Randy Orton’s WWE Return Rumored To Be Imminent

Randy Orton has been out of action for over a year now, but there’s been more buzz recently regarding his return.

Within the last week, WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle mentioned on his podcast that Orton has recovered from the lower back fusion surgery he had in November and he believes “The Viper” will be back in action soon now that he’s feeling better and has been more active on social media.

To add to that, WRKD Wrestling tweeted that Orton is nearing his return and listed Saturday’s Money in the Bank premium live event as a possibility for his first appearance. It should be noted that there’s been no other indication that this is for certain.

For what it’s worth, Dave Meltzer reported in April that Orton was “nowhere close” to stepping back in the ring despite reports of him contacting his boot maker to have new boots ready. The multi-time world champion was also said to be at WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles, although that has not been confirmed either.

Orton’s last match took place on the May 20, 2022, episode of “WWE SmackDown” where he and Matt Riddle lost the “Raw” Tag Team Championship to The Usos in a unification match. The tag team titles have remained unified ever since, while Riddle transitioned over to singles competition. “The Original Bro” had his own hiatus that lasted a number of months, but he is now set to challenge GUNTHER for the Intercontinental Championship in London.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Dynamite Preview 6/28/2023

AEW Dynamite airs live tonight on TBS from the FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

  • Fallout from Forbidden Door
  • Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament first round match: Britt Baker vs. Ruby Soho
  • Full bracket for the AEW blind eliminator tournament will be revealed
  • Sting & Darby Allin vs. Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara
  • “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry to explain why he turned on HOOK
  • Jon Moxley vs. Tomohiro Ishii
  • We’ll hear from Adam Cole and MJF

WWE Trying To Vince-Proof Bookings From Last-Minute Changes

Vince McMahon has been making increasing changes to WWE RAW and SmackDown in recent weeks, thereby frustrating people in WWE to such an extent that there were recent attempts to minimize those changes.

According to a new report from Fightful Select, McMahon has generally avoided making changes to advertised matches. As such, WWE has been advertising some matches weeks ahead of their planned air dates to “Vince-proof” them.

McMahon reportedly requested new match orders, match times, and additional segments for the June 5th episode of WWE RAW.

However, McMahon’s influence was more significant during the June 19th edition of RAW, as he reportedly made changes to an important storyline segment and WWE World Championship match within the first half hour of the show.

In addition, several matches on the June 23rd episode of SmackDown were changed at McMahon’s command, marking the first time that the blue brand has seen any major alterations since Vince’s return to WWE’s Board Of Directors.

McMahon’s incessant tampering with creative plans has reportedly caused significant frustration throughout WWE.

Source: eWn

WWE NXT Gold Rush: Night 2 Preview 6/27/2023

WWE NXT Gold Rush Special Night 2 in Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center on the USA Network: 

  • NXT Championship: Carmelo Hayes (c) vs. Baron Corbin
  • NXT Women’s Championship: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Thea Hail
  • NXT Tag Team Championship: Gallus (c) vs. Malik Blade & Edris Enofe
  • NXT Heritage Cup: Nathan Frazer (c) vs. Dragon Lee
  • Gigi Dolin vs. Kiana James

Vince McMahon To Become More Involved In WWE Creative

While Vince McMahon has been working remotely since WrestleMania 39, he often makes last-minute changes to the RAW and SmackDown TV tapings.

According to a report from Pwinsider, Vince McMahon’s role in creative is expected to grow in the coming weeks. There were said to have been significant changes made to last week’s RAW and SmackDown TV tapings.

Additionally, it was noted that last night’s episode of RAW would have a lot of “Vince McMahon fingerprints” on it. The belief among some in the company is that this is directly related to WWE’s acquisition by Endeavor.

Finally, it was noted that Vince McMahon would not be n Savannah, Georgia, the site of last night’s WWE RAW TV tapings.

Source: eWn

WWE RAW Preview 6/26/2023

WWE Raw will air live tonight on the USA Network and emanate from the Enmarket Arena in Savannah, Georgia. Tonight’s Raw is the red brand’s go-home show for this Saturday’s Money in the Bank

  • WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins will provide an update on his condition after he was attacked by Finn Balor on Night One of last Tuesday night’s NXT Gold Rush episode.
  • Women’s Money in the Bank Summit with competitors Trish Stratus, Becky Lynch, Bayley, IYO SKY, Zoey Stark, and Zelina Vega  
  • Dominik Mysterio will address Cody Rhodes

People In WWE Trying To Prevent Vince McMahon From Making Creative Changes

Vince McMahon changed several things on last week’s episode of Monday Night Raw, including the open challenge by World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins. 

After he changed several things on last week’s SmackDown, it left many people in the company frustrated. Matches advertised, such as Bayley vs. Shotzi, Cameron Grimes vs. Baron Corbin, and Santos Escobar vs. Butch vs. LA Knight were all nixed. 

On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer confirmed Fightful’s report that many were left frustrated with McMahon making last-minute changes to the shows.

Meltzer added that there are people in WWE attempting to figure out a way to prevent McMahon from making the changes, but that’s easier said than done.

Source: eWn

Adam Cole Was Pulled From Forbidden Door Due To Illness

Adam Cole has hit yet another unfortunate bump in the road yesterday as, due to illness, he was not able to compete at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door event. Tony Khan announced the news on Twitter that the match between Cole and NJPW Strong star Tom Lawlor is officially canceled.

Cole’s match against Tom Lawlor was made on Friday’s episode of “AEW Rampage,” when Lawlor and Royce Issacs attacked Cole during the Owen Hart Tournament winner’s segment with AEW World Champion MJF. The soon-to-be partners in AEW’s upcoming Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament remained at odds, and when Team Filthy went after Cole in the ring, MJF took his time to “aid” his unlikely partner in the ring.

This is not the first mishap for Cole when it comes to the annual AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door event, with last year’s show seeing the former ROH World Champion suffer a concussion during his fatal-four-way match against Kazuchika Okada, “Hangman” Adam Page, and Jay White for White’s IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.

Cole’s absence also means that Tom Lawlor is unfortunately unlikely to be featured on the show in any capacity. The former UFC fighter has been a focal point of the American branch of New Japan Pro-Wrestling since NJPW Strong began in 2020. After his reign as the inaugural NJPW Strong Openweight Champion ended at the hands of Fred Rosser in May 2022, Lawlor went on to compete in the G1 Climax 32, ending with a 3-3 record to claim six points in block competition. 

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Bryan Danielson Injured At AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door II, Out 6-8 Weeks

Bryan Danielson suffered what is believed to be a fractured right arm at Sunday night’s AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door II pay-per-view event.

During the post-AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door II media scrum, Danielson revealed that he believes he suffered an arm fracture with about 10 minutes left in the match. The injury will likely require 6-8 weeks of recovery time.

Additionally, Danielson commented on using “The Final Countdown” theme for his entrance. For those unaware, the band Europe charges an arm and a leg to license the theme song so this is likely a one-off deal.

You can check out some highlights from the media scrum below:

On whether “The Final Countdown” will be back as a regular theme: “I think that’s a question for Tony, because they want a zillion dollars per play, so uh, [laughs]. I didn’t even ask for it, to be honest. Tony came up with the idea, I thought it was really cool. And I was legitimately — I was a little bit angry right before I went out there. And then I heard ‘Final Countdown’ play, and it literally just put a smile on my face. I said it out there at the end of the show, but I legitimately don’t think I’ve heard that song since I last came out to it in Ring of Honor.”

On if he’s going to stay more part-time: “I was planning on wrestling on Wednesday this week. I don’t think that’s gonna happen, because in this match specifically, we think I fractured my right forearm with about 10 minutes left to go. So yeah — but talking to our doctors, and I love the AEW medical staff and trainers, they think it’s gonna be six to eight weeks for this specific injury.

“The stuff after Revolution, after the Iron Man match with Max [I] had a torn labrum and some compressed vertebrae and all that stuff. It’s just normal wrestler stuff. I’m fine, but we just thought from a precautionary measure [to hold off]. That’s what I love, I mean I love our medical staff’… we have an incredible training staff and I try to follow their direction.”

Source: eWn

Zachary Wentz Returns To Impact Wrestling

This post contains spoilers on upcoming Impact Wrestling storylines. Continue reading if you wish to be spoiled.

Impact Wrestling returned to Center Stage in Atlanta, Georgia, for two nights of “Summer Sizzler” action this weekend. Friday’s tapings kicked off in a big way when Trey Miguel received his X-Division Championship rematch against Chris Sabin. However, the match did not end decisively as a returning Zachary Wentz reunited with Miguel and caused the match to end in disqualification when he attacked Sabin from behind. Wentz’s return is slated to air on June 29.

Wentz previously worked for Impact for two years from 2018 through 2020 as a member of The Rascalz alongside Miguel and Dezmond Xavier, also known to fans as Wes Lee. Wentz and Xavier opted to sign with WWE at the start of 2021. They were renamed Nash Carter and Lee, respectively, while collectively being known as MSK. The duo became two-time “NXT” Tag Team Champions before Wentz was released from WWE in April 2022.

After Wentz captured the “NXT” tag titles for a second time, his ex-wife Kimber Lee publicized allegations of abuse and also leaked an old photo of Wentz imitating Adolf Hitler. WWE subsequently vacated the titles and terminated Wentz, leaving Wes Lee to continue his WWE run as a singles competitor.

Since then, Miguel has remained with Impact and recently concluded his second reign with the X-Division Championship. Miguel has teamed with Wentz on the independent scene over the last year, and it appears they will continue to be a unit in Impact again going forward.

Source: Wrestling Inc.