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.

Jon Moxley vs CM Punk AEW Championship Unification Match Set For Next Week’s Dynamite

Next Wednesday, AEW Champion CM Punk will face off against the interim champion Jon Moxley to determine who will become the true AEW World Champion.

AEW fans are in for a PPV calibre match-up on next week’s episode of Dynamite. The AEW World Champion, CM Punk, is set to take on the Interim AEW World Champion, Jon Moxley, and determine who will continue on as AEW’s true champion.

Last night’s episode of Dynamite saw the two men confront each other in the ring. The two had harsh words for each other; Punk called Moxley a second-rate wrestler, while Moxley effectively said that Punk is only in AEW because he “ran out of money.”

CM Punk became AEW World Champion this past May at Double or Nothing after defeating Hangman Adam Page. Just a few days later, however, CM Punk broke his foot during a trios match with FTR. He consequently had to announce his injury the following week and stepped away from the ring, much to the dismay of the AEW faithful.

Soon after Punk’s announcement, AEW began the process of crowning an interim champion. Jon Moxley first won a battle royale and then defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi at NJPW x AEW Forbidden Door to claim the title. He’s since defended the belt against several contenders, including Brody King, Rush, and Chris Jericho.

CM Punk made his return to AEW at Quake by the Lake, and he’s come back with a vengeance.

Many fans expected this bout to happen at All Out; it not only has incredibly high stakes, but will be between two of the biggest stars of this generation. For whatever reason, though, AEW has decided to give it to fans a few weeks earlier than anticipated.

Next week’s episode of Dynamite will take place in Ohio, so Moxley has a bit of a hometown advantage. However, it’s truly any man’s game heading into next week. Will CM Punk get the title reign he earned for himself in May? Or will Moxley continue to set the wrestling world on fire with the true AEW World Championship around his waist?

Source: TheSportster

https://twitter.com/BRWrestling/status/1560056997348667392
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Kenny Omega Returns To AEW On Dynamite

“The God Of Pro Wrestling” Kenny Omega returned to an AEW ring following a 277-day hiatus on this week’s thrilling edition of AEW Dynamite on TBS.

Kenny Omega is BACK! The former All Elite Wrestling World Champion set foot in an AEW ring for the first time in 277 days when he was revealed as the mystery partner of The Young Bucks (Nick & Matt Jackson) prior to the main event of this week’s edition of AEW Dynamite on TBS.

It all went down at the Charleston Coliseum in Charleston, West Virginia on Wednesday, August 17. Omega joined forces with his Elite teammates The Young Bucks to take on La Faccion Ingobernable (Andrade El Idolo, Dragon Lee & Rush) in trios tag team action. Omega sold his knee injury throughout the match, and was clearly showing signs of ring rust — although that was almost certainly exaggerated as an element of his comeback story.

The Elite got the win when Omega hit the One-Winged Angel on Dragon Lee. With the win, the trio advanced to the semi-finals of the AEW Trios Championship Tournament where they will face with The United Empire or Death Triangle.

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1560079093911126016
https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1560079579598946304

Omega had been out of action since losing the AEW World Championship to “Hangman” Adam Page at Full Gear on Saturday, November 13.

Per Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Omega was recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery and was scheduled to undergo several more surgeries in the months that followed. The Cleaner’s health woes don’t stop there, sadly. Last year, he revealed that he has been experiencing bouts of vertigo during his matches since 2018.

Between 2018-2021, Omega had one of the most packed schedules of any professional wrestler outside WWE. He participated in numerous highly-praised matches and is one of the most consistently phenomenal wrestlers in the business. On top of that, Omega also serves as one of AEW’s executive vice presidents. Needless to say, the fact that he was able to work around his numerous health issues and regular bouts of vertigo for three years is extremely impressive.

Whether Omega returns to a full-time schedule remains to be seen, but it’s good to have him back.

AEW Dynamite Preview 8/17/22, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat

Tonight’s episode of “AEW Dynamite” — which will be sponsored by HBO’s “House of the Dragon,” set to premiere on August 21 — will emanate live from Charleston, West Virginia.

* As a special surprise for the show, it was confirmed by AEW CEO Tony Khan yesterday that Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat will serve as special guest timekeeper throughout the broadcast.

* “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson and Daniel Garcia squaring off in a two-out-of-three falls match

* AEW World Trios Championship tournament will kick off when Andrade El Idolo, Rush, and Dragon Lee battle The Young Bucks and a mystery partner

* Varsity Blonds (Brian Pillman Jr. and Griff Garrison) will take on the Gunn Club (Austin and Colten Gunn) w/Billy Gunn

* Toni Storm is set to face Kilynn King

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1559933320162471938

Mickie James Addresses What Is Next For Her

Earlier this month, former WWE Women’s Champion Mickie James dropped a bombshell by expressing on Twitter that she was “done in wrestling.” After seemingly bringing the curtain down on her near 23-year career — with her last match taking place in July at the ABC 12eme Festival International in France — James has now opened up about what might be next. 

“I think I’ll always do stuff with wrestling in some capacity,” James said to MyTV26 at StocktonCon 2022. “I enjoy doing things like this [conventions] as a way to reconnect with the fans and, um, I don’t really know what’s next, that’s the beauty of it.”

While continuing to appear at wrestling conventions around the world — with her next major convention appearance taking place during WWE’s Clash at the Castle weekend in Cardiff, Wales, for WrestleFest UK — James is a regular weekly guest on Sirius XM’s “Busted Open Radio” show, discussing the world of pro wrestling with fans who call in and with personalities within the business. James is also currently a co-host on “GAW TV,” alongside Lisa Marie Varon (fka Victoria) and So Cal Val. 

James’ last televised match took place on July 14 during an episode of “Impact Wrestling,” where the former Knockouts Champion was defeated by Chelsea Green. James reigned as Knockouts Champion earlier this year before losing the title to Tasha Steelz in March. Prior to losing to Steelz, James surprisingly entered the 2022 WWE Women’s Royal Rumble match while carrying the Knockouts Championship. In addition to those aforementioned promotions, the 42-year-old has also stepped inside the squared circle for the National Wrestling Alliance and Game Changer Wrestling this year. 

Source: Wrestling Inc. with credit to MyTV26

Kris Statlander Provides Update On Her Injury

Kris Statlander expects to miss at least six to eight months of action after undergoing surgery to fix a torn ACL.

In her first interview post-injury, Statlander touched upon how her knee landed awkwardly after she struck Sierra with a running kick on a recent episode of “AEW Dark.”

“I did a big boot which I don’t really do that often, but I decided to do it that day,” Statlander recalled on AEW’s Road to West Virginia YouTube special. “When I landed, my knee buckled on me. After getting an MRI, [it was revealed] I had a completely torn ACL. My lateral meniscus is torn, and there is lateral impaction fractures in my tibia and femoral heads, so tiny little cracks that are more of a bruise, but still [I] technically have a broken leg.”

“I’ve had a similar injury with my left leg, so my good knee went bad,” Statlander continued. “But what’s weird is that with the first one, I was in so much pain and couldn’t walk. But with this one, I didn’t really have as much pain. It was uncomfortable at first but after about 24-36 hours, I was able to walk around on it fine. Little to no swelling. So, we were really hoping for the best, and it turned out to be the worse.”

Despite the MRI revealing the worse possible outcome, Statlander is determined to bounce back “bigger, more powerful, and more than a woman” at some point in 2023.

Statlander, who missed nearly a year due to an ACL tear in 2020, hopes to call upon her past experience in her current recovery.

“So, recovery time is about 6-8 months,” Statlander confirmed. “Once we had the MRI, we were hoping it’d just be a meniscus tear; that would have kept me out for 3 months at the most. But now that we know the ACL is torn, it could be 6-8 months. Hopefully closer to 6, considering I know what I have to do. I’ve done this before.

“I came back biger and stronger the last time, and I’m going to use this opportunity to do that one more time — because fall down two times, get up three,” Statlander said with a thumbs up gesture. “I’m just trying to stay positive, gotta make the jokes — it’s the only way to do it.”

In conclusion, Statlander thanked her fan base for supporting through adversity.

“Whenever my return is, I’m really looking forward to being able to feel in the crowd,” Statlander stressed. “So, thank you all for supporting me.”

Statlander was reportedly in line for a huge push prior to her injury. She was on a winning streak for nearly four months, and seemed prime to challenge Jade Cargill for the AEW TBS Championship. Many believe her AEW career went on a different trajectory after she dumped her previous “Galaxy’s Greatest Alien” character for the “More than a Woman” persona, a change that Statlander herself felt was necessary.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Triple H Outlines His Plans As Head Of WWE Creative

Triple H has highlighted a “massive opportunity” following his promotion at WWE.

Newly-installed WWE head of creative Triple H has outlined his goals following the retirement of former CEO and chairman Vince McMahon.

McMahon has been replaced by his daughter Stephanie McMahon, who is now chairwoman of the company, as well as co-CEO alongside president Nick Khan. Triple H has taken over as the creative lead and the changes are already evident.

The 11-time World Champion spoke during an earnings call this week, acknowledging how big of an opportunity there is to do something special while noting his experience behind the scenes with claims he’s had a hand in creative affairs for a very long time.

“I think the opportunity in front of us is massive, and as a great man once told me, first day on the job thinking, and that’s what we’re doing here is first day on the job thinking,” he said (H/T WrestleZone).

“For me, I’ve been doing this for a long time, from behind the scenes and creative, since really almost the very beginning of my career here with WWE. But I’m approaching it from a first day. What is working, what isn’t working, from the overall picture all the way down to the smallest of details and really trying to create from there.

“It all comes down to the same thing that it’s come down to since the beginning is creating iconic characters, putting them in amazing storylines, and fantastical storylines and whatever works for those characters the best, and then running with it and watching how fans react to that along the way.

Triple H would certainly love it if the WWE Universe deemed him responsible for the emergence of new stars, so he’s keen on creating at least a few.

“So I think the opportunity is massive, I think it’s an opportunity for us to not only engage with the stars that we have for our fans but to create new stars as well and create the platform and the opportunity for them to become bigger than anything we’ve seen prior to it.”

Stephanie, who paid tribute to her father during the call, revealed she offered to step in as interim CEO after details of the investigation into the latter’s misconduct leaked via the press (and wasn’t forced), despite having taken a leave of absence just prior.

Source: TheSportster