected himself to say “championship titles.”
This promoted Rhodes to ask the Mattel employee to continue saying whatever he wishes.
“Buddy, you can say belts,” Rhodes said. “If they fine me $1000 every time I say belts, I’m fine with it. Belts. It can be a title belt, sure, it’s a championship. But it also physically goes around your waist. It’s a belt. So, those are great belts [in the new Mattel figures].”
Earlier this year, Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer released WWE’s updated internal list of over 30 banned terms.
Wrestling
Wrestlers
Belt
Blood
Choke
Diva
Strap
Kayfabe
Mofos
Head Shot
Trauma
DQ
The Anti-Diva
Spinal Injuries
Victim
Violence/Violent
WWF
Wifebeater
Curb Stomp
Strangle
Kill
Murder
Kayfabe
House Show
Push
Being Over
Babyface
Heel
Job/Jobber
Card
Non-Title
There is also speculation that the word “attacked” was added to the list following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year. This is supposedly why announcer Jimmy Smith corrected himself to say “assaulted” after using the term “attacked” while describing Seth Rollins’ backstage fight with Cody Rhodes following their match at WrestleMania Backlash in May.
Rhodes, currently sidelined with an injury, is the early odds-on favorite to make a triumphant return at next year’s Royal Rumble. During the same Comic-Con panel, Rhodes discussed the possibility of his comeback at January’s annual battle royal.
“[My doctor] told me flat out that he’s not going to give me a timeline because he’s afraid I’m going to try and jump it,” Rhodes said. “So I’m still going to try and jump it.”
Rhodes added that his recovery is “ahead of schedule” but also noted that he “couldn’t win an arm wrestling contest” right now.
“My Royal Rumble stats are top 10, they’re phenomenal,” Rhodes added. “So if I was to come back at that event, there is a chance I could actually get up in the top five and I’m all about that …. You never know! We’ll see.”
Source: Wrestling Inc.
In the aftermath of two explosive stories from the Wall Street Journal, other mainstream outlets have reportedly begun fishing into Vince McMahon’s past transgressions. In the coming week, HBO Real Sports is set to drop a story on McMahon that is said to contain “damning” details.
On Monday’s Wrestling Observer Live, Bryan Alvarez noted that McMahon’s retirement was likely a preemptive move as WWE was aware of the details in the upcoming stories.
“I will say that there are rumors that the HBO Real Sports story on Vince is – one person used the term ‘damning’ and that there might be another Wall Street Journal article coming out this week,” Alvarez said [H/T WrestlingNews]. “They may have gotten ahead of things with this resignation on Friday.”
McMahon is currently under investigation by not just WWE’s Board of Directors, but also federal prosecutors and the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) for a series of payments he made between 2006 to 2022.
In their 8-K filing with the SEC, WWE stated that they had received “regulatory, investigative and enforcement inquiries, subpoenas or demands” in connection with “Unrecorded Expenses” made by McMahon between 2006 and 2022. WWE announced they are currently revising previous financial statements to record these expenses for the end of 2019, 2020, 2021 and Q1 of 2022, with the goal of issuing new statements by August 9. The “Unrecorded Expenses” were disclosed to be a sum of $14.6 million, which WWE mentioned have either been paid or will be paid personally by McMahon.
According to a WSJ report published Monday, the ongoing federal investigation essentially hastened McMahon’s decision to retire from all duties, corporate and creative. McMahon initially stepped down as CEO & Chairman last month but continued to overlook the creative end of WWE. All that changed last Friday when McMahon announced his retirement from the company.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
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