Nikkita Lyons has returned to in-ring action.
At Friday night’s WWE NXT live event in Davenport, Florida, Lyons was victorious in her in-ring return. This marked her first match since she suffered a knee injury on an episode of WWE NXT in January.
Source: eWn
The go-home episode of “WWE SmackDown” before Bad Blood is starting to resemble a can’t-miss event. In addition to a WWE Tag Team Championship match, a Dumpster Match, and other contests, fans can expect to see the return of AJ Styles on the upcoming October 4 installment of “SmackDown.” The announcement was made Friday night via a “SmackDown” video package that saw Styles, donned in his signature black attire and hood, walking through guerilla. The package then cut to various compilations of Styles’ best in-ring moments alongside Styles saying his signature catchphrase, “this is still the house that AJ Styles built.”
As of writing, there is currently no further information as to Styles’ post-return plans. Styles’ last televised WWE match saw him shout “I quit” to Cody Rhodes at Clash at the Castle 2024, losing his chance at the Undisputed WWE Championship in the process. Any potential Bad Blood plans for Styles, who hails from the state of Georgia, are also unknown, as the Atlanta-based event is slated for the night after his return to WWE programming.
Styles has been absent from the blue brand for more than three months since his loss in Scotland, though he did perform on WWE’s Japanese and German international house show tours. Styles has had a bit more luck outside of WWE as of late, as his last televised match, across any show, saw him pick up the win against Naomichi Marufuji at Pro Wrestling NOAH’s Destination 2024 PPV in July. Styles hasn’t wrestled at all since August 29.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
The Lucha Bros are expected to join WWE in the near future, but as of this moment, the former AEW World Tag Team Champions have not signed with the company.
Reports emerged this week that Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix had both agreed to multi-year deals with WWE, but Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select is reporting that is not the case.
Penta and Fenix are currently under contract with AEW.
Sources within the company tell Fightful that they believe Fenix still has time left on his contract with AEW, making it impossible for him to come to terms with WWE.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter is reporting that Penta is set to join WWE when his contract expires within the next two months.
The report states, “As far as Fenix goes, right now AEW is tacking on injury time which is nearly but not quite one year. Khan made both significant offers to stay but they wouldn’t sign a new deal.”
Sources: eWn and Sports Illustrated
Tonight’s WWE SmackDown live on the USA Network from the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
WWE’s partnership with Hulu for next-day VOD has come to an end.
The agreement between the two sides officially expired this week, and next-day replays of RAW, NXT and SmackDown are no longer on the platform unless you have a Hulu account with a live TV plan.
The company’s documentary content with A&E are still on the platform. This is due to A&E’s licensing agreement. The same goes for Love & WWE: Bianca and Montez, which is a Hulu original series.
It is said that the WWE NXT replays will be moving to The CW App on October 1st. The rest of the WWE NXT library will likely go with it.
WWE SmackDown and RAW are still on Peacock on a 30-day delay.
Source: eWn
Fightful Select has shared an update on WWE Superstar Shinsuke Nakamura.
According to the report, Nakamura is currently in a situation similar to AJ Styles’. The Japanese wrestler is reportedly in good health but is currently not showcased on WWE programming.
Nakamura recently participated in some of WWE’s international tour dates in Europe and Japan. He was involved in various matches, facing off against opponents such as Cody Rhodes, AJ Styles, LA Knight, Ludwig Kaiser, Sheamus, and Ilja Dragunov.
At one of the Japan shows, Nakamura joined forces with Kevin Owens to take on The Bloodline.
However, since Nakamura is not being featured on WWE TV for undisclosed reasons, the creative team seems to have no plans for him currently.
Source: eWn
Fans eager to see Alexa Bliss back on WWE TV may have to wait until 2025.
Bliss hinted at her return on social media yesterday, writing, “Don’t worry, Darling. I’ll see you soon enough.”
Pwinsider is reporting that according to sources, WWE creative does not expect Bliss to return immediately.
The source states that Bliss will likely not return until the holiday season, so fans may not see her until 2025 at the earliest.
Additionally, the current creative regime aims to “maximize” its decisions and is in no rush to bring anyone back on TV.
Notably, a Lily doll was spotted in the background during a backstage segment featuring The Judgment Day on Monday Night RAW.
You can check out Bliss’ post below:
Source: eWn
WWE, with some help from celebrity musician Cardi B, has announced the date and location for next year’s SummerSlam, almost a year in advance. WWE SummerSlam 2025 is set to take place Saturday, August 2, and Sunday, August 3, 2025, at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Information for ticket sales will become available at a later date, though WWE is offering pre-sale access to those who sign up at their website.
SummerSlam 2025 is set to be the company’s first-ever two-night incarnation of it’s second-largest annual premium live event, dubbed the “Biggest Party of the Summer.” The company’s largest, WrestleMania, became a two-night affair in 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with WrestleMania 36. After several years of that format, WWE announced earlier this year that WWE SummerSlam 2026 will take place over two nights, live from U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Last month, Paul “Triple H” Levesque hinted that SummerSlam could be expanding sooner than the previously-announced 2026, leading to today’s announcement.
“New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and the entire NJSEA team have been phenomenal partners, hosting several major UFC events in recent years including the record-breaking UFC 302 in June,” said Peter Dropick, TKO Executive Vice President of Event Development and Operations, in a WWE press release. “We’re excited to bring WWE back to New Jersey in a major way with the first-ever two-night SummerSlam at MetLife Stadium.”
Rapper Cardi B made a simultaneous announcement on social media, taking to X, formerly Twitter, to say “Here’s to the Streets.. and to my girl @BiancaBelairWWE SummerSlam. 2Nights. MetLife Stadium. August 2nd and 3rd.” Cardi B has long been public about her WWE fandom, and the announcement could indicate that the New York City native intends to involve herself with Bianca Belair in the lead-up to next year’s SummerSlam.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Stephanie Vaquer made her on-screen debut during this week’s episode of WWE NXT.
In the main event segment on this week’s edition of NXT, Roxanne Perez and Giulia were involved in a “press conference” prior to their Women’s Title match on next week’s debut on The CW Network.
As the two women took shots at each other, Vaquer appeared on the big screen from Chile to interrupt Giulia. She revealed that she’ll be waiting for the winner of next week’s match.
Source: eWn
Netflix’s “Mr. McMahon” docuseries will become available to watch tomorrow, but according to a new report from Puck, the former WWE CEO attempted to stop its release in the most Vince McMahon way possible. After seeing some early footage from the series, McMahon allegedly reached out to Netflix to attempt to buy back the rights to the show. His attempt was unsuccessful, and Netflix declined to comment in the report.
McMahon released a statement on the impending documentary, calling it a “deceptive narrative” and claiming that the series conflates his wrestling persona with his real personality. However, McMahon began his statement by saying he did not regret his involvement with the docuseries.
When it was first conceived, the project had the official involvement of both WWE and McMahon. However, things took a turn when McMahon was forced to step down from his role with the company in 2022 after allegations of sexual misconduct and trafficking first became public. Though it’s been awhile since there were any public updates, McMahon is under scrutiny from federal officials, and a civil lawsuit regarding those allegations is currently on hold pending that investigation.
Earlier this week, a report detailed initial reactions to “Mr. McMahon” from people backstage in WWE, with Dave Meltzer stating that there were some McMahon supporters in the company who were not happy. The timing of the documentary’s release is notable, as WWE and Netflix are set to enter a long-term partnership at the beginning of 2025 that will see “WWE Raw” stream live on the platform.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
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