WWE SmackDown airs live tonight at 8pm ET on the USA Network in the United States and on Netflix for international fans from the Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia.
WWE Women’s Championship Match: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Jade Cargill
Eddie Kingston looks to be on the road back to an AEW ring — and he’s wasting no time calling his shot. After over a year on the sidelines, Kingston confirmed via Instagram that he has officially signed a contract for his return, setting his sights on Big Bill.
The update came through a screencap Kingston shared on Threads, where he wrote:
“So got the phone call and the money is right and the contract is signed on my end. So Big Bill you dumb goofy bastard just send location.”
Fans were surprised when Big Bill publicly challenged Kingston during a recent episode of AEW Collision, given Kingston’s lengthy absence. The “Mad King” has been out of action since tearing both his ACL and meniscus in a hard-hitting match against NJPW’s Gabe Kidd at Resurgence. Though Kingston gave a positive rehab update last month, the timing wasn’t right for him to compete at Forbidden Door. Now, however, it looks like he’s ready to settle the score.
The ball is in Big Bill’s court when it comes to choosing the time and place. In the meantime, Bill has kept busy in AEW despite mentor Chris Jericho’s absence since dropping the ROH World Championship in April. Teaming with fellow “Learning Tree” member Bryan Keith, Bill competed in this summer’s AEW World Tag Title Eliminator Tournament, though the duo fell in the first round to Juice Robinson and Austin Gunn.
With Kingston freshly cleared and fired up, and Big Bill standing tall as one of AEW’s most imposing big men, fans could be in for a bruising return match that sets the tone for Kingston’s next chapter.
WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler is once again facing health challenges. According to TMZ Sports, the legendary commentator and former wrestler recently suffered another stroke, forcing him to cancel an upcoming convention appearance.
Lawler’s ex-fiancée shared that the stroke occurred last week while he was in Florida. Thankfully, reports indicate that he has since recovered enough to leave medical care, with his daughter planning to bring him home so he can rest for the next several weeks before resuming his normal routine.
The 75-year-old icon has battled through serious health scares in the past. He suffered strokes in both 2018 and February 2023, the latter of which required an ICU stay after he was rushed from his home to the hospital. Fans also remember the frightening scene in 2012 when Lawler collapsed on live WWE television due to a heart attack during Raw. Remarkably, he recovered and even returned to the ring in the years that followed.
While Lawler had been scheduled to appear at the HorrorHound event on September 12, organizers later confirmed his withdrawal due to “personal matters.” His last WWE appearance came earlier this year in February at a SmackDown taping in Tennessee, while his most recent in-ring match took place in 2023 at an AML Wrestling event.
Despite his setbacks, Lawler has consistently shown resilience throughout his career. Wrestling fans everywhere will be wishing “The King” strength and a smooth recovery as he takes time away from the spotlight to focus on his health.
Ring of Honor will be without one of its cornerstones for the next several weeks. According to Fightful Select, reigning ROH Women’s World Champion Athena is expected to step away from in-ring action for around five to six weeks. The exact reason for her hiatus hasn’t been disclosed.
The timing is notable, as “The Fallen Goddess” just hit a major milestone in her reign. Days after successfully defending her title against Mina Shirakawa at Death Before Dishonor on August 29, Athena officially surpassed 1,000 days as ROH Women’s Champion. She first captured the gold in December 2022 and has since built one of the most dominant legacies in the brand’s modern era.
During her reign, Athena has remained unbeaten in ROH-sanctioned singles competition, boasting a staggering 69-0 record. Along the way, she’s turned back challenges from names like Billie Starkz, Queen Aminata, Thunder Rosa, Alex Windsor, and Hikaru Shida. Her dominance even extended beyond ROH, as she recently tested herself against AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm at Forbidden Door. While Storm walked away victorious in their crossover clash, Athena’s showing further solidified her standing among the elite of women’s wrestling.
With Athena temporarily out of action, questions naturally turn to how Ring of Honor will handle her absence. Given her iron grip on the division, this break could open the door for challengers to emerge — or simply allow Athena to return refreshed and ready to extend her historic run even further.
Regardless, surpassing 1,000 days as champion cements Athena’s reign as one of the most dominant in modern wrestling, and her return will be a major moment for both ROH and AEW fans alike.
The business side of pro wrestling just got even more complicated. Fresh off completing their merger, Paramount and Skydance are reportedly preparing a massive bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery — the current broadcast home of AEW.
According to The Wall Street Journal, WBD was already considering breaking the company into pieces, but Paramount’s move would scoop up the whole operation before that could happen. That means if a deal goes through, Paramount wouldn’t just inherit HBO Max and Warner Bros. Studios — they’d also gain control of TNT, TBS, and the entire slate of Turner networks that air AEW programming and pay-per-views.
The ripple effect here for AEW is huge. Paramount already has ties to UFC, which is under the TKO umbrella alongside WWE. If the takeover happens, Paramount may be forced to decide between backing UFC or continuing its relationship with AEW — and history tells us that networks don’t usually double down on competing combat sports brands.
It’s also worth noting that WWE has never been stronger in the media space, with deals spread across Netflix, Peacock, ESPN, and The CW. Meanwhile, AEW just kicked off a fresh rights agreement in January, moving pay-per-view distribution from Bleacher Report to HBO Max, while Amazon Prime picked up regular streaming duties. Their next big test comes September 20 with All Out airing on HBO Max.
Of course, any potential Paramount-WBD merger would face intense scrutiny from the FCC and FTC given the size of the companies involved, so this isn’t something that would happen overnight. But if it does, AEW could find itself at another crossroads in its short but turbulent broadcast history.
One thing’s for sure: just when it seemed like AEW had finally settled its media home, the playing field might be shifting again.
TNA iMPACT! emanates from Minneapolis, Minnesota as The Path to Bound For Glory continues. Don’t miss a moment of the action this Thursday at 8/7c FREE on TNA+, YouTube and TNA’s FAST channels around the world, AXS TV in the US and Sportsnet 360 in Canada!
X-Division Championship #1 Contenders 4-Way: Zachary Wentz vs. Trey Miguel vs. Myron Reed vs. Jake Something
Joe Hendry vs. Eric Young
The Nemeths vs. The System (Eddie Edwards & Brian Myers)
Moose vs. AJ Francis
Jessie McKay w/Cassie Lee vs. Heather By Elegance w/ M By Elegance & The Personal Concierge
AEW is wrapping up its month-long residency at Philadelphia’s legendary 2300 Arena, and the company has been making sure the shows feel special. We’ve already seen MJF cost Mark Briscoe a shot at the TNT Title, Kyle Fletcher take out both Hangman Page and Kenny Omega, and Taz get inducted into the Hardcore Hall of Fame. Tonight on Dynamite, it’s the women’s division taking the spotlight, as “Timeless” Toni Storm puts her AEW Women’s World Championship on the line against Skye Blue in a Philly Street Fight.
And if her latest interaction is any indication, Storm is tapping into the spirit of ECW itself for this one.
Earlier today, ECW legend The Sandman shared a photo and video on X of himself meeting Storm in a hotel room. In the clip, Sandman gifted Storm her very own kendo stick — a weapon he made famous in his hardcore glory days. Storm, in her trademark theatrical fashion, proceeded to “knight” Sandman with the weapon before the two broke into laughter.
Sandman captioned the post:
“You gotta check in with Uncle Hak if you touch down in Philly. But if you meet the timeless one you better be bearing gifts.”
Along with the meeting, Sandman revealed that Storm will be a guest on his Sandman Podcast, though no release date was confirmed.
Storm certainly has no shortage of business to handle in the meantime. After tonight’s street fight against Skye Blue, she’ll defend the AEW Women’s World Championship again at All Out, where she faces Jamie Hayter, Kris Statlander, and Thekla in a four-way clash.
If Storm’s newfound kendo stick plays into the chaos in Philadelphia, fans could be in for a hardcore-flavored chapter in her “timeless” reign.
You gotta check in with Uncle Hak if you touch down in Philly.
But if you meet the timeless one you better be bearing gifts.
Bryan Danielson’s surprise appearance at AEW All In 2025 was one of the weekend’s biggest moments, but “The American Dragon” is making it clear that fans shouldn’t expect a full-time comeback.
After dropping the AEW World Championship to Jon Moxley last fall and stepping away from active competition, Danielson spent much of the past year enjoying life outside the grind of professional wrestling. Still, he slowly dipped his toe back into the scene this spring with appearances for ACTION Wrestling and Ring of Honor, even sneaking in a quick dark match following Collision. That all set the stage for his shocking return at Wembley, where Danielson hit the ring in disguise to help “Hangman” Adam Page fend off the Death Riders and reclaim the AEW World Title.
Speaking on the Kairouz Brothers show, Danielson shared some behind-the-scenes details of that All In moment — including how his body reacted to the physicality and why he ended up wearing a Blue Panther mask.
“It felt good while I was doing it,” Danielson admitted. “And then the next day I didn’t feel so good. I was a bit sore… My doctor just shook his head and said, ‘Bryan, you’re an idiot.’”
Danielson explained that the mask was supposed to help him move through the crowd unnoticed, but it quickly became a comedy of errors.
“Originally, the Blue Panther mask was to get through the crowd without being spotted. But when I tried to hop the rail, I couldn’t get it off! So I had this hoodie, I got the hoodie off, but then I just had the Blue Panther mask on. And then, of course, I start ‘Yes-ing!’ right when I got in.”
What’s Next for Danielson?
Since All In, Danielson has taken on a bigger role with AEW — this time behind the desk. He officially joined the Dynamite commentary team last week, sparking questions about whether his in-ring days are truly behind him. While Danielson didn’t rule out wrestling again, he sounded unsure about whether he could meet the high bar set by today’s AEW roster.
“I don’t know how much you’ll see of me in the ring. Maybe some more commentary. I did Forbidden Door, and I’m backstage sometimes. From a wrestling perspective, it feels more fun to do an indie show in front of 200 people, because the expectations are lower. AEW is action-packed and hard-hitting, and I don’t feel confident I can perform at that level anymore.”
For now, fans will be hearing more of Danielson’s voice than seeing him throw knees in the ring. But if wrestling has taught us anything, it’s to never say never — especially when it comes to “The American Dragon.”
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