WWE Says Ilja Dragunov Suffered Torn ACL At House Show, Will Miss Six To Nine Months

WWE dropped some unfortunate news regarding a former NXT Champion on Monday’s episode of “WWE Raw” before a promo segment featuring World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER. Commentary informed the audience at home that Ilja Dragunov suffered a suspected torn ACL and will be out of action for around six to nine months. Dragunov was injured wrestling GUNTHER for a shot at the championship during a live event in Columbus, Georgia over the weekend. In a video WWE posted to social media as well as airing on the broadcast, Dragunov was seen leaving the ring on his own volition following the injury, though he hobbled up the ramp without putting weight on his right leg.

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1840938600906608994

Dragunov’s most recent television match was a loss to Jey Uso in a fatal four-way match also featuring Braun Strowman and Pete Dunne for a shot at the WWE Intercontinental Championship on the September 9 episode of “Raw.” Before the IC Title tournament, Dragunov had been working with GUNTHER on house shows in Germany before Bash in Berlin. Dragunov was called up from “WWE NXT” to the main roster’s red brand at the end of April in the fourth round of the 2024 WWE Draft, following his NXT Championship loss to Trick Williams at “NXT” Spring Breakin’.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Star Killswitch (Fka Luchasaurus) Hospitalized With Serious Medical Condition

Just days away from the fifth anniversary episode of “AEW Dynamite,” it seems All Elite Wrestling will be without one of its original stars for an undisclosed period of time. On Monday, Fightful reported that Austin Matelson, who currently wrestles in AEW under the name Killswitch after initially being known as Luchasaurus, is dealing with a serious medical issue that has resulted in his hospitalization.

Fightful reports that Matelson’s fiancee “found him collapsed” this past Friday, after which he was taken to the hospital. Upon admission his blood oxygen level was found to be below 80% — dangerously low, considering the normal level is 95% – 100%. Doctors also discovered that Matelson had pneumonia in both lungs and that he was “days away from permanent lung damage.” Matelson has been on oxygen since Friday and was reportedly told he would need more than a month to recover, and it could be longer before he’s ready to return to the ring. Fightful says they received permission “from those close to” Matelson before reporting on the situation.

Matelson is a former AEW TNT, Tag Team, and Trios Champion, having won the tag titles in 2022 alongside Jack Perry back when Matelson was known as Luchasaurus, Perry was known as Jungle Boy and they were collectively known as Jurassic Express. The years since have seen Luchasaurus become Killswitch after turning on Perry at the behest of Christian Cage, who brought Killswitch into The Patriarchy; Cage and Killswitch were Trios Champions with fellow Patriarchy member Nick Wayne until AEW All In 2024, when they lost the belts to the Blackpool Combat Club at Wembley Stadium. Killswitch later helped Cage win a Casino Gauntlet Match the same night, resulting in Cage “earning” a guaranteed world championship opportunity. Killswitch hasn’t competed in the ring since Wembley.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Baseball Legend And WWE Hall Of Famer Pete Rose Passes Away

Legendary baseball player and manager Pete Rose has passed away.

Rose, who was the first celebrity WWE Hall of Famer, passed away at his home in Las Vegas at the age of 83.

Rose was nicknamed “Charlie Hustle” for his style of play. Over the course of his career, Rose hit an astonishing 4,256 hits and had 17 All-Star Game appearances. He also won three World Series Championships. Rose played for the Cincinnati Reds from 1963 through 1978 and again from 1984 through 1986. He also played for the Philadelphia Phillies and the Montreal Expos.

Rose was permanently banned from the MLB over accusations that he bet on baseball games while he played for and managed the Reds. While he denied this for many years, he finally admitted in 2004 that he did in fact gamble on games.

Rose appeared at WWE WrestleMania 14, 15 and 16, with Kane often taking him out.

On July 19, 1991, Rose was sentenced to five months in jail for tax evasion. He served his time at a minimum security prison facility at the United States Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois. He was fined $50,000 and released on January 7, 1992, after having paid $366,041 in back taxes and interest.

WWE issued the following on X on the passing of Rose:

WWE Raw Preview 9/30/2024

WWE Raw will air live tonight on the USA Network from the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.

  • Last Monster Standing Match: Bronson Reed vs. Braun Strowman
  • Newly crowned Intercontinental Champion Jey Uso will appear
  • We will hear from CM Punk and Drew McIntyre
  • Rey Mysterio vs. Xavier Woods
  • Judgment Day’s Dominik Mysterio, Carlito and JD McDonagh vs. LWO’s Dragon Lee, Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro
  • Kofi Kingston vs. Chad Gable
  • Lyra Valkyrie vs. Zoey Stark

TNA Confirms TV Tapings At Skyway Studios

TNA Wrestling had to cancel TV Tapings slated for September 27 and 28 in Spartanburg, South Carolina due to Hurricane Helene. The TV Tapings was supposed to for the build up to Bound For Glory.

TNA Wrestling has officially announced that their TV tapings ahead of Bound For Glory will be taking place at Skyway Studios in Nashville, TN. All of the proceeds will benefit Hurricane Helene relief.

You can check out the official announcement below:

TNA Wrestling Brings “The Road To BFG” To Nashville On Wednesday & Thursday, October 2-3
Tickets For Both Shows Are $10 Each, With ALL Proceeds Donated To Hurricane Helene Relief Efforts In Spartanburg, South Carolina
TNA Wrestling brings the final matches on “The Road To BFG” to Nashville, Tennessee on Wednesday & Thursday, October 2-3, at Skyway Studios. All tickets for both shows are $10 each and ALL proceeds from both shows will be donated to Hurricane Helene Relief Efforts in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Tickets go on-sale Monday, September 30, at 10 a.m. EST, at tnawrestling.com.

The TNA shows in Spartanburg, originally scheduled for September 27-28, were canceled due to the catastrophic hurricane, which left millions still without power across the Southeast.

TNA will have auctions at both shows for match-used and autographed memorabilia, plus unique collectibles for sale – with ALL proceeds going to the Hurricane Helene Relief Efforts in Spartanburg.

Fans will have the opportunity to donate additionally to the relief efforts at both shows. TNA officials have been in contact with members of the Spartanburg Police & Fire Departments, as members of both departments were scheduled to attend the TNA shows in Spartanburg.

The Nashville shows will start at 7 p.m., with doors opening to Skyway Studios at 6 p.m. All tickets are general admission.

All the TNA stars will be in Nashville for the final matches before Bound For Glory (October 26 in Detroit), including Nic Nemeth, Jordynne Grace, Joe Hendry, Jeff & Matt Hardy, Eric Young, Ash By Elegance and Moose. Also scheduled to appear at the Spartanburg shows: Mike Santana, AJ Francis, Josh Alexander, Brian Myers, Eddie Edwards, Frankie Kazarian, ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey), Jake Something, “Speedball” Mike Bailey, PCO, Xia Brookside and many more.

News On TNA Having To Cancel TV Tapings Ahead Of Bound For Glory PPV

Hurricane Helene has damaged multiple areas of the United States over the past few days, and TNA Wrestling was forced to cancel its scheduled television tapings in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The tapings were originally slated for September 27 and 28 respectively, and were supposed to be moved to September 30 and October 1 once the storm had passed. However, the decision to scrap the tapings altogether was made.

Fightful Select has been able to provide more details on the cancellation. TNA had put a lot of effort into promoting the tapings, as they were going to serve as the build-up to the Bound For Glory pay-per-view on October 26, which is the company’s biggest show of the year. Some of the staff that had already made their way to Spartanburg also had a rough time as the power in their hotel went out, which led to many of them charging their devices in their cars as there were no vacancies in the other hotels in the local area. The power had also been cut in the venue TNA was set to use, which was the nail in the coffin for the promotion’s chances of potentially holding any sort of event over the weekend.

As for what TNA will do about programming, Fightful was told that there had been rumblings of running Skyway Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, next week. Skyway Studios was where TNA held their events during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the 2021 Slammiversary pay-per-view. TNA won’t have time to produce any new content for the episode of “TNA Impact” that is set to air on October 3, and the word floating around the company is that the company will air a “best of Bound For Glory” show in its place.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Nikkita Lyons Returns To WWE NXT In-Ring Action

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

AJ Styles Set To Make His Return To WWE SmackDown After More Than Three Months Off TV

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.”

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1839835713828704459

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.

AEW Collision Grand Slam Preview 9/28/2024

AEW Collision Grand Slam will air tonight on TNT. It was taped Wednesday night from Arthur Ashe Stadium at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City.

  • “The Scapegoat” Jack Perry TNT Championship Open Challenge
  • AEW World Trios Championship: Pac, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta (c) vs. Private Party & Komander
  • Tornado Trios Match: The Learning Tree vs. the Conglomeration
  • Lumberjack Strap Match: Jeff Jarrett vs. Hangman Page
  • AEW Continental Championship Eliminator Match: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Sammy Guevara
  • Saraya Rules Match: Saraya vs. Jamie Hayter
  • 3-Way Lucha Libre: The Beast Mortos vs. Hologram vs. Dralistico
  • Action Andretti vs. Brody King
  • MxM Collection unveil Max Caster’s jacket makeover

Rey Fenix’s WWE Signing Falls Through Due To AEW Contract Complications

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