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Welcome to the weekly WWE/Wrestling News roundup where we bring the biggest wrestling stories that unfolded this week. WWE hosted the pay-per-view Clash of Champions where each of the title was on line. Not only that, this week marked the debut of WWE NXT live that is scheduled to air every Wednesday on the USA Network.
On the other hand, the wrestling business is buzzing with WWE’s all-out war with AEW. While some have already picked their sides, others are hoping for both promotions to up their game and benefit the overall business as a result.
We have already seen few shots being exchanged and can only hope to see it get more intense once both promotions have their weekly shows on air.
So without further ado, let’s dig into what happened in the past week and how it will shape the immediate future of wrestling.
#10 Kenny Omega’s brutal response to NXT
The impending clash between WWE and AEW is being dubbed as a war amongst the wrestling fandom. However, AEW star Kenny Omega is not in complete favor of declaring a ‘war’ on people he calls his friends. But that did not make him hold back his thoughts on why AEW will dominate the Wednesday Night Wars.
He also went on to say that WWE NXT stars would be involved in dark matches at the end of the shows which he main-evets.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Omega implied that they are superior to ‘development’ talent by saying,
You can call it a war if you want. It's like, to me, we're in a completely different kind of business. I mean what they're doing is different from what we're doing. It's weird, because it's hard to say you're going to war with people that I call my friends.
And yet, we are going to war. And yet, when I sit back and look at the grand picture, I'm going to war with these dudes that, if we were on the same show together, the same promotion...let's pretend there were no borders. Let's pretend there were no promotions. Let's just pretend there's just one big promotion. If these guys were in the same show as me, they'd be in the dark match. They'd be in the opening match of my main event match.
You wanna call that a war, you wanna call that competition? Go ahead. Maybe it's fun for you to do. That's cool. But we're different planets. And you're going to see that right away, when you see 10000+ arenas sold out. You're going to see smiles on fans' faces. You're going to see real stars. Not developmental talent but real stars appearing on your television sets, every week.
#9 Triple H opens up about Vince McMahon’s involvement in NXT
On State of Combat podcast earlier this week, WWE COO Triple H addressed the biggest challenges he faced when NXT as moved to Live television. He talked about how it is riskier to follow the cues on Live TV which allow little to no room for errors in time management.
During the conversation, he also talked about Vince McMahon’s involvement in NXT and said
"As far as the product changing, I always want the product to change and get better from my point of view. Will it hopefully get better? Yes. Will Vince McMahon or anybody else's involvement change the core? No. The intent is not for them to be involved. You know, one thing that people don't give Vince McMahon credit for is that none of this would happen without him. The concept, the idea of it being an alternative brand doesn't exist without him and that is part of what makes it great, is his ability to make us do that and his ability to step back and say, 'This is what it is and I am not going to change that because it moves to a different platform, it is successful for a reason and I want that reason to continue to grow.”
"Truth is, everything with WWE has his fingerprints on it, even NXT. I have sat under his learning tree for 25+ years and a lot of things that I do were taught directly from him. It definitely has his fingerprints, everything in the company has his fingerprints but we're not looking to change NXT, he's not looking to get involved; trust me, he's got enough stuff going on. NXT is going to be what it is and what it has been as an alternative and much more for our core base; for those who are super passionate and really into what we do as opposed to being a casual fan. The people who are really into it, this is the brand for them. They are going to feel like this is home for them. If anything, we'll just make it more of that."
#8 Jon Moxley names his next target
Ciampa wasn’t the only one who suffered the wrath of unfortunate injuries this year. AEW wrestler Jon Moxley was forced to take hiatus from in-ring action after his elbow fell prey to MSRA infection. This also kept him out of AEW All Out where he was scheduled to face Kenny Omega. Since he also appears on New Japan Pro-wrestling and it looks like he is keen on taking care of an ‘unfinished business’ there.
He talked about facing Juice Robinson for his IWGP US Championship and said,
“As United States Champion, I think I've gotta settle the score with Juice Robinson. Before I do anything else, that's number one on the agenda. So let's get an answer, sign the contract, get the plane tickets and get that out the way. After I put him in the ground, I plan on remaining US Champion. After that, I'm sure there'll be a lot of people gunning for that title. I'll have my head on a swivel, there'll be challengers coming from all directions."
“I told the world, and I told the media if he wants a shot at the US Championship, he gets it, but only if it's no disqualification," Moxley said. "I don't want a referee in the way to save him from his fate. If he can beat me in that environment, fine. Take the championship; you deserve it. But let's put this thing to bed, no DQ, and no ref to step in between us”, he added.
#7 Lio Rush’s return
According to the rumors, WWE Superstar Lio Rush was subjected to a lot of heat backstage while he was the spokesperson of Bobby Lashley. If reports are to be believed, his ‘attitude’ and failure to ‘adhere to WWE rules’ led to his distance from the company.
Furthermore, Rush removed all mentions of WWE from his social media accounts and circulated an email id for bookings which fuelled the reports of him leaving WWE. However, this week we saw him return to NXT on the yellow brand’s first-ever Live episode.
Rush is now a babyface who fought against Oney Lorcan to earn a title opportunity against WWE Cruiserweight Champion, Drew Gulak.
#6 Teddy Long gives verdict on WWE vs AEW
Former SmackDown General Manager Teddy Long claimed that AEW will it be successful in beating WWE. In conversation with Wrestling Inc's Andy Malnoske, Long said that he is excited from SmackDown Live’s move to FOX network and believes that competition is healthy for the growth of professional wrestling. However, he feels that there is a long way to go before any other company beats WWE.
"It's always good to have competition. The WWE is always gonna be my home, but I wish much love and success to AEW, ROH, all these guys out there. Everybody is trying to make money and I wanna see them make money. Competition is always good and they can do whatever they want but they are not gonna beat WWE. You can believe that playa."
#5 Beth Phoenix reveals why she left WWE in 2012
WWE Superstar and Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix is now an NXT commentator and she is enjoying her stint with the mic. In a recent interview with Sean Mooney, Phoenix talked about her responsibilities as a commentator and how she took criticism to improve her skills.
In the podcast, she also revealed why she had to leave WWE back in 2012.
"I was really frustrated with where the women were at from a company standpoint and the investment that was being made in us. I felt in my heart I had done my best, and I'd try really hard to change things but, at some point, I just got really frustrated.”
"Also, all the travel. I had been away from my family for a long time. We buried both my grandparents, my uncle passed away from cancer; I missed so many milestones in my family’s lives, that I just thought it was time to come home and be with them for a little bit and take a break from the road. And in that time, Adam's [Copeland] career as an actor was taking off, and I had just had the baby. I just took that supportive role at home, and I loved it. I loved being a stay-at-home mom. I followed wrestling, but I had just kind of made peace with, like, that was my career. I'm now a mom, and I'm going to find other things to do with my life."
#4 Ricochet’s girlfriend sends a warning to Maria Kanellis
Earlier this week, WWE Superstar Mike Kanellis saw one of the best moments of his life turn into a nightmare when his wife Maria announced that Ricochet is the father of her baby. An agitated Mike tried to fight Ricochet inside the ring but could not beat his opponent. That’s when Maria announced that she made up all the stuff about Ricochet in order to motivate Mike so that he fights to save the dignity of his wife and their unborn child.
However, this sneaky move backfired at Maria who received a threat from Ricochet’s girlfriend and NXT Superstar, Kacy Catanzaro. She took to Twitter and fired a warning at Maria saying that if she mentions her man again, she will have to come to the main roster to take care of it herself.
This could be a way to bring Kacy on the main roster. But irrespective of WWE’s intentions behind naming Ricochet as the dad of Maria’s unborn child, it was hilarious to see the entire segment unfold. Not to mention, it also aided in announcing the return of Rusev.
#3 WWE Commentators banned from naming Chris Jericho?
Unsurprisingly, you may not hear WWE legend and former Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho’s name being mentioned during the commentary. He is now signed with AEW and as per the reports, WWE commentators have been instructed not to mention Y2J.
Jericho took the IC title to new altars which explains why he is always mentioned whenever the Intercontinental title is in picture. However, this Sunday we did not see the commentators referring to Jericho during Miz vs Shinsuke Nakamura.
Following Clash of Champions, Dave Meltzer of WON stated
"The one thing I thought was funny was when I mean not funny but because it was expected is, they were pushing that if Miz won that he would tie the record for most Intercontinental Championships of all time but they could not say Chris Jericho holds the record. It’s kind of like (if you can’t say it why bother saying it), especially the key why since he didn’t win. Like if he won, if he was going to win you can say that but the fact that he isn’t going to win and you can’t say Chris Jericho’s name why bring it up? It doesn’t even make any sense to bring it up."
#2 Triple H gives a major update on Tommaso Ciampa’s return
Former NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa suffered from an unfortunate injury back in February 2019 which forced him to relinquish his title. He has been out of action since March but is expected to make his comeback sooner than you can imagine.
During the NXT press event, Triple H addressed Ciampa’s expected return and was quoted saying
“He is getting very close. When you come down to the end of-unfortunately I've been through a lot of these, when you come down to the end there is this point and time when you are just chopping at the bit. You're ready to go, you feel like you can move the world. And yet, the doctors are still like, 'Give it a bit more, take it slow.'
That last couple of percent to getting to 100% is the most frustrating part for an athlete because you feel like you can take on the world but you can't just quite yet. He's ready, he's as close as he can get. He is the racehorse right now, stomping and pulling at that gate. When that doctor tells him to go, he's going to come flying out of there."
It is clear that we will see Ciampa back in business as soon as he gets a go-ahead from his doctors. Here’s wishing him a speedy recovery.
#1 Brock Lesnar set to appear on the season premiere of RAW
One of the most decorated stars of professional wrestling, Brock Lesnar is confirmed to appear on September 30 episode of RAW. This season premiere will witness the Beast Incarnate take over Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.
Now that Paul Heyman holds major influence over the production of Monday Night RAW, we can only expect him to use his client in the best way possible. However, it is important to note that Lesnar appeared on last week’s SmackDown Live and challenge Kofi Kingston for the WWE Championship. The two are set to lock horns on SD Live’s debut episode on FOX.
With Lesnar already being involved in a title picture, it will be interesting to see how Heyman utilizes him to create a ruckus on Monday Night RAW.
WWE have also advertised Universal Champion Seth Rollins, RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch, United States Champion AJ Styles and one half of Women’s Tag Team Champions, Alexa Bliss for the show. Additionally, The Fiend, Braun Strowman and The Miz will also make an appearance on RAW Season Premier.
