* The Elite vs. AEW’s Frankie Kazarian, Sami Callihan & Eddie Edwards
* Chris Bey (w/Jay White) vs. Juice Robinson (w/David Finlay)
* X-Division No. 1 Contender Match: Jake Something vs. Daivari vs. Rohit Raju vs. Trey Miguel
* Fire ‘N Flava vs. Jordynne Grace & Rachael Ellering
* Crazzy Steve (w/Decay) vs. Fallah Bahh (w/No Way) will kick things off on Before The Impact at 7 PM ET.
** Impact Wrestling will no longer air its flagship show on Twitch. The show will continue airing at its original time on AXS TV at 8/7c. For those of you who don’t have AXS TV, Impact has launched a YouTube membership called “Impact Insiders,” which will air the show, as well as other exclusive content for $0.99 a month.
Former WWE Superstar Ruby Riott, who now goes by Ruby Soho, is expected to sign with AEW once her non-compete runs out.
Ruby Riott is expected to sign with AEW once her 90-day non-compete clause with WWE comes to an end.
WWE has released a lot of people so far in 2021. More than 40 of them so far with Bray Wyatt and Ric Flair being shown the door over the course of the last few days. Some of those released have already found landing spots elsewhere, such as Andrade and Chelsea Green. A number of others are still waiting for their non-compete clauses to come to an end, or may just be weighing up their options.
One of those waiting for their non-compete to come to an end is Ruby Riott. Well, the Superstar formerly known as Ruby Riott. She will now be called Ruby Soho going forward, reportedly with the blessing of Rancid, the band who sings the song of the same name. She might even be able to use the track as her entrance whenever she wrestles next.
As for where that might be, according to Fightful Select (via WrestleTalk) Soho’s most likely landing spot is AEW. While the two parties can’t strike a deal until Soho’s time with WWE is officially over, which will be after the non-compete expires, apparently, once that time has passed fans can expect to see her become All Elite.
While AEW has been criticized for picking up a lot of the wrestlers WWE has released over the course of the past 18 months, Soho might be one of the wisest pick-ups so far. No element of AEW has been criticized more during its first two years than its women’s division. It is well on its way to improving that part of its promotion via the likes of Britt Baker and Thunder Rosa, adding Soho to the mix will further it even more.
Bobby Eaton, one half of the iconic tag team The Midnight Express, has sadly passed away at the age of just 62.
Bobby Eaton, famed for his time as one half of The Midnight Express, has passed away at the age of 62.
The wrestling world is waking up to the loss of another legend this morning. Bobby Eaton, one half of the iconic tag team The Midnight Express, has passed away at the age of just 62. Eaton’s sister confirmed the news on Facebook in the early hours of Thursday morning. What caused Eaton’s death is currently unknown.
“My Little Brother Beautiful Bobby Eaton passed away last night,” Eaton’s sister Debbie revealed on Facebook. Debbie posted a tribute to her late brother, also revealing Eaton’s daughter Taryn was the one who found him. A particularly tough time for the family as Taryn’s mom, Eaton’s wife Donna, only passed away a month ago, also aged 62.
While Eaton was also an incredibly talented singles wrestler, his most famous run in the business was as one half of The Midnight Express. Commonly referred to as one of the greatest tag teams in wrestling history, Eaton was the tandem’s mainstay throughout the team’s run. First alongside Dennis Condrey, and then partnered with Stan Lane after Eaton’s first partner departed JCP.
While Eaton’s stellar tag team work will always overshadow what he did as a part of The Midnight Express, it cannot be ignored. He may have never been a World Champion, but he did defeat Arn Anderson for the WCW TV Title in the early ’90s. Eaton even had the chance to be the one to break Goldberg’s legendary undefeated streak in WCW. Goldberg revealed that he pitched the idea to higher-ups, suggesting it happen off TV in Eaton’s hometown. They didn’t like the idea so it never happened.
While it is unclear what caused Eaton to pass away at this time, the former Tag Team Champion has reportedly been in poor health as of late. The wrestler suffered a bad fall last month which resulted in him being hospitalized. He was also hospitalized with heart issues back in 2019. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends at this time.
WWE issued a statement on Eaton’s passing:
WWE is saddened to learn that Bobby Eaton passed away at the age of 62.
A Huntsville, Alabama native, Eaton built a reputation as one of the greatest tag team wrestlers of all time during his nearly 40-year career. Eaton broke in at the age of 17 with NWA Mid-America and in just two years captured his first championship by teaming with Leapin’ Lanny Poffo to claim the NWA Mid-America Tag Team Titles.
After a stint with the Continental Wrestling Association, Eaton joined forces with Dennis Condrey to carry the torch for the memorable Midnight Express. “Beautiful” Bobby & “Lover Boy” Dennis quickly rose to prominence in Jim Crockett Promotions and won the NWA World Tag Team Titles from The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express. Following Condrey’s departure, Midnight Express carried on with “Sweet” Stan Lane teaming with Eaton for memorable rivalries against The Samoan S.W.A.T. Team, The Fabulous Freebirds, The Steiner Brothers and more on their way to a United States Tag Team Title reign.
Eaton would make a strong singles run following the departure of Lane and defeated Arn Anderson to win the World Television Championship at SuperBrawl I. An ensuing run with Rick Rude, Larry Zbyszko, Steve Austin and Anderson of The Dangerous Alliance culminated with a legendary double-ring War Games Match at WrestleWar 1992 against Sting’s Squadron. After stops with Smoky Mountain Wrestling and New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Eaton would return to WCW before competing on the independent circuit up until 2015.
Eaton amassed countless accolades during his career but perhaps none more meaningful than the impact he left on his peers with Mick Foley, Steve Austin and others having praised Eaton as one of the most underrated and nicest Superstars in the business.
WWE extends its condolences to Eaton’s family, friends and fans.
Former WWE NXT Superstars Ever-Rise are set to debut on AEW Dynamite tonight.
As seen below, AEW has announced that Matt Lee (fka Matt Martel) and Jeff Parker (fka Chase Parker) are now going by 2.0, and have joined the company. They will debut tonight on the Homecoming edition of Dynamite on TNT, which airs live from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville.
2.0 have aligned with Daniel Garcia, and will go up against Jon Moxley, Darby Allin and Eddie Kingston in six-man action tomorrow night.
2.0, known as 3.0 before signing with WWE in January 2019, were released from the company back on June 25. They had developed a following of fans on social media, and were endorsed by various WWE Superstars, including Kevin Owens. Ever-Rise worked the weekly NXT show at times, but also had several appearances on WWE 205 Live.
A new report indicates that WWE officials expect to return to the ThunderDome in the next few weeks as COVID-19 cases begin to rise in the United States.
It was noted by Cassidy Haynes of Bodyslam that internally, WWE expects that they will have to return to the Performance Center, or another venue for the ThunderDome, within a few weeks. It was also noted that there’s an internal feeling that SummerSlam “can/will be cancelled” at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The feeling is said to be that WWE fully expects they will not be on the road in four weeks time, as there is concern about “how they will be able to proceed in a non-contained environment.”
WWE officials reportedly do not expect another round of lockdowns, but they are fully anticipating bans on mass gatherings to be announced in the coming weeks.
This new report comes after Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men podcast reported last week that WWE was working on contingency plans in case the pandemic forces more shutdowns. It was noted that WWE has been looking at 6 or 7 venues to potentially run shows out of if the pandemic worsens.
Furthermore, @Wrestlevotes issued an update today, in an apparent response to the Bodyslam report. It was noted that WWE sources say SummerSlam at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday, August 22 is still the plan as we’re now less than three weeks away. It was also said that WWE has had conversations with Vegas officials and Allegiant Stadium reps, and as of this morning, everything remains on track.
We have reached out to WWE for comment on the SummerSlam situation and will update the story as more information becomes available.
Tonight’s WWE NXT episode will air on Syfy due to coverage of The Olympics on the USA Network. The show will return to the normal timeslot next Wednesday night.
WWE taped this NXT episode the week before last from the Capitol Wrestling Center at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando.
On Saturday, WWE announced that they had let go of the two-time Universal Champion. It has since been reported that several within WWE, including multiple superstars, were frustrated and surprised by Wyatt’s release. Apparently, WWE’s television partners aren’t pleased with the move either.
“Bray’s released is really disappointing and a little scary that top stars are being let go,” a network source told Zarian.
Wyatt was among the company’s top merchandise sellers, as well as one one of the longest-tenured WWE superstars on the roster. He had been with the company since 2009. Wyatt was renowned for the ability to reinvent his character time and time again. On top of that, it appeared as though Wyatt was about to return, making his release all the more perplexing.
Wyatt’s final WWE appearance came on the Apr. 12 episode of Monday Night Raw. Following his loss to Randy Orton at WrestleMania 37, Wyatt announced that he was seeking a fresh start.
Following previous reports that Natalya had suffered an ankle injury on this past Monday’s Raw, the Queen of Harts seems to have already undergone surgery over the weekend for this issue.
While Natalya has not given a set timetable on her expected recovery time, the Wrestling Observer reports that the former SmackDown Women’s Champion is likely to be out of action for weeks rather than months.
Currently one half of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions with Tamina Snuka, Natalya suffered this ankle injury as she and Tamina took on Eva Marie and Doudrop last Monday night. The injury occurred midway through the match, with Natalya seemingly getting her ankle caught under Doudrop before quickly tagging out and having to be helped to the back.
WWE has already announced that there will be an update on all of this on tonight’s Raw broadcast, although the belief is that Natalya and Tamina will not be being stripped of their titles.
All the best to Natalya for a swift and full recovery.
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