AEW Dynamite will air live tonight on TBS from Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.
The Butcher and the Blade have been members of the AEW roster since the company’s early days, and though they’ve never risen to the top of the card, the duo had found a niche that saw them featured occasionally on TV. That hasn’t been the case in 2024, as the Blade (real name Jesse Guilmette) has been sidelined with an injury. The wrestler took to Instagram recently to reveal that he recently underwent successful back fusion surgery.
In addition to a short video of himself walking down the hospital hallway, Guilmette posted a photo of a hospital meal, complete with various plastic containers and what looks to be extra Jell-O. The comments for the post feature several fellow AEW stars, including the long-absent Miro, wishing Guilmette well.
The last time the Butcher and the Blade performed on AEW TV was in January, teaming up with Kip Sabian on the January 5 episode of “AEW Rampage” in a losing effort against Mark Briscoe and the Hardy brothers. One week later, the Butcher and the Blade lost a match against Top Flight during a Ring of Honor taping.
According to Guilmette on Instagram several weeks ago, the problems with his back began after a nasty fall in 2020. Things got worse over time, forcing Guilmette to step away from the ring and eventually decide to have surgery. The wrestler thanked Tony Khan in his post for the level of care AEW has provided, stating that he was grateful to have been signed there deep into his career.
Meanwhile, the Butcher has stayed active on AEW programming in his partner’s absence. His most recent match took place last month, when he teamed with The Outrunners to face Orange Cassidy, Mark Briscoe, and Tomohiro Ishii on “Rampage.”
Source: Wrestling Inc.
NXT Anonymous posted a video on Twitter of Tony D’Angelo of The Don of NXT paying off a mystery person with the intent of him taking care of Oba Femi.
On this week’s season premiere of WWE NXT, it was revealed who that was, as the NXT North American champion found himself face-to-face with one of TNA Wrestling’s biggest powerhouses, Hammerstone.
Despite the impressive challenge Hammerstone put up against NXT’s behemoth, Femi was able to keep his win-loss record in tact, winning the match with one of his devastating powerbombs.
Backstage, The D’Angelo Family was shown distraught, with Tony D’Angelo walking off in anger after seeing his hired gun taken out.
Source: eWn
In the opening contest of this week’s “NXT,” Axiom and Nathan Frazer defended their NXT Tag Team Championships against “WWE SmackDown” stars Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins, together known as the Street Profits. The Street Profits put forth a valiant effort against Frazer and Axiom and even appeared to be closing in on a victory. Unfortunately for them, Ford’s pinfall attempt on Frazer was interrupted by the surprise arrival of The Bloodline’s Jacob Fatu, Tama Tonga, and Tonga Loa, who currently hold the WWE Tag Team Championships via the Freebird rule.
Tama was the first to enter the scene when he pulled Ford out of the ring and sent him crashing into the nearby steel stairs. As Dawkins approached Tama in defense of his partner, Jacob Fatu came charging at him. Joining in on the action, Loa then wiped out Axion with a clothesline in the ring, while Tama laid out Frazer with a suplex. The Bloodline concluded their attack with a Swanton to Dawkins, courtesy of Fatu.
For Tama Tonga and Jacob Fatu, tonight marks their first appearance on the “NXT” brand. For Tonga Loa, it marks his return to the “NXT” brand. Under his former ring name of Camacho, Loa wrestled over three-dozen “NXT” matches between 2012 and 2014, with his last taking form in tag team action against The Ascension at a June 2014 “NXT” live event.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
WWE NXT tonight on USA Network.
WWE NXT General Manager Ava took to Twitter today to announce that TNA’s The Rascalz (Zachary Wentz & Trey Miguel) were unable to compete due to “somewhat conspicuous circumstances.”
Instead, The Street Profits will challenge Nathan Frazer & Axiom for the titles. This match will open the show.
As reports continue to emerge that a new media rights deal between AEW and Warner Bros. Discovery is only a matter of time, AEW CEO Tony Khan has continued to play coy, recently confirming that he has yet to put pen to paper. Now, rumors are swirling that the new deal might not be as exclusive as many had assumed. With the promotion recently trademarking the name “AEW Shockwave,” some wonder if AEW could be filling the wrestling slot that WWE once held on Fox networks.
According to Fightful Select, sources say AEW has been in talks with Fox, though Fox refused to comment officially. Andrew Zarian reported that Fox liked the ad revenue that “WWE SmackDown” was bringing in on Friday nights, but the show itself was too expensive, and that a cheaper wrestling property was enticing to the network. That said, there’s no official word on whether there is any kind of deal, or the prospects of a deal, or even if AEW and WBD agreeing to a non-exclusive contract is feasible. When AEW initially brought “Collision” to WBD, exclusivity was a sticking point, and was cited as the reasoning for shuttering the “AEW Dark” and “AEW Dark: Elevation” YouTube shows. The exclusivity runs until the end of 2024.
Fox doesn’t just have its eponymous network to offer, as broadcast outlets like FS1, Tubi, and others are available for programming blocks. The relationship between WBD and AEW is said to be amicable, and WBD is already planning on rebranding part of its TruTV lineup as “TNT Sports,” indicating a plan to stay in the sports market despite losing broadcast rights to the NBA.
UPDATE
Ibou of WrestlePurists stirred the pot a little more this week, saying on a recent podcast that while he wasn’t officially reporting anything, he had heard rumors from talent within the company regarding “AEW Shockwave” and a potential deal with Fox.
“What I’ve heard about the WBD TV deal is that it will continue to include ‘Dynamite’ and ‘Collision,’ and it’s unknown what will happen to ‘Rampage,'” Ibou said. “But the rumor amongst the talent … I have not heard from WBD or AEW in an official capacity, but what talent have been discussing, what has gone on around behind the scenes and has circulated amongst circles in AEW, is that ‘AEW Shockwave’ will be a one hour program on FS1. That is the latest scuttlebutt. That is the latest rumor.”
As of this writing, neither Warner Bros. Discovery, AEW, or Fox have publicly commented on any finalized media rights deals for any of AEW’s current shows. Last Friday’s “SmackDown” was the final episode of the blue brand to air as part of WWE’s now-expired agreement with Fox, leaving the network free of wrestling programming for the time being.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
For over a decade, “WWE Raw” has been a three-hour affair. As the red brand’s time with USA Network draws to a close, however, it has been announced that WWE’s flagship show will be temporarily reverting to a two-hour weekly schedule. WWE took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to make the announcement during the season premiere of “Raw” on Monday night. The reason for the format change was not disclosed.
The change is expected to begin on the October 7 episode of “Raw,” immediately after WWE’s upcoming Bad Blood premium live event, and last through the December 30 episode of “Raw,” which will be the show’s final episode on USA Network before it moves to Netflix in January. During this period, the show will air from 8pm to 10pm EST; as pointed out by Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp, this means the Monday night 10pm EST television block will be free of wrestling programming for the first time in decades, as the previous two-hour format started at 9pm EST for much of its run.
Whether Netflix will maintain the two-hour run time, return the show to three hours, or implement some other plan is currently unknown. Despite USA Network’s recent acquisition of “WWE SmackDown,” there are no known plans to change the blue brand’s run time or that of “WWE NXT,” which is preparing its own move to The CW Network.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
WWE quietly releasing stars has seemingly become more common than their mass “budget cuts” of years prior, presumably in an attempt to draw less negative attention. Recently, reports noted that “WWE Raw” talent Kiana James was moved off of WWE’s active roster page to the “miscellaneous” section, leading many to speculate that she might have been quietly released.
Since then, PWInsiderElite has updated their original report, and while they initially hinted that a severe injury was likely the cause for her move on WWE’s website, they’ve now confirmed that this is the case. PWInsiderElite says their sources confirmed James suffered a leg injury that will likely keep her sidelined upward of six months. Notably, James was drafted up to “Raw” earlier this year, but has barely been used since, with “Fightful Select” even going so far as to inquire into her and former WWE star Dijak’s status on the roster at one point. Unfortunately, Dijak ultimately ended up being released, which is likely why many have been concerned for James’ future with WWE.
It remains to be seen when or if James returns to action in WWE, but the star got quite a vote of confidence from Booker T shortly after her main roster call-up, who believes she checks all the boxes that the promotion needs to cultivate a major star. The veteran also noted that he was excited to see her next step, that she had matured enough in “NXT,” and would someday set a lot of records.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
The season premiere of WWE RAW tonight live on USA Network from the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Matt Hardy left AEW earlier this year, with his brother Jeff following him shortly after, and the two veteran wrestlers wasted no time getting themselves back into the mix in promotions like TNA. In addition to that, it seems Matt is attempting to get a reality television project off the ground, as he revealed on a recent edition of “The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy.”
“Something that we’ve been working on very heavily, which we did a lot this week, is a reality show for House Hardy,” Matt said. “And that’s something that we’ve talked to some pretty important people about.”
Hardy stated that he is devoting a lot of time to the project, which has kept him busy in recent weeks. Though he didn’t provide any further details, it sounds as if the project is still relatively early in the development process, possibly with pitches made to networks or business executives to find partners or to learn if anyone is interested in airing it.
In addition to developing a new show, Hardy has been continuing to wrestle, with a steady schedule of 9 matches over the last three months. Along with TNA, Hardy has made appearances in independent promotion GCW, including a singles match against Nick Gage in August that went to a draw.
Though Matt and Jeff are currently wrestling with TNA, there is unsurprisingly a lot of speculation about the Hardy brothers returning to WWE, encouraged by the fact that the promotion already has a working agreement in place with TNA. Along with that, Matt and Jeff Hardy both recently paid a visit to the WWE Performance Center, with Matt acknowledging that he and his brother wish to end their careers in the promotion.
Source: Wrestling Inc. with credit to “The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy.”
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