AEW Rampage Preview 8/19/22

Tonight’s AEW Rampage continues at the West Virginia Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center, airing on TNT at 10/9C.

  • We Hear From ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli
  • Penelope Ford vs. Athena
  • AEW World Trios Championship Quarterfinal: Trustbusters (Parker Bordeaux, Slim J, and Ari Daivari) w/Sonny Kiss vs. Best Friends (Chuck Taylor, Trent Beretta, and Orange Cassidy)
  • FTW Championship: Hook (c) vs. Zack Clayton
  • AEW World Tag Team Championship: Swerve In Our Glory (Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland) (c) vs. Private Party (Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen)
https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1560676718565904384

WWE SmackDown Preview 8/19/22, Zoey Stark Injured?

Tonight’s episode of “WWE SmackDown” will take place at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada,

Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre to go head-to-head

The Viking Raiders will hold a Viking Funeral for The New Day

The WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship tournament is also set to continue tonight, as “NXT 2.0” stars Nikkita Lyons and Zoey Stark will make their “SmackDown” debuts against Natalya and Sonya Deville

There are reports that Zoey Stark is injured and that she and Nikkita Lyons is out of the tournament and may be replaced by Toxic Attraction (Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne).

Update On MJF’S AEW Status

The future of AEW star Maxwell Jacob Friedman — or MJF as he’s better known — has been up in the air for quite some time. The 26-year-old has been open about the possibility of jumping ship to WWE when his AEW contract expires in 2024, and his backstage issues in recent months have been well-documented.

MJF has been absent from AEW television since the episode of “Dynamite” that aired on June 1. His last appearance saw him take to the mic and air his grievances with Tony Khan for spending millions on ex-WWE superstars while leaving him in the lurch. The promo culminated with MJF begging Khan to fire him before calling him a “f***ing mark.” It’s been radio silence ever since.

However, it appears that MJF could be heading back to television in the near future, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. No specific date has been reported as of this writing, though it’s speculated that he could return in the coming weeks as AEW will soon be negotiating a new television deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, and the September TV ratings could be crucial in securing acceptable terms.

The report noted that AEW’s ratings have been down in recent times and the wrestling world has undergone significant changes following the retirement of Vince McMahon. WWE has a lot of momentum right now, so AEW needs “all hands on deck” as soon as possible.

Elsewhere, the report noted that MJF versus CM Punk could be on the cards when the former returns to action. Punk tried to confront MJF following the aforementioned shoot promo on June 1, potentially setting up another angle between them. However, given that CM Punk is reportedly unhappy in AEW at the moment, there is no telling what will happen.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Shawn Michaels promoted to WWE Vice President of Talent Development Creative

Shawn Michaels has been given a promotion in WWE.

Following his retirement in 2010 after losing to The Undertaker at WrestleMania 26, “HBK” took time away from wrestling to be with his family and do other things while occasionally making appearances on WWE television.

Michaels started helping at the Performance Center in late 2016 before becoming a trainer for the finishing class alongside Terry Taylor the following year. In 2018, he started working as a writer and producer for the NXT brand alongside Triple H, who oversaw the creative of the brand.

Michaels stepped up in September 2021 when his good friend was sidelined due to health issues and started running the day-to-day operations of NXT and being in charge of creative.

As previously reported, WWE announced that NXT UK will be rebranded as NXT Europe starting in 2023. NXT UK will go on hiatus before the relaunch. NXT UK will be part of the premium live event, Worlds Collide, with NXT next month. 

Brandon Thurston of WrestleNomics pointed out that Michaels has been given a new title of WWE Vice President of Talent Development Creative.

Source: WrestlingNews.co

REPORT: There is “a ton of backstage drama” involving many top AEW stars

AEW World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk made headlines this week after he went off script and called out Hangman Adam Page on Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite. Page was never planned for the segment to answer Punk’s challenge to a rematch.

As previously reported, there was a concern that Punk wouldn’t show up for the event. After his promo about Page, he shifted his focus to calling out Interim World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley.

In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that right now, there is “a ton of backstage drama involving many of the top guys that has gotten much worse in recent weeks.”

Meltzer suggested that AEW President Tony Khan have a meeting with the top stars to address the issues before things get worse. 

Punk will take on Moxley in a title unification bout on next week’s episode of AEW Dynamite, a match that many believed would be the main event of All Out next month in Chicago.

Meltzer also reported that Colt Cabana’s AEW status is an issue between Page and Punk.

Source: WrestlingNews.co

There Was Reportedly Internal Concern That CM Punk May Quit AEW

Some people within AEW reportedly grew worried that CM Punk would quit the promotion. Here’s the latest.

There’s reportedly concern within the company that AEW World Champion CM Punk may want to quit the company.

CM Punk called out “Hangman” Adam Page during his intense promo on yesterday’s episode of AEW Dynamite. But as previously noted, Punk’s comments caught folks in AEW by surprise. Apparently, this wasn’t supposed to be part of the script, as CM Punk was to focus on building up his world title unification match against Jon Moxley that will take place next week.

It’s not all that uncommon for a wrestler to go off-script, but there may be a lot more to this story that’s worth monitoring.

According to a report from Fightful Select (h/t WrestlingNews.co), Page and Punk didn’t agree on some of the promo stuff ahead of their match at Double or Nothing (which CM Punk won via pinfall). Apparently, Punk even decided to speak to AEW higher-ups about Page’s promos.

Fightful also heard from sources that the 43-year-old wrestler “has often verbally expressed his displeasure”, to the point where “they thought he might end up quitting the company.”

CM Punk isn’t the only notable star that is seemingly frustrated with AEW. It’s been more than two months now since 26-year-old superstar MJF cut his own pipe bomb promo and dared AEW President and CEO Tony Khan to fire him.

That was on the June 1 episode of Dynamite, and MJF hasn’t been on company programming ever since. Before his promo, there was reportedly concern within the company that he wouldn’t show up for his match with Wardlow at Double or Nothing. MJF did show up, losing to his opponent by pinfall.

As of now, the highly-anticipated match between Punk and Moxley is on for next week. But this is certainly something to keep an eye on, especially considering that it’s a major star like Punk. Of course, the former WWE Champion grew very frustrated with Vince McMahon’s promotion to the point where he walked out and never returned in 2014.

Source: TheSportster

WWE Announces Upcoming NXT UK Rebrand And Hiatus

After a handful of “NXT UK” stars appeared on “NXT 2.0” this week, it has now been revealed that the UK-based brand will be undergoing a revamp, slated to take place in 2023. 

WWE has confirmed that “NXT UK” will become “NXT Europe” in 2023. It will continue expanding the current brand that has been active full-time since June 2018, although its beginnings can be traced back to 2016 with the first-ever United Kingdom Championship tournament which took place in Blackpool, England. “Following the success of our live events and talent identification efforts throughout all of Europe, we believe this is the perfect time to expand NXT beyond the UK,” Shawn Michaels, WWE Vice President of Talent Development Creative said. It should be noted, this appears to be the first time Michaels’ new title with the company has been confirmed.

As it stands, “NXT UK” currently airs weekly on Peacock and WWE Network, with its most recent shows being recorded at the BT Sport Studios in London, England. Initially, shows were being recorded on the road around the United Kingdom, but the brand ultimately found a new home, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Just last week, it was revealed that an upcoming television taping was canceled due to the BT Sports Studios being unavailable, which led many to speculate that the future of the brand was in doubt, but that hasn’t turned out to be the case. 

Furthermore, in addition to the “NXT Europe” announcement, WWE revealed that a special premium live event, Worlds Collide, will take place on Sunday, September 4 that will feature stars from “NXT 2.0” and “NXT UK.” While no location has been provided in the official press release, it should be noted that Clash at the Castle, WWE’s next major premium live event, will be taking place at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, the previous night. AEW All Out will take place the evening of Sunday, September 4.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

IMPACT Preview 8/18/22

Following an adrenaline-filled Emergence event, the road to Bound For Glory begins on an all-new IMPACT! this Thursday at 8/7c on AXS TV and 8:30pm ET on YouTube for IMPACT Insiders. And with Victory Road just five weeks away, the action is just getting started!

  • Fallout from Emergence
  •  6 Way Elimination #1 Contenders match:  Eddie Edwards vs. Steve Maclin vs. Moose vs. Sami Callihan vs. Bandido vs. Rich Swann
  • Kenny King vs. Heath
  • X-Division Championship: “Speedball” Mike Bailey (c) vs. Chris Bey
  • Black Taurus vs. Laredo Kid vs. Rey Horus vs. Trey Miguel

The action begins Before the IMPACT, streaming this Thursday at 7:30pm ET exclusively on IMPACT Plus, YouTube and Facebook. After Rosemary and Taya Valkyrie lost the Knockouts World Tag Team Titles to VXT on Countdown to Emergence, the “Demon Assassin” looks to get back to her winning ways when she battles Gisele Shaw!

Backstage News On CM Punk Calling Out “Hangman” Adam Page

CM Punk’s promo calling out ‘Hangman’ Adam Page at the start of “AEW Dynamite” this week was not planned or expected, according to Dave Meltzer on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio. 

While the promo segment was mainly about building the feud between Punk and Jon Moxley – who will compete in a title unification match next week on “AEW Dynamite,” the former WWE Superstar kicked things off by offering Page a rematch, who then did not appear. This led to Punk claiming it was “coward s**t” in a knock to the Cowboy’s catchphrase, but Page responding was never part of the plans as nobody expected Punk to do that. 

It had previously been claimed there was reality to the feud that Punk and Page had over the AEW World Title, particularly when Page had claimed he was fighting for the locker room against Punk. While some fans may have speculated that this could be leading to a match between the two at AEW’s All Out PPV on September 4th, that is currently not on the books for the event, with the promo simply being done off the cuff. 

Page was not involved at all during “AEW Dynamite” this week, but he was backstage throughout the show as The Dark Order member John Silver shared a picture of him on Twitter eating catering in the back after Punk dropped the line stating, “Hangman is a little busy right now.” 

It currently remains to be seen whether this will be implemented into a storyline down the road, but the focus for AEW remains on unifying the AEW World Championships next week, with the storyline between Punk and Moxley heating up during the latest show. Punk threw several verbal jabs at Moxley in his promo, with the two men then being involved in two pull-apart brawls during the show.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

NJPW Announces Its First North American Show With STARDOM Talent

While the working relationship between AEW and New Japan has dominated the headlines in 2022, things are also heating up between New Japan and World Wonder Ring Stardom. The two promotions introduced the IWGP Women’s Championship in late July, which followed an announcement earlier in the month that Stardom talent would be working New Japan shows in the United States starting later in the year. We now know the exact date Stardom talent will be showing up at NJPW events.

Early Thursday morning, New Japan posted a press release on its website, announcing that Stardom talent will be appearing on the Rumble on 44th Street event, taking place in New York City on October 28. Barring New Japan adding Stardom talent to upcoming shows in Los Angeles or Las Vegas, this would be the first event New Japan has promoted in America at which Stardom talent will appear. No specific performers have been mentioned for the event at this time.

Rumble on 44th Street will occur a little less than a month before New Japan and Stardom will run their first ever co-promoted show, Historic X-over, on November 20 in Tokyo. Stardom had previously announced that the first ever IWGP Women’s Champion would be crowned at Historic X-over. As of this writing, neither Stardom nor New Japan has revealed who will compete for the brand new title or if there will be a tournament to determine the first ever champion. As such, it’s unclear if the Stardom match in New York will be related to the IWGP Women’s Title or not.

Tickets for Rumble on 44th Street will go on sale on August 25. In the meantime, New Japan recently wrapped up their G1 Climax tournament, with Kazuchika Okada defeating Will Ospreay to become the fourth wrestler to win back to back G1’s. As a result, he will earn a IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match at Wrestle Kingdom 17 on January 4, 2023. As for Stardom, the promotion is currently running its annual 5-Star Gran Prix tournament, with their next show taking place this Saturday in Osaka.

Source: Wrestling Inc.