Here is the lineup for tonight’s episode of WWE NXT in Orlando, Florida at the Performance Center on the USA Network:
Chad Gable has been a central topic of conversation, not only on WWE television but also behind the scenes, where the off-screen drama surrounding Gable’s contract with WWE has begun to overshadow his rise to mid-card title contention on screen.
According to Fightful Select, Gable’s contract was said to expire this past Friday, June 7, but the former WWE NXT Tag Team Champion was announced for a match at the upcoming Clash at the Castle event in Scotland. While that would lead many to assume he’d re-signed with the company, there has been no confirmation of Gable putting pen to paper. There have been reports of wrestlers working on per-appearance deals with WWE during the immense contract turnaround currently taking place, though there is no word on whether Gable is one of those rumored to be per-appearance. There are sources within both AEW and WWE who are already under the assumption Gable has re-signed with the company.
According to PWInsider Elite, Gable and WWE are close to terms at the very least and Gable will remain with WWE for the foreseeable future. Like Fightful, there is no confirmation one way or the other, but sources indicate both Gable and WWE are carrying on as if his retention is a done deal.
Gable has become a prominent figure on WWE programming, as he heads into WWE Clash At The Castle: Scotland, where he will face WWE Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn, with whom Gable has been feuding since just after WrestleMania in April. Gable’s contract is just one of many that are up for expiration, including former WWE Women’s World Champion Becky Lynch, as well as former WWE Speed Champion Ricochet, who is reportedly set to be written off WWE television on “WWE Raw.”
Source: Wrestling Inc.
One of AEW’s top tag teams will be shelved for an undetermined amount of time as FTR’s Dax Harwood took to X to announce an injury he first suffered at Dynasty that he effectively hid from the medical staff and the powers that be, which will now force him to rest until further notice.
Just before 9pm ET, Harwood posted a video more than five minutes long explaining just what went down, along with the caption, “An explanation that I feel I owe everyone. The fans, my boss, the medical team, and the whole roster. I appreciate you all, and I hope to see you soon. Top Guys, out.”
Harwood began with a disclaimer about the sometimes toxic world of social media, saying, “I know [there are] a lot of people, especially in the Twitter world, who don’t really care for me too much and that’s okay but I thought this was the best way that I could talk to the fans of AEW and the fans of FTR and finally get this off of my chest.” He then apologized to AEW President Tony Khan, to AEW staff, and specifically to its medical staff, with whom he admitted not being up front about the origin and the nature of the injury, which he would go on to explain in detail. “[At Dynasty], I gave Matt Jackson a Piledriver, and when I landed, it messed my lower back up really bad and caused a severe hematoma that appeared on my lower back,” he said. “As we know, that’s where a brunt of the bumps go for a professional wrestler. I thought I could tough through it.”
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Bo Dallas’ new stable themed around the late Bray Wyatt, as well as his own Uncle Howdy character, seemingly has a confirmed arrival date to WWE, with a new QR code seen on “WWE Raw.” On Monday, during Rey Mysterio’s entrance, an image popped up on the broadcast, complete with the code for fans to scan to find more clues about the mysterious faction. When scanned, it leads to a countdown, which ends next Monday during the broadcast.
“Your patience will be rewarded,” the staticky onscreen image during the broadcast read, before flashing again to read, “Your impatience will be punished.” The image then flashes to the code, then very quickly shows what appears to be a figure, assumably Uncle Howdy. When the code is scanned, the phrases “You refused salvation” and “The reckoning is inevitable” surround the real-time countdown.
The biggest clues surrounding the stable came from a Twitch stream almost three weeks ago. Those clues seemed to potentially spell out the exact date of the faction’s debut, which fans also determined to be next Monday, as well as who would be involved. Letters written to various “family members” seen on the stream seemed to include the recently re-hired Erick Rowan of the original Wyatt Family, Nikki Cross, Dexter Lumis, and former Schism leader Joe Gacy. Alexa Bliss’ involvement with the stable has not been confirmed, though some eagle-eyed fans thought they spotted her backstage during a recent “Raw.”
The most recent code on Friday’s episode of “WWE SmackDown” led to a letter thanking fans, telling them, “this is all because of you.” Last Monday, a code featured Firefly Funhouse puppets when scanned, as well as poetry and images from a journal that seemingly belong to Uncle Howdy. After months of fans scanning codes and deciphering clues to be shared and speculated about online, it seems like the fun and games could be coming to an end after WWE’s Clash at the Castle premium live event. Or, knowing Wyatt and Uncle Howdy, this could be just the beginning.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
WWE RAW will air live tonight on the USA Network from the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio.
Gigi Dolin has been absent from NXT TV for the past few weeks, and according to a recent report from Fightful Select, she is currently dealing with an injury.
Dolin’s storyline with Arianna Grace has been discontinued, and she has not been present backstage during the TV tapings. The former Toxic Attraction member is sidelined due to a “significant knee injury.”
Dolin had been featured on NXT TV alongside Grace in a storyline in which she was compelled to follow the latter’s guidance to refine her skills as a “proper lady.”
The report mentions that Dolin was the subject of discussions regarding a potential call-up to the main roster earlier this year.
In recent times, Dolin has not been present backstage during the TV tapings, and most of her segments with Grace were recorded outside of the WWE Performance Center. These segments were strategically utilized to maintain her television presence while she recuperates from her injury.
Dolin’s most recent appearance was in a match against Grace on the March 12th episode of WWE NXT.
Following this past Sunday’s “NXT” Battleground show, WWE star CM Punk appeared in a backstage interview featuring Roxanne Perez and offered some advice to the young star, which was rejected by her.
Perez defended her “NXT” Women’s Championship against TNA’s Jordynne Grace and defeated the TNA Knockouts World Champion to extend her title reign. Punk, who was at the arena, appeared during Perez’s interview backstage after she retained the title and had some sage advice for her, which she duly dismissed.
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“Are you surprised? Tell me right now, are you surprised?” asked Perez to “NXT” backstage interviewer Sarah Schreiber. “Of course you are, aren’t you? ‘Cause everybody is surprised. But why? Why? I am the protege, there’s no one like me…” said Perez before being interrupted by Punk.
“Hold on, calm down. I’m sorry to burst in here but listen, you’re the champion for a reason,” began Punk. “You’re head and shoulders above all these other women here. You’re head and shoulders above all the TNA Knockouts. But tonight you got lucky. I need you to focus on this [the title]. I need you to be who you are, I need you to be the protege. You don’t need anything else.”
Perez was not amused by Punk’s bit of advice and sarcastically thanked him before calling him a hypocrite and walking away. “Thanks for the advice. What a hypocrite, huh?” said Perez to Punk.
Punk then proceeded to ask Schreiber if the “NXT” Women’s Champion always has a chip on her shoulder, with the “NXT” interviewer answering in the affirmative. Perez, who won the title from Lyra Valkyria at Stand & Deliver in April, got the win over the TNA star on Sunday after landing the Pop-Rox on Grace. The match also saw interference from “NXT’s” Tatum Paxley, who tried to steal the TNA Knockouts Championship, but was stopped by Ash by Elegance, formerly known as Dana Brooke in WWE.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
NXT Women’s North American Championship Ladder Match: Kelani Jordan def. Sol Ruca, Lash Legend, Fallon Henley, Jaida Parker, and Michin to become the inaugural NXT Women’s North American Champion
NXT Tag Team Championship: Nathan Frazer & Axiom (c) def. The Good Brothers
NXT Underground: Lola Vice def. Shayna Baszler by referee stoppage with grounded punches.
NXT North American Championship: Oba Femi (c) def. Wes Lee and Joe Coffey
NXT Women’s Championship: Roxanne Perez (c) def. TNA Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace
Tatum Paxley jumps the rail and stalks the title belt at ringside and grabs Jordynne’s TNA Knockouts Championship! TNA’s Ash By Elegance (Dana Brooke) appears and grabs the title belt, Jordynne goes after both of them and lays them out! Back inside, block the solebutt, backfist, fireman’s carry, California Roll connects! Pumphandle… ROXANNE COUNTERS WITH AN ACE CRUSHER! POP ROX! Roxanne Perez wins.
Backstage: Wes Lee is attacked by Gallus
NXT Championship: Trick Williams (c) def. Ethan Page
* Tetsuya Naito def. Callum Newman
* Kosei Fujita, Robbie Eagles & Zack Sabre Jr. def. Clark Connors, Drilla Moloney & LJ Cleary
* NJPW King Of Pro-Wrestling Championship Storm Catch Rules Match: Great-O-Khan def. Yuya Uemura
* NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship Match: BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Yota Tsuji def. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Oleg Boltin & Toru Yano
* NJPW World Television Championship Match: Jeff Cobb def. Tomohiro Ishii
* IWGP Tag Team Championships & NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Team Championships Tornado Match: Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste def. Chase Owens & KENTA, Guerrillas Of Destiny & Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI
* NEVER Openweight Championship Match: Shingo Takagi found HENARE to a draw
* IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Lumberjack Match: Jon Moxley def. EVIL. Moxley then issued a challenge for AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door and Tetsuya Naito answered.
* Best Of The Super Junior 31 Finals: El Desperado def. Taiji Ishimori
NJPW Dominion – June 9, 2024 – the Osaka-jō Hall in Osaka, Japan.
Best of the Super Juniors Final: El Desperado vs. Taiji Ishimori
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship — Lumberjack Match: Jon Moxley (c) vs. EVIL
NEVER Openweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. HENARE
NJPW STRONG Openweight & IWGP Tag Team Championships — Tornado Elimination Four-Way Match: BULLET CLUB (Chase Owens & KENTA) (IWGP) vs. Hikuleo & El Phantasmo (STRONG) vs. T.M.D.K. (Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls) vs. Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI)
NJPW World Television Championship: Jeff Cobb (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii
NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championships: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Oleg Boltin & Toru Yano (c) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI)
KOPW Championship — Storm Catch Rules Match: Yuya Uemura (c) vs. Great-O-Khan
T.M.D.K. (Kosei Fujita, Robbie Eagles & Zack Sabre Jr.) vs. Clark Connors, Drilla Moloney & L.J. Cleary
Tetsuya Naito vs. Callum Newman
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