WWE Raw will air live tonight on the USA Network from the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.
Nikkita Lyons has returned to in-ring action.
At Friday night’s WWE NXT live event in Davenport, Florida, Lyons was victorious in her in-ring return. This marked her first match since she suffered a knee injury on an episode of WWE NXT in January.
Source: eWn
The go-home episode of “WWE SmackDown” before Bad Blood is starting to resemble a can’t-miss event. In addition to a WWE Tag Team Championship match, a Dumpster Match, and other contests, fans can expect to see the return of AJ Styles on the upcoming October 4 installment of “SmackDown.” The announcement was made Friday night via a “SmackDown” video package that saw Styles, donned in his signature black attire and hood, walking through guerilla. The package then cut to various compilations of Styles’ best in-ring moments alongside Styles saying his signature catchphrase, “this is still the house that AJ Styles built.”
As of writing, there is currently no further information as to Styles’ post-return plans. Styles’ last televised WWE match saw him shout “I quit” to Cody Rhodes at Clash at the Castle 2024, losing his chance at the Undisputed WWE Championship in the process. Any potential Bad Blood plans for Styles, who hails from the state of Georgia, are also unknown, as the Atlanta-based event is slated for the night after his return to WWE programming.
Styles has been absent from the blue brand for more than three months since his loss in Scotland, though he did perform on WWE’s Japanese and German international house show tours. Styles has had a bit more luck outside of WWE as of late, as his last televised match, across any show, saw him pick up the win against Naomichi Marufuji at Pro Wrestling NOAH’s Destination 2024 PPV in July. Styles hasn’t wrestled at all since August 29.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
The Lucha Bros are expected to join WWE in the near future, but as of this moment, the former AEW World Tag Team Champions have not signed with the company.
Reports emerged this week that Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix had both agreed to multi-year deals with WWE, but Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select is reporting that is not the case.
Penta and Fenix are currently under contract with AEW.
Sources within the company tell Fightful that they believe Fenix still has time left on his contract with AEW, making it impossible for him to come to terms with WWE.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter is reporting that Penta is set to join WWE when his contract expires within the next two months.
The report states, “As far as Fenix goes, right now AEW is tacking on injury time which is nearly but not quite one year. Khan made both significant offers to stay but they wouldn’t sign a new deal.”
Sources: eWn and Sports Illustrated
Tonight’s WWE SmackDown live on the USA Network from the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
WWE’s partnership with Hulu for next-day VOD has come to an end.
The agreement between the two sides officially expired this week, and next-day replays of RAW, NXT and SmackDown are no longer on the platform unless you have a Hulu account with a live TV plan.
The company’s documentary content with A&E are still on the platform. This is due to A&E’s licensing agreement. The same goes for Love & WWE: Bianca and Montez, which is a Hulu original series.
It is said that the WWE NXT replays will be moving to The CW App on October 1st. The rest of the WWE NXT library will likely go with it.
WWE SmackDown and RAW are still on Peacock on a 30-day delay.
Source: eWn
Fightful Select has shared an update on WWE Superstar Shinsuke Nakamura.
According to the report, Nakamura is currently in a situation similar to AJ Styles’. The Japanese wrestler is reportedly in good health but is currently not showcased on WWE programming.
Nakamura recently participated in some of WWE’s international tour dates in Europe and Japan. He was involved in various matches, facing off against opponents such as Cody Rhodes, AJ Styles, LA Knight, Ludwig Kaiser, Sheamus, and Ilja Dragunov.
At one of the Japan shows, Nakamura joined forces with Kevin Owens to take on The Bloodline.
However, since Nakamura is not being featured on WWE TV for undisclosed reasons, the creative team seems to have no plans for him currently.
Source: eWn
Fans eager to see Alexa Bliss back on WWE TV may have to wait until 2025.
Bliss hinted at her return on social media yesterday, writing, “Don’t worry, Darling. I’ll see you soon enough.”
Pwinsider is reporting that according to sources, WWE creative does not expect Bliss to return immediately.
The source states that Bliss will likely not return until the holiday season, so fans may not see her until 2025 at the earliest.
Additionally, the current creative regime aims to “maximize” its decisions and is in no rush to bring anyone back on TV.
Notably, a Lily doll was spotted in the background during a backstage segment featuring The Judgment Day on Monday Night RAW.
You can check out Bliss’ post below:
Source: eWn
WWE, with some help from celebrity musician Cardi B, has announced the date and location for next year’s SummerSlam, almost a year in advance. WWE SummerSlam 2025 is set to take place Saturday, August 2, and Sunday, August 3, 2025, at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Information for ticket sales will become available at a later date, though WWE is offering pre-sale access to those who sign up at their website.
SummerSlam 2025 is set to be the company’s first-ever two-night incarnation of it’s second-largest annual premium live event, dubbed the “Biggest Party of the Summer.” The company’s largest, WrestleMania, became a two-night affair in 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with WrestleMania 36. After several years of that format, WWE announced earlier this year that WWE SummerSlam 2026 will take place over two nights, live from U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Last month, Paul “Triple H” Levesque hinted that SummerSlam could be expanding sooner than the previously-announced 2026, leading to today’s announcement.
“New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and the entire NJSEA team have been phenomenal partners, hosting several major UFC events in recent years including the record-breaking UFC 302 in June,” said Peter Dropick, TKO Executive Vice President of Event Development and Operations, in a WWE press release. “We’re excited to bring WWE back to New Jersey in a major way with the first-ever two-night SummerSlam at MetLife Stadium.”
Rapper Cardi B made a simultaneous announcement on social media, taking to X, formerly Twitter, to say “Here’s to the Streets.. and to my girl @BiancaBelairWWE SummerSlam. 2Nights. MetLife Stadium. August 2nd and 3rd.” Cardi B has long been public about her WWE fandom, and the announcement could indicate that the New York City native intends to involve herself with Bianca Belair in the lead-up to next year’s SummerSlam.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Artem Chigvintsev will not be charged following his arrest on suspicion of felony domestic violence.
On Tuesday, Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley announced that her office has declined to file criminal charges after reviewing the investigation and evaluating all of the evidence.
Haley says her office feels it doesn’t have the evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Artem committed a crime. With that being said, criminal charges could be filed in the future if new facts or evidence come to light.
Artem was arrested for felony domestic violence on August 29th. He was released on a $25,000 bond later that day.
Garcia has since filed for divorce and has hired a divorce attorney. She is currently living with their 4-year-old son, Matteo, in the family’s Napa Valley home. Chigvintsev is reportedly still living with a friend.
You can check out the official statement from the District Attorney’s Office below:
Napa County DA Declines to File Criminal Charges Against Artem Chigvintsev
Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley announced today that her office has declined to file criminal charges against Artem Chigvintsev, age 42, in connection with his arrest on suspicion of felony domestic violence. The decision to not file charges against Mr. Chigvintsev was made after a thorough review of the criminal investigation and careful evaluation of the evidence presented to the DA’s Office.
“While we take every arrest seriously and stand firmly against domestic violence, we have an ethical obligation to only file charges when supported by the evidence,” Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley said. “We are required to prove any and every criminal charge ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ which is the highest standard in the American criminal justice system. If the available evidence doesn’t rise to this level of proof, then we cannot ethically file charges.”
Domestic violence can either be filed as a felony or a misdemeanor and has a statute of limitations of three years or one year, respectively. At any time within the statute of limitations, the Napa County District Attorney’s Office may revisit the case if it learns of other incidents, or otherwise learns of facts or evidence not previously known.
The Napa County District Attorney’s Victim Services Division works closely with victims of domestic violence and other crimes and links them to available resources whether charges are filed or not DA Haley said.
The Napa County District Attorney’s Office does not typically issue press releases when it declines to file charges against any given individual; however, did so for this case due to the intense media interest it has received since Mr. Chigvintsev’s arrest.
The Napa County District Attorney’s Office will not be releasing any further information about this case, including the identity of the alleged victim, and any questions pertaining to this case may be directed to Public Affairs and Media Officer Carlos Villatoro.
Source: eWn
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