Author: John Bass

AEW Dynamite Road Rager Preview 7/7/21

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite: Road Rager episode airs on TNT at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida.

* QT Marshall vs. Cody Rhodes (South Beach Strap Match)

* MJF to announce stipulations for Chris Jericho to get through to have a match with MJF. If they have a match and Jericho loses — he has to leave MJF alone forever.

* Andrade El Idolo vs. Matt Sydal

* The Young Bucks (c) vs. Penta El Zero Miedo and Eddie Kingston (Street Fight for the AEW World Tag Team Championship)

* Jake Hager, Santana, and Ortiz with Konnan vs. Wardlow and FTR with Tully Blanchard

* Kris Statlander and Orange Cassidy vs. The Bunny and The Blade

* Ethan Page and Darby Allin have a sit-down interview with Jim Ross

WWE SmackDown (July 23) To Air As Split-Site Broadcast From Rolling Loud Miami Hip-Hop Festival

WWE is headed to the popular Rolling Loud hip-hop festival.

It was announced today that the July 23 edition of SmackDown on FOX will feature matches from the Rolling Loud Miami 2021 festival.

WWE previously announced that the July 23 SmackDown will air from the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, OH. Now that episode will feature a split-site broadcast with multiple matches at Rolling Loud from Hard Rock Stadium, and the remainder of the show held in Cleveland.

WWE touted how this marks the first-ever collaboration between the company and a major music festival, but WWE NXT has held matches at the UK’s Download Festival for a few years until the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Rolling Loud will be headlined by Travis Scott, Post Malone and A$AP Rocky. WWE Superstars will share the same stage with those rappers.

“What Matt Zingler, Tariq Cherif and the entire Rolling Loud team have built is spectacular,” said Scott Zanghellini, WWE Senior Vice President, Revenue Strategy & Development in a press release. “We couldn’t think of a better partner to deliver such a unique WWE experience to fans during the July 23 edition of Friday Night SmackDown on FOX.”

“I grew up on Sweet Chin Music, mesmerized by the spectacle that Vince McMahon and co have built at WWE,” said Tariq Cherif, Co-Founder/Co-CEO of Rolling Loud. “The idea of weaving our two storylines into one world, one must see event, is electrifying.”

“And I quote! If ya smell…what the WWE and Rolling Loud…is…cookin’! Give me a hell yeah!,” said Rolling Loud Co-Founder/Co-CEO, Matt Zingler.

Stay tuned for more on WWE and Rolling Loud. Below is the full announcement issued to us today:

WWE® FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN® HEADS TO ROLLING LOUD MIAMI 2021

STAMFORD, Conn., July 7, 2021 – WWE® (NYSE: WWE) and Rolling Loud, the world’s premier rap festival, today announced a new partnership that brings Friday Night SmackDown to Rolling Loud Miami 2021 on July 23. The occasion marks the first ever collaboration between WWE and a major music festival.

Gracing the same stage as festival headliners Travis Scott, Post Malone and A$AP Rocky, WWE Superstars will compete in matches live from Rolling Loud Miami. The July 23 edition of Friday Night SmackDown on FOX will feature a split-site broadcast with multiple matches at Rolling Loud Miami, and the remainder of the evening held at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland.

“What Matt Zingler, Tariq Cherif and the entire Rolling Loud team have built is spectacular,” said Scott Zanghellini, WWE Senior Vice President, Revenue Strategy & Development. “We couldn’t think of a better partner to deliver such a unique WWE experience to fans during the July 23 edition of Friday Night SmackDown on FOX.”

“I grew up on Sweet Chin Music, mesmerized by the spectacle that Vince McMahon and co have built at WWE,” said Tariq Cherif, Co-Founder/Co-CEO of Rolling Loud. “The idea of weaving our two storylines into one world, one must see event, is electrifying.”

“And I quote! If ya smell…what the WWE and Rolling Loud…is…cookin’! Give me a hell yeah!,” said Rolling Loud Co-Founder/Co-CEO, Matt Zingler.

WWE has a rich history of integrating music into all aspects of its brand and collaborating with some of the most celebrated artists in the world. Over the years, world-renowned hip-hop artists including Snoop Dogg, Diddy, Three 6 Mafia, MGK, Wale and many others have performed at WWE’s biggest events.

Bringing 130 of the hottest acts in hip-hop to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., the sold out Rolling Loud Miami 2021 is a triumphant return for live rap music, and a coming out party for risers and new superstars eager to play in front of a festival crowd. The sixth Rolling Loud festival in Miami, where it started as a humble one-day event in Bayfront Park, Rolling Loud Miami 2021 will occur from July 23-25.

Friday Night SmackDown airs live on FOX at 8/7c and features Universal Champion Roman Reigns, SmackDown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair, SmackDown Tag Team Champions Rey and Dominik Mysterio, WWE Intercontinental Champion Apollo Crews, Bayley, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens and more.

Rolling Loud Miami is the first of three Rolling Loud festivals happening this year. On October 28-30, Rolling Loud returns to the birthplace of Hip Hop with Rolling Loud New York 2021, headlined by Travis Scott, J. Cole, and 50 Cent, taking place at Citi Field in Queens. The festival heads to the West Coast on December 10-12 for Rolling Loud California, headlined by J. Cole, Kid Cudi, and Future, from NEO Events Center in San Bernardino, Calif.

Stay tuned for more announcements about the Rolling Loud and WWE/Friday Night SmackDown partnership in the weeks leading up to the festival.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Tegan Nox Returns To NXT As Battery Charges Up, New NXT Women’s Tag Champions Crowned

Io Shirai and Zoey Stark are your new WWE NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions, and Tegan Nox has made her return to NXT.

Las night’s NXT Great American Bash special saw Shirai and Stark defeat Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell to win the straps, after Nox returned and caused a distraction.

Nox was revealed to be the Superstar behind the recent battery charger teasers. As The Way looked to end the match, the lights inside the Capitol Wrestling Center went out, and the battery charger hit 100% on the big screen. Nox then appeared on the stage, shocking LeRae. This led to Shirai taking out the champs one more time, and Stark getting the pin to win on Hartwell. Nox attacked LeRae after the match and chased her to the back, allowing Shirai and Stark time for their post-match celebration.

This is the first reign for Shirai and Stark. The Way held the titles for 59 days, winning them back on May 4 after defeating Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart in a Street Fight.

As noted before, Nox returned to in-ring action in a pre-RAW dark match on Monday night, against Toni Storm. She has been out of action since September 2020 after suffering a torn ACL, her third since 2017. She was feuding with LeRae at the time of the injury, and LeRae was blamed for the injury in the storylines. It was reported that Nox actually suffered the injury while doing rehab.

AJ Styles Says He Was “Dead Wrong” About His Original WWE Retirement Plans

AJ Styles spoke with Ryan Satin about a variety of topics, among them how he figured he’d have retired already. Why didn’t he and what’s next?

AJ Styles recently sat down with Ryan Satin of Fox Sports and during the Out of Character podcast, talked about still wresting at the age of 44. Admitting that he didn’t at all expect to still be going at this age, he talked about how we outlasted his retirement plans.

Styles acknowledged that he figured he’d be done as an active competitor a few years ago. He said, “I remember thinking, ‘I’ll be 40 years old when I retire. That’s when I’m gonna retire.’So I was dead wrong, by the way.” Whether it was the right opportunity or feeling better physically than he figured he would, he felt good enough to sign another contract with the WWE in 2019.

Styles said he’s publicly called this current contract his final contract and he didn’t say how long it was for, but mentioned WWE is the “perfect place for me to be.” While he didn’t come right out and say it, had it not been WWE and had he gone a different path than finally coming over, it sounds like Styles would have packed it in.

Styles also admitted that it’s hard to leave. As he gets closer to the end and knowing that his career is probably winding down, he’s started realizing that it will be hard to give it all up and walk away. He does know that there will come a time when he can’t do the things physically he wants to and that may be the final sign. “It’s a struggle some times,” Styles said.

He said he got a taste of how things have changed with COVID, but he didn’t like the feeling of not being part of the business with fans and the regular experience he’s come to know and love. That said, he’s not done yet and noted we’ll see where everything ends up after this current contract comes to an end.

Source: The Sportster

WWE NXT Great American Bash Preview 7/6/21

Tonight’s WWE NXT episode will be the special Great American Bash episode, live from the Capitol Wrestling Center at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando.

Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly

NXT Tag Team Titles Match
Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher vs. MSK (c)

NXT Women’s Tag Team Titles Match
Io Shirai and Zoey Stark vs. Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae (c)

Million Dollar Title Match
Cameron Grimes vs. LA Knight (c)
If Knight wins, Grimes must become his butler.

NXT Champion Karrion Kross comes face-to-face with Johnny Gargano

Hit Row hosts a Championship Cypher

The person behind the battery charger teasers is expected to be revealed (possibly Tegan Nox, who returned last night in a dark match at RAW)

Terry Funk Reportedly Suffering From Dementia

WWE Hall of Famer Terry Funk is reportedly suffering from dementia.

It was noted on the latest edition of WWE Hall of Famer Don Muraco’s “Magnificent” podcast that Funk is in an assisted living home and is dealing with dementia. Muraco said Funk is still living in Amarillo, Texas, but is in an assisted living facility.

The health update on Funk was confirmed by PWInsider. Funk has been dealing with health issues for some time, which have gotten progressively worse over the last year following the passing of his wife Vickie in 2019.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Jimmy Uso Has Been Arrested For A DUI For The Second Time

Jimmy Uso has been arrested and charged with a DUI. This is the second time he has been arrested under similar circumstances.

Jimmy Uso has been arrested for a DUI for the second time in two years. The SmackDown Superstar’s BAC was more than twice the legal limit.

A report courtesy of TMZ has revealed Jimmy Uso was arrested for a DUI late on Monday night. The WWE Superstar was stopped by police in Florida when he ran a red light while also breaking the speed limit. According to the officers who arrested Uso, he smelled of alcohol and admitted to having drunk multiple beers before getting behind the wheel of his car.

Police tested Uso’s blood alcohol level twice, returning results of .202 and .205. That’s more than double the legal limit of .08 in the state of Florida. After failing a number of sobriety tests Uso was arrested and at the time of TMZ’s report, he remained in jail. As well as a DUI, Uso has also been charged with speeding and running a red light.

This isn’t the first time Uso has been pulled over and charged with a DUI. In 2019, the former Tag Team Champion was arrested under very similar circumstances. However, after standing trial for the misdemeanor, Uso was found not guilty by a jury. Earlier that same year, Uso was arrested for allegedly getting into a drunken dispute with police officers.

Source: The Sportster

NXT Superstar Tegan Nox Returns To Action In Raw Dark Match

In a pre-Raw dark match with Toni Storm, NXT Superstar Tegan Nox returned to the ring for the first time since suffering a torn ACL last August.

After a lengthy injury-induced absence, NXT Superstar Tegan Nox returned to the ring in a dark match prior to the most recent edition of Raw.

According to PWInsider’s Mike Johnson, Tegan Nox worked a match inside the WWE ThunderDome with fellow NXT Superstar Toni Storm prior to Raw going on the air.

If the report is accurate, the match would be Nox’s first in almost a year. Her last match was a Tri-Brand Battle Royal to determine the number-one contender to the SmackDown Women’s title. The match went down on the August 13 edition of SmackDown which aired live from WWE Performance Center just a few days before WWE moved its on-screen business to the WWE ThunderDome.

Tegan Nox’s WWE tenure has been plagued by injury woes. She signed with the company in 2017 and was scheduled to compete in the inaugural Mae Young Classic, but was forced to withdraw after tearing her ACL before the tournament began.

The Welsh wrestler competed in the second Mae Young Classic in 2018 but was suffered numerous injuries in her quarter-final match with Rhea Ripley. As well as tearing her ACL again, Nox suffered a torn lateral collateral ligament and a patellar dislocation. She eventually recovered and went on to feature in some high-profile NXT bouts. Nox teamed with Shotzi Blackheart in a WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship match against Sasha Banks and Bayley in June of 2020 before tragically tearing her ACL yet again that August.

Recently, several developmental talents have been featured in main-roster dark matches, as well as appearing on Main Event. Both Karrion Kross and Bronson Reed were backstage on SmackDown a few weeks ago and performed in dark matches. The pair returned for Raw the following week to perform in taped matches on Main Event. Toni Strom, Shotzi Blackheart, and Odyssey Jones have also been participating in main roster activities lately.

Source: The Sportster

Update On Kenny Omega’s Injuries

Last month a report came out about AEW World Champion, Impact World Champion, and AAA Mega Champion Kenny Omega “hurting pretty badly” from a couple different injuries.

Omega was said to be dealing with an athletic hernia, a deep bone bruise near his tailbone, and general wear/tear on his knees. He was also coming off a stomach virus, and a sliced hand that required seven stitches. Omega himself said at the AEW Double or Nothing Fan Fest that there were days he considered retiring from wrestling, but the crowd always made him feel better while performing.

In the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it was reported the champion has been doing better — as seen in his title match victory against Jungle Boy on last Saturday’s Dynamite.

The biggest issue had been his athletic hernia, but stem cell treatment and PRP (Platelet-rich plasma) therapy have helped make “a world of difference.”

Omega has some big defenses lined up, beginning on July 17 at Impact Slammiversary against Sami Callihan. He’ll also be heading to Mexico City, Mexico on August 14 at AAA TripleMania XXIV to defend the AAA Mega Championship against Andrade.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Zelina Vega Returns To WWE on SmackDown, Enters Money In The Bank Match

Seven months after being released, Zelina Vega returned to WWE television on the latest edition of SmackDown.

Zelina Vega is back on the WWE payroll seven months after she parted ways with the company.

Vega made her surprise return on the most edition of SmackDown after Sonya Deville revealed that Vega would be entering the upcoming Women’s Money In The Bank ladder match.

As you might recall, Zelina Vega was released by WWE in November of 2020 following a dispute regarding her personal Twitch channel which occurred soon after the company introduced new policies regarding employees’ use of third-party sites.

“I’m sad and I’m completely heartbroken,” Zelina said of her release shortly after it was made official. “Obviously, this isn’t the last that you are gonna see of me…I love you all though and I’m really really thankful to every single one of you. If I go down as someone who stood up for themselves, so be it. I’m still thankful, I’m not angry. I’m just heartbroken because doing this, being a wrestler is all I ever wanted to do. I don’t really know what to say, there’s so many things I want to say but I don’t know how.”

Following her release, there were rumors that Vega could be heading to AEW, which heated up after AEW’s president Tony Khan confirmed that he had been waiting for her 90-day non-compete clause to lapse before reaching out to her.

Vega’s real-life husband Tommy End (aka Aleister Black) was released by WWE last month as a result of budget cuts necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Vega, real name Thea Trinidad Büdgen, started out on the independent and had a stint with Impact between 2011-2013. She made sporadic appearances for WWE before signing a contract in 2017. She performed on the NXT brand as an in-ring performer as Andrade’s manager. Andrade captured the NXT Championship under Vega’s guidance.

Vega has signed a long-term deal with WWE.

PWInsider has since revealed more details regarding Vega’s deal and how it came about. Apparently, the returning star has penned a long-term deal and won’t just be sticking around for a little while providing all goes to plan. She was also backstage on SmackDown last week but not used. Kudos to WWE for managing to keep Vega’s imminent return under wraps.

Vega has since tweeted a reaction to her own return. “I’m back. I’m going to be in the MITB ladder match. ..and I will win. Period. Everything else is irrelevant,” Vega tweeted. Presumably a message to anyone who might want to know the finer details of how her return came about and how long it has been in the works that she isn’t going to be talking about it publicly.

Vega was spotted at the WWE Performance Center two months ago, fueling rumors that she might have struck up a new deal with the company. However, her husband Aleister Black has been released since then and there has been no mention of a Vega return since, official or otherwise. Clearly, Black’s release didn’t sour the repaired relationship between WWE and Vega.

While it was never confirmed that a disagreement over the new regulations was why Vega left, that’s assumed to be the case as Vega tweeted that she supported unionization as news of her release made headlines. That is now all water under the bridge and it will be interesting to see if Vega’s work on Twitch continues now that she is once again under a WWE contract.

Source: The Sportster