Dynamite on Wednesday drew 613,000 viewers, down 123,000 viewers from last week’s Grand Slam: Mexico event. The show had a 0.16 rating in 18-49, down 0.05 from the previous week and was #5 on the top 50 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)
Bryan Danielson appears after Collision goes off the air
Bryan Danielson made a surprise appearance after Collision went off the air last night.
Following the end of the main event, Max Caster came out to issue a Best Wrestler Alive open challenge.
Danielson’s theme song kicked in and the former AEW champion came out. Adam Cole, who was still in the ring, hit a super kick on Caster and that was followed by Danielson locking in the LeBell Lock. Caster tapped out quickly much to the delight of the fans.
Danielson then celebrated in the ring with Paragon to send the crowd home happy.
The show was held in Kent, Washington, which is close to Danielson’s old stomping grounds of Aberdeen.
Bryan Danielson is back #aewdynamite #aewcollision pic.twitter.com/uB0ir5TPLW
— jthan (@JthanJoestar) June 26, 2025
CM Punk apologizes to fans in Saudi Arabia during kickoff show
CM Punk apologized to Saudi Arabian WWE fans during the Night of Champions kickoff party for a “mean” tweet he sent in 2020.
Punk received boos from the fans who obviously did not forget what he told The Miz in a tweet which made headlines back then.
During the event, a man named Mohammed asked Punk to apologize for his words.
“This guy wants me to apologize for a mean tweet I wrote six years ago,” Punk said on stage to big cheers and laughs from Michael Cole.
“Hey listen, legitimately had nothing to do with Saudi Arabia. I woke up and I was crabby and I wrote a mean tweet to The Miz and I apologized to The Miz,” Punk said.
With chants of “shut the f*ck up” ringing from the fans, Punk continued, “And sir, what’s your name? Mohammed? Mohammed, I sincerely apologize to you. And I love Saudi Arabia, okay?”
At that point, Punk shook hands with the fan and the rest of the fans cheered and started a CM Punk chant.
Punk admitted that he screwed up when he sent that tweet and it was a lesson learned.
“And now here I am and you have invited me to your country and I am grateful to be here. Thank you very much,” Punk said.
Un pibe random le pide a gritos a CM Punk que se disculpe por su tuit de 2019. “Era un tuit de meme a The Miz. Me disculpo a The Miz. ¿Te llamas Mohamed? Me disculpo de forma sincera”.
Qué ha sido esto jdsjdsjdsjfdsjfd #WWENOC pic.twitter.com/5ibm70ZdVY
— LuigiWrestling (@LuigiWrestling) June 27, 2025
Roman Reigns to play the character of Akuma in Street Fighter movie
Roman Reigns has booked the role of Akuma in the upcoming Street Fighter movie according to The Hollywood Reporter, which is being produced by Legendary Entertainment based on the classic and popular Capcom video game.
Jason Momoa, 50 Cent, Noah Centineo, Orville Peck, Andrew Koji, and Callina Liang and also part of the cast.
The character of Akuma in the video game is described as a cold and extremely powerful warrior and made its debut in Super Street Fighter II Turbo as a secret character and an alternative boss to the villain M. Bison.
Production will begin in August in Australia, led by director Kitao Sakurai.
Three title matches set for today’s Smackdown from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Smackdown tonight will be live around the world except for in the United States as the show will take place from the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia starting at an earlier time.
Smackdown will kick off at 6PM GMT / 7PM CET live on Netflix and then starts in its regular time slot of 8PM ET on USA Network for those in the United States.
This is the first of two events at the Kingdom Arena, with tomorrow’s Night of Champions also taking place there.
Scheduled to take place tonight are Tiffany Stratton vs Nia Jax for the WWE Women’s title in a last woman standing match, The Street Profits vs The Wyatt Sicks for the WWE Tag Team titles, Zelina Vega vs Giulia for the WWE Women’s United States title, and John Cena returns to Smackdown before his battle with CM Punk!
Dom Mysterio suffering from rib injury
Dom Mysterio is suffering from a rib injury, which is why the scheduled match against AJ Styles at Night of Champions was scrapped.
The injury will not keep Mysterio out for long according to PWInsider.com, but the IC champion remains not cleared to compete for the time being.
There were rumors flying around that Mysterio refused to travel to Saudi Arabia which was not the case as the injury is legit.
The match was postponed on Monday during Raw, with General Manager Adam Pearce letting Styles know that Mysterio was not cleared and he would be getting his Intercontinental title shot when his opponent is ready to compete.
MJF makes surprise appearance at MLW’s Summer of the Beasts
MJF made a surprise appearance at last night’s MLW’s Summer of the Beasts event, appearing under a mask and attacking CMLL’s Mistico.
Mistco was about to address the crowd before he was attacked by several men in black with masks. After he survived all of them, another one then came from behind and hit him with a low blow.
The masked man removed his mask which had another mask underneath: that of Mistico himself. He then uncovered from the second mask to reveal himself as MJF.
The two battled it out at Grand Slam: Mexico last week, with Mistico winning via DQ. MJF told Mistico that next time they wrestle, he will beat the hell out of him, CMLL, and Mexico. It’s rumored that their next match will come at All In: Texas.
MJF wrestled for Major League Wrestling between 2017 and 2020 and this was his first appearance there since joining AEW.
WOW!
MJF showed up at MLW and attacked Mistico! pic.twitter.com/ITMewwSbNN
— Fightful Wrestling (@Fightful) June 27, 2025
SiriusXM to launch first ever 24/7 pro wrestling audio channel
SiriusXM announced today the launch of its first ever 24/7 channel dedicated to the world of professional wrestling. Pro Wrestling Nation 24/7 will take over channel 156 on SiriusXM radios and in the SiriusXM app starting July 1, giving fans their own full-time channel that will cover all the events and storylines happening around the world of pro wrestling 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The new channel expands on the success of SiriusXM’s “Busted Open,” the popular daily wrestling show hosted by Dave LaGreca with wrestling legends Bully Ray, Mark Henry and Tommy Dreamer. Since its launch in 2009, “Busted Open” has become one of the most prominent programs for wrestling fans around the country. “Busted Open” founder Dave LaGreca signed a new multi-year agreement with SiriusXM this week to remain the lead voice of the show.
“Busted Open” will kick off each programming day with a live episode airing from 9 am to noon ET, seven days a week. It will anchor a daily lineup that will feature several new live shows hosted by prominent personalities and entertainers from inside and outside the ring. These hosts will share their opinions and insights on the latest wrestling events and storylines, take calls from fans around the country, and interview many of the biggest stars in wrestling.
“Pro Wrestling Nation 24/7 is a dream come true,” said LaGreca. “I couldn’t be more proud of the team that we have assembled on this channel. I promise our loyal fans, ‘The Nation,’ the best coverage of Pro Wrestling in the world!”
“We’ve seen the popularity of ’Busted Open’ grow through the years to the point where the show – now one of the most prominent wrestling shows in audio – is bursting with great talent and content. We’re thrilled to be re-signing Dave to another extension that will ensure he’s the face and voice of ‘Busted Open’ for years to come, and we’re really excited to expand on what he’s started,” said Jared Fox, SVP, Sports Programming, Content Marketing & Partnerships, and Artist Relations for SiriusXM.
“The appetite for wrestling content continues to increase, and we’re able to uniquely meet the demand of those fans by delivering a new 24/7 channel just for them,” Fox continued. “We have a long track record of building dedicated sports channels that fans love. Pro Wrestling Nation 24/7 will be the next great SiriusXM sports channel, producing compelling and exclusive new content daily and giving fans a place to call in and let their voices be heard as well.”
Wrestling analyst, podcaster and SiriusXM host Sam Roberts will expand his radio presence beyond his Faction Talk morning show, bringing his long-cultivated brand Notsam Wrestling to Pro Wrestling Nation 24/7 with an exclusive new show, “Notsam Wrestling Live,” from noon to 2pm ET Monday through Thursday.
On Fridays in the noon to 2 pm ET timeslot, wrestling host and commentator Peter Rosenberg, one of America’s premiere radio personalities, will host “Cheap Heat Live,” an extended version of his long running “Cheap Heat” podcast, featuring his unique brand of comedic wrestling talk.
Every weekday from 2 to 4 pm ET listeners will hear, “Off the Ropes,” a new live show hosted by veteran wrestling broadcaster Jonathan Coachman. On “Off the Ropes,” Coachman will be joined by a rotating cast of current and former wrestlers as his co-hosts, including Nic Nemeth, Mark Henry, Tommy Dreamer, Thunder Rosa and Tom Pestock.
Wrestling Superstar Natalya, a member of wrestling’s famous Hart family, will host her new SiriusXM segment, “The Hart Beat with Natalya,” every Thursday from 11 am to noon ET, taking over the third hour of that day’s “Busted Open” episode.
Independent Superstar Matt Cardona will also be a part of the Pro Wrestling Nation 24/7 lineup, appearing on the channel every week.
Daily episodes of “Busted Open” will replay at 4 pm ET. The nighttime show, “Busted Open After Dark,” is expanding from three nights to five nights a week and features a rotating cast that includes Tommy Dreamer, Bully Ray, Mark Henry, Denise Salcedo and others. The show gives fans a place to call in and immediately react after nightly wrestling events.
The “Busted Open” podcast, which consists of the most popular moments and highlights from that day’s radio show, will continue to be available on all major podcast platforms. Every Monday, the “Busted Open” hosts drop a podcast exclusive episode, “The Master’s Class,” in which Dave LaGreca and team focus on a single topic in depth.
WWE Superstars and crew arrive safely in Saudi Arabia
The WWE Superstars and crew are now in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and arrived safely in the Middle East for tomorrow’s Smackdown and Saturday’s Night of Champions premium live event.
Both shows will take place at the Kingdom Arena with a full house expected for Night of Champions and another very big crowd set for Smackdown as well.
While in Saudi Arabia, the WWE contingent will do community relations work and will also be hosting events at the WWE Experience located in Boulevard City.
For those international fans, Smackdown will air live at 6PM GMT / 7PM CET on Netflix while U.S. fans have to wait until the regular 8PM time slot on USA Network.
Night of Champions will have a special start time of 1PM ET / 6PM GMT / 7PM CET due to the time difference.
Two huge matches announced for Dynamite 300
AEW is gearing up for the 300th episode of Dynamite next week and two huge matches have already been announced for the broadcast.
Japanese stars and longtime rivals Kota Ibushi and AEW Continental champion Kazuchika Okada will renew their feud as they take on each other in a one-on-one non-title match.
Also, TBS champion Mercedes Mone puts up her title on the line against Mina Shirakawa. Mone will coincidentally wrestle her 1,000th match on this show.
The show takes place from the Toyota Arena in Ontario, Canada. Tickets are available via Ticketmaster.com starting from just $42.75. A Me+3 four-pack and AEW 5-Plus pack offers are also available.
Former Tegan Nox launching her OnlyFans page
Nixon Newell, the artist formerly known as Tegan Nox in WWE, is launching her OnlyFans page on Saturday, June 28.
The Welsh star made the announcement herself via a post on social media.
“This has been a long time in the making. I’ve always been a very self conscious and unconfident person, but after a long time of working on my brain and body, I’m finally saying ‘f*ck it,'” she wrote. “I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished, so come check out my OF page & subscribe!”
Newell said a few weeks ago that independent bookings have not been as good as she expected following her WWE release this past November.
You can join her OF at https://onlyfans.com/nixonnewell for $19.99 per month.
Four-way tag team ladder match set for Slammiversary 2025
A four-way tag team ladder match for the TNA Tag Team titles has been announced for the upcoming TNA Slammiversary pay-per-view.
Appearing on Busted Open Radio yesterday, Matt Hardy said that he and Jeff will be in the match versus AJ Francis and KC Navarro, The Rascalz, and TNA Tag Team champions Nic and Ryan Nemeth.
Matt and Jeff are obviously not new to these kind of matches and have been involved in some of the best tag team ladder matches in the history of pro wrestling. Nic Nemeth is also a ladder match veteran, having participated in quite a few of them in WWE, especially Money In The Bank ladder matches.
Slammiversary takes place on Sunday, July 20 live from the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York. Tickets are available on Ticketmaster.com starting from just $47.65.
Individual tickets for Saturday Night’s Main Event and Evolution available now
Individual tickets for Saturday Night’s Main Event and Evolution are now on general sale on Ticketmaster.com.
The cheapest seats for SNME are at $91 and WWE has started opening up sections on the hard cam side in the 200 level for this show. With this being Goldberg’s final match in WWE in Atlanta, it’s expected to be close to a sell out but plenty and plenty of tickets remain available, including at ringside.
Evolution is doing worse when it comes to ticket sales and going head-to-head with a Beyonce concert across the road perhaps wasn’t the smartest strategy. The cheapest available are $51.60 for this show and ringside seats are still available as well. Most of the hard cam section remains closed off and it’s going to take some serious star power to get this show selling more tickets.
These two events, along with NXT’s Great American Bash, form part of a weekend takeover of Atlanta. These events are being held at the State Farm Arena while NXT is at Center Stage.
Blake Monroe calls joining WWE the greatest achievement of her life
In an emotional vlog uploaded on her YouTube account, Blake Monroe called her arrival in WWE the greatest achievement of her life.
A well-known huge WWE fan, the artist formerly known as Mariah May made her WWE debut earlier this month, just hours after being legally freed from her AEW contract.
The vlog was taped before her debut and Monroe said that it still doesn’t feel real as she was a “little dejected” at the end of last year because she wasn’t sure that WWE was an option for her.
She credited training at the Flatbacks wrestling school for making her fall in love with wrestling again, the school owned by Shawn Spears and Tyler Breeze.
Monroe added that when doubt started hitting her, she got support from her manager and family who all told her that they believe in her.
“And I spoke to my parents who were really the big ones, and even my dad said, ‘Life isn’t a dress rehearsal you get one go this is your dream since you were a little kid,'” she said. “And so everything happened really quickly. And I’m doing it, I am officially a WWE Superstar, I’m debuting at NXT tonight!”
WWE: Unreal Netflix docuseries to premiere on July 29
Netflix revealed that the docuseries WWE: Unreal will have its premiere on Tuesday, July 29.
The behind-the-scenes documentary will focus on the WWE writer’s room, with footage from creative meetings being shown for the first time ever.
The show is produced in conjunction with NFL Films, Omaha Productions from Peyton Manning, Skydance Sports, and WWE.
Season one of WWE: Unreal will feature five episodes lasting 50 minutes each.
NXT rating for 06/24/2025
NXT this week drew 729,000 viewers, up 69,000 viewers from the prior week and the best number since March 25. The show had a 0.16 rating in 18-49, the same of last week. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)
Chad Gable out injured, to undergo surgery
Chad Gable will be out of action for a while as the leader of the American Made faction is injured and needs to undergo surgery.
While the exact injury is unknown at this point, PWInsider.com is reporting that Gable will be undergoing shoulder surgery at the beginning of next month with no date set for his return.
Gable was written out of TV in a backstage segment with Penta on Raw this past Monday.
He holds the WWE Speed title under the El Grande Americano gimmick, with that title now expected to be vacated as well.
Gable last wrestled on the June 9 episode of Raw against AJ Styles.
Jim Ross says colon cancer is “gone”
Jim Ross announced on his Grilling JR podcast that his cancer is “gone” as he continues his recovery from colon cancer surgery.
Ross said, “The cancer’s gone which I’m very happy to say. I’m blessed that my health has returned and I’m feeling pretty damn good.”
The WWE Hall of Famer is still targeting next month’s All In: Texas to make his return behind the AEW announcers desk and hopes he can call a match or two.
Ross has been battling health issues for the past couple of years and had skin cancer and now colon cancer.
Briscoe and Statlander first two in Casino Gauntlet matches
Mark Briscoe and Kris Statlander are the first two confirmed names for the men’s and women’s Casino Gauntlet match at All In: Texas.
Briscoe won a four-way match against Roderick Strong, Bandido, and Konosuke Takeshita to earn the #1 spot in the match while Statlander also get the #1 entry by defeating Willow Nightingale, Thunder Rosa, and Athena in another four-way.
In the Casino Gauntlet, entering first is actually an advantage as you have more time – in reality just like the second entrant – to win the match before other competitors join the fray.
The winners of the two battle royals will earn a title match.
WWE LFG S2 E1 rating
The first episode of season two of WWE LFG drew 114,000 viewers, which is down 42,000 viewers from the season one finale episode and the third least-watched episode of the series so far. It drew a 0.05 rating in 18-49, up 0.02 from the last episode and matches the series high. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)