In a new episode of his Grilling JR podcast, Jim Ross revealed that doctors found a mass on his kidney, adding to the never-ending health issues he’s going through over the past several years.
“There’s a lump there. It may be cancerous, but it’s so small they can operate on it and eliminate it,” Ross said. “The last thing I want to do is get cancer surgery and then go back to the frigging hospital for a few days.”
A later meeting with oncologists revealed that he didn’t have “serious cancer” on the kidney but they have to do more tests and undergo another MRI to see how they’re going to deal with it.
JR just came out from eight days in the hospital following brain surgery but needs to go back to his doctors to see about the never-ending headaches he’s been having ever since.
While he had hoped he could make it to All In this Sunday, he was advised against traveling due to his health status as there are many things that could go wrong.
“I really wanted to go to London this week. I really did, man,” Ross told his co-host Conrad Thompson.
NXT last week pulled in 683,000 viewers, their highest in a month, and up 95,000 viewers from the previous week. The show had a 0.14 rating in 18-49, up big by 0.05 and their best number of 2026 so far. (Ratings credit: Wrestlenomics)
The Continental Challenge Cup final for this Sunday’s All In has been set after the two semi final matches on last night’s episode of Dynamite from Glasgow.
Jon Moxley, who is also defending the Continental title, defeated fellow Death Riders faction member Claudio Castagnoli and Nigel McGuinness defeated Kyle O’Reilly in the second semi final to advance.
Mox and McGuinness will now face each other this Sunday with the AEW Continental title and the cup up for grabs.
AEW episodes from Spring 2024 will be added to HBO Max starting late next month.
In its monthly release schedule, HBO Max revealed that the Spring 2024 episodes of Dynamite, Collision, Rampage, and Battle of the Belts will be added to the streaming service on September 25.
The pay-per-view Revolution from this year is also joining the library starting September 4.
HBO Max adds episodes from the AEW video library regularly every month.
Impact drew 203,000 viewers for the August 13 episode, which is down 29,000 viewers from the prior week. The show had a 0.04 rating in 18-49, up 0.01 from the previous episode. (Ratings credit: Wrestlenomics)
The August 17 episode of Raw had 2,700,000 global views on Netflix, up 100,000 from the previous two weeks and their best number since May 4.
The show was #6 on the Netflix top 10 global chart with 5,000,000 global viewing hours based on an episode edited down to 1 hour and 48 minutes.
Raw was in the top 10 chart in 19 different countries for the week including Bahamas, Bahrain, Bolivia, Canada, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom, and United States.
Former ECW star Little Gudio, who also wrestled as Nunzio in WWE, sat down with Chris Van Vliet in New Jersey to discuss which name he is better known as, how he was able to make it in wrestling despite being undersized, slapping Brock Lesnar in a backstage segment, his iconic Last Ride from The Undertaker, winning the Cruiserweight Championship at a house show, still wrestling today, briefly being a WWE referee and more!
Why couldn’t you be Little Guido in WWE?
“Well, when I got there, Paul Heyman got me a job there. So he called me one day. This is when I didn’t have a job because when all the companies closed down within like a month, we all lost our jobs. I was a smaller guy. I wasn’t a top guy. I wasn’t RVD. So now I’m going against WCW closed, you got all the top stars in WCW. You got all the top stars in ECW, the Van Dams, the Dreamers, all the big guys, Ravens. I kind of got pushed to the side. I was trying to keep in contact with Paul and stuff, but he was on the verge of getting his job. He was starting with WWE, so I kind of got put on the side. They were doing this whole thing, the invasion angle, and I was just a smaller guy. So once everything faded out and they pushed people aside, I got a call one day from Paul Heyman. So I was calling him for a while. Let me backtrack. I was calling him for a while, and finally nothing was working. So I just let it go. I didn’t want to bother him anymore, a lot going on. One day, me and my wife were sitting in a restaurant, and my phone rings, and I look at it, and it says Paul E. So I haven’t talked to him in a couple of years. So I answer the phone. He goes, ‘Congratulations!’ I’m like, hey, Paul, what’s up? He goes, ‘Congratulations.’ I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ He goes, ‘I told you I’d get you a job.’ Okay? He goes, ‘John Laurinaitis will be calling you in a couple of weeks. Answer your phone.’ Okay, and he hung up.”
So why weren’t you Little Guido in WWE?
“Right. Well, from when I talked to Paul, he was talking to how I got it. Something like he was talking to Vince. He’s like, ‘Oh, I got this guy Nunzio, small guy. He’s gonna be a limousine driver.’ He was saying something, but he came up with the Nunzio thing. So I never questioned it. I was just happy I was getting a phone call. So where Paul got the Nunzio thing, I don’t want to sit here and say it. I really don’t know. I don’t know why he didn’t keep it, Little Guido, because I think Paul owned ECW, so it wasn’t like a trademark thing.”
What’s your favorite moment from your time in WWE?
“I would say WrestleMania 20. I mean, I was able to perform in WrestleMania 20. My father used to, so going back a little bit when I was 10, 11, 12 years old, my dad, at the time, they used to do the Garden every month. It used to be televised every other month, so it was a house show, a televised house show. In the beginning, my dad used to take me to all the non-televised ones because we used to have MSG channels, so I could watch those from home. So my father was taking me to Madison Square Garden all the time, and he brought me to the first WrestleMania, which I know Tommy Dreamer was there. So my father brought me to WrestleMania One, and then who ever knew I would perform 20 years later. Now I wrestled in the Garden a bunch of times before WrestleMania 20 because I was with WWE already and we did shows there, TVs and stuff. But just because it’s WrestleMania, so I would say that was like the biggest highlight. And then my mother and father came, of course, my mother never used to come when my father used to bring me when I was a kid. But that was a big thing.”
Did you know how long Taker was going to have you up that last ride?
“No, no, no. I didn’t know how long, but I did take the last ride from him a couple times already on house shows and stuff like that. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. I never did that on a house show. I just did it. It just happened. I mean, things that just happen end up being great. When you try to push it on the people and make it happen, sometimes it doesn’t work.”
Goldberg spears you in half at the Royal Rumble! It might be one of Goldberg’s best spears ever.
“He did mention that in an interview he was doing. Somebody asked him about some of the best spears, he mentioned me in it. I knew it was coming, I didn’t know how he was going to hit me because I never took it before, so one thing I knew I didn’t want to keep my feet planted. As he’s coming, I wanted to kind of jump a little bit to get off my feet so he could take me into the air compared to me having my feet planted and just going back, so I didn’t know how to take it; I just took it. That was it. It was stiff, but I’d rather it be stiff than look bad.”
You slapped Brock Lesnar too! How did that all come together?
“We were doing something with The Big Show and stuff, and at that time, I think they had the FBI going after everybody because we were a little group. Coming back to what I’m saying. Good thing I was in that group because it made me do all these different scenarios that if I was in the cruiserweight division, I would never have been able to do. We were doing some shows with him. I forgot exactly how it came about, but that promo came up, and I don’t know what it really led to. I was poking him, and they said, ‘Slap him in the back of the head.’ I’m not slapping the back of the head. I slapped him in his back. That’s what made the loud noise. I didn’t slap him in the head, and I knew Brock, he was very good to me. But because the writer was telling me to do it. I said, no, I’m not slapping him in the back of the head. So I went for the back and I hit him hard, and it made a huge noise, and he was okay with it. That’s when we locked him in. Another story, if you watch it, when Chuck drove the high-low, he f*cking broke the wall. Vince had to pay for that because Chuck don’t know how to drive a high-low. So we were trying to lock him in, and he drove through the wall. He broke that wall, which Vince McMahon unfortunately had to pay for.”
So you’re still wrestling to this day?
“I am. I do some independent shows and stuff like that. It’s a lot harder. I mean, I’m not old at all. I’m 54, I don’t act like I’m old because anybody in their 50s, it’s not old anymore. But for wrestling, you got to be careful. It’s not my full-time gig, so I do some part-time stuff. I have other stuff going on, so that’s what I’m doing.”
Tickets for AEW Grand Slam: France went on pre-sale today via Ticketmaster before the general sale on Friday.
The show, set for Tuesday, October 6, will be held at the Adidas Arena in Paris and will be the promotion’s debut in the country.
Tickets are priced €249, €172, €133.50, €100.50, and €73, along with VIP packages at €1,389, €1,089, and €729.
The Adidas Arena has a capacity of 8,000 seats for sporting events and there is no stage set up according to the seating chart, allowing AEW to use the full capacity of the building.
Construction crews have already made good progress inside Wembley Stadium as the stage for this Sunday’s AEW All In starts to take shape.
A large platform going across the sides of the pitch from section 130 to 137 will form part of the large stage, covering the seats behind it as it is usually the case for stadium shows. AEW stars will also have to walk down a long entranceway, giving them enough time to soak up the incredible atmosphere that awaits.
Over 43,000 tickets have been moved for the event so far with four days to go. More sections have been added, with the cheapest seat priced at £30.20 at Ticketmaster.
A baseless report written by a notorious “reporter” known for previous false bombastic stories was debunked by ESPN yesterday.
The report suggested that ESPN has decided not to renew its WWE PLE contract once it expires due to a variety of factors. The WWE/ESPN relationship is just finishing its first year and has four more years to go in its current deal.
Ben Cafardo from ESPN Communications issued a statement on social media rebutting the story, writing, “There is no truth to the report that we have decided not to renew. They never checked with us before publishing and had they, we would have told them that was completely false.”
WWE and ESPN signed a five-year deal worth $1.6 billion last year, moving all WWE premium live events in the United States to the ESPN streaming service.
The sports network has been giving WWE a lot of air time over the last several months across different shows, including airing the first hour of nearly each PLE on the linear ESPN channel.
A new match has been added to this weekend’s NXT Heatwave premium live event.
Former champ Nattie will be meeting rising star Jaida Parker on the show in a submission match after the two met in an in-ring segment last night on NXT on The CW.
This is the third match between the two, with the series now at one win each. Nattie has a victory over Parker via a submission and Parker also has a victory over Nattie via ref stoppage.
It is the sixth match on the show, with NXT PLEs now mostly featuring six matches versus the usual five on WWE PLEs.
While Bayley has not been at any WWE events lately, the former champ did attend one major show this past weekend and was backstage at TNA Lockdown in Chicago.
Bayley uploaded photos and videos on her Instagram with Jada Stone and Indi Hartwell and also posted a video as she watched The Hardys making their entrance behind the stage from the side.
Speculation remains on what Bayley’s future will be, although she was mentioned on Raw and has started to interact with WWE Superstars on social media again. This follows a month of radio silence and rumors that Bayley did not sign a new WWE deal and was on her way out from the company.
Bayley even posted an Instagram Story with an AEW tease, fueled by her best friend Mercedes Mone who continues to drop hints at her arrival.
On yesterday’s episode of SiriusXM’s The Nikki and Brie Show, Nikki Garcia says she is at peace with single life and shares her hopes for future relationships.
Nikki Garcia says she is at peace with single life & shares her hopes for future relationships (5:13-7:03 & 12:13-13:00)
Nikki Garcia: Well, it just knows where I’m at, so when people are trying to take me on dates or I don’t fear being alone. I don’t have that fear if I never find a relationship or a husband or a boyfriend or a partner ever again. I’m completely at peace with that.
Brie Garcia: Okay, ever again is pretty big.
Nikki Garcia: But meaning I don’t because I don’t feel the need to have it. I don’t need it.
Brie Garcia: But do you ever think to yourself, “Oh, the day Matteo is off to college and all that?”
Nikki Garcia: Well, yeah, of course, and don’t get me wrong. At times I’d love to have attention by a man, like a man I like, you know what I mean? A little butt grab or something cute, but it is crazy because you get into this place where you’re just doing your life and you don’t think about it a lot. I’m like, “Whoa, how am I there?” I was talking to this with Claire and we both were saying it’s crazy how you hit a point as a woman and you’re like, like you’re fine. It’s crazy. Women are so strong, but what I liked and she pinned it was the first one. It’s gotten so many likes too is, “She’s walking with God,” and so that’s where I know I’m on the right path because how my whole life, where it’s at, what it’s become, who I am as a woman. Don’t get me wrong. There are moments where I see how great it is to build a life with someone, of course, you know, especially as a parent and when you’re doing all the back to school stuff or different things happen, do you know what I mean? You realize like, “Oh, it would be great to build this with someone,” but where I’m at now, I mean, I guess just like what she pinned is not only am I walking with God, but my relationship is there, and so I’m so at peace.
Nikki Garcia: I hope like, I mean, ‘cause obviously one day it’s gonna come where Matteo isn’t gonna want to be with me 24/7 like he does now. Even though I just, I still love how affectionate he is with me in front of friends and stuff and he doesn’t care about like it’s not cool or whatever, but I know that day will come, and then, you know, it’ll be such a great time for me to hopefully find a relationship. That would be great ‘cause I would love all those things. To have a glass of wine with someone, you know, in the evening and different things like that. Have great sex. Trust me. Even though I’m sister Nikki. One day I want to take off the black cape.
The Nikki & Brie Show hosted by Nikki & Brie Garcia is available anytime on the SiriusXM app. New episodes every Monday and Thursday. Listen to the full episode here.
Lola Vice is coming to the main roster and her arrival has been teased for the September 14 Raw live from Mexico City.
A vignette for the former NXT Women’s champion aired on Raw last night, ending with the numbers 9.14 in Vice’s color scheme flashing on a background of Miami Beach.
Vice is well known in Mexico having wrestled for AAA for the past several months where she also was one half of the AAA Mixed Tag Team champions with Mr. Iguana.
Vice wrestled her last match in NXT on the August 4 episode of the show, losing to Kendal Grey in an Underground match, her first loss in that particular gimmick match.
The All In pay-per-view has crossed the 42,000 ticket mark according to latest data provided by @WrestleTix.
The show is around 12,000 tickets away from matching the 2024 attendance at Wembley Stadium, although that amount of tickets sold over the next couple of days seems to be a bit of a stretch…for now.
AEW has added more seats at Wembley, with the cheapest tickets now standing at around £31.70. Wembley holds over 93,000 seats when used in full.
The company has distributed thousands of free tickets through Ticketmaster over the last month and the gate revenue will fall short from that of 2024.
All In crossed 30,000 tickets distribution in mid-July, 10 days after they put a 50% discount on tickets. Between late March when the show went on sale and mid July, AEW moved less than 10,000 for the event after initially moving 20,000 tickets in the first week.
Real-life brothers Penta and Rey Fenix will battle each other to see who will go on to face WWE World Heavyweight champion Roman Reigns on Raw in Mexico City next month.
The two semi finals of the #1 contender’s tournament took place on Raw last night, with Penta defeating La Parka and Fenix beating Dragon Lee.
The former WWE Intercontinental champion and the current AAA Cruiserweight champion will now meet on next Monday’s episode of Raw, which will be taped this Friday night.
The winner of the match gets the title shot on Monday, September 14, live from Arena CDMX in Mexico City.
Royce Keys returned to WWE television…and got additional muscle with him in the form of OTM.
Keys and OTM, the team of Bronco Nima and Lucien Price, interrupted the Raw main event of The Usos vs LA Knight and Solo Sikoa, with the trio attacking both teams and treating everyone equally.
Jey Uso took the worst punishment of the bunch, with OTM sending him through the announce table while his brother Jimmy was forced to watch.
Keys was last seen on TV on the August 3 episode of Raw, losing to Jacob Fatu and beaten up badly following the match. He was said to be out “indefinitely” following the segment.
ESPN has announced an increase in price for their ESPN Unlimited streaming service, which also includes all the WWE premium live events in the United States.
Starting on September 17, the monthly price for ESPN Unlimited will go from $29.99 to $31.99, with the annual subscription rising from $299.99 a year to $319.99 per year.
This comes just after one year in service, with ESPN following other streaming services in increasing their prices.
All major cable, streaming, and satellite providers offer the ESPN Unlimited app free as part of their subscription service so those who get the service through their TV subscription will not be paying anything.
