A number one contender for the WWE Women’s title will be decided next week between Bayley and Naomi after both got the pin on Nia Jax last night on Smackdown.
The two battled Jax and Tiffany Stratton in a tornado tag team match with the stipulation that if Bayley and Naomi lose, whoever is down for the fall has to leave Smackdown. The other stipulation was that if Bayley and Naomi won, the one who wins the match gets a title shot against Jax.
But the faces reigned supreme after they both simultaneously pinned the champion, keeping their place on the blue brand secure.
In a backstage segment with Smackdown GM Nick Aldis, the two were informed that the only solution to the outcome of their match was that next week, they both face each other and the winner gets Jax for the WWE Women’s title.
WWE produced a movie-like segment last night on Smackdown with WWE champion Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns meeting at the 50-yard line inside Georgia Tech Stadium in Atlanta.
The production saw Roman Reigns roll in the stadium with a convoy of seven SUVs while Rhodes pulled up in a white sports car shortly after.
Reigns told Cody that he shed blood, sweat, and tears many times in the stadium years ago so this was his field, his stadium, and his city and asked Cody what he has done for his city. Cody reminded Roman about Center Stage and The Omni and how different members of his family bled for this city and told him that it might be Roman’s field, but it’s his home.
The former champ told Cody that he signed himself into a lose-lose situation because The Bloodline has nothing to lose, and Cody has everything to lose. Reigns said they took Jimmy, Wiseman, and the Ula Fala away from him so he was a man with no country.
Cody responded by saying that he told him before Mania that he will be a chief without a tribe and WWE has a tribal chief and a WWE champion and both are not him. He poked Roman by saying he looks like a shell of himself, which clearly annoyed Reigns, and Reigns asked what he wants.
Cody said he wanted Roman’s word that he will have his back at Bad Blood so he can have his back in return. Roman said he gives his word that he will have Cody’s back in their tag team match, but once it’s over, he’s coming for what’s his – the WWE championship.
As Roman began to walk, Cody blocked his way, and told him the title is not his to take. Roman told him that he’s in his way, so Cody moved.
“You’re in my way…in life,” Roman said, as he walked away and cameras panned away to a shot of the skyline of the city of Atlanta.
Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns filmed an angle at Georgia Tech University, which is Reigns’ alma mater, and a place located in the heart of Cody’s hometown of Atlanta. The full shoot will be shown in its entirety tonight live on Smackdown on USA Network ahead of their tag team match against Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu at Bad Blood.
Also tonight on Smackdown, United States champion LA Knight will defend his title against Andrade, Apollo Crews battles Giovanni Vinci, and a tornado tag team match between Bayley and Naomi vs Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton.
A stipulation in the tornado tag team match is that if Bailey and Naomi win, the person who scores the pinfall or submission victory will become the #1 contender for Nia Jax’s WWE Women’s title. But if they lose, whoever eats the pinfall or submit, must leave Smackdown for good.
In her latest weekly newsletter, TBS and NJPW Strong Women’s champion Mercedes Mone wrote how she should have kept her mouth shut about a collaboration with Megan Thee Stallion after WWE pounced and got her song as the new Smackdown theme.
Mone said that a few weeks ago during an interview she made the mistake of spilling the beans of working with Megan Thee Stallion. The two met in Japan earlier this year and agreed to do a collaboration in AEW.
“More recently, it was announced that Meg would be part of the new Smackdown theme. It could all be a coincidence, of course. But then, they don’t call me the blueprint for nothing,” Mone wrote. “In hindsight, I should have kept my mouth shut about it but all you can do is live and learn.”
Smackdown’s premiere on USA Network opened with a brand new theme song titled Neva Play, a song performed by Stallion featuring South Korean rapper RM of the popular group BTS.
The NXT on CW premiere episode which will take place live from the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois has crossed 6,000 tickets sold.
The cheapest tickets are selling for $25 plus taxes and fees and are in the 200 Level, where most of the unsold tickets remain.
WWE is also selling VIP packages for $700 each plus fees which includes a Premium Ringsider floor seat, limited edition commemorative chair, WWE Superstar autograph, WWE Ringsider mini replica title belt, VIP collector coin, WWE VIP drawstring bag, and additional WWE merchandise.
This will be the most-attended NXT television taping so far and it’s currently outdrawing Raw the night before from Evansville, Indiana, which is at around 5,800 tickets.
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Wrestling is reporting that Miro has asked for his release from AEW, two years into his four-year extension which started in 2022.
The Bulgarian, who moved back to his home country after he split from his wife CJ Perry, has not been seen on AEW television since the Worlds End pay-per-view on December 30, 2023.
His last match was against Andrade El Idolo that night, a match he won after Perry turned on El Idolo.
The former TNT champion has been signed with AEW since late 2020.
This week’s episode of Dynamite drew 687,000 viewers, down 31,000 viewers from the prior week. The show had a 0.22 rating in 18-49, up 0.01 from the last show and was #2 on the top 50 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)
Former WWE star Xia Li, now going by the name of Lei Ying Lee, will be making her TNA Wrestling debut next week on Impact.
Vignettes for her arrival have been airing for a couple of weeks on TNA TV but her debut date was only announced during yesterday’s show.
The 36-year-old Chinese star learned her trade at the WWE Performance Center starting in 2017 and was the first Chinese woman to compete in a WWE ring. After a few years in NXT, she was drafted to Smackdown in the 2021 Draft.
She was eventually released in April 2024 after seven years with the company.
During a 20-minute conference call with reporters yesterday afternoon, Janel Grant’s attorney Ann Callis and new PR head Kendra Barkoff Lamy from SKDK, said that Janel Grant deserves to tell her full story on her own and not be part of a docuseries which is focused on someone else.
The answer came after questions surrounding her potential involvement with the Mr. McMahon series on Netflix.
Callis said that Grant and her legal team did not get an advance copy of the series and have not seen it yet and refused to answer questions if she was approached or had any discussions with Netflix to be part of the series.
“Janel has the right to tell her story, in her own way, at the right time,” Callis said repeatedly. “She deserves the opportunity to tell her full story and not be a part of someone else’s.”
Callis said that Grant will get her day in court and McMahon will be held accountable for his actions, saying that this was no WWE storyline and that Grant is a human being who is a survivor of McMahon’s sex trafficking inside WWE.
The attorney added that she hopes the Netflix series will do the story justice. WWE was not involved at all with the documentary and Callis said that after a very brief outreach right after the lawsuit was filed, she has not heard from WWE.
Callis also said that they would like federal charges to be brought quickly so they can resume with their civil lawsuit but stressed that while they want charges filed ASAP, they want it to be right, not necessarily fast.
Jim Ross shared his excitement that he was called to go to New York to be available for Dynamite: Grand Slam commentary next week.
Ross, who typically only does pay-per-view main events lately, said he was really looking forward to the show as it’s a loaded card and the Arthur Ashe Stadium makes for a unique setting and surroundings.
“I’m not sure how much of it I’m doing, but I think I’m doing more than normal,” Ross said on his Grilling JR podcast. “And then I’m going to go to Seattle and call the pay-per-view.”
JR noted that his schedule is getting “more aggressive” and looks like he will be used more often moving forward, something that he’s excited about and ready for.
“I love doing the live calls and still it’s in my blood. I still enjoy it. I still get fired up for doing it. It means something to me,” Ross concluded.
His time behind the mic was cut drastically lately mainly due to his health problems.
The pre-sale for the Saturday Night’s Main Event show at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, kicked off this morning on Ticketmaster.com using the code WWE2024.
The cheapest ticket in this pre-sale is $72.65 plus taxes while ringside seats are at a whopping $1,237.65 plus taxes.
WWE announced the return of the popular NBC series earlier this week, with the first show set for December 14 airing live on NBC at 8PM ET.
The last event at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum was in September 2023, a non-televised live event also marketed under the SNME name.
AEW held its Worlds End pay-per-view last year in the same location with just over 10,000 fans in attendance.
This week’s NXT, featuring an appearance from CM Punk, drew 677,000 viewers, up 49,000 viewers from the previous week and the highest since June 18. The show had a 0.21 rating in 18-49, the highest also since June 18, and was #1 on the top 50 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)
Alexa Bliss has revealed that she has voiced Japanese wrestler Maki Ueda in the English track of the Netflix series The Queen of Villains, which started streaming today.
The five-episode scripted drama series is based on Kaoru Matsumoto, better known by her ring name Dump Matsumoto, a popular Japanese wrestler from All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling during the 1980s.
“I am BEYOND thankful and honored for this amazing experience. I had THE BEST time working with Timmy Red on my first voiceover project,” Bliss wrote on Instagram. “You were so helpful & patient with me (especially with the singing) – I’m just so honored to have voiced for Maki Ueda on this incredible series.”
Bliss also thanked Netflix for the fun opportunity, writing that she loved every second of the series.
Janel Grant’s attorney, Ann Callis, announced that her client has engaged the services of public relations firm SKDK, a week before Netflix releases the Mr. McMahon docuseries on their streaming platform.
SKDK has worked with victims of sexual assault lawsuits against Marilyn Manson, Harvey Weinstein, and Jeffrey Epstein, with Kendra Barkoff Lamy taking the lead with Grant’s team of attorneys.
“SKDK has a proven track record of uplifting survivors of sexual violence and human trafficking. We look forward to our partnership in seeking justice on behalf of our client Janel Grant,” Callis wrote in a statement.
Barkoff Lamy, who served as the press secretary for Joe Biden when he was Vice President of the United States, added, “Janel Grant is a survivor of incomprehensible abuse, sexual assault, and human trafficking at the hands of Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis, and WWE. She has courageously come forward to seek justice for herself and other survivors, and we are honored to support her in sharing her story. It takes immense strength to speak out against Goliaths and we encourage all survivors of sexual harassment, assault and human trafficking to seek the support they need.”
The Mr. McMahon series on Netflix debuts on September 25.
The much-anticipated Will Ospreay vs Ricochet match has been announced for the Wednesday, October 2 episode of Dynamite which will also be the fifth year anniversary of the show.
The match, for the AEW International title, was set up last night during a backstage segment after Ricochet defeated The Beast Mortos. Ricochet informed Ospreay that he went to Tony Khan who sanctioned their match in two weeks.
This is not the first time that the two will meet each other in the ring, although it’s been a few years since they shared the squared circle together. You have to go back to 2017 for their last match and as you can imagine from two highly-athletic individuals, their previous matches were all bangers!
AEW returns tonight with a brand new episode of Dynamite live from the Santander Arena in Reading, Pennsylvania. Five matches have been announced for tonight’s broadcast so far.
These are Chris Jericho vs Orange Cassidy, Ricochet vs The Beast Mortos, a women’s tag team match featuring AEW Women’s champion Mariah May and Serena Deeb vs Yuka Sakazaki and Queen Aminata, and a trios match with The Young Bucks and Kazuchika Okada vs Will Ospreay, Kyle Fletcher, and Konosuke Takeshita.
Ahead of Dynamite, FS1 will air the NFL Films production of A Day in the Life, featuring AEW President Tony Khan which was filmed during the day of the NFL Draft and the live Collision that same evening. This will air at 7:30PM ET.
WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi posted a cryptic message on X about his son Jimmy Uso today, asking for prayers.
“Dear GOD [praying hands emoji] for strength & health to continue,” Rikishi wrote. “Stay prayed for my boy #JonathanFatu.”
Rikishi did not offer any other information, leaving everyone guessing.
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Wrestling later wrote that in following up with WWE sources, he was told that they have spoken to Jimmy, “who says he’s fine.” Sapp added that he doesn’t have any further context beyond that.
Jimmy has been off WWE television since the Smackdown following WrestleMania in April and was rumored to be returning soon.
Tickets for the second episode of NXT on The CW at The Factory went on pre-sale this morning on Ticketmaster.com using the code NXTLIVE.
There are some very outlandish prices for this broadcast, with ringside seats going for over $500 plus fees. The cheapest seats in the house are $64 plus fees.
The Factory at The District has a weird setup, definitely something different for a WWE show. One side of the ring will have tables with four chairs selling for $129 plus fees, but these are in an unreserved general admission area and are not available in the pre-sale.
It was announced yesterday on The Pat McAfee Show that WWE Superstar Sheamus has signed a new WWE deal, with some insiders believing this is a five-year contract.
The 46-year-old Irish Superstar has been working for WWE since 2007, starting with Florida Championship Wrestling before being called up to the main roster in 2009. This is his 17th consecutive year under a WWE deal.
Sheamus has won the WWE title three times, the World Heavyweight title once, the United States title three times, the Raw Tag Team titles four times, and the Smackdown Tag Team titles once, along with the King of the Ring, Money In The Bank, and Royal Rumble.
WWE Raw increased slightly in viewership this week, getting an average of 1,508,000 viewers, up 78,000 viewers from the prior week. The show faced MNF on ESPN which drew 15,038,000 viewers, making it ESPN’s third-best viewership for a game which was not simulcast on ABC since the 2019/20 season.
Raw started with 1,618,000 viewers, then dropped to 1,541,000 viewers in the second hour, and finished the night with just 1,367,000 viewers.
In the 18-49 demo, Raw had a 0.50, 0.47, and 0.43 ratings respectively for an average of 0.48, up 0.03 from the previous week. Raw was #3 on the top 50 cable chart for the night following the NFL game and the MNF Kickoff show. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)
