Welcome to the WrestlingNews.com Insider Weekly Newsletter!
This week’s issue, Issue No. 4, includes news from Saturday, August 1, 2020 to Friday, August 7, 2020. Stories were written by Richard Gray and CJ Blaze with final editing done by Richard for clarity. Exclusive behind-the-scenes information was added, with content exclusive to WNC Insider Members.
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WWE News
– Peyton Royce opened up on her battle with depression in a new post on Instagram.
Royce, who was last worked Ruby Riott in a losing effort on the July 20, 2020 episode of Monday Night Raw, explained how everything was great on the outside but it was not.
Below is her full post:
❗️ Vulnerable post ahead. Pls be kind ❗️
This photo was taken about a year ago. I was so excited because I was a few weeks away from getting married, I was half of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. Everything seemed to be incredible from the outside. But inside, I was dealing with the lowest low I’ve ever experienced. My mental health was suffering more than I had ever dealt with & I felt like I could not get myself together. I felt like I was letting so many people down including myself & I just couldn’t pick myself up.
I look at this photo & see someone faking confidence on her face because she knew the rest could be edited. The girl in this photo is a stranger to me now, thank goodness. She pops her head in every now & then to see if she can bring me back down but I do my best to politely ask her to ? off!
Everyone is going through something. Be kind & know that everyone is dealing with whatever it is, the best they can. The more love, support & kindness we can show each other might help someone feel less alone. Even if they seem happy & confident like they’ve got it all together… They could be a fantastic fibber.
– MVP recently appeared on Say Less With Kaz and Lowkey where he addressed rumors of WWE bringing back the Nation of Domination. As we reported exclusively here in Ask WNC, there has been talk of resurrecting the faction with it with it picking up steam lately. In fact, Ron Simmons was brought to TV with the sole purpose of doing something with Lashley, MVP and Shelton Benjamin. However, the result was the creation of The Hurt Business faction. “The short answer is no,” MVP said in regards to a return of the Nation. He explained he does not want to rehash something else but wants to do his own thing. MVP is friends in real-life with Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin and he likes making money with his friends. He also expressed a desire to work with Ricochet and Apollo Crews. MVP revealed he specifically asked to work with Crews.
– During a recent episode of his podcast, Booker T explained he believes Big E is going to have to “shed a few things” in order for people to look at him like a world champion. Book said he may have to alter his gear and the colors. He does not believe that trying to be The New Day is going to work for him at the top of the card. The WWE Hall of Famer explained you cannot try to rehash something you have been doing for so long and think that it is going to take you to the next level. Xavier Woods, Big E’s tag team partner currently out with an Achilles injury, caught wind of the comments and replied on Twitter: “because doing what other people told us to do worked so well for us before we started doing what we wanted to do…. oh wait ?,” Woods tweeted. On this week’s episode of SmackDown, Big went over The Miz. We have complete results available at this link.
– Sonya Deville is back on SmackDown after a few weeks off of TV. As see on this week’s show, she cut Mandy Rose’s hair in their program. Out of the ring, Deville and Rose are good friends and she spoke with the International Business Times about a number of topics recently. Deville explained there have been good parts about working through the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s obviously been kind of crazy for everybody, but it’s one of these things where the last five years of our lives have been on the road. And we haven’t had much downtime or normalcy of a Monday through Friday or anything like that. So it’s been nice in a sense to be in our own homes instead of hotels,” Deville said of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’re blessed to still be able to work and put on a show for people that are going through tough times, because what’s our escape right now? Television and social media. It’s cool to be a part of something that’s providing entertainment in a time like this.” Deville offered high praise for former WWE Raw Women’s Champion Asuka. “Asuka is in my opinion the greatest to ever do it. She’s so well-rounded. She’s so charismatic. She’s hard-hitting. She’s aggressive, fast. Everything that I like about wrestling is what Asuka does. I think our styles match up well. I think we’re both heavy hitters, hard strikers. Every wrestler has good chemistry with another wrestler, more so than anybody else, and I just think that mine and Asuka’s in-ring chemistry is incredible. I would love to show fans that one day. I know that moment in time will come. She’s respected because she’s humble, she puts her head down and goes to work every day and outworks a lot of people on the roster. She’s really that talented.” You can read Deville’s complete comments, where she talks about sexuality and more at this link.
– WWE has signed EVOLVE wrestlers Anthony Greene and Leon Ruff. Greene’s signing was broke by Sports Keeda and Ruff’s signing was confirmed by F4WOnline.com. WWE acquired EVOLVE less than a month ago but talent contracts were not included in the acquisition. Greene is well known on the American independent scene. He got his start with EVOLVE in 2018. Greene worked the first match on their 10th anniversary show with Josh Briggs that aired on the WWE Network. Ruff has been utilized as an enhancement talent in WWE since March. WWE recently posted a video with his back story, which talked about him dating NXT referee Aja Smith. You can watch that video embedded in the player above.
– While WWE’s search for an outdoor venue for this year’s SummerSlam continues and there have been rumors of locations in the Northeast, one of the potential locations is actually in Florida. One of the more interesting locations WWE is in talks with to host SummerSlam is Metropolitan Park in Jacksonville. Metropolitan Park is a large city owned park just a short walk from the stadium where the Jacksonville Jaguars play. The Jacksonville Jaguars of course are owned by the Khan family, who own All Elite Wrestling. The Khan family for years has tried to convince the city of Jacksonville to close Metropolitan Park as it blocks a path needed for the port and shipyard the Khans desire. Metropolitan Park has hosted a few music festivals, but SummerSlam would be the largest event ever held there, right across from where AEW has held events. So not only would SummerSlam potentially be in AEW’s backyard, but WWE would be helping the city continue to justify the need for Metropolitan Park, despite it blocking the Khans major development plans.
– WWE Hall of Fame inductees The Bella Twins are both officially moms. On Sunday, Nikki and Brie took to social media to reveal they both gave birth to boys on Friday and Saturday, respectively. This is Nikki and Artem Chigvintsev’s first child together, while it’s Brie and Daniel Bryan’s second child following the birth of daughter Birdie Danielson in 2017.
– Charlotte Flair is officially on Cameo, now charging fans $380 for a video shout-out. The account, online at this link, was not even online for 24 hours before the price went from $250 to what it is now. In comparison, Alexa Bliss charges $399 through the service. Other WWE talent to have accounts on Cameo include Peyton Royce, Matt Riddle, Dominik Dijakovic, Sonya Deville, Bobby Fish, Bianca Belair and Kevin Owens. Charlotte recently had surgery to fix a past cosmetic issue and is dealing with complications from her breast implants leaking. She is expected back in WWE before the end of the year but is officially listed as out indefinitely.
– Apollo Crews will defend the WWE United States Championship against MVP in the opening match of tonight’s episode of Monday Night Raw. Crews vs. MVP was scheduled for WWE’s The Horror Show at Extreme Rules but was pulled from the card the day of the show. WWE gave the storyline explanation that Crews suffered a back injury due to an “attack” from Bobby Lashley and that he “failed his pre-match physical.” It was later learned that Crews was removed from the show due to concerns with COVID-19
As we reported here on WrestlingNews.com Insider, Crews was considered “iffy” for the pay-per-view before eventually not being cleared. Some of his friends believe he tested positive for COVID-19. Crews is someone MVP has worked with behind the scenes as a mentor.
– Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is part of a group that bought the XFL, according to Sportico. Johnson purchased the league out of bankruptcy with Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital shortly before a scheduled auction was set to begin. They paid $15 million, splitting it evenly. Johnson’s business partner, Dany Garcia, who is also his ex-wife, will be a stakeholder as well. A hearing is scheduled for Friday to make the transaction official. Assuming all conditions are met, the deal will close after August 21. Johnson’s presence provides the XFL with star power and keeps their link to professional wrestling. Vince McMahon founded and funded the XFL twice, with his latest run being cut short earlier this year when the season was canceled amongst the COVID-19 pandemic. The league filed for bankruptcy shortly thereafter. Alpha Entertainment, the company McMahon used to parent the league, listed the XFL’s assets and liabilities in the range of about $10 million to $50 million in their bankruptcy filing. McMahon spent two years developing the league, nearly two decades after founding it the first time in 2001. Now, he is officially out and it will be up to Johnson and his partners to determine a path forward.
– Brie and Nikki Bella are celebrating the birth of their new baby boys.
As CJ reported here on WrestlingNews.com, Nikki gave birth on Friday and Brie gave birth on Saturday. Today, Nikki released some comments on social media:
“Forgot to put that photo here ? The last few days have been truly incredible! Such a beautiful learning experience, still is, and wow a love like this! Everything you all have said it would be! I’ve never smiled so much with such little sleep. I’m in heaven! I’m so happy!! ?N”
“And @artemchigvintse is the best Dad! Our baby boy is so lucky. I didn’t think I could love him even more… but goodness I fell more in love with him the past few days. I feel so blessed. Can’t wait for the day to officially makes us a family. ❤️N”
“And how about that tag team!! I can’t believe Brie & I had boys less than 24 hours apart! Honestly only us! lol And that I beat her. As you can imagine everyone said it was my baby & mines competitive side that kicked in! I can’t wait for our Bellas Boys to grow up together!??N”
“Lastly thank you everyone for so much love and support! I have so many people to get back to you! I have been MIA from my phone so I will work on all that. ?? All of your love has been truly incredible to us Bellas! ✨N”
– WWE has filed trademarks for “Justus” and “The Hurt Business.” As of press time, it is unknown what they plan to do with the name “Justus.” The Hurt Business is obviously the faction of MVP, Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin. This is the faction that was originally believed to be the Nation of Domination reboot. WWE is full steam ahead with the Hurt Business and it does not look like they are going to incorporate the old 1990’s faction.
– Charlotte Flair credits a lot of her success in the ring to Lita. She revealed on her new cameo account that if she had to pick a Fifth Horsewoman, it would be her. Charlotte also stated if she had to pick a manager, it would be Alexa Bliss because of how she can talk. The Four Horsewomen is a term used to describe Charlotte, Bayley, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks. They are credited for changing women’s wrestling in WWE.
– The Rock issued a statement on his Twitter account about acquiring the XFL alongside Dany Garcia and Red Bird Capital: “With my trail blazing partner @DanyGarciaCo & Red Bird Capital, we have acquired the XFL. With gratitude & passion I’ve built a career with my own two hands and will apply these callouses to our @xfl2020 brand. Excited to create something special for the fans! #XFL #fullcircle”
– WWE is taping another two weeks of Monday Night Raw today from the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. There appear to be issues per Gary Cassidy of Sports Keeda. Cassidy hears the shows are unprepared due to chaos from the top. Tonight’s episode is changing on the fly, while the second is incomplete. There is reportedly a lot of indecisiveness with Vince McMahon being described as volatile. Both Raw and SmackDown have had their fair share of re-writes and changes on the fly lately but Cassidy hears things are wilder than usual.
– WWE continues to shop the rights to some of their biggest events, including WrestleMania, SummerSlam and the Royal Rumble. While there has been interest from several streaming services, including NBC Universal’s new Peaco*ck streaming service, the offers WWE has received are said to be nowhere near WWE’s asking price. Public interest in WWE pay-per-view events has taken a noticeable downturn in recent months where WWE has been unable to have fans in attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic. WWE’s position in negotiations has been that they will soon be able to have fans in attendance again and interest will return to previous levels. The larger companies that have been interested in the rights aren’t as confident that WWE will have live fans in attendance any time soon, let alone that interest in the pay-per-views will quickly return to what they were. While WWE had hoped to have the rights to some of their largest events sold in time for SummerSlam to air somewhere other than WWE Network, sources with knowledge of the negotiations have told WrestlingNews.com that the chances of SummerSlam not being on the WWE Network this year are very small.
– Former WWE Superstar Rusev, who now goes by Miro, had an interesting thought about the company announcing Shane McMahon for tonight’s episode of Raw. “‘We want to build new talent’. Shane is back! Sums it up,” Rusev tweeted. As previously noted here on WrestlingNews.com, a common plan for WWE is to put a McMahon on television when ratings are down. Stephanie McMahon was featured on the big board on the show a couple of weeks ago. Miro, 35, worked for WWE from 2010-2020. He has not had a match since February, with his last documented bout being a tag team match with Humberto Carillo vs. Bobby Lashley and Angel Garza on the Feb. 17, 2020 episode of Raw. Miro and Humberto went under in the match. He was rumored to have interest from All Elite Wrestling but claimed recently he was finished with professional wrestling.
– Apollo Crews returned on this week’s episode of WWE Monday Night Raw, where he successfully defended the United States Championship against MVP. Bobby Lashley interfered in the match but Crews was able to go over clean.
After the match, MVP officially challenged Crews to a rematch at SummerSlam. It was stated later in the broadcast Crews had accepted.
Crews was supposed to defend the title against MVP at WWE’s The Horror Show at Extreme Rules but was removed after testing positive for COVID-19.
Below is the updated lineup for WWE SummerSlam:
* The Street Profits (c) vs. Andrade & Angel Garza w/Zelina Vega for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship
* Apollo Crews (c) vs. MVP w/Shelton Benjamin & Bobby Lashley for the WWE United States Championship
* Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Randy Orton for the WWE CHampionship
WWE SummerSlam will take place on Sunday, August 23, 2020 from a location still to be determined. We will have complete coverage here at WrestlingNews.com.
– Asuka will face WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley on next week’s episode of Monday Night Raw. If she wins, she will face Sasha Banks for the WWE Raw Women’s Championship at SummerSlam. The match was setup after Asuka requested a rematch for the title after what happened last week. Banks agreed to it on the condition mentioned above. We have WWE Raw results available at this link.
– The Rock’s purchase of the XFL is already facing opposition. As reported, here on WrestlingNews.com, The Rock, along with RedBird Capital have agreed to purchase the league out of bankruptcy. A group of the XFL’s creditors, known as the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors for Alpha Entertainment, filed a motion attempting to stop the purchase of assets by Rock and RedBird Capital on Monday afternoon. Alpha Acquico LLC, the company created by The Rock’s group to purchase the league, is set to purchase all of the XFL’s assets for $15 million. The company will agree to take on “certain specified liabilities,” with $8.5 million financed toward payments needed to resolve previous financial defaults. The motion is 13-pages and argues that Alpha Entertainment, the company Vince McMahon setup to fund the XFL, has an “ongoing obligation to negotiate terms with the Proposed Buyer that are most favorable to the estate and do not unduly prejudice its creditors.” It argues the proposed sale “seeks to strip the estate of valuable assets for no consideration. As such, the Committee has significant concerns that the Sale contemplated with the Proposed Buyer does not satisfy the sound business purpose test, and is not in the best interests of the Debtor’s estate.” All and all, the motion argues Alpha Entertainment is selling the XFL below what they are worth and the creditors are concerned about not receiving significant monetary gain for the sale. It argues certain assets being sold were not in the financial evaluation when the bankruptcy was filed. The creditors support the sale to Alpha Acquico but want a more favorable deal. They will continue to negotiate with the XFL and Alpha Acquico to resolve the issues.
Below are some news and notes from this week’s episode of WWE Monday Night Raw:
– Akira Tozawa pinned R-Truth in a triple threat match that included Shelton Benjamin to win the WWE 24/7 Championship.
– Shane McMahon’s new faction was the premiere of Raw Underground, a worked-shoot Fight Club style setup where fights take place in a rope-less ring. The segment premiered during the 10 PM hour and featured different fights throughout the remainder of the show.
– Rey Mysterio’s son Dominik challenged Seth Rollins to a match at SummerSlam. Rollins accepted the challenge later in the show. The bout will join the three title matches already announced for SummerSlam on August 23, 2020.
– Two matches are set for next week’s episode of WWE Monday Night Raw. They are as follows:
- Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens
- WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley vs. Asuka. If Asuka wins, she will face Sasha Banks for the WWE Raw Women’s Championship at SummerSlam.
Next week’s WWE Raw was actually taped this Monday from the Performance Center in Orlando, FL. We do not have spoilers as these are closed tapings.
– WWE debuted a new faction on this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw. This week’s show was full of “mysterious” incidents caused by the faction, such as messing with the lights or turning off microphones. There was a production box that was overturned in the back, in an act that was said to be intentional. WWE introduced surveillance camera footage that showed five people wearing all black and tossing Molotov co*cktails at a power source. As previously reported, this went along with Shane McMahon’s new Raw Underground segment. Raw Underground featured worked-shoot Fight Club style fights in a rope-less ring. Apparently, the idea is for the faction to create chaos and change the way the company operates. In reality, WWE is doing it in attempt to increase the viewership and interest of Raw.
– WWE Champion Drew McIntyre recently spoke about his time at the top of the card and his growing relationship with Vince McMahon during an interview with TV Insider. “Nobody has been in the position I’m currently in as WWE champion. I have made sure my work ethic isn’t just in the ring, but that it’s very much outside the ring. I’m doing everything I can to promote the company and learn the inner-workings of the company and how it operates and how gigantic it truly is,” said McIntyre. “I have been putting in the hours and time and broadening my horizons so that when we do get back on the road, it’s going to be on another level.” “[Vince McMahon and I] always had a good relationship. Being WWE champion says a whole lot about the trust he has in me. That meant the world to me. I guess from my standpoint, that told me Vince is truly invested in me now. He trusts me. I’ve earned that respect, put the time into that respect. I think that is what our relationship is based on, respect. It’s based on honesty. If he doesn’t like something, he is not shy to say so. I’m very much the same.’ In today’s Ask WNC we have more information on the relationship between McIntyre and McMahon and whether or not Vince attributes the low viewership to his champion. McIntyre is set to defend the WWE Championship against Randy Orton on Sunday, August 23, 2020. You can read McIntyre’s complete interview with TV Insider at this link.
– WWE is taping television again today from the Performance Center in Orlando, FL.
Last night’s WWE Raw tapings ran late, with content being taped for next week’s show running well into the night. As a result, WWE is taping one episode of SmackDown and one episode of 205 Live today. The company had been taping two episodes of each show on each day. Next week’s content will be taped later in the week. The news comes off reports yesterday that the Raw shows were unprepared due to chaos from the top.
– Mustafa Ali was nowhere to be seen on this week’s episode of WWE Monday Night Raw.
Ali recently returned to television after being gone for over half a year. WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley expressed frustration with how WWE booked him one week after his return. He tweeted Ali has huge potential for international attention and should not be made to look like just another guy. The praise was not enough to spark any type of push. Ali was held off this week’s episode of WWE Raw and instead taped a match that will air on WWE Main Event later in the week. “Not on #RAW tonight but you can catch me on #MainEvent this week putting on a banger,” Ali tweeted. Ali’s last singles match was when he “did the honors” to Bobby Lashley on the July 27, 2020 episode of Monday Night Raw.
– The identities of the extras used in the Raw Underground segments on this week’s broadcast have been revealed. Mikey Spandex and Dante Marquis Carter were fighting in the rope-less ring when Shane McMahon first introduced the segment. Dabba Kato (formerly Babatunde in NXT) and referee Kai Douglas were next. Viking Raider Erik squashed “Upgrade” Mike Reed in singles-action. Ariel Dominguez was seen the final segment where MVP and The Hurt Business took out several wrestlers. All of these talent have been used recently in various segments by WWE.
– As the storyline goes, Nia Jax is suspended indefinitely without pay from WWE due to her “actions on Raw” the past two weeks. The company did a segment on Raw where Jax was to apologize to WWE Producer Pat Buck. Instead, she mocked him and attacked him again. It is worth noting WWE did not continue her program with Shayna Baszler, as she faced Sasha Banks instead. One of the lines Jax used to insult Buck was referring to him as ‘ginger.’
– The following matches are official for WWE SummerSlam:
Singles Match for the WWE Championship
– Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Randy Orton w/Ric Flair
Tag Team Match for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship
– The Street Profits vs. Andrade & Angel Garza w/Zelina Vega
Singles Match for the WWE United States Championship
– Apollo Crews vs. MVP
Singles Match
– Seth Rollins vs. Dominik Mysterio
At this point, we’re expecting a WWE Universal Championship match between Braun Strowman and “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt as well as a WWE Raw Women’s Championship match.
SummerSlam will take place on August 23, 2020 at a location still to be announced. We have Backstage News on one location WWE has inquired about exclusive to Insiders at this link.
– WWE reported in their NXT Injury Report last week that Dexter Lumis suffered an ankle injury in the main event of WWE NXT. Dot com has followed that up with a story, noting his status for for the North American Championship Ladder Match at TakeOver XXX is in question due to the injury being worse than expected. The diagnosis of the injury is a osteochondral lesion to the talus or damaged cartilage and bone on the top of the talus bone. Click here for the article on dot com.
– WWE announced on Wednesday they have named Nick Khan as their new President and Chief Revenue Officer.
Khan will report direct to Vince McMahon as is the former Co-Head of TV at Creative Arts Agency. He will replace the roles formerly held by Michelle Wilson and George Barrios, who left seven months ago.
Below is WWE’s release:
“STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– WWE (NYSE: WWE) today announced that Nick Khan, former Co-Head of Television at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), has been named President & Chief Revenue Officer, reporting directly to WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon.
“Nick is a seasoned media executive with a deep understanding of our business and a proven track record of generating significant value for sports and entertainment properties,” said McMahon. “While representing WWE at CAA, he was instrumental in transforming our business model by securing domestic media rights increases of 3.6x over our previous agreements. Nick’s management style and personal demeanor are perfect for WWE’s entrepreneurial culture, and he will fit right in with our exceptional management team.”
“I am very much looking forward to expanding my relationship with Vince McMahon and the entire team at WWE, and becoming a full-time member of the WWE family,” said Khan. “It’s rare to have an opportunity to work at a company that is not only legendary in what it has already accomplished, but also uniquely poised to enter into an unprecedented phase of growth and expansion across all lines of business. Our collective industry experience will enable us to extract maximum value across the portfolio globally while driving long-term shareholder value.”
Khan, a former practicing attorney, transitioned to International Creative Management (ICM) in 2006 where he launched their Sports Media department and represented the biggest names in sports broadcasting. In 2012, Khan moved to CAA where he became the Co-Head of the Television Department. During his tenure there, Khan continued to represent the top broadcasters while also representing WWE, the Southeastern Conference (SEC), Top Rank Boxing and others helping to negotiate billions of dollars in media deals on their behalf.”
– Police are investigating Marty Jannetty following a strange post on his Facebook.
The former WWE Superstar shared a story about buying marijuana off a man who worked at a bowling alley in his home town when he was 13. He is 60 years-old now, so the alleged incident would have occurred around 1973. Jannetty wrote the man put his hands on him and that in retaliation, Jannetty made him disappear. He noted the body was never recovered and they should have looked in the Chattahoochee River.
The Columbus Police Department in Georgia confirmed to TMZ they’re looking into it.
“We are going to look into this.”
Also adding, “The first step will be seeing if we have any missing persons or unidentified remains cases that match the limited information in the post.”
The post, which has since been removed, can be seen below:
Jannetty is best known for his work as one half of The Rockers tag team with Shawn Michaels. He is a former Intercontinental and Tag Team Champion.
– CM Punk was asked to give his thoughts on Raw Underground during the SummerSlam 1992 Watch Party on Tuesday night. Punk stated he loved it and wants to see more women in there. He explained he would like to see Nia Jax involved and that no holds barred fights and strippers is all he wants to see. Booker T told Punk that he was the first person he thought of when he saw the preview. Punk joked that Book wanted him to get his first MMA win. Punk, who left WWE in 2014, was signed to UFC and booked in two fights that he lost. Renee Young mentioned Asuka and Liv Morgan as talent she would like to see compete in the feature.
– Charlotte Flair is still recovering following surgery to repair her breast implants. As noted, Charlotte has had recurring issues with her implants leaking and making her sick. The multi-time women’s champion had the procedure on July 25, which was reported to be a success. Her father, WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair, recently appeared on Ring Rust Radio to provide an update. “She’s doing great, she of course is climbing the walls. I just got a text from her about a half-hour ago, ‘Dad, I’m going crazy.’ She is so intense and so invested in our business, in the product, in her work ethic. This surgery was something that had to take place. Personally, I wish she had done it earlier, but she would never ever leave without fulfilling what she felt she had to do. This was something that was bad. … Nobody made her stay, nobody did anything. She’s never going to ever be any less than 100 percent committed to the success of the company and her career and her involvement. She’s doing great, but she’s missing every second of it. She does not know how to turn it off. But that’s what makes her how great she is. She can have the greatest match in the world and she won’t rest on those laurels for one second.” The initial hope was Charlotte would be cleared to return for SummerSlam. That is looking less likely but not impossible. As I have noted several times, the company expects her back sometime before the end of the year. During her time off, she launched a Cameo account where you can purchase a personalized video greeting from her.
– Dakota Kai beat Rhea Ripley on this week’s NXT to earn an NXT Women’s Championship match against Io Shirai at TakeOver XXX on August 22.
Additionally, Damian Priest beat Oney Lorcan and Ridge Holland to qualify for the North American Championship Ladder match. Next week’s show will feature Kushida vs. Cameron Grimes vs. a mystery opponent in another qualifier.
William Regal also announced that Dexter Lumis is not medically cleared to compete. Therefore, Johnny Gargano, Finn Balor, Ridge Holland, and whoever isn’t pinned in next week’s qualifier will face off in two singles matches in two weeks to fill the remaining spots.
Below is the updated TakeOver card:
NXT North American Championship Ladder Match
– Bronson Reed vs. Damian Priest vs. TBD vs. TBD vs. TBD
NXT Women’s Championship Match
– Io Shirai (c) vs. Dakota Kai
We’ll have complete coverage of NXT TakeOver XXX on August 22 right here at WrestlingNews.com.
– Pat McAfee vs. Adam Cole is now all but confirmed for NXT TakeOver XXX on August 22. Triple H appeared on ESPN’s Get Up on Thursday morning to address what went down between McAfee and Cole at the end of this week’s NXT. “There is one thing about Pat McAfee that everyone should understand; Pat grew up dreaming about being a WWE superstar. It is everything he thought he would ever be as a kid. He ended up in the NFL and one of the most successful and toughest kickers ever, but his dream was to be in WWE. The spotlight is really what he craves. It’s all about Pat McAfee. That’s a good thing, but in this situation, he is craving this spotlight and he is doing it by going after Adam Cole. He is in his head. Pat McAfee wants to be famous, I can make his dream come true. You wanna be famous? We have a big TakeOver on August 22, put your money where your mouth is. Pat McAfee vs. Adam Cole.”
– As previously noted, WWE only taped one episode of SmackDown on Tuesday from the Performance Center in Orlando, FL. The show will air tomorrow night. To compensate for the change, WWE has moved the August 17th Raw taping to August 13, according to Dave Meltzer. They will tape next week’s SmackDown (August 14) and the August 17th episode of Raw on that date. WWE will have to add another taping date for the August 21 episode of SmackDown, which was scheduled to be taped on August 17. This week’s Raw tapings ran long and were described as more chaotic than usual due to the shows being unprepared due to chaos from the top.
– Former WWE producer Lance Storm wants to see an end to intergender matches.
He cites the bouts need to stop in response to the recent #SpeakingOut movement on social media, where male and female workers spoke out about alleged abuse they hae endured.
“I see some discussion on inter gender wrestling matches again. In light of #SpeakingOut I think these matches have to stop. I’ve heard from so many women who were uncomfortable doing these but felt obligated to to get booked because these matches were accepted ‘norms’,” Storm tweeted this morning.
Storm understands a worker could get heat for canceling an intergender match.
“For every inter gender match that happens in a top company with professional conduct there are dozens of women who agree to be booked in a Women’s on a multi show loop that gets there and finds out the other woman didn’t show up (maybe was never booked) and now she has to Agree to do intergender matches and be the only women on the tour or lose all the booking and risk heat from canceling. There is then pressure to share a room because everyone else is doubling up. THIS HAPPENS,” Storm added.
ROH wrestler Session Moth Martina had a different perspective.
“I think we should be allowed the choice to have an intergender match if we want to. Hopefully in a safe environment where no woman or man will feel uncomfortable in that situation again,” she tweeted in reply.
Storm responded, “Explain to me how to make that happen at the Indy level, and I’m with you.”
– Former Colts punter Pat McAfee has accepted Triple H’s challenge to face Adam Cole at NXT TakeOver XXX on August 22. This will be McAfee’s first match as WWE looks to put extra eyes on SummerSlam weekend.
BREAKING NEWS:
Former @Colts Punter @PatMcAfeeShow has accepted @TripleH's challenge for a match with @AdamColePro at #NXTTakeOver: XXX. @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/wA3ITPDW9L— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) August 6, 2020
Below is the updated TakeOver card:
NXT North American Championship Ladder Match
– Bronson Reed vs. Damian Priest vs. TBD vs. TBD vs. TBD
NXT Women’s Championship Match
– Io Shirai (c) vs. Dakota Kai
– Adam Cole vs. Pat McAfee
We’ll have complete coverage of NXT TakeOver XXX right here at WrestlingNews.com.
– Former WWE Superstar Marty Jannetty spoke with the Boston Wrestling YouTube channel today after he made a Facebook post on Wednesday, claiming to have murdered a man when he was 13-years-old. Jannetty told Boston Wrestling the man did not deserve to die but deserved to “get his ass beat.” He did not try to kill him. Jannetty talked about the intense amount of media attention the post has received. He even stated he heard from one of his law enforcement friends there is going to be a warrant out for his arrest. Jannetty said when the incident happened, he was upset when it happened. He questioned how others would feel if they were dragging the person that just tried to sexual assault them to the river. Jannetty wants to know how other people would have handled it. The Columbus Police Department confirmed they are investigating the claim but the case will not receive top priority.
– We reported on Thursday here at WrestlingNews.com there was no taping date scheduled for the August 21 episode of SmackDown. That is the tentative date WWE is looking at to resume live programming, as first reported by WrestleVotes. WWE is working under the plan of going back to live TV on August 21 with SmackDown, TakeOver on August 22, SummerSlam on August 23 and Raw on August 24th. All shows except for TakeOver will take place in one location if all goes to plan. TakeOver will remain in Orlando. There is no decision on fans, as it is something Vince McMahon definitely wants although he would have to go to a location that would have to be cleared with health officials. We are expecting to hear the confirmed SummerSlam location soon as WWE has frantically been looking for somewhere other than the Performance Center to hold the show.
– Stephanie McMahon appeared on this week’s episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown to make an announcement relating to SummerSlam. Stephanie explained Bayley will defend the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship at SummerSlam against the winner of a battle royal on next week’s episode of SmackDown. The battle royal will feature Superstars from Raw, NXT and SmackDown. Our SmackDown results are available at this link.
– MVP has signed a multi-year deal with WWE following weeks of negotiations.
As is the norm with professional wrestling contracts, terms were not disclosed but MVP confirmed on social media the deal is done.
“Tonight, I’m drinking “the good stuff”. Yamazaki 18 from @suntorywhisky is the spirit of choice. I have come to terms with @wwe on a multi year deal. MVP is in #thehurtbusiness for the foreseeable future! Kampai! ?
NOW… it’s official!”
MVP returned to WWE in January with the intent of working as a producer. He impressed company officials to the point where he was put on TV.
Now, MVP is working as an on-screen talent where he is also mentoring younger talent. He leads The Hurt Business faction with Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin.
Impact Wrestling News
– In a recent interview with Chris Van Vliet, Eric Young revealed that he and Triple H had discussed plans for him to return to NXT post-WrestleMania 36 before he was released on April 15. “I can tell you now Scott D’Amore was the second person I heard from when the news came out. This is going to sound weird, but Triple H was the very first. He was unaware that it was happening. He’s in a different position in the company now. [We] have always had a very good relationship. The original plan after WrestleMania was for me to go back to NXT,” reveals Young.“We had been talking a lot about ideas and what might happen. When they said they were going to release talent, I knew for sure I was going to be on that list. It’s nothing personal. I don’t take it personally. I’m not bitter in any way. One person made a massive mistake. I’m not the first person he made a mistake on and I won’t be the last.” Young joined NXT in 2016 and was moved to SmackDown in April 2018. Fellow Sanity members Killian Dain ultimately returned to NXT last year, while Alexander Wolfe joined NXT UK. EY is now back in Impact Wrestling for the foreseeable future.
– Impact Wrestling recently revealed that July 2020 was a historic month for the company in the wake of all the new signings for Slammiversary. These records included their biggest months ever on YouTube, Twitter and Instagram, plus a new record number of Impact Plus subscribers. With the additions of The Good Brothers, EC3, Heath Slater, Eric Young, and Motor City Machine Guns to the roster, Impact’s viewership also saw a big increase following Slammiversary.
– Impact Wrestling will air a two-night “Emergence” special on AXS TV on August 18 and August 25. Emergence Night 2 will be headlined by Jordynne Grace vs. Deonna Purrazzo in a Knockouts Championship rematch from Slammiversary. Impact aired a two-part Rebellion special in April after it was originally scheduled to air as a pay-per-view. Impact’s next pay-per-view event will be Bound For Glory on October 24.
– In other Impact news, Kimber Lee has officially signed a contract with the company. Kimber Lee debuted in May, and is also the real-life wife of fellow wrestler Zachary Wentz of The Rascalz.
– When Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson were released by WWE in April, many assumed there would be strong interest from AEW for their services. AEW had made a very lucrative offer last year at a time when AEW was spending millions trying to sign as many high profile free agents as they could. This time around though, there was no interest from AEW at all, leaving Impact Wrestling as the only serious offer for their services. The lack of interest from AEW was twofold. Hard feelings still remained from the fact that AEW was passed over to begin with, but Tony Khan has also been told by his father to curb spending due to the COVID-19 virus negatively impacting many of the family’s businesses. The loose purse strings AEW exhibited just last year could be a thing of the past, at least for now. With WWE deciding that Gallows and Anderson weren’t worth the big money WWE spent to win last year’s bidding war and AEW deciding to not even make an attempt to sign them this year, it begs the question of why Impact Wrestling would offer Gallows and Anderson substantial money when there were no other serious bidders?
– Three matches have been made official for next week’s episode of Impact Wrestling:
– Havok & Nevaeh will take on Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz in a No DQ tag team match
– Jordynne Grace will face Kimber Lee as she prepares for her Knockouts Championship rematch at Emergence
– Eddie Edwards puts his Impact World Championship on the line again in an open challenge
– Eric Young told Sports Keeda he has signed an exclusive contract with Impact Wrestling. “Yeah, I am on an exclusive contract with IMPACT,” said Young. “I do have a lot of gas left in the tank,” he added. “It’s just a question of how much longer I want to do it.” Young was released by WWE in April as part of mass cuts in response to the difficult economic circ*mstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic. He returned to Impact as soon as his non-compete deal with WWE was over, re-debuting at Slammiversary. Young is now in a program with Rich Swann, which continued on this week’s episode of Impact Wrestling.
NJPW News
– New Japan Pro Wrestling will hold a tournament to determine the new NEVER Six-Man Tag Team champions
Shingo Takagi, EVIL and BUSHI have vacated the titles. EVIL had no desire to continue as a titleholder as he is now the dual IWGP Intercontinental and Heavyweight Champion
The tournament will be under single elimination rules and will start on August 6 and finish on August 9 at Korakuen Hall.
Below are the matches for the opening round:
August 6, 2020
- Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano and SHO vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Jado and Gedo
- SANADA, Shingo Takagi and BUSHI vs. Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado and DOUKI
August 7, 2020
- Kota Ibushi, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Master Wato vs. Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru
- Tomoaki Honma, Togi Makabe and Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI
The semifinals and finals will take place over August 8 and August 9. We will cover all shows here at WrestlingNews.com.
– New Japan Pro Wrestling’s new series called NJPW Strong will focus on American talent. The first episode of the series will feature the opening round of a tournament called New Japan Cup USA with the winner getting a shot at the IWGP United States Championship currently held by Jon Moxley.
The following will air on the NJPW Strong premiere on August 7th at 10 PM ET:
- Karl Fredericks vs. KENTA
- Jeff Cobb vs. Tanga Loa
- David Finlay vs. Chase Owens
- Brody King vs. Tama Tonga
The tournament will continue on the August 14 and August 21 episodes. Juice Robinson will not be on the show as he is out with a leg injury.
– Hiroshi Tanahashi is the latest New Japan Pro Wrestling talent to have a scare with COVID-19.
The promotion announced he is officially cleared for this week’s Summer Struggle shows after he came in contact with someone who had tested positive for COVID-19.
“On August 1, Hiroshi Tanahashi made a television appearance with another cast member who has since tested positive for COVID-19.
Adequate countermeasures were put in place during production of the program, and Tanahashi did not come into close contact with the infected party.
As a precaution, Tanahashi has since undertaken antigen, antibody and PCR testing, with all tests returning negative.
Tanahashi is in good health and will be able to compete on this week’s Summer Struggle events in Korakuen Hall.”
NJPW has shows on 8/6, 8/7, 8/8 and 8/9, all from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.
AEW News
– Chris Jericho confirmed on his latest episode of Saturday Night Special on his YouTube channel that Alex Reynolds and John Silver have signed their AEW contracts. They have been with AEW since December following successful runs in Combat Zone Wrestling, Evolve Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. They were used as enhancement talents against Heavy Machinery on the September 10, 2019 episode of WWE SmackDown. You can watch Jericho’s latest at this link.
– AEW Dynamite on TNT will be preempted by the National Basketball Association on August 19, August 26 and September 16.
- Aug. 19 Dynamite will air on TNT on Saturday, August 22 at 6 PM ET
- Aug. 26 Dynamite will air on TNT on Thursday, August 27 at 8 PM ET
- Sept. 16 Dynamite will air on TNT on Thursday, September 17 at 8 PM ET
You can view TNT’s official release, confirming the changes, at this link.
– AEW has announced next week’s Dynamite has been dubbed Tag Team Appreciation Night, which will be hosted by FTR. The following matches will be featured:
- Young Bucks vs. Stu Grayson & Evil Uno
- Kenny Omega & Hangman Page vs. Jurassic Express
- Appearances from Rock N Roll Express, Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson
- Scorpio Sky vs. Cody (c) – TNT Championship Match
- Orange Cassidy vs. Chris Jericho with a $7,000 obligation
– AEW has announced nine matches for next week’s Dark:
- The Gunn Club vs. M’Badu & Shawn Dean
- Penelope Ford vs. Rachael Ellering
- The Butcher & The Blade vs. SCU
- Lee Johnson vs. Rey Fenix
- Shawn Spears vs. Alex Chamberlain
- The Hybrid 2 vs. The Natural Nightmares
- Brian Pillman Jr. & Griff Garrison vs. Private Party
- Kip Sabian vs. Michael Stevens
- Jurassic Express vs. Aaron Solow, Pineapple Pete & Corey Hollis
Ratings News
– WWE Friday Night SmackDown did 1.892 million viewers on FOX in the overnight numbers. That is down from the 1.924 viewers the show did in the final number last week. That was adjusted down from the overnight number that was 1.971. This past Friday’s show did 1.873 million viewers the first hour and 1.911 million viewers the second hour. SmackDown helped FOX finish first place in the men 18-49 demographic and a tie for first in the adults 18-49 demographic for the night.
– Last week’s episode of WWE SmackDown did 1.894 million viewers on FOX, which adjusts up from the 1.892 million viewers that came out in the overnight numbers over the weekend. Last week’s audience is still down from the prior week’s 1.924 million viewers. SmackDown helped FOX finish in first place in the male 18-49 demographic and adults 18-49 demographic in the battle of the networks on Friday night.
– This week’s episode of WWE Monday Night Raw did an average of 1.715 million viewers on the USA Network, up from the 1.617 million viewers the show did last week. The first hour did 1.710 viewers, with viewership peaking during the second hour at 1.824 million viewers. Viewership dropped to 1.610 million viewers for the third and final hour. Hour one finished fourth in the 18-49 demographic, while hour two finished fifth and hour three finished sixth.
– This week’s episode of AEW Dynamite did an average viewing audience of 901,000 viewers on TNT. The show ranked No. 5 in the 18-49 demographic with a 0.36 rating. The audience was up from the 773,000 viewers from the week prior.
WWE NXT did 753,000 viewers on the USA Network. The show ranked No. 27 in the 18-49 demographic with a 0.20 rating. This week’s viewership was also up from the week prior.
