Kayla Braxton signed off from her WWE duties last night for the last time with Smackdown at Madison Square Garden.
The 33-year-old decided to move away from professional wrestling for now to pursue other gigs, including acting.
After the show was over, Cody Rhodes came out and introduced Kayla to the MSG crowd who chanted “Thank you Kayla.”
An emotional Kayla said that eight years ago the fans accepted her and everyday since then, they have been some of the best days of her life. Cody then lifted her hands up and she walked to the back.
“I love my WWE family. Thank you guys so much. I’m overwhelmed. I will miss you all but we will see each other again,” she wrote on X after the show.
Braxton, real name Kayla Becker, was spotted walking out of MSG with a bouquet of flowers.
She had been working for WWE for the past eight years and did backstage interviews, hosted The Bump for several years, and also did the PLE kickoff shows throughout her time there.
Braxton moved to Los Angeles a couple of years ago for other outside opportunities and is currently filming a movie.
*Contains spoilers for the Learning Tree six-man tag*
Ahead of next year’s Fourbidden Door (welcome, Tony!), this third edition is a mix of inter and intra-company clashes. So we’ll go with traditional ratings and previews for any which are majority-AEW. Otherwise…
We’ll discuss the build and how ‘open’ the Forbidden Door is for each contest:
Kick in the door wavin’ the 4-4
Wide Open
Ajar
Creaking Open
Padlocked Shut
And the matches will be ranked according to personal preference, least interesting first.
MJF vs Hechicero
Door rating: Padlocked Shut
MJF’s gimmick is that he craps on Forbidden Door. Because his character is anti-New Japan and all the stuff ‘smarks’ like. But his line about wrestling ‘some random guy from Mexico or Japan’ hit a little too close to home.
Because the CMLL talent in particular have been sent at us in waves without anything to distinguish them. The BCC vs CMLL eight-man a couple weeks back was the least-watched thing on the show. Lower than Mark Briscoe vs perennial loser Brian Cage or any of the ninety Learning Tree segments.
Because fans at least know who those guys are.
Fact is, even the former champ facing Rush again would be a much bigger match. This is Forbidden Door for the sake of Forbidden Door. And continues a flat return for Maxwell. Who moves from one luchador he’s obviously going to beat, to another. Because, as with Mercedes, AEW did absolutely nothing to get anything or anyone ready for them.
WINNER: MJF
Samoa Joe, Hook & Katsuyori Shibata vs Chris Jericho, Big Bill & Jeff Cobb
Star quality: 4
Between big shows, the heels have been feuding with Private Party; the babyfaces with Premier Athletes…
‘Just keep doin’ your thing,’ he said, ‘say no more.’
Match quality: 6
Hook’s still limited, Jericho’s on the decline, so establishing these guys as proper trios to protect those two is smart. How good this gets is down to the other four.
Build: 0
Speaking of four, for the fourth pay-per-view in a row, Chris Jericho is in one of the two least interesting matches on the show. Apparently there are actually some people out there who like the Learning Tree gimmick. Godless, hideous people who no doubt throw kittens in rivers and laugh as they drown.
On the flipside, Hook and Joe’s interactions have been fun, the vet drawing out the youngster’s personality as they chat en route to smashing someone’s face in.
And I had to find out who the sixth guy was on Wikipedia. As any viewer who ‘only’ watched up to the go-home Dynamite would.
Overall Score: 10
Given the renewed emphasis on trios, AEW may forget the FTW title for a bit and have these teams feud over those titles at Wembley.
But best guess is this leads to the belt AEW don’t recognize being defended for the third time in five ppvs: if you want a new babyface champ to look like a star, doing it in front of the biggest crowd all year helps.
WINNER: Samoa Joe, Hook & Katsuyori Shibata
Kazuchika Okada & the Young Bucks vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & the Acclaimed
Star quality: 6
Neither the tag champs or their #1 contenders are hot. Saying a lot about the division. The fans who attend shows absolutely love Okada, but,
It doesn’t seem the wider audience care all that much, because he wasn’t introduced to them
He’s supposed to be a heel
When the Young Bucks are heels they’re like nine levels over the top. They might as well have ‘I’m playing a bad guy’ written on their tees. And this seems to have rubbed off on the newbie.
Who, between his facials and comedic timing, is wildly entertaining. He seems to be having a ball and it shows. Possibly, like his buddy Nakamura, he’s come to the US to make things easier on his battered body. But while there are tons of laughs to be had with this incarnation, ironically for the Rainmaker, there’s no money…
…bitch 😉.
Build: 3
As part of the nonsensical ‘invasion’ storyline, the Acclaimed vowed to ‘take back their company’ and titles from the EVPs. And beat them last week to earn a title shot. But the challengers’ act is so tired. Scissors, Daddy Ass, everyone loves… to the degree they’ve gone retro to their ‘Yo…yo…yo…’ intro because at least it’s had a little break.
Though AEW did, for once, make decent use of an eliminator. If folks actually win once in a while those become infinitely more exciting. And Hiroshi Tanahashi is so self-effacingly likeable that he got me to smile at the Acclaimed’s played out shenanigans. The ‘Scissor Ace’ is coming. And he’s coming for his ‘greatest rival,’ Kazuchika Okada.
Match quality: 6
Anthony Bowens had better be on his game. Since The Pres can’t do a lot these days but knows exactly what and when. The Bucks will make him look good and anything he does with Okada will get a reaction.
Whose talent lies in longer, dramatic Title Bouts. And this won’t be that. So what it really needs is the ‘spot monkey’ Young Bucks. They’ve toned down their act as heels. But they need to inject speed and energy into this to prevent it becoming flat.
Overall Score: 15
Who wins?
Could go for heat and have the Bucks sneak one over their challengers. But seems like a match you end with the crowd happy. After being selfless the last two years, it’d be nice for Tanahashi to get it. Could also continue the Acclaimed’s momentum, which makes the most sense.
If the Bucks or Acclaimed pin the other, it indicates the opposite side will do so for the belts. And given Bowens saying they were strategizing about dates, suggests picking All In. You’d be pretty dumb not doing so if given your choice.
WINNER: Hiroshi Tanahashi & the Acclaimed
TNT Title Ladder Match
Entrants: Jack Perry, Dante Martin, Konosuke Takeshita, Mark Briscoe, Lio Rush, El Phantasmo
Star quality: 4
Jack Perry is easily the highest profile guy in this match. And he’s barely been on tv. If you watch Collision, you’ve seen a decent bit of Lio Rush and Dante. If you don’t, they don’t exist.
And It’s hard to tell if Takeshita’s in the dog house after that recent interview. Because he was being booked awfully anyway. The only guy who’s had tv and promo time on Dynamite is Mark Briscoe.
Build: 0
AEW announced qualifying matches without a bracket or participants. No-one beat anyone who doesn’t always lose anyway. Then they were all chucked in a blender of six and eight-man tags. Aside from Jack Perry, who it seems they’re making MJF circa 2020 via wrestling infrequently as a chickenshit heel.
In short – no-one here regularly appears on tv and wins wrestling matches.
And the only whiff of story is Rush/Dante. The history of which AEW seem to believe themselves above disclosing. But what if I don’t recall? What if I’m a new viewer? After everyone’s finished laughing at the latter notion, Tony Khan has three words for you:
Google it, mutha*****!
And that’s what I had to do to find out who the sixth guy was.
Match quality: 8
For the second time in three shows, we have ourselves a ladder match. Not only is that too many for it to feel special; these guys have a tough act to follow in Bucks/FTR.
Though they are helped by a hell of a lineup. Rush and Martin will zoom and fly, Takeshita will aid them in this endeavour. Briscoe’s reaching the jumping from high places phase of his career. But connects with the crowd like no-one else in this match. Yep, the guy with the most relatable character and best promos is the most popular; not the guy who’s the best wrestler.
We’ve yet to see enough of this Jack Perry to know whether he’ll join the risk takers or play opportunistic heel. El-P has a rep for being very good. If I’d known he was in this match prior to Thursday, I’d have checked him out so I could say more than that.
As for the winner, Mark Briscoe’s currently the ROH champ; Dante’s here for the spots. Rush seems unlikely but Tony Khan’s a fan. Takeshita can’t be ruled out to try to rehab him.
Overall Score: 12
But this just screams Jack Perry. It would give his whole clique belts and before said plans were derailed, putting the TNT title on an aging babyface who didn’t need it was to transfer a little credibility to whichever heel knocked him off.
His backstage promos have been good. He carries himself well. And after he helped the EVPs win the last ladder match, it makes sense that they return the favor.
WINNER: Jack Perry
Orange Cassidy vs Zack Sabre Jr.
Door rating: Ajar
A nod to last year’s International title four-way. Where Orange emerged victorious but the Shibata/Sabre exchanges stole the show.
Though the ones between he and Cassidy ten days ago were pretty damn good. The Brit’s manipulative wizardry preventing Orange getting the pockets, the pair evenly matched while rapidly chain-wrestling in and out of holds and rollups. All silky smooth. Expertly blending Zack’s ultra-serious snap-your-arm approach with Cassidy’s character-based comedy. We can expect more of the same here.
Having not originally been a fan of Zack’s, his clash with Danielson last year was my favorite singles of 2024.
And it behooves both companies to have the Brit win. New Japan need all the help they can get after multiple talent plunders; AEW need to ensure their Japanese partners have enough hot acts to sustain the Forbidden Door concept.
Sabre is yet to win on pay-per-view, even losing to Bryan Danielson’s replacement at the inaugural show. And Cassidy losing fits with the story that he’s down after being abandoned by his friends. Possibly suggesting an interference finish involving TMDK, Kris Statlander or Trent Beretta. So that we can continue to enjoy that scorching feud.
WINNER: Zack Sabre Jr.
Mina Shirakawa vs Toni Storm (AEW Women’s Title)
Door rating: Ajar
Ear to the street: Mina isn’t Stardom’s strongest grappler. But she is good, and it’s easy to see why she was chosen for this role.
She has chemistry with Mariah May, vats of charisma and speaks good enough English to be the star of a good segment ten days ago. Helpful when the champ simply refuses to enhance feuds if it interrupts her busy schedule of comedy, innuendo and jammed-in catchphrases.
In a messy program which somehow has a lot going for it. Mina finally being ‘introduced’ toward the back end of the feud in a nice package. After earlier appearing unannounced to party with her girl. And rather than being confronted on national tv by a jealous Storm, was challenged via video on a Stardom show.
Video AEW viewers have never seen.
What AEW have shown is Toni’s relationship with Mariah. Though not through subtle, episodic changes. She just kinda started liking her one day after being rude to her for the most part. It’s not especially rewarding stuff.
But between the personalities and will she/won’t she, it is intriguing. Storm slowly more desperate to retain her protégé, even entering her in the Owen. Which is the key to this split: Toni having brought on her own downfall. Since Mariah’s the best bet to win the thing and face the champ at Wembley.
But a split here leaves a long time to keep the fire burning. And May’s lined up to face a heel in the first round. The split is coming: Storm’s repeatedly stepped up to defend her honor. And wrestling doesn’t have a whole lot of ‘feel good’ endings to relationships. Because then there’s no match. So Toni’s selfless acts will be thrown back in her face. Like a shoe.
Everything suggests Mariah choosing Mina. Or at least did before Wednesday*.
Just not yet.
As for this match, any intrigue lies solely in May’s decision. Since the title’s on the line, Toni’s obviously going to win. If Stardom Toni Storm shows up, it could be very good.
*(Though in addition to her other talents, Mariah’s head’s seemingly made of f****** cement, since she’s wrestling on the pre-show. In one of those traits which make AEW angles hard to take seriously.)
WINNER: Toni Storm
Mercedes Mone vs Stephanie Vaquer (NJPW Strong Women’s Title & TBS Title)
Door rating: Creaking Open
This is the pro wrestling to Toni/Mina’s sports entertainment. Mercedes feels Stephanie has her title; Vaquer thinks this is exceptionally arrogant. Positioning herself as hitting the mats while Mercedes hits the red carpets.
It’s not exactly marquee, being kind you’d call its promotion minimalist. And the roles seem backward. But it’s nice at last to see women coming through the Forbidden Door. Since AEW could benefit from an influx of quality females. Since Mercedes was out of interesting opponents after her first pay-per-view.
Particularly as her in-ring start has been very promising – a top-class clash with Willow; then carrying Skye Blue to one of her best AEW performances. Her third match against Zeuxis was a little clunky as she stretched her wings to lucha.
But that shouldn’t be an issue here. Because, say it with me Sheiky, I’m ‘A PRO-FESH-IONAL!’ So I did a little research. And Stephanie’s good. Her strikes and kicks are crisp, she’s fast, her technique’s good, everything’s very solid.
She’s not pouring charisma, but has a poise and presence. A nice contrast with Sasha’s flamboyance. And they had a good one last they met. Though the atmosphere might be a little flat. Since Vaquer’s not really been introduced and Mone’s not scorching hot.
As for a winner, well, AEW are in the Mercedes Mone business and New Japan wanted to be.
WINNER: Mercedes Mone
Will Ospreay vs Swerve Strickland (AEW Title)
Star quality: 8
This match is a nod to Forbidden Door’s diminishing allure. A long way from Hiroshi Tanahashi being thrown out there because the show had depth and he could lose. If the show does well, it will be because of this.
AEW almost never have world title matches where the champ might lose. Moxley had it the best part of a year; Kenny Omega the only real threat, who in turn spent another defending it against Orange Cassidy and Christian Cage.
For the first time in ages, the title feels like the ‘biggest prize in the game.’
It’s also been nice having no TNT champ and no International title match to build to. Allowing a little breathing space for this. AEW providing the two things Swerve so badly needs if he’s going to be a success: viable challengers and space to stand out.
At least until they undercut a good chunk of the above paragraph on a crammed final Dynamite.
Build: 7
After the Roderick Strong dumbf***ery every title feud seemingly must have, we were able to move on to the guy who actually won the gauntlet.
Things really heating up on the 6/12 Dynamite. The champ front row to take in Will’s win over Fenix. Which the Brit achieved by mouthing ‘my house’ and launching a Swerve Stomp.
Strickland didn’t like that very much, they got in each other’s faces, and he questioned whether his opponent could take the weight of the world championship. Ospreay snatching the belt, posing with both it and his International title:
Like, ‘Bruv, I’m dripping two of these, what?’ (May or may not be an actual quote.)
Bringing us to the real pivot point of the program. After ‘injuring’ Bryan Danielson with it, the Brit won’t use the tiger driver. This makes the ruthless, threaten-a-baby, hang-you-with-a-chain Strickland believe he was right all along: Will just doesn’t have that killer instinct.
Shown when he only beat Kenny Omega with the help of the pitiless Don Callis.
Ospreay, in return, named a ‘hit list’ of people he went on to beat last summer without his manager. And a move list of other finishes: stormbreaker, Oscutter, Hidden Blade. All while questioning Swerve’s ability to perform under pressure.
Just superb stuff. A brilliantly refreshing, sports-like approach – possibly the first time since Moxley/MJF in 2020 that actual moves have been so critical to a title match.
Then, the pair were made a ‘Can they coexist!?’ tag team for the final Dynamite. ‘Creativity’ doesn’t come much lower. And the verbal clash above was easily a good enough capper to go with brief promos/reminders on the final Dynamite.
Though things did end well, Ospreay getting cocky and snatching the belt again. So Swerve smacked him with a House Call and left him laying. After ending the tag by snapping someone’s arm as Will looked on, horrified. The story incorporated really nicely into the match itself:
Match quality: 9
Which is all about killer instinct. Presumably, the Brit goes through his bevy of finishes and the champ kicks out of each in turn. The drama heightening each time. Will he go to the tiger driver? And while he’s thinking about it – BANG! House Call, Stomp, over.
Leaving who is actually better as an open question. Because if Ospreay had only used the tiger driver…
It’s a really cool story which can build over a long period to the Brit developing a killer instinct. Or doing it his way, learning to win without becoming cold and ruthless. And would be a perfectly satisfying finish to the match.
The alternative is a distraction.
With the same scenario: Strickland won’t be beat, Callis barks about the tiger driver, Ospreay’s distracted, champ takes advantage of any opportunity, just like he said he would.
They’ve also setup at least two interferers. We can add MJF to Callis, the former very grumpy after being upstaged by Will Weds. Though if AEW teach fans that they’ll never get satisfying finishes on the rare occasions both guys might win, they’ll regret it.
As for the action itself, Ospreay’s almost effortlessly brilliant. They’re both great athletes. Fast, smooth, lots of room for the sort of quick-hit breathtaking sequences fans lust after. Punctuated by subtle heel Strickland becoming more ruthless; Will becoming more desperate.
Which should make for an active crowd. It’s almost a live referendum on the debate fans have been having about who should be the face of the company.
Overall Score: 24
Ultimately, if AEW were going to belt Ospreay, we’re so close to Wembley as to make it happening here nonsensical.
Plus, if Swerve loses the first time he faces a strong contender, he looks weak. Though this is true of Ospreay too. If babyfaces don’t win when they finally get a shot at ‘the big one,’ there needs to be a good reason.
Essentially, either loser needs a story coming out, a character arc. Losing here has to matter.
RKO out of nowhere: rapidly coming round to the ideaKenny isn’t ready and Okada’s entering the Owen and facing Swerve. They went so far out of their way to make us think it’ll be Hangman.
WINNER: Swerve Strickland
Jon Moxley vs Tetsuya Naito (IWGP Title)
Door rating: Wide Open
Word is Mr. ‘Tranquillo’ isn’t quite what he used to be. His truly stellar clashes now limited to the rare occasions when all-world talents like Ospreay can drag him to the mountain top with them. His only AEW appearance thus far, in last year’s six-man, didn’t whet the appetite.
But this pair had a well-regarded scrap in April. And when all’s said and done this is still a top New Japan star facing a top AEW star for a world title either might win.
Now if only Tony Khan and co. would tell us why the bloody hell they’re fighting:
Since Moxley cut a very angry promo on the 6/15 Collision. He wanted to bury Naito. To end his career. Suggesting this feud is exceptionally personal. Unfortunately, AEW did not in any way explain any of it.
It sometimes seems they’d rather maintain an exclusive club who are ‘in the know,’ than have announcers drop a couple lines so we can all understand a feud and just possibly be moved to hand over our hard-earned scrilla.
Nor have they done anything to make Naito feel special: zero packages, the match announcement wasn’t a big deal, it wasn’t talked about afterwards and wasn’t mentioned at all on the following Dynamite.
Can we at least get a Mox promo talking him up? The dude could get Hitler over.
Speaking of over, Moxley went over last time they were in the US, so Naito should here.
WINNER: Tetsuya Naito
Bryan Danielson vs Shingo Takagi (Owen Cup Quarter Final)
Door rating: Ajar
This has show stealer written all over it. It doesn’t have any hype or build, Shingo’s personality hasn’t been introduced in any way, so everything is about the quality of the wrestling, just the way Tony likes it. It basically has to deliver in the ring.
Since Takagi’s only previous AEW appearance came as part of a six-man, we’re going off reputation. But that reputation is stellar. And again, I did a little research. His transitions are smooth. But what really stood out was the stiffness of his strikes.
As they did on Dynamite Wednesday in a strong showing.
So it’s very easy to believe Danielson marked out (pun intended) Shingo months ago as part of his farewell tour. Yet again, this one is for those who tune-in to AEW ppvs for top-class wrestling.
For the true hardcores, there’s anticipating two guys they know are awesome getting it on. For the slightly more casual fan – there’s anticipating a guy they’ve seen little of, but heard so much about.
Though it does leave every other fan S.O.L. (That’s a growing theme huh? AEW alienating sizeable chunks of potential audience.)
Another drawback is that unfortunately, AEW have once again jumped right into the kiddy pool when it comes to their tournaments. So we know Bryan Danielson’s going to win here. Because not a single other person outside of the Wild Card has a shot in hell of competing for the title at Wembley.
Several matches on this show are just ‘there.’ For the hardcore audience it traditionally plays to. But there are advantages to that. Both the men’s and women’s world title matches have benefitted from wide lanes.
As if Tony Khan for once decided there were a couple things he wanted to really focus on. I wrote this week about the possibility of a Hangman/Swerve feud which bridges the Owen, the cage and All In.
Throw in Max vs Ospreay and the possible Omega/Okada clash, and we could be set for a hell of a summer. But only if AEW make a better effort to include fans in their storylines. Because there’s a hefty downside to targeting Forbidden Door’s niche audience:
It works much better when both products are hot; and they’re cold
You risk leaving people behind
Things change when you include an AEW title match of this calibre. You have to convince more casual fans interested only in that, that they should splash out for Mox and Naito too. And AEW didn’t even try. Literally didn’t explain a thing about the feud. Just one example of many throughout this preview.
Fans shouldn’t have to do homework to understand what’s going on. It’s a strategy which would baffle any business. Hey, where can I find the Kit Kats? Google it and find out. My engine’s making funny noises? Google it and find out.
If a supermarket made us jump through hoops, we’d simply stop going.
Another issue is the road not travelled.
Will Ospreay has hit AEW like a hurricane. A friendly, bouncy hurricane that calls people ‘bruv’ and rather than dragging up other objects, flies himself. He’s hot, he’s fresh, he connects with the crowd, his wrestling’s incredible, he seems like the sort of act you have to make world champion.
Which could be accomplished in front of tens of thousands of fellow countrymen, all screaming wildly in a massive stadium. A potentially star-making endeavour.
Yet it seems Tony Khan is going with Swerve Strickland. Strickland’s not long been champion, is popular in his own right and hasn’t been featured well, so an early loss here would without doubt damage him.
It’s not an enviable choice Khan is making. But might be one he looks back on with regret.
Anyway, what are we all looking forward to? I love seeing ‘new.’ So the women’s matches look pretty good. Hoping to see Mina and May align sooner or later. Excited about seeing Shingo and Naito in big matches too. Despite enjoying the build I’m not gagging to see the world title match. Possibly because Swerve just isn’t doing it for me. Though I liked him in that closing seg Wednesday.
Whatever it is you’re looking forward to, thanks for reading, enjoy the show and the weekend.
The newest version of The Bloodline has taken out Paul Heyman as the Wiseman refused to acknowledge Solo Sikoa as his Tribal Chief in a show-closing angle on Smackdown from Madison Square Garden last night.
All the new members – Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, and Jacob Fatu – acknowledged Sikoa as their new leader and then Solo turned to Heyman and asked him to place the Ula Fala necklace, previously worn by Reigns, around his neck and to acknowledge him.
“I acknowledge…that you are not my Tribal Chief,” Heyman responded to a massive ovation from the sold-out MSG crowd. That was not the answer Solo was looking for and Heyman had to pay the consequences.
Solo spiked Heyman and then Fatu hit a splash from the top rope and then all of them delivered a Shield-like powerbomb to Heyman on the announce table.
Fatu then placed the Ula Fala around Solo’s neck and all four posed with their index finger up in front of a fallen Heyman to end the night.
Over 17,000 fans are expected at Madison Square Garden tonight for Friday Night Smackdown live on FOX.
The show will be headlined by the Bloodline acknowledgement ceremony, with the next chapter in this ever-evolving storyline being written at the world’s most famous arena. Solo Sikoa, Tonga Loa, Tama Tonga, Jacob Fatu, and Paul Heyman are all set to be part of this segment.
Also, three Money in the Bank qualifying matches will be taking place. Two women matches will feature Jade Cargill vs Candice LeRae vs Tiffany Stratton and Naomi vs Blair Davenport vs Indi Hartwell. The other men’s match will have LA Knight vs Santos Escobar vs Logan Paul.
Plus, WWE champion Cody Rhodes will also be in the house!
The fourth and final episode of Who Killed WCW? on VICE drew a total of 124,000 viewers, down 24,000 viewers from the previous episode which was the most-watched of the whole series. In 18-49, it had a 0.05 rating, down 0.01 from last week.
During an interview on WFAN Radio in New York City to promote this weekend’s Forbidden Door pay-per-view, TBS champion Mercedes Mone described how painful it was to do any outside work from WWE while she was part of their roster.
Mone said that even to film something as popular as The Mandalorian, it was like “pulling teeth” to get time off from WWE due to their restrictions.
“That’s definitely a big reason why I came to AEW,” Mone said about outside projects.
“Tony [Khan] said whatever I need, if I need that private jet to go from, you know…filming in LA to coming for shows, then it’s available for me,” Mone said.
The former Raw and Smackdown Women’s champion was in negotiations with WWE for months before she decided to join AEW when it was apparent that WWE was not ready to meet her demands.
She has the largest female contract in AEW and is one of the top paid performers in the company.
The six-way elimination match for the TNA World title at Slammiversary has two more participants following last night’s Impact.
Steve Maclin defeated Sami Callihan in the first match to advance while Nic Nemeth also punched his ticket to Montreal after he beat Rich Swann in the second qualifying match.
The two now join Josh Alexander and champion Moose in the match, with two more names still to be added to the match. Those two will be decided next week on the July 4 episode of Impact, with Frankie Kazarian vs Mike Santana and Joe Hendry vs Jake Something.
Week 16 of WWE on A&E had one episode of Biography featuring former ECW and WWE champion Rob Van Dam.
The episode pulled in 229,000 viewers, down 59,000 viewers from the prior episode. The show had a 0.07 rating in 18-49, an increase of 0.02 from the previous week. (Ratings credit: SpoilerTV)
AEW will start a five-week residency at the Esports Stadium in Arlington, Texas next month but attendance figures published do not look good so far.
The company will tape five episodes of Collision as well as Ring of Honor’s Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view between July 20 and August 17. ROH weekly TV will also be taped during those days.
Attendance numbers published by The Wrestling Observer show that the July 20 Collision has 623 tickets sold, the July 27 episode is at 785 tickets, the August 1 and August 10 shows are at 318 each, and the August 17 episode is at 473.
The Death Before Dishonor show is at 665 tickets.
This residency is being dubbed as the AEW Path To All In Summer Series and the company is paying a total of $232,000 for all shows, a figure which will be offset by some credits that the city of Arlington is paying.
The Esports Arena is being set up for 1,290 seats per show.
Booker T’s podcast The Hall of Fame will be moving to ESPN starting tomorrow and will air on ESPN Radio moving forward. Booker hosts the show with Brad Gilmore.
“Brad and I have worked so hard on this show, and we are excited to bring our brand of radio nationwide as part of the ESPN Radio family,” the two-time WWE Hall of Famer said. “The Hall of Fame is going national, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to share our insights, stories, and passion for wrestling and combat sports with an even larger audience.”
“Taking the Hall of Fame national with ESPN Radio is a dream come true for us,” added Brad Gilmore. “Booker and I have poured our hearts into this show, and it’s incredible to see our hard work pay off. Like they say, ‘when you wish upon a star,’ amazing things can happen. We’re excited to bring our unique brand of radio to listeners all across the country and continue sharing our love for wrestling and combat sports.”
On the air for the past eight years, The Hall of Fame show covers professional wrestling, mixed martial arts, and professional sports. Their first airing on ESPN Radio comes at 10PM ET with live coverage of UFC 303 tomorrow.
Dynamite rebounded in the ratings this week as its MVP, Big Bang Theory, returned as its lead-in program. The show drew 680,000 viewers, up 178,000 viewers from last week’s record low. It is still the second least-watched episode of 2024 though, and had a 0.22 rating in 18-49, up 0.06, and also the second-worst number of the year so far. Dynamite was #6 on the top 50 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: PWtorch.com)
Speaking to Bill Apter of Sportskeeda, WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan was full of praise for Bron Breakker and labeled him the next big star in WWE.
Hogan said that Breakker is “beyond his years” and it’s impressive to keep that intensity and stay in the zone when the red light is on.
“If they do the right thing with him, that could be your next Stone Cold, The Rock, or Hulk Hogan,” he said. “He could be the guy.”
The former WWE and WCW champion also noted some similarities between Breakker and Goldberg, but while Goldberg had a certain thing just like The Rock had a certain thing, Breakker has all those certain things and “a little extra spice.”
Breakker is set to face Sami Zayn for his first title match on the main card and could be the next Intercontinental champion come Money in the Bank.
“I can’t even imagine what’s going to happen when he really figures it out,” Hogan continued.
The AEWxNJPW: Forbidden Door pay-per-view has surpassed the 9,000 ticket mark according to @WrestleTix, with the show happening this weekend.
While AEW has struggled to sell tickets for their weekly Dynamite and Collision, pay-per-view attendance has remained stable, albeit down from previous years.
The UBS Arena is currently configured for just over 10,000 seats so if there’s a strong walk-up, they could sell their remaining inventory and possibly open up even more.
Last month’s Double or Nothing also drew around 9,000 fans, while Dynasty had just over 6,000. Revolution remains the top show this year with almost 17,000 fans to witness Sting’s last match.
WWE and English Premier League club Manchester City announced an exclusive merchandise collaboration that will see the two globally-recognized brands featured together across a range of new products.
The new collection will include six t-shirts featuring Manchester City and WWE, along with designs inspired from WWE Superstars CM Punk, Becky Lynch, Roman Reigns and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Also, the two have jointly designed a new name and number style that the players will wear in their games scheduled during the preseason tour of America this summer. The design features the WWE logo within the number and a red outline.
The new range of T-shirts are available at WWEShop.com, shop.mancity.com and Fanatics.com. Additionally, the merchandise will be available in the recently opened pop-up CityStore at Rockefeller Center in New York City.
WWE Women’s champion Bayley and Baron Corbin will visit the CityStore on 6th Avenue in New York City tomorrow from 10 to 11AM for an exclusive meet-and-greet. The Premier League trophy will also be in store Friday and throughout the weekend.
“We are excited to announce the launch of our exclusive retail collaboration with WWE today. As a club, we’re always exploring new ways to enhance our retail offering for our fans across the globe and collaborations like this with WWE are part of that ongoing strategy,” said Serena Gosling, Director of Integrated Fan Experience and Retail & Licensing at Manchester City.
“In addition, today’s announcement offers a further touch point for our fans within the U.S. and beyond to engage with the club, ahead of men’s first team visit this summer.”
NXT’s ratings were brought back down to earth this week with the show doing just 611,000 viewers, down 113,000 viewers from the prior week and the lowest since May 14. The show had a 0.18 rating in 18-49, down 0.08 from last week’s high and was #4 on the top 50 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Wrestlenomics)
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In an interview with Sports Illustrated’s Justin Barrasso ahead of this Sunday’s Forbidden Door pay-per-view, AEW President Tony Khan discussed the rumor of Shane McMahon being interested in appearing for AEW in the future.
“I heard the rumor he might be interested,” he said. “I’ve never met Shane, but we have a lot of mutual friends. I have a lot of respect for him as an executive and a professional wrestler.”
The rumor started on Jim Ross’ Grilling JR podcast when co-host Conrad Thompson revealed that McMahon reached out to some AEW stars to get an idea of what their opinion would be if he were to show up.
While he said he never met McMahon, Khan is ready to do business.
“Shane is always welcome in AEW,” he said bluntly.
Khan also discussed his relationship with Warner Bros. Discovery and his negotiations for a new media rights deal.
Tony Schiavone had to stop doing commentary for Dynamite last night after he lost his voice throughout the show.
Around halfway through the show, the three-man commentary booth transformed into a two-man booth with Taz and Excalibur handling the rest of the broadcast. On the show, it was said that Schiavone was in the back but no explanation was given.
Responding to a fan of X asking for his whereabouts, Schiavone simply replied that he lost his voice.
“It was giving me problems all weekend. Thanks for asking,” Schiavone replied.
The AEW commentator will have a few days to rest his voice before Forbidden Door this Sunday on pay-per-view.
NXT star Dijak is set to be free tomorrow as his WWE contract was not renewed.
The man formerly known as Dominik Dijakovic wrote in a post on social media that WWE never made him a single offer and just informed him that his contract would not be renewed at the eleventh hour.
“I consistently outperformed everyone’s expectations, especially throughout 2023 and early 2024. I never complained about anything or was difficult to work with,” Dijak wrote. “I tirelessly pitched ideas to anyone who would listen, as recently as the day before I was notified. I never once missed a booking, and I was injured 1 time in 7 years for 3 months.”
He said that during WrestleMania weekend, a top WWE executive who was not named told him that he was “crushing it” and while he was set to feud for the NXT title, he got called up to Raw instead during the Draft but never used again.
“I’m thankful, disappointed, but also excited. This has lit a fire under me to relentlessly prove myself to the world,” he continued. “All I ever wanted was a fair shot and now I have the opportunity to go out and take it. That’s enough talk, now it’s time to Do or Dijak.”
Dijak has been with the company since 2017 and had a meaningful run on NXT before he got called up to the main roster in 2020. He was part of Retribution, a faction which flopped big time, and returned to NXT in 2022. He never won a single title in NXT or WWE.
