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The Smashing Machine movie wins Best Director award at Venice Film Festival

By
Colin Vassallo
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The Smashing Machine movie featuring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson portraying the role of former UFC fighter Mark Kerr already won an award at the Venice Film Festival.

Benny Saldie, who directed the critically-acclaimed movie, won the Best Director award and there’s a lot of talk that the movie and its cast could be in for some Academy Award nominations.

Johnson received a 15-minute standing ovation after the screening of the movie at the Festival and tears were flowing down from the WWE champion.

Johnson never received an Oscar nomination since he entered the world of Hollywood and has a big chance of being a nominee with The Smashing Machine.

Raw audience expected to take a hit as Monday Night Football on ESPN resumes tonight

By
Colin Vassallo
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Raw

Raw will be facing an uphill battle over the next five months as football season is back and Monday Night Football on ESPN returns tonight.

Historically, Raw always takes a big hit in viewership starting in September as more fans opt to watch NFL live rather than WWE. WWE will be testing a new start time for Raw from next week for three weeks in a row, starting an hour earlier at 7PM ET.

Last year, Raw drew 1,430,000 viewers head-to-head with the first MNF broadcast on ESPN on September 9. That was a 225,000-viewer drop from the previous week. In 2023 it was even worse with Raw drawing 1,353,000 viewers in its first broadcast against MNF, down 351,000 viewers from the prior week.

With Netflix viewership, “ratings” will be calculated differently as the way Netflix counts viewers is different from the way Nielsen calculates them for cable and network, so it will be impossible to compare the drop this year compared to previous years.

Raw has been in the top 10 global Netflix charts weekly since it started on January 6 and it could be that the return of Monday Night Football ends that streak.

John Cena’s retirement match to be held in Washington, DC

By
Colin Vassallo
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John Cena’s retirement match will take place from the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC on Saturday, December 13 as part of the Saturday Night’s Main Event broadcast streaming exclusively on Peacock.

The news is still yet to be officially announced by WWE but multiple industry insiders have confirmed the location after a bidding war between multiple cities.

Cena’s final match was rumored to be taking place from Boston but the TD Garden will host the November 10 episode of Raw and not the December 13 show as it was previously alluded to.

The last two unannounced Cena appearances were given in a press release, with two Raws, the one in Boston, and then a week later on November 17 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Tickets for each event will go on sale starting Wednesday, September 10, at 10AM ET. Fans can purchase tickets during an exclusive pre-sale by visiting Ticketmaster.com starting Tuesday, September 9, at 10AM ET.

Cena also has appearances on Raw on September 15 from Springfield, Wrestlepalooza on September 20 from Indianapolis, October 11 at Crown Jewel in Perth, Australia, Survivor Series from San Diego on November 29, and his retirement match on December 13.

No AEW Grand Slam at Arthur Ashe Stadium this year

By
Colin Vassallo
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While the Grand Slam name will live on with an Australia show next February, the annual U.S. Grand Slam Dynamite and Collision at Arthur Ashe Stadium is not happening this year.

Typically held in the third week of September, AEW has quietly moved away from holding this stadium event for the first time since 2021 when it was introduced to much fanfare.

With lower attendance and booking of smaller arenas, Arthur Ashe Stadium was probably a bit too big for the time being, although the location is certainly an option when business picks up again.

Grand Slam in 2021 had 20,177 fans and that was followed by 13,800 fans in 2022. In 2023 the audience held much better and drew 11,265 but last year it dropped to 8,834.

AEW has since held a Grand Slam in Brisbane, Australia in February 2025 and then another Grand Slam in Mexico City in June 2025, with each show drawing around 13,000 to 14,000 respectively.

Arthur Ashe Stadium, which is the home of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, hosts the men final today.

Chris Jericho on WWE return rumors: “Would I go back to WWE? I wouldn’t be opposed to it”

By
Colin Vassallo
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At the Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights opening in Hollywood, former AEW World champion Chris Jericho tackled the rumors that he’s going back to WWE during an interview with The Daily Mail.

Jericho, who is under an AEW contract until the end of the year, said, “I’m not going anywhere for a long while. I’m still with AEW for right now.”

“Would I go back to WWE? I wouldn’t be opposed to it,” Jericho added, as speculation is rampant that come January 2026, he will be heading back after a seven-year stint with AEW. “We just have to see what happens.”

Jericho continued, “The best thing that can happen to wrestling is AEW and the fact that there are two huge promotions that you can choose from just makes it better for the guys, makes it better for the fans, and everybody in between.”

Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images

AEW streaming could move to new TNT Sports app instead of HBO Max next year

By
Colin Vassallo
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AEW could be switching from HBO Max to the new TNT Sports streaming service next year when the network separates from Warner Bros. Discovery as part of the company restructuring.

AEW will fall under the Global Networks arm while HBO Max will reside under the Streaming & Studios portion of the company.

The corporate restructure means HBO Max will no longer be the home for live sports coverage and AEW, since it airs on TNT and TBS, is likely to move to the new streaming service.

Gunnar Wiedenfels, who will be heading up Global Networks, said that TNT Sports will have its own DTC app which will be available as a standalone product or as a bundle with Discovery+, HBO Max, or any other third-party service.

There are also talks of bundling the TNT Sports app with ESPN and FOX One, which if it happens means that AEW fans would have to also pay for the ESPN streaming service that carries WWE premium live events.

Coffin match and AEW Women’s title match announced for All Out 2025

By
Colin Vassallo
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All Out 2025

Two new matches were confirmed for All Out yesterday during Collision while two more challenges were issued, although those two were not officially confirmed as of yet.

A coffin match will take place between Jon Moxley and Darby Allin. It was Mox who laid down the challenge, promising to put Allin in the ground come All Out.

The AEW Women’s World title will be defended in a four-way match. Jamie Hayter, who came out after the trios match to help save the faces from further attack, tried to help out Toni Storm but Storm refused the help. The champ then challenged Hayter, Kris Statlander, and Thekla to a four-way for the title.

Meanwhile, the two challenges issued during the broadcast include Kyle Fletcher requesting an AEW World title match against “Hangman” Adam Page, and MJF, fresh off his wedding, challenging Mark Briscoe.

Wade Barrett says he’s taking some pre-booked time off and will return to commentary

By
Colin Vassallo
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After a report came out that Wade Barrett has been removed from the WWE main roster commentary teams, Barrett had to issue another clarification on why he will be absent from WWE television for the next few weeks.

“I usually ignore BS reports like this, but it’s causing needless hate to be spewed towards people I work with,” Barrett wrote. “WWE have kindly given me a couple of weeks off for personal time (booked nine months ago), and then I’m back to business as usual. A complete non-story. The end.”

The story, originally broken by PWInsider.com, said that it’s unknown if his removal was part of the issue he had with Nikki Bella, something which clearly wasn’t.

Barrett said yesterday that he and Nikki scooted things over and he was “graciously allowed back into the Bella Army” where he has been a fully paid-up member since FCW 2008.

“A difference of perspective – to which we are all entitled – but to be clear, some of the personal abuse that gets sent to Nikki on here is reprehensible and completely out of line, so let’s cut that out immediately,” he added.

Michael Cole and Corey Graves will be calling both Raw and Smackdown for the time being until Barrett returns.

Bryan Danielson joins the AEW Dynamite commentary team

By
Colin Vassallo
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Dynamite logo

Bryan Danielson has joined the AEW Dynamite commentary team on a full-time basis and will start his new role with the September 10 episode.

It was AEW President Tony Khan who made the announcement via a post on X earlier today.

The former AEW champion did some commentary during the AEWxNJPW: Forbidden Door pay-per-view last month and that was enough to secure him a permanent spot every Wednesday moving forward.

It’s not clear at this point who he is replacing.

Danielson was just in Australia doing promotional work for AEW’s return to the country next year.

AJ Lee merchandise available on WWE Shop

By
Colin Vassallo
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As you can probably guess, it did not take long for WWE Shop to start selling AJ Lee merchandise!

Right after he return on Smackdown, t-shirts, tank tops, and hoodies sporting her spider logo and “Love Bites Back” wording in punk and black were quickly up for sale.

The merchandise also shot up in the top spots of the top selling list.

Prices range from $29.99 to $59.99 and you can get them at WWEShop.com.

John Cena pays tribute to Angle, Edge, Punk, and Owens during Smackdown match

By
Colin Vassallo
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Just like he did at Clash in Paris in his match against Logan Paul, John Cena paid tribute to other WWE Superstars in his match against Sami Zayn on Smackdown.

In his post-match comments in Paris, Cena said that he only has a few dates left and couldn’t wrestle everyone who was influential in his career, so doing some of their moves is one way to salute them.

Cena used the Angle slam and ankle lock as a tribute to Kurt Angle, the spear with Edge’s mannerisms, the GTS from CM Punk, and the pop-up powerbomb from Kevin Owens.

Cena also tried to improvise an RKO after fans started chanting for it, clearly crawling to Zayn to tell him what he’s about to do, but Zayn blocked it.

The excellent match was however rudely interrupted by a man named Brock Lesnar, who took out the referee and both Zayn and Cena, causing a no contest finish.

MJF and Alicia Atout get married

By
Colin Vassallo
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Former AEW champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman got married to fellow AEW colleague Alicia Atout yesterday.

As expected, several of their AEW co-workers were at the wedding, including AEW President Tony Khan, who hilariously only thanked Atout for the best wedding ever. Other guests included Taz, Hook, “Hangman” Adam Page, Tony Schiavone, Daniel Garcia, Thunder Rosa, Jeff Jarrett, Karen Jarrett, and more.

“Even when I’m old and grey I’m gonna feel the way I do today. The death of a bachelor,” MJF wrote on X on his big day.

MJF and Atout started dating in 2023 and got engaged in November of that same year.

AJ Lee signs new WWE contract

By
Colin Vassallo
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AJ Lee is not returning for just one match at Wrestlepalooza as the former Divas champion signed a new WWE contract yesterday.

WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque posted a video of Lee signing her new deal, writing, “Ink to paper…the calm before the storm.”

After she returned, Triple H also posted a photo with Lee like he did with Punk when he returned and another one with both of them.

“You can always come home…Welcome back @TheAJMendez,” Triple H wrote in the post.

Lee exited WWE following WrestleMania 31 due to a neck injury and retired from the business. Her last match was on March 30, 2015 on an episode of Raw, teaming with Naomi and Page to defeat Natalya and The Bella Twins in a six-woman tag team match.

Michael Cole to call both Raw and Smackdown with Tessitore out for college football

By
Colin Vassallo
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With Joe Tessitore out for the next couple of months due to college football duties, the Smackdown announce team going forward for the time being will be Michael Cole and Corey Graves.

Cole will be pulling double duty and will also be calling Monday Night Raw on Netflix and will be flanked by Wade Barrett, who until two weeks ago was doing commentary on Smackdown with Tessitore.

College football ends its season in mid-January 2026 so until then, Tessitore will be doing his work for ESPN.

Pat McAfee, who was with Cole on Raw until June of last year, is not expected to return to commentary full time due to his already packed schedule.

WWE publishes footage of Punk and Lee after Smackdown goes off the air

By
Colin Vassallo
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After Smackdown went off the air, Punk and Lee continued to celebrate, with Punk leaving the ring to leave Lee get all the glory for herself.

Lee noticed that Becky left the Women’s Intercontinental title in the ring and after thinking about it, she picked it up, caressed it and hopped around with it.

The two then went around ringside to greet their family members who were sitting in front row as AJ carried the IC title around her shoulder and Punk hopped around behind his wife, hyping up the crowd.

As both were walking to the back, the fans started chanting Lee’s name again and she ran back down to the ring for some more hops and pose on the turnbuckles.

The husband-and-wife team have now made their WWE return in the same arena a couple of years apart from each other.

Cena vs Lesnar official for Wrestlepalooza after Lesnar returns on Smackdown

By
Colin Vassallo
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Wrestlepalooza

Brock Lesnar made his presence felt on Smackdown last night and took out both Sami Zayn and John Cena with F5s, spoiling the ending of what otherwise was a great match for the United States title.

Lesnar had two F5s reserved for Cena after taking out Zayn and while some people called for “one more time,” the Beast Incarnate did not entertain a third option.

This was his first appearance since his SummerSlam surprise return and Lesnar will be back on Smackdown next week.

In the meantime, his match against John Cena for Wrestlepalooza was also officially announced following his appearance, a match which is highly likely main eventing the premium live event.

AJ Lee returns on Smackdown to take down Becky Lynch

By
Colin Vassallo
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AJ Lee made her return to WWE after an absence of 10 years to one monstrous pop at the Allstate Arena last night on Smackdown.

The highly-anticipated, although never officially announced return, came in the main event segment of the show as Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins continued to berate Punk. Rollins was hiding in a box while Lynch once again took center stage and slapped Punk repeatedly again.

Punk told Lynch that he can call a lot of people to come help, he can ask his sister at ringside to come and kick her ass, he can call Bayley, or he can call Rhea Ripley.

At that point, Punk exited the ring and said that he would never hit a woman…but thankfully, he knows someone who will.

“Light It Up” hit the speakers and the crowd went absolutely bananas as AJ Lee hopped down the aisle and around the ring before she laid the smackdown on Becky Lynch and finished her off with a huge slap to the face.

After Rollins came down to carry his wife to the back, Punk and Lee reunited in the ring and celebrated together.

Smackdown sold out tonight with Cena, Punk and rumored appearances by Lesnar and AJ Lee set

By
Colin Vassallo
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Smackdown tonight in Rosemont is officially sold out with over 16,000 fans expected to be in attendance.

Only verified resale seats are available on Ticketmaster and those are not coming cheap! The least-expensive ticket is $210.60 and is at the very top of the stands while the most-expensive floor seats are $2,749.50.

One person has decided to sell his first seat in row four by the entrance ramp for a whopping $23,400. Needless to say, that ticket is unlikely to be resold tonight unless they drop the price just a “little bit.”

Tonight’s Smackdown is one of the most highly-anticipated broadcasts of 2025, with John Cena’s final Smackdown appearance, the rumored appearance by Brock Lesnar, and the also rumored arrival of none other than AJ Lee. And oh yeah, Chicago’s own CM Punk will be in the house as well, of course!

WrestleMania 42 OnLocation VIP packages now on sale

By
Colin Vassallo
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WrestleMania 42

The WrestleMania 42 OnLocation VIP packages are now available for sale.

There are five ticket packages available, each differ in contents and each of them more expensive than the other.

The Silver package is the cheapest starting at $1,350 per person. The Gold package starts $2,750 per person, the Champion package starts from $4,950 per person, Suite by the Seat starts from $6,995 per person, and then the big one, Elite Experience, which starts from a whopping $37,500 per person.

OnLocation is also offering hotel packages at Park MGM at different price levels.

There are also some Add On experiences, such as Superstar Brunch for a cool $395 per person or watch-a-match with Undertaker and Mick Foley for $5,995.

If your credit card is ready for it, head over to onlocationexp.com.

WWE unveils 19 new collegiate WWE legacy title belts, available now for order

By
Colin Vassallo
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WWE unveiled 19 new collegiate WWE legacy title belts featuring the official branding and colors of top universities, including Clemson, South Carolina, Iowa State, Texas A&M, Ole Miss and Auburn.

The officially licensed products are available for purchase today at WWEShop.com and Fanatics.com.

Additional schools in this new launch include Arkansas, Baylor, BYU, Cincinnati, Kansas, Louisville, Missouri, Oklahoma State, Purdue, TCU, Texas Tech, Utah and Wisconsin.

WWE first introduced collegiate legacy title belts for select schools in August 2024, including Alabama, Georgia, Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State and West Virginia.

The announcement builds on previous collegiate collaborations, including the recent expansion of WWE’s partnership with the Big 12 that will see Friday Night SmackDown broadcast from Big 12 markets on the eve of select conference football games throughout the 2025 season.

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