WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair is returning to the NWA for a special appearance.
After issuing the invitation earlier this month, the NWA announced this evening that The Nature Boy will be attending the upcoming NWA 73rd Anniversary pay-per-view, Wrestling At The Chase, in St. Louis.
“It was always historic. But now #NWA73 at The Chase will be LEGENDARY. [revolving light emoji] The rumors are true. He’s finally HOME. [high voltage sign emoji] @RicFlairNatrBoy is coming back to the NWA & Wrestling At The Chase!!”
The announcement included a video package of highlights from Flair’s NWA days.
There’s no word on what Flair will be doing at the NWA 73rd Anniversary show. Flair, who was granted his WWE release a few weeks back after requesting it from WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon, appeared at the AAA TripleMania pay-per-view. He is expected to sign with AEW in the near future.
The NWA 73 event will take place on Sunday, August 29 from the Khorassan Ballroom at The Chase in St. Louis.
Dark Side of the Ring will return for the second half of its third season next month with seven episodes left to go.
Dark Side of the Ring returned for a third season earlier this year. Its latest slate of episodes appeared to attract more attention than ever before. The two-hour special all about Brian Pillman to kick off season three got a lot of fans talking, as did a later episode covering Nick Gage and deathmatch wrestling.
The show’s third season isn’t done yet, though. In fact, we’re only halfway through. It took a break over the summer, possibly since traveling to interview people for the show was trickier during the pandemic, or perhaps just to break things up. Dark Side of the Ring’s creators have now released a new trailer for the second half of the season.
The trailer, which you can check out below, includes when Dark Side of the Ring will return as well as a full list of the seven episodes that are left to come. Highlights include The Plane Ride From Hell and The Steroid Trials. Jim Ross is shown at the end of the trailer declaring that he hopes he is never asked about the aforementioned plane ride ever again.
The Steroid Trials are also a hot topic of conversation right now. If you don’t know, Vince McMahon was charged with possession and conspiring to distribute illegal steroids in the early 1990s. Had the chairman been found guilty, he faced time in prison. There’s reportedly a show based on that time in McMahon’s life being created with the help of WWE, hence it being somewhat topical again all these years later.
Dark Side of the Ring will return for the second half of season three on September 16 and air weekly on Vice for six weeks after that. While not confirmed, The Plane Ride From Hell is the episode listed first in the tweet so that will likely be the one that kicks things off again. That also means The Steroid Trials will bring the curtain down on season three if that schedule is stuck to.
WWE President and Chief Revenue Officer Nick Khan says NXT is undergoing a revamp with production changes expected in the coming weeks.
Khan spoke with Ariel Helwani of BT Sport about the new vision for NXT as they want to change how talent will be developed.
“We are doing a complete revamp on NXT, led by Triple H, who is really one of the architects of the original NXT,” Khan revealed. “What we found — it’s part of why we did the tryout yesterday — what we want to make sure is easy for folks who want to be WWE Superstars, is figuring out how to become WWE Superstars.”
“In terms of an NXT re-brand, look for it in the next couple of weeks. It’s going to have a whole new look, it’s going to have a whole new feel — and we believe — because of a lot of the indie wrestlers, if you will, have come through our system and are in our system with SmackDown and RAW now. We don’t want to just keep doing that same thing, we want to look elsewhere for great, young talent.”
Khan was then asked what he meant by a new look and feel for NXT.
“The look of the show, the production of the show, everything is going to change in the next few weeks,” Khan confirmed.
WWE RAW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP Randy Orton and Riddle defeated AJ Styles and Omos (c) to win the RAW Tag Team Championship
Alexa Bliss defeated Eva Marie
– After the match, Bliss stands tall as her music hits. Eva is down at ringside, begging Doudrop to help her up. Bliss makes her exit with Lilly, laughing at Eva. Doudrop walks away from Eva and doesn’t help her up. Doudrop takes the mic and announces Eva as the loser of the match. Fans cheer Doudrop on. Eva is shocked at Doudrop’s behavior. Doudrop puts Eva’s jacket on and continues taunting her as Eva seethes, mouth open in shock. Doudrop walks away with Eva’s robe on as Eva yells about how she made Doudrop.
WWE US CHAMPIONSHIP Damian Priest defeated Sheamus (c) to win the WWE US Championship
WWE SMACKDOWN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP The Usos (c) defeated Rey and Dominik Mysterio
WWE SMACKDOWN WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP Bianca Belair (c) vs. Sasha Banks
Carmella makes her way to the ring and SmackDown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair looks annoyed. The crowd seems deflated at the match change. Belair seethes as Carmella does her entrance, laughing at her. Belair takes the mic and says it may not be tonight but sooner than later it will be she and Sasha Banks in the ring, but until then… she’s just going to take her frustrations out on Carmella and beat her dusty little self, right now, Belair says. They argue as the bell hits but the music interrupts and out comes Becky Lynch to a big pop. Lynch is fired up as is the crowd. Belair is also hyped up as Lynch heads to the ring.
Becky’s shirt says “The Man’s Back In Vegas.” Becky looks at both competitors, then kicks Carmella and throws her out of the ring. Becky tells Belair she’ll be right back. Becky goes to ringside and sends Carmella into the steel steps. Fans chant Becky’s name now. Becky comes back in and faces off with Belair as fans cheer them on. The staredown goes on for a minute as the crowd gets louder. Becky asks for a mic and proposes she and Belair blow the roof off the stadium, for the title. Belair tares Becky down and gestures for the match to happen. The bell rings and the match is on.
WWE SMACKDOWN WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP Becky Lynch defeated Bianca Belair (c) to win the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship
Lynch offers her hand for a shake but instead she decks Belair in the jaw, and drops her with the pumphandle slam to win the title in seconds.
Drew McIntyre defeated Jinder Mahal Veer and Shanky banned from ringside.
WWE RAW WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP Charlotte defeated Nikki A.S.H. and Rhea Ripley to win the RAW Women’s Championship
Edge defeated Seth Rollins
WWE CHAMPIONSHIP Bobby Lashley (c) defeated Goldberg by Referee Stoppage
– Lashley looks shocked as the referee calls the match. Lashley brings a steel chair int he ring and takes Goldberg’s leg out as he gets back up. Lashley goes to unload with chair shots now to keep Goldberg down until the referee stops him. Lashley screams at Goldberg while delivering chair shots. Lashley continues to focus on the leg while keeping Goldberg down. Goldberg’s son Gage runs in and jumps on Lashley’s back but Lashley puts him down with The Hurt Lock. MVP stands with Lashley now. MVP takes the mic and says there was no way Lashley could’ve know that was Goldberg’s son attacking him from behind, it could’ve been anyone. Lashley raises the WWE Title at ringside as MVP announces him as the champion. The music hits as MVP and Lashley head to the back. Goldberg checks on his son and yells out at Lashley, saying he’s going to kill the champ.
WWE UNIVERSAL CHAMPIONSHIP Roman Reigns (c) defeated John Cena
– After the match, Reigns stands tall as Heyman rings the title to him. The music hits and Reigns celebrates. The music stops and Brock Lesnar’s familiar music interrupts, sending Allegiant Stadium into a frenzy. Reigns is riled up and Heyman looks very worried. Lesnar is jacked up as he marches to the ring. Lesnar stands on the ring steps and smiles while staring Reigns down. Lesnar enters the ring and stares Reigns down. Lesnar gets closer, nodding at Reigns and Heyman. Lesnar has a few words for Reigns but we can’t hear them. Reigns backs away as fans boo. Reigns exits the ring, still staring Lesnar down. Heyman backs away with Reigns, mouth still hanging open. Reigns raises the Universal Title in the air and says not tonight. Lesnar’s music starts back up as he raises his arms in the air, playing to each side of the crowd as they cheer him on. Reigns and Heyman head to the back. WWE SummerSlam goes off the air with Lesnar standing tall in the ring.
ROH Glory By Honor (Night 2) took place last night at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. You can check out night 1 results here.
In the main event, Vincent defeated Matt Taven in a Steel Cage Match after hitting a diving cutter off the cage wall for the pinfall victory. As per the stipulations, Vincent has taken Taven’s ROH World Title shot.
Below are the full results:
* Dalton Castle defeated Danhausen
* LSG defeated World Famous CB
* Rok-C and Miranda Alize defeated Chelsea Green and Willow
* Shane Taylor Productions (c) defeated Delirious, Hallowicked, and Frightmare (ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship)
* Mark Briscoe and Brian Johnson defeated Flip Gordon and Demonic Flamita
* The Foundation defeated Violence Unlimited
* Dragon Lee and RUSH defeated Bandido and Rey Horus
* Vincent defeated Matt Taven (Steel Cage Match — Vincent earns Taven’s ROH World Title shot)
Next up for ROH is Death Before Dishonor on September 12 at the 2300 Arena in Philly.
ROH Glory By Honor (Night 1) took place last night at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In the main event, Bandido retained the ROH World Championship against Flip Gordon.
Below are the full results:
* Rok-C and Miranda Alize defeated Sumie Sakai and Chelsea Green (Dark Match) * Silas Young defeated Rey Horus * Demonic Flamita defeated Mike Bennett, PJ Black, Danhausen, Dak Draper, and Eli Isom * Vita VonStarr and Max The Impaler defeated Mandy Leon and Angelina Lova * EC3 defeated Brian Johnson * Mark Briscoe defeated Bateman * Jonathan Gresham (c) defeated Rhett Titus (ROH Pure Championship) * Violent Unlimited (Brody King, Tony Deppen, Chris Dickinson, and Homicide) defeated La Faccion Ingobernable (RUSH, Dragon Lee, Kenny King, and Bestia del Ring) (Philly Street Fight) * Bandido (c) defeated Flip Gordon (ROH World Championship)
Glory By Honor (Night 2) continues tonight with the following matches:
* World Famous CB vs. LSG * Miranda Alize and Rok-C vs. Chelsea Green and Willow * Shane Taylor Productions (c) vs. Incoherence (ROH World Six-Man Championship) * Danhausen vs. Dalton Castle * Violence Unlimited vs. The Foundation * Flip Gordon and Demonic Flamita vs. The Briscoes * ROH World Champion Bandido and Rey Horus vs. Dragon Lee and RUSH * Matt Taven vs. Vincent (Steel Cage Match — If Taven losses, he also loses his ROH World Title shot)
