Former WWE Superstar Barbie Blank, better known to fans as Kelly Kelly, gave birth to twins on September 10.
“Our twins have arrived!! I can’t wait to share all the pics and videos so soon,” Blank wrote on social media. “We’ve been in our baby bubble taking in every minute of our babies, words can’t describe how I feel now that I am a mom to the most perfect angel babies, just wait till you see their faces.”
The message, however, was deleted from social media website X a few after it was posted.
Yesterday, Blank posted a photo of her hand and her husband’s holding the tiny fingers of their newborns.
Blank announced that she was pregnant in March and a month later dropped the news that she’s expecting twins.
The 36-year-old married bodybuilder Joe Coba in April 2021 and last appeared on WWE television during the 2022 women’s Royal Rumble match.
The Dynamite: Grand Slam tickets at Arthur Ashe Stadium picked up some pace over the past week after AEW decreased some of the prices for the show and added a buy one get one offer.
A BOGO offer in six sections of the 300 Level has a $20.95 price for two tickets if you use the code BTSNYC to unlock it on Ticketmaster.
According to @WrestleTix on X, AEW sold over 1,000 tickets during the week, sending the total to just over 7,000 now with the stadium set up for 11,600 seats. The home of the US Open holds over 20,000.
Last year’s event had 13,800 fans in attendance while the 2021 show had 20,177.
The show will be headlined by MJF vs Samoa Joe for the AEW World title.
The Rock surprising WWE fans on Smackdown managed to crack the Google Trends chart in the United States, something that rarely happens in the world of professional wrestling unless it’s a pay-per-view.
In town to appear on The Pat McAfee Show on ESPN in Boulder, Colorado, both McAfee and The Rock were on Smackdown to give the show an electrifying start and major shot of adrenaline.
Even the mainstream media covered The Rock’s return to WWE, his first time back since the 20th anniversary Smackdown episode back in October 2019.
The former WWE champion was all smiles backstage and posed for photos with the majority of the locker room. Those photos are all over social media, clearly showing that when The Rock is in town, everyone wants a piece of The People’s Champion!
WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H also posed for a photo with McAfee and Rock, with HHH sporting a huge smile ear-to-ear. “Electrifying,” he wrote along with the photo.
With the SAG-AFTRA strike still ongoing, actors and actresses are unable to do any media to promote their movies and filming has been halted for majority of productions, allowing some free time for Johnson, and even John Cena.
The Rock’s return has already over 1 million views on YouTube, 8 million on TikTok, and 5 million on X.
CM Punk was back on TV last night although this time he was back in the commentary booth for Cage Fury Fighting Championships on UFC FightPass.
Punk has been doing commentary for CFFC for a few years and with no wrestling bookings, he was back behind the mic.
But that might soon change as Punk said that he has plenty of time on his hands…for the next two months. What happens after the next two months remains to be seen but the rumors of CM Punk’s return to WWE have intensified since he was fired from AEW.
The next two months also happens to be just before the Survivor Series which will be taking place from the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois.
Jade Cargill’s quest to regain her TBS title came to a halt last night on Rampage after reigning champion Kris Statlander defeated Cargill clean to retain the title.
This was only Cargill’s second loss in AEW and many believe it’s her last one as her contract is up and she’s on the way to WWE.
Following the match, Cargill shook Statlander’s hand and the two hugged, with the show ending with Cargill exiting the ring and Statlander with her title standing solo.
While there’s still a chance Cargill sticks around and gets a new deal, industry insiders think that was it for Cargill in AEW and even those in WWE believe she’s coming over.
With the contract expiring, there would be no no-compete and she could theoretically start anytime after her deal ends.
WWE laid off around 12% of its workforce yesterday as the HR department was busy contacting personnel to inform them that they were being let go.
All WWE employees worked from home yesterday to make discussions more private and those who were let go were not even given time to see their coworkers for one more time.
This was expected following the merger with Endeavor and it’s a practice that most merged companies do. In total, WWE fired over 100 workers.
Endeavor is looking for between $50 and $100 million in cost cutting measures for WWE and a lot of departments which overlap with that of the UFC suffered the brunt of these terminations.
So far, no on-screen talent or anyone from creative was let go, although the belief is that trimming of the roster will eventually start soon as well.
According to multiple insiders, the most senior level individuals let go were Jamie Horowitz, the Executive Vice President of Development and Digital, Catherine Newman, the Executive Vice President of Head of Marketing, Amanda Bloom, the Director of Enterprise Master Data & Governance, and Andy Levine, the Vice President of International & Platform Strategy.
Another big name who was fired was Dana Warrior, the widow of The Ultimate Warrior. Dana has been working for WWE since her husband passed away in different roles, including creative and as well as doing ambassadorial jobs and community outreach.
A mandatory staff meeting will be held on Tuesday at WWE corporate headquarters and will be led by WWE President Nick Khan.
Pat McAfee is out first. Pat says he was an hour away and there was no way he wasn’t going to come to this beautiful city to feel the greatest energy of the WWE Universe and is interrupted by Austin Theory.
Theory and McAfee exchange words. McAfee said this is not Austin Theory Live and he is disrespectful to everyone and the business and this can never be your show this is the people’s show, and do you know what that means? The Rock’s music hit and with the crowd going crazy, out comes the Rock!!!!
As the Rock gets in the ring, he hugs McAfee and stares down Theory. Theory asked the Rock if he knew who’s ring he was in and Rock says, “Shut your bitch ass up!” Then the Rock did his did his “Finally…” and Theory said maybe he should try it. Theory said he is going to be so great he is going to be the entire Mount Rushmore and talked about Stone Cold, and the Rock went to say something, and Theory said, “it doesn’t matter what the Rock says”.
Rock told Theory that Stone Cold is his boy and if Stone Cold was here, he would be asking the crowd if they wanted him to beat this jabroni’s ass give him a Hell Yeah and the crowd responded with a Hell Yeah. Rock went on to ask Theory his whole name and Theory said right, and Rock asked if he was from A-Town and Theory said you are damn right, and the Rock said I am damn right about something else and that is you’re an A-Hole. The Rock is going to show him because in 3 seconds this side of the arena is going to chant “You are” and then this side of the arena is going to chant “an a**hole” and in 3-2-1…. the crowd followed the Rock’s command, but it was bleeped out on the broadcast.
While the crowd chants the Rock and Theory exchange words while McAfee is in the corner laughing. The Rock then stopped and said, hold on a minute and told the crowd that was amazing. The Rock says he has goosebumps. It was so amazing but here is what we need to do give this side the chance to chant “you are” and that side to chant “an a**hole” and in 3-2-1 and it began again.
Theory obviously furious at this point screams in the microphone to stop that he is not. The Rock says hold on I don’t know who you are but I know what you are and your name is Austin Theory and the Rock has a Theory of his own, because you come out here on the Rock’s show, the people’s show and run down the people who ultimately make this all happen well here is the Rock’s theory, in three seconds the Rock is going to beat your ass all over Denver.
As the Rock held up his hand to start counting down Theory attacked the Rock. The Rock quickly reversed as Theory was giving him an Irish whip into the ropes and the Rock countered and gave Theory a spinebuster and then a People’s Elbow. Then McAfee gave Theory his version of the People’s Elbow.
The Judgement Day is out next.
Finn Balor VS. AJ Styles
During the match, the referee sent Damian Priest and Dominik Mysterio out of the arena. As AJ was about to get Balor, Jimmy Uso hit AJ without the referee seeing him and Balor gets the rollup victory.
Winner: Finn Balor
Pat McAfee and The Rock standing in the back talking and John Cena walks up to the Rock, and they shake hands and hug.
Jimmy Uso is alone in the back as Paul Heyman was standing in the corner looking at him. Finn walks up and says he is doing it for him, it is not about them, and they helped him last week, so they are now even. Finn then made a pitch for both Usos to join the Judgment Day. Finn tells Jimmy in the Judgment Day there are no leaders and that means no Roman, Jimmy smiles as Heyman looks in amazement and comes from around the corner towards Jimmy.
L.W.O. are in the ring next. Rey says he is with his family and is now the United States Champion and Escobar says it is his dream to face Rey and Rey accepts. Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits came out. Bobby said see guys we said we are taking over and its going to be easier than I could have ever imagined tag teams crumbling, Escobar asking for opportunities and Rey granting them. Wilde yelled at them and told them they were always ready for a fight.
The Street Profits VS. Joaquin Wilde & Cruz Del Toro
Wilde goes for a splash on Dawkins but Dawkins up and tags in Ford and Dawkins and Ford hit the Sky-High Neck breaker.
Winners: The Street Profits
After the match Profits continued to beat down Wilde and Del Toro and Rey and Santos get in the ring and yell at them, they stop but Lashley takes out Santos. Rey goes after Lashley, but Ford held his leg and Dawkins hits Rey in the face and Lashley and the Street Profits leave the L.W.O. all lying in the ring.
The Miz VS. LA Knight
Great match back and forth action but in the end, it was Knight hitting the Miz with BFT for the win.
Winner: LA Knight
After the match the crowd chants LA Knight. Knight gets the microphone and says, “Let me talk to ya” and Knight says he said from day one, he said, he was coming for the gold, and he said it didn’t matter who it is. He is easily the top 2 and he isn’t number 2.
In the back Paul Heyman and Solo Sikoa watching Knight. Solo wanted to go after Knight and Heyman said the Tribal Chief hasn’t given him that order yet and the bigger issue is your brother Jimmy is cutting deals with the Judgment Day and you are going to have to fight that battle and those orders come from the Tribal Chief and Solo said, “I already know what I need to do and I am going to finish this tonight.” Heyman says but who gave that order and then took out his phone in a panic and yelled call Roman Reigns.
Pretty Deadly are in Adam Pearce’s office and are whining about getting back in the ring.
Bayley and Dakota Kai are in the back talking and Bayley says Iyo has to beat Asuka and Kai said you’re the one that needs to be ready for Asuka tonight.
Asuka VS. Bayley
As the action spills to the outside, Shotzi comes out of the crowd and chases Bayley back to the ring and Asuka slides in on the other side and rolls Bayley up for the pin.
Winner: Asuka
The Grayson Waller Effect with special guest John Cena. After Grayson talked trash on Cena and Cena was just getting ready to say something, Jimmy Uso comes out to interrupt. Grayson offers Jimmy a microphone, but he refuses, and Cena walked right up to Jimmy and Jimmy ripped the microphone out of Cena’s hand. Jimmy told him he was giving him the opportunity to embarrass him like he did a couple weeks ago and if you’re not going to do it get out of my ring.
Solo Sikoa comes to the ring and gets in Cena’s face and Jimmy starts yelling what you going to do Cena. Solo grabs Jimmy but superkicks Cena. The brothers start hammering on Cena and AJ Styles comes running out to help Cena. As Cena had Jimmy up for the AA, Heyman yelled at Solo to save Jimmy and ran up and pulled Jimmy out of the ring.
The Ball Arena in Denver is looking for a new roof as the WWE Universe blew it off after The Rock made his surprise appearance on Smackdown last night.
The show started with another surprise as former Smackdown commentator Pat McAfee returned but he was rudely interrupted by an old nemesis, Austin Theory.
Theory ran down the people of Denver, McAfee, and everyone and said this was not Smackdown, but it’s Austin Theory Live and he doesn’t care about the people. McAfee said this is the people’s show…and asked Theory if he knows what that means.
Cue in The Rock’s theme song and the Denver crowd lost all their marbles as the People’s Champion slowly came out and absorbed the atmosphere.
Theory quickly tried to take over but Rock told him to “shut your bitch ass up” to a big pop. He then proceeded to do the “Finally” line and fans ate it all up.
Theory said it’s great finally there’s Rock and Austin in the ring one more time, but this is a different Austin and an Austin who will be the entire Mount Rushmore. As soon as Rock tried to reply, Theory cut him off with “It doesn’t matter what you think!”
Rock then proceeded to split the crowd, with one half chanting “You are” and another half chanting “an asshole” and if he didn’t stop them after a few minutes, it would have went all night long. Impressive!
Rock told Theory that he was going the whoop his ass in three seconds but Theory jumped The Rock first but Rock quickly turned that into a spine buster and of course The People’s Elbow. Rock then invited McAfee to do his People’s Elbow too, which he did as well.
Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show live on ESPN, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson revealed for the first time that a match against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39 was “locked in” back in 2022.
Rock explained that he, Nick Khan, and Vince McMahon met each other and hashed out a plan to have Rock vs Roman headlining Mania at SoFi Stadium. But The Rock wanted something “unprecedented” where they could do something for the fans that has never been done before and have WrestleMania be the beginning of something bigger.
“We got really, really close but we couldn’t actually nail what that thing was,” Rock replied when a shocked McAfee asked him why it didn’t happen.
“So, we decided to put our pencils down. Then we agreed, ‘Hey listen, there’s a merger coming up, eventually, that will happen,’ and there’s WrestleMania in Philadelphia,” he continued, a statement which made McAfee jump out of his seat.
Johnson then did the People’s Eyebrow for the fans behind him for a big pop before he continued.
“I’m saying that’s a potential too, I’m open. But again, let’s figure out what that is because the fans deserve something just incredible and unprecedented, and not only that, but I also want to deliver to the locker room and the boys and the girls back there who are working their asses off,” he said.
“What can we do to put them in a position where they are part of something that is a new change, an era in this world of pro-wrestling?” The Rock continued.
Former WWE Superstar Mandy Rose, now going by the name of Mandy Sacs, announced via a video on Instagram that she is joining OnlyFans.
Sacs was fired from WWE in December of last year after several risqué photos and videos were leaked from her subscription-based FanTime page. Following her firing, her revenue increased big time and became in a millionaire in a few weeks with new subscriptions.
“What’s up everyone? I have some exciting news, I will be joining OnlyFans, launching very soon,” Sacs said in a video posing in a bikini in front of a pool. “So stay tuned and let’s have some fun!”
Her OF account will be at https://onlyfans.com/mandysacs and there are already some posts from last month although it looks like that was a test run.
A one-month subscription is $9.99 while 3 months is $23.98 and 12 months is at $59.94.
AEW has put The Acclaimed Trios championship belts for sale for $4,999 per belt!
Made by Red Leather Belts, each belt is made-to-order and will be numbered, comes with a belt bag and with a certificate of authenticity signed by The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn as well as Ron Edwardsen of Red Leather Belts.
The price of five grand obviously came under fire from fans, some even wondering if AEW is trying to make up for ticket sales through these belts!
“For those wondering: These are not replicas. These are the SAME belts we wear,” Max Caster responded on X. “This was the fastest way to get some of these in the people’s hands.”
Caster added that replicas take over nine months to produce and toy belts are “hopefully next.”
His tag team partner Anthony Bowens said that if something happened to one of their belts, they would be replaced by one of these.
“Only 10 are available. So yes this a release for a hardcore collector. We are also working on trying to get toy versions of these as well. Trust me, if it were a commercial release it wouldn’t be 5k haha,” he wrote.
If you have $4,999 to spare, head over to ShopAEW.com to order this unique item!
Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men Podcast is reporting that AEW will be heading to Max next year when it comes to pay-per-views and off Bleacher Report.
There were rumors that All In was expected to air on Max but the streaming service did not have the capabilities of live broadcasts at the time, although that bump has now been resolved.
Zarian, who is one of the most trusted insiders when it comes to behind-the-scenes news, also added that he feels confident to say that AEW will expand their pay-per-view offering to 12 a year, matching what WWE currently has on Peacock.
AEW has seven major pay-per-views this year with Revolution, Double or Nothing, Forbidden Door, All In, All Out, WrestleDream, and Full Gear.
It’s unclear if the move to Max means that anyone with a subscription to the service will be able to get the pay-per-views as part of their deal or if they have to pay extra on top with the Max subscription.
WWE premium live events air as part of the Peacock subscription but UFC pay-per-views require a full fee on top of the ESPN+ subscription.
Traci Brooks was surprised with the news of being inducted into the Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame last night during the 1000th episode of the show.
Brooks returned to team with her husband Frankie Kazarian against Alisha and Eddie Edwards during yesterday’s show and she won the match for her team after hitting the Fade to Black finisher on Alisha.
After the match was over, Kazarian got on the mic and told everyone to turn their attention to the video screen, where a video package showing Brooks as the newest inductee aired.
The 48-year-old was overcome with emotion and cried in the ring as her son cheered her on.
Brooks becomes the 14th inductee into the Impact Hall of Fame and will join the late Don West and Mike Tenay as an inductee at Bound For Glory.
She worked for TNA/Impact from 2003 until 2012 and made sporadic appearances since then.
Betting, in its various forms, has been a popular activity for centuries and continues to be a significant part of many cultures around the world. The existence of many casino sites makes it possible for more people to access betting. While some may view betting as a mere form of entertainment or a way to try their luck, there are several reasons why betting can be considered important. These reasons comprise both individual benefits and bigger societal impacts.
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Wrap Up
While betting may have its critics and potential risks associated with it, there are several reasons why it can be considered important. From its economic impact to its entertainment value, social interaction benefits, skill development opportunities, support for sports and events, funding for charitable causes, and personal enjoyment aspects, betting plays a significant role in various aspects of society.
This week’s episode of Dynamite drew 888,000 viewers, up 1,000 viewers from the prior week. This was the most-watched Dynamite since August 2. The show did a 0.31 rating in the 18-49 demo, the same number as last week, and was #1 on the top 50 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: SpoilerTV)
Mass layoffs at WWE headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut began today just days following the merger with Endeavor to form TKO Group Holdings Inc.
An e-mail sent to all WWE office employees was sent yesterday urging everyone to work from home today so any conversations with the HR department remain private.
“As part of WWE’s transition into the newly formed TKO Group Holdings, we are evaluating our existing operations and systems to identify potential synergies across the business. This effort includes workforce reductions,” the e-mail to staff read.
“Those whose roles have been impacted will be notified by our Human Resources Team, who will share the details of their severance package. We are asking that everyone work remotely, Friday September 15th, so we can insure all conversations are handled privately and respectfully. We’ll send out a company-wide email once all of tomorrow’s conversations have happened,” it continued.
The layoffs were expected and something which wasn’t kept a secret once WWE and Endeavor agreed on the merger.
At this point, it looks like the only casualties will be those who work in the office and not in-ring talent.
“Our company is home to the most talented, creative, and hard-working employees in the world. WWE is a special place, which makes moments like this difficult. Just know that we have nothing but gratitude and admiration for everyone we have had the privilege to work alongside,” the e-mail concluded.
Current WWE World Heavyweight champion Seth “Freakin” Rollins topped to PWI Top 500 list for 2023. That is a nice jump for Rollins who last year was placed #17 on the list.
This is the third time that Rollins topped the PWI Top 500 after he was #1 in 2015 and 2019 as well.
Former Shield members Roman Reigns was #2 and Jon Moxley was in #3. Intercontinental champion Gunther took #4 and Hijo del Vikingo was #5.
Wrapping up the top 10 were AEW World champion MJF in #6, Kazuchika Okada in #7, Orange Cassidy in #8, Josh Alexander in #9, and Cody Rhodes in #10.
From the top 10, four of them represented WWE, three represented AEW, and one each represented AAA, NJPW, and Impact Wrestling.
Samoa Joe earned an AEW World title shot for next week after he defeated Roderick Strong in the AEW Grand Slam World Title Eliminator tournament last night on Dynamite.
Joe will now face MJF in the main event of Dynamite: Grand Slam on September 20 live from Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York.
Meanwhile, Toni Storm also won a four-way match to earn herself an AEW Women’s title shot against Saraya. This match will also take place on Dynamite: Grand Slam.
Impact Wrestling will celebrate 1000 episodes of their flagship show tonight. The celebration has been stretched to a two-night event with part two airing next Thursday on AXS TV.
A ton of former Impact/TNA stars showed up for the occasion, including Team 3D, The Beautiful People, Awesome Kong, Gail Kim, Shark Boy and America’s Most Wanted among others.
Week one of episode 1000 airing tonight features an X Division title match as Lio Rush puts the title on the line against Chris Sabin. Also, Eddie and Alisha Edwards battle Frankie Kazarian and Traci Brooks. Plus, fans will hear from Josh Alexander.
This week’s episode of NXT featuring Becky Lynch vs Tiffany Stratton in the main event did 850,000 viewers, up 177,000 viewers from the prior week. That was the most-watched episode of NXT since August 19, 2020! The show did a 0.26 rating in 18-49, up 0.08 from the prior week and placed #2 for the night behind the 2023 MTV VMAs. (Ratings credit: SpoilerTV)
Wrestlenomics also adds to the story that the overrun for the conclusion of the Becky vs Tiffany match averaged over 1 million viewers.
