Gunther made his presence felt on Smackdown last night, attacking WWE champion Cody Rhodes after he defeated Ricky Saints.
The Ring General quickly disposed of the champion, locking him in the sleeper hold and sent Rhodes to Lala land. Several officials tried to interfere and get Gunther off of Rhodes but to no avail.
After he decided it was enough, Gunther grabbed Rhodes’ title and hoisted it up above his shoulder, clearly signifying what’s next for the American Nightmare.
Gunther has not appeared since WrestleMania 42 and his match against Seth Rollins, which he won.
AEW star Rebel revealed in a video posted on social media that she was diagnose with terminal ALS.
Real name Tanea Brooks, she said she’s been battling something for the past two years and they couldn’t get to an answer…until now.
She was recently also diagnosed with lung cancer and while she was getting ready to undergo surgery, doctors found something worse.
“While I was waiting to have lung surgery for the masses on my lungs, the doctors at Mayo found…finally found, what’s going on,” she said. “The doctors have diagnosed me with terminal ALS.”
She said that the ALS finally explains why she has trouble walking and talking and was told that her basic functions will soon decline.
“I wanna say thank you to Tony Khan and AEW for supporting me on this medical journey. It has been a blessing that is unheard of. And from the bottom of my heart, thank you,” she added. “And thank you to all of you for your prayers. Please continue to pray for a peaceful journey and a peaceful passing. I love you.”
Just like WrestleMania 42, the first hour of the next WWE premium live event, Backlash, will air on linear television and ESPN2.
The first hour of WrestleMania 42 Saturday aired on ESPN2 and drew 1,600,000 viewers and a 0.62 rating in 18-49 and they are hoping to replicate the same success here with Backlash.
What’s interesting is that the first hour is listed to start at 6PM ET, which is an hour earlier than usual WWE PLE kick off times. Both WrestleMania 42 nights also started at 6PM ET.
Ricky Saints made his Smackdown debut last night, interrupting his friend and WWE champion Cody Rhodes in the opening segment of the night.
Saints welcomed Rhodes, and everyone, to Friday Night Saints and claimed to be the hottest Smackdown free agent.
With Rhodes cleared to compete again after a nasty black eye and going through concussion protocol, he challenged Saints to a one-on-one match for later in the show.
This was Saints’ main roster debut after spending just over a year in NXT. He is a former NXT and North American champion.
Former Wyatt Six member Dexter Lumis uploaded a video on his Instagram reuniting with his “NXT wife” Indi Hartwell, getting a makeover.
In the video, Lumis is shown looking at a mirror and Hartwell walks in from behind and says, “It’s time.”
Hartwell then proceeds to shave his hair, cutting off his dreadlocks and then Lumis himself shaves his beard.
The date of 7.4.26 then appears on screen, which is the date he, and the others released, will be legally able to show up anywhere following the expiration of the 90-day no-compete clause.
Lumis, along with the rest of the Wyatt Sicks, were released from WWE this past Friday. There were a total of 22 who ultimately lost their jobs.
A fan is accusing former WWE World Heavyweight champion CM Punk of chopping him on his chest during WrestleMania weekend in Las Vegas.
The unnamed individual, who called 911 to report the incident, said that on April 20, he was at the MGM Grand Hotel waiting for WWE Superstars to get a pictures and autographs and when he got close, Punk pushed him and chopped him.
The fan says the incident happened at 12:31AM, and April 20 at that time would be the night after WrestleMania Sunday where Punk main evented the show with Roman Reigns.
He also said that Punk’s eyes were red and he was full of anger and had a briefcase in his left hand.
TMZ published the call from 911, which is in Spanish, and then translated by someone who is with this particular fan.
Punk was also involved in another altercation with a different fan a day before, slapping the phone off someone who got too close to film AJ Lee and Bayley while sharing a personal moment.
WWE had a lot of issues with entitled fans at the hotel and many WWE Superstars complained, even online, about their behavior.
Nick LoPiccolo, an agent to several WWE Superstars and constant foe of AEW President Tony Khan, is claiming that Warner Bros. Discovery informed Khan that they will not be renewing the AEW television deal.
He said that WBD actually informed Khan about the decision back in August.
“I confirmed it directly and triple sourced it,” he wrote on X.
He asked podcasts hosts who will have Khan on their respective shows to ask him why he “has been acting like nothing is wrong for the last 8 months.”
“Because the only distributor left that will take AEW is Google/YouTube,” he continued.
“Paramount is not real for AEW. WBD passed back in August. CW/Roku is now off the table. Amazon and Fox do not want AEW,” LoPiccolo stated in a long post.
WBD is merging with Paramount Skydance in a $110 billion deal.
The network owns a minority stake in AEW and LoPiccolo’s statements have not been confirmed by other sources yet.
Combo tickets for SummerSlam 2026 went on general sale this morning on Ticketmaster.com.
Prices are $150, $200, $300, $400, $500, $600, $700, $900, $1,000, and $3,000 plus taxes and fees. Dynamic prices will be in effect for this show so prices will vary depending on demand.
The show will take place from the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota on August 1 and 2.
NXT this week drew 541,000 viewers, down 50,000 viewers from the prior week and the lowest since March 10. The show had a 0.07 rating in 18-49, down 0.03 rating as it faced stiff competition from NBA and NHL playoff games. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)
AEW star Anna Jay, who is returning to the ring on tonight’s Collision for the first time since November, revealed that her contract is still coming up and offered no hints on her future.
During a stream on Twitch, Jay addressed the recent rumors about her and said the source of those rumors was someone who she used to work with, but no longer does.
“The only thing out of everything that’s been posted that’s true is just that my contract is coming up, but that is it,” Jay said. “That’s it. No big deal. That’s it.”
The same rumors suggested that Jay would be departing AEW for WWE’s NXT.
“Everything else that you guys have seen is pretty much BS,” she continued.
Jay has not wrestled since the November 19 episode of Collision, losing a tag team match with Tay Melo against Marina Shafir and Megan Bayne in the AEW Women’s Tag Team title tournament.
There was a time, not such a long time ago, when British mixed martial arts were viewed with more than a little…shall we say… weary scepticism? To the uninitiated, it was a “cage fighting” curiosity relegated to dimly lit sports halls; to the American powerhouses, British fighters were often seen as one-dimensional strikers with a glaring lack of wrestling pedigree. Fast forward to now, and that narrative has been utterly dismantled.
Anyone who has followed it for a long time knows that this really has changed how the sport is consumed at home. As the audience has become more sophisticated, so has the way they engage with the weekend’s cards, often meticulously dissecting match-ups and MMA betting lines with the same analytical rigour once reserved for the Premier League.
The Story
The journey from the periphery to the podium didn’t happen overnight. It began with the stubborn persistence of pioneers like Ian Freeman and Michael Bisping. Bisping, in particular, served as the proof of concept. When he captured the middleweight title in 2016, it wasn’t just a personal victory; it was a signal to every gym in Manchester, Birmingham, and London that the ceiling had been shattered. It proved that a kid from a Lancastrian council estate could outwork the best in the world.
But, as we all know, inspiration alone doesn’t build champions. The real transformation occurred in the “foundries” of the domestic scene. Promotions like Cage Warriors became the essential bridge between amateur dreams and professional reality. By providing a platform that mirrored the professional standards of the major leagues, they allowed talent to sharpen their tools in a high-pressure environment.
This “proving ground” meant that by the time a UK fighter reached the global stage, they weren’t just talented – they were battle-hardened and strategically mature.
The Current Lay of the Land
We are now seeing the fruits of this structural evolution. The current crop of elite British talent, spearheaded by the likes of Leon Edwards and Tom Aspinall, represents a new breed of athlete. These aren’t just tough fighters; they are tacticians. They possess a holistic understanding of the game, blending world-class striking with a defensive wrestling base that was once our national Achilles’ heel.
The cultural shift is equally significant. MMA has moved out of the shadows and into the bright lights of mainstream sports media. It is discussed on national radio, featured in broadsheets, and integrated into the daily fitness routines of thousands. The stigma has faded, replaced by an appreciation for the discipline, sacrifice, and high-level athleticism required to compete at the summit.
This really stands as testament to what happens when raw talent is supported by a robust professional framework. We’re not the underdogs hoping for a puncher’s chance on the preliminary card, but a talent factory that the rest of the world’s fighters can’t longer afford to overlook.
USA Network announced that the second season of Everything on the Menu with Braun Strowman will premiere on Friday, June 5.
The date is important because the show will follow Smackdown, and that is the date that Smackdown reverts to a two-hour broadcast. WWE has a deal with USA Network where the first half of every year, Smackdown turns into a three-hour show until new seasons of their own shows are ready return on the air in that 10PM time slot.
Everything on the Menu, which did surprisingly well in the first season, was renewed in January and received a 12-episode order, up by four episodes from season one.
It was the ninth most popular new cable show of the year in 2025 according to Nielsen and was filmed while Strowman was still under a WWE deal. WWE is a producing partner on the show.
WrestleVotes Radio is reporting that WWE is currently in negotiations with Nashville, Tennessee, to bring WrestleMania 44 to the New Nissan Stadium in 2028.
Set to open in Summer of 2027, the $2.1 billion project will replace the current Nissan Stadium, the home of the Tennessee Titans of the NFL.
The new stadium is set to seat around 60,000 fans, slightly less than the current stadium which seats 69,000. The current Nissan Stadium was the host of SummerSlam 2022. Almost 49,000 fans attended that show.
Butch Spyridon, CEO of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp, said a few years ago that the city had a verbal deal with WWE to bring WrestleMania 43 to the new stadium when it opens, but next year’s show went to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and the new stadium is not set to open till a few months after WrestleMania 43 is set to take place.
Bryan Alvarez of F4WOnline.com also wrote that the city has submitted a bid of $3.5 million as a site fee plus tax incentives to bring the show to Nashville. In comparison, Las Vegas paid around $6 million to get WrestleMania 42 and $5 million for WrestleMania 41.
Chris Jericho has landed a role in the upcoming Dexter: Resurrection second season.
Jericho will be appearing as a villain in the new season which is currently filming in New York. He was spotted filming late last night with the lead actor, Michael C. Hall, with photos from the set published by Getty Images.
In the photos, Hall is seen sedating Jericho’s character with a syringe, a typical Dexter way of subduing his serial killers, and then dragging him away. The scenes were filmed in Brooklyn, yesterday, hence why Jericho was absent from Dynamite.
Production for season two of Dexter: Resurrection started several days ago.
SportsNet TV host Emily Agard announced on her Instagram that he has joined WWE and will be working with NXT as a reporter and announcer.
“Dreams do come true! SO excited and beyond grateful to be joining the @wwe broadcast team,” she wrote along with a photo in front of the huge WWE Championship title at WWE Headquarters in downtown Stamford.
“If you know me, you know this has been a huge goal of mine and an absolute dream. I love wrestling. Cannot wait to dive right in. Let’s get to work,” she continued.
Agard is a huge wrestling fan and in 2023 acted as the social media ambassador for WWE’s Elimination Chamber front Toronto. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Radio and Television Arts from Ryerson University.
Ric Flair has asked fans to “let Ric Flair be Ric Flair” amidst several incorrect statements and retractions over the past several weeks.
Flair has been getting some flack over social media for saying things during interviews and then doing a 180, often offering apologies to those who he targeted.
The latest one was Ludwig Kaiser, who Flair blamed for banning him from attending WrestleMania.
Flair admitted that he has apologized, retracted statements, and made assumptions that are incorrect, but he acknowledges everything that he has said.
“Can we just wake up tomorrow & let Ric Flair be Ric Flair. I am 77 with a heart condition and nothing is ever guaranteed,” Flair wrote on X. “Let’s just all be at peace!”
Flair added that looking at social media, people love to attack celebrities while hiding behind fake names.
“I’m Ric Flair. Take me for who I am. The people who know me know how hard I’ve worked my entire life to achieve my level of success,” he continued. “That is not up for debate. Thank you for everything!”
Admitting he’s always going to be a “cowboy,” the Nature Boy said he wishes he wakes up and opens his social media to only positive comments.
WWE announced the newest rookie class at the WWE Performance Center, consisting of Alyssa Daniele, Garrett Beck, Nicholas Panicali, and Zoe Hines.
Daniele is a fashion model and an avid snowboarder while Beck is a lacrosse player. Panicali, a former volleyball player, is a fitness instructor, while Hines, is a softball player who also happens to be the niece of Robert Kennedy Jr., the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.
The recruitment of Hines has already raised several eyebrows, with some insiders saying that her hiring was almost a given after she participated in the tryout considering who her uncle is and WWE’s ties to the Trump administration.
The four will be training at the WWE Performance Center for the next several months in hopes of making it on television.
Appearing on Busted Open Radio, TNA President Carlos Silva defended his decision to pull TNA talent from scheduled matches against AEW stars during WrestleMania weekend.
Two big matches pulled were Nic Nemeth vs MJF and Leon Slater vs Ricochet, and Silva was asked what went behind the decision and how hard was it to cancel all the booked plans.
“It was super tough. And look, all these business decisions are tough and I don’t like being called a little bitch on social any more than anyone does,” Silva said, referring to MJF calling him that on X after the matches were canceled.
“You do take the goods with the bads and you got to make some hard decisions. My job sometimes is to make hard decisions. And for the fans and for all of you and for Mike and our locker room, we’re going to make decisions that are good for TNA,” Silva continued, quoting an Under Armour ad which used to say, “You got to protect the house.”
Silva said that he had some “folks” “move into our nights,” talking about Collision moving to Thursdays sometimes and alluded that they’ve been blocked from certain arenas and venues.
“It’s okay because everyone’s got to make the decisions for their business. But we’re also just not going to lie down and not make decisions that are good for our business. And unfortunately, sometimes those decisions are tough and we’re very thoughtful about them and we try to do the best to make good when we have to make those decisions,” he continued.
Silva took full responsibility for the decisions, saying it was him who pulled the plug.
It was also reported that TNA compensated all the talent that were pulled from advertised matches.
Swerve Strickland, who has not appeared on AEW television since the March 25 episode of Dynamite, was part of a vignette on Dynamite last night and looks like to be entering in a feud with Bandido.
The vignette, filmed like it’s in the Wild West, showed a Most Wanted sign featuring Bandido and the camera pans to a bar where people are frantically leaving. One guy flies through the door and then someone walks out to assess the damage. The camera keeps filming from behind and below the waist, until the person stops on a Most Wanted flyer and it’s revealed to be Strickland.
Strickland picks up the poster and Price Nana enters the frame, who hands him a lighter, and Strickland lights it up on fire.
The former AEW World champion was last in the ring against Kenny Omega.
