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John Cena says fans will determine direction of his character in final 6 months

By
Colin Vassallo
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In an interview with Collider, WWE champion John Cena said that the fans’ reactions will drive the direction of his character over the next few months as his career winds down.

Cena admitted that there will be pivots, pivots which will come depending on how the audience feels about him.

“So, if you ever had a voice to use, if you ever wanted to say something, I hate to steal my own cliché, but the time is now,” Cena said. “I look forward to the road ahead because the audience is going to dictate the direction we go.”

The fans have already started cheering for Cena despite supposedly going heel. His heel work did not exactly set the company on fire, and while it was something that fans wanted to happen during his 25-year career, it doesn’t feel like they wanted it to happen now.

“I think it’s a wonderful time to be a fan. I think a lot of different talent are being able to capitalize on all we’re doing, and I applaud the WWE for always being able to think extended but pivot on a dime in a moment, as it happens. I think that’s their strongest suit,” Cena added.

Marc Raimondi’s Say Hello to the Bad Guys book out now

By
Colin Vassallo
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The book Say Hello to the Bad Guys: How Professional Wrestling’s New World Order Changed America was released in bookstores nationwide and online.

It features a compelling, gripping narrative history of professional wrestling’s legendary faction, The nWo, from their inception in 1996 to their influence on American pop culture today.

Written by Marc Raimondi, an ESPN reporter with nearly twenty years of experience in journalism, and published by Simon & Schuster, Say Hello to the Bad Guys has a total of 320 pages and has a retail regular price of $29.99.

Marc Raimondi is currently an NFL reporter for ESPN. He is a longtime former combat sports reporting, specializing in mixed martial arts and professional wrestling. He previously served as the deputy managing editor for Vox Media’s MMAFighting.com and covered multiple sports for Fox Sports and the New York Post. With a focus on MMA, boxing and pro wrestling, Marc covered major events, provided behind-the-scenes insights, and reported on the latest news in the combat sports world. He is currently ESPN’s beat reporter for the Atlanta Falcons.

Say Hello to the Bad Guys is his first book.

Tomorrow’s Impact to stream on YouTube as well

By
Colin Vassallo
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Tomorrow’s episode of TNA Impact will also air free on the company’s YouTube channel at the same time the show broadcasts on AXS TV.

This episode, which was taped this past Friday in Pittsburgh, aired as a special on TNA+ live as it happened so technically this is a replay of that broadcast. It will be, however, a first-run on cable television.

The show on YouTube is not geo-blocked – except for Canada – so anyone else can watch it there.

Cody Rhodes admits it might be time soon to turn heel

By
Colin Vassallo
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Former WWE champion Cody Rhodes admitted that he’s nearing the end of his babyface run in WWE and there will be a point where he has to make the switch to the dark side.

Speaking at Fanatics Fest to Kay Adams, Rhodes was answering a question if he gets ever tired of being the good guy.

Rhodes responded no, because you can create so much moments with fans, but acknowledged they are at the “tail end of it” because there’s only so much someone can like you.

“I would love to do it until the end of my career, but there’s only so much,” he said. “At a certain point, they want to see somebody else. I get that…and that’s where you have to change as a character.”

Rhodes said that if it was up to The Rock, he would have already turned heel but the powers that be decided to let him ride the babyface train for a while longer instead.

He did admit that probably The Rock sees something that maybe he doesn’t see and since Johnson is a very smart individual, maybe he has to follow his lead.

Raw views for 06/16/2025

By
Colin Vassallo
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Raw

The June 16 episode of Raw had 2,700,000 global views on Netflix, down 200,000 from the prior week and was #9 on the Netflix Top 10 global chart, barely making the list.

The views were based on the average of 1 hour and 43 minutes per show and Netflix listed 5 million hours consumed in total.

Raw was in the top 10 list in only seven countries including Bahrain, Bolivia, Canada, Ecuador, Mexico, United Kingdom, and United States.

Women’s Casino Gauntlet match added to All In: Texas

By
Colin Vassallo
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All In: Texas

A women’s Casino Gauntlet match has also been added to AEW All In: Texas, just a day after the men’s match was announced.

Two four-way matches which will air on Dynamite will determine the important #1 entry in the battle royal. Unlike any other battle royal, the earlier number you draw for the Casino Gauntlet, the better chance you have at winning.

In the men’s #1 spot match it will be Konosuke Takeshita vs Mark Briscoe vs Roderick Strong vs Bandido while the women’s #1 spot match features Willow Nightingale vs Athena vs Thunder Rosa vs Kris Statlander.

Collision rating for 06/21/2025

By
Colin Vassallo
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Collision last Saturday night drew 426,000 viewers, up 71,000 viewers from the last show which aired on Wednesday night following Dynamite. The show had a 0.10 rating in 18-49, up 0.01, and was #13 on the top 50 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

Jordynne Grace to go for NXT Women’s title at Evolution

By
Colin Vassallo
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Jordynne Grace has earned an NXT Women’s title shot at the upcoming Evolution premium live event after she won a fatal four-way #1 contenders match last night on NXT.

Grace defeated Lash Legend, Jaida Parker, and Izzi Dame to get the match against NXT Women’s champion Jacy Jayne next month in Atlanta. All four women had last week won a qualifying match to advance.

This match is the first official one on the all-women Evolution show. It is only the second-ever Evolution show after the original one in 2018.

Buddy Matthews still suffering from ankle injury

By
Colin Vassallo
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AEW star Buddy Matthews is still recovering from an ankle injury he sustained at Grand Slam: Australia this past February.

Matthews voiced his frustration during an Instagram Live broadcast, saying that his ankle is not recovering as fast as he thought it would

“There’s no mobility to it, if I can’t have mobility, I can’t move properly. Once it hits three months without healing, it becomes chronic,” Matthews said, adding that he thought he’d be back in the ring within two months.

But it’s been four months already and Matthews is stuck at home while waiting for his ankle ligament and cartilage to heal.

The Australian star forms part of Hounds of Hell with Brody King and Julia Hart, as the trio moved away from the House of Black faction following Malakai Black’s departure from AEW.

Director chosen for Ronda Rousey’s Netflix biopic

By
Colin Vassallo
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Deadline is reporting that Augustine Frizzell has been selected to direct the Ronda Rousey Netflix biopic based on Rousey’s memoirs My Fight/Your Fight and Our Fight, which she co-wrote with her sister Maria Burns Ortiz.

Rousey penned her own script in a week according to Deadline, learning the structure of screenwriting after she worked in WME’s story group department.

Frizzell is reportedly a huge Ronda Rousey fan and Deadline stated that everyone involved in the project wanted a woman to direct it. She had also read both Rousey’s books before she even got the call to discuss directing.

The project got off the ground in 2015 under Paramount but their rights for it lapsed and Netflix swooped in to take over the movie.

Pat McAfee misses Raw for the third straight week

By
Colin Vassallo
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Pat McAfee has missed Raw for the third straight week and WWE has not explained why McAfee has been missing in action. The former NFL star has not addressed his absence either.

It was Wade Barrett who replaced him on the June 9 episode and then Corey Graves did the job on the June 16 episode and last night as well.

McAfee returned to commentary on the Raw Netflix premiere in January and has been doing the show every week as well as the premium live events. Usually he takes a few months break starting in September due to his College Game Day duties on ESPN.

It remains unclear when McAfee will return to his WWE commentary role as he did not even mention his break on The Pat McAfee Show.

Smackdown rating for 06/20/2025

By
Colin Vassallo
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Smackdown on Friday drew 1,524,000 viewers, up 123,000 viewers as major sports competition has pretty much ended. This was the most-watched episode since April 25. The show had a 0.38 rating in 18-49, the same number of last week, and was #1 on cable as well as #1 in all of television for the night. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

Smackdown and Night of Champions in Riyadh to go ahead as planned

By
Colin Vassallo
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The Night of Champions premium live event and the Smackdown on the eve of the show will go ahead as planned in Riyadh this coming weekend after some ease in the tensions in the Middle East.

There was some hiccup yesterday as some crew who flew earlier for production purposes got stuck at their layover airport as most countries around Iran closed their airspace after Iran launched an attack on a U.S. military base in Qatar as retaliation.

But as things looked bleak, a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Iran was quickly announced by President Donald Trump.

WWE promoted both Smackdown and Night of Champions as taking place from Saudi Arabia last night on Raw. For international viewers, Smackdown will also air live on Netflix while it will be on tape delay in the United States on USA Network.

Raw next week to start at 6PM ET live

By
Colin Vassallo
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Raw

Raw next week will air two hours earlier than usual, with a special start time of 6PM ET live on Netflix around the world.

The earlier kick off is because WWE will also tape an episode of Smackdown immediately following the conclusion of Raw. This particular episode will air on Friday, July 4, which is Independence Day in the United States.

The taping will allow all the crew and Superstars to get to spend the holiday with their families.

The show is being held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with fans able to leave the arena at a respectable time rather than ending at around Midnight for the double taping.

Changes made to Night of Champions 2025 card

By
Colin Vassallo
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There were some changes to the Night of Champions card for this weekend as announced on Raw yesterday.

Intercontinental champion Dominik Mysterio is unable to compete and his match against AJ Styles is officially off the card. Raw GM Adam Pearce informed Styles that when Mysterio is cleared then he can get his IC title shot.

Sami Zayn vs Karrion Kross was added to the card, with Kross finally getting an opportunity to shine after constant months of support from fans. Kross has been targeting Zayn for quite a while now, reminding him that he will never be a world champion.

Also added to Night of Champions is a street fight between Rhea Ripley and Raquel Rodriguez. With Liv Morgan out of the picture for months, it looks like Raquel is steeping up to continue her fight for Judgment Day.

Cargill and Rhodes advance to King and Queen of the Ring finals

By
Colin Vassallo
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The King and Queen of the Ring finals were set last night on Raw with the remaining two semi final matches taking place during the broadcast.

Jade Cargill was the first one to punch her ticket to Riyadh after she beat Roxanne Perez in the Queen of the Ring and will now go on to face the returning Asuka in the final on Saturday.

Then later in the broadcast’s main event, Cody Rhodes defeated his former tag team champion partner Jey Uso to advance against Randy Orton in what will be their first one-on-one since Cody returned to WWE.

The winners of these two finals will receive a title shot at SummerSlam at MetLife Stadium.

Last two King and Queen of the Ring semi finals live on Raw tonight

By
Colin Vassallo
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Raw

Monday Night Raw returns on Netflix tonight with the red brand’s final stop before Night of Champions.

Two King and Queen of the Ring semi final matches will take place including Jade Cargill vs Roxanne Perez and Cody Rhodes vs Jey Uso.

Plus, the Women’s Intercontinental title will be on the line as Becky Lynch defends against Bayley, Bron Breakker takes on Penta, and Goldberg will appear in a sit-down interview as he prepares for his final match against Gunther next month.

Tons of WWE Superstars at Fanatics Fest in New York

By
Colin Vassallo
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WWE had a large contingent of Superstars at this weekend’s Fanatics Fest which was held between June 20-22 at the Javits Center in New York.

Those who were on hand to meet fans were John Cena, Cody Rhodes, The Undertaker, Rhea Ripley, Jey Uso, Bianca Belair, Nikki Bella, Alexa Bliss, Bron Breakker, Jacob Fatu, Charlotte Flair, Chelsea Green, Becky Lynch, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, Megan Morant, Dominik Mysterio, Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton, Kevin Owens, Logan Paul, Penta, Damian Priest, CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Tiffany Stratton, Trish Stratus, and Sami Zayn.

The WWE Superstars were there along with other NBA, NHL, NFL athletes for three days of packed with meet and greets and other activities, including panels, Superstar entrances, podcast tapings, and more.

To much the surprise of nobody, most of the Superstars on hand sold out of their allocations and were the most popular for the weekend.

WWE forms a large part of the Fanatics family, with the company now in charge of their merchandise and podcast series.

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Collision to air on Thursday this week instead of Saturday

By
Colin Vassallo
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Collision this week will be airing on Thursday night instead of Saturday due to another preemption on TNT.

The show will be keeping its 8PM time slot for the Thursday viewing as TNT will air the NASCAR Cup Series on Saturday starting at 7PM ET, taking AEW programming’s place.

Collision has been bumped around for a while lately and just this past weekend had its first Saturday showing in three weeks after it aired following Dynamite for a couple of weeks.

There are rumors that AEW will change Collision’s spot permanently in the near future to prevent the several preemptions it has to go through especially during NBA and NHL seasons. The Thursday night slot has been the likely scenario if and when they pull the trigger.

Brie Garcia says she’s still waiting for that phone call from WWE

By
Colin Vassallo
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Speaking to a reporter at the Nickelodeon’s Kids Choice Awards arrivals, Brie Garcia said that she’s still waiting for that phone call from WWE to return.

Asked about the rumors of Brie joining her sister Nikki back in WWE, Brie replied, “Maybe…I mean I would love to return but you know, I’m kind of waiting for that call still!”

Brie added that Nikki did get that phone call to come back and she has not changed her phone number and all it would take is a call to make it happen.

TMZ reported last week that there were some discussions between WWE and Brie’s camp about a potential return ahead of Evolution.

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