The post-Heatwave episode of NXT on The CW drew 767,000 viewers, up 135,000 viewers from the prior week and their most-watched since February 2025. In 18-49, the show pulled a 0.17, up big by 0.08 and their best since February 2025 as well.
WWE releases 10 from NXT and developmental system
WWE yesterday released 10 from NXT and developmental, including the LFG season one winner.
Perhaps the most recognizable name from the list is Wendy Choo, who has been with WWE since 2018 also under the names of Karen Q, Mei Ying. She never made it to the main roster.
The full list includes Adriana Rizzo, Anya Rune, Braxton Cole, Ellen Akesson, Gary Wilson, Jasper Troy, Marcus Brown, PJ Vasa, Wendy Choo, and Zena Sterling.
Troy is the LFG season one winner while Sterling was the runner up. PJ Vasa was the runner up from season two.
Smackdown preview for 09/04/2026
Tonight’s episode of Smackdown is not live and was taped last Friday night along with Raw in Cleveland, Ohio.
Four matches have been taped for tonight’s broadcast, including:
- Fatal Influence vs Charlotte Flair and Tatum Paxley
- Nia Jax vs Tiffany Stratton
- The Miz and Kit Wilson vs Bakusai
- CM Punk vs Johnny Gargano for the WWE title
Smackdown starts at 8PM ET on USA Network for those in the United States and on Netflix internationally.
Josh Alexander named as head coach for the new MLP Academy in Windsor
Current AEW star Josh Alexander has been named as head coach of the MLP Academy, the renamed Can-Am Dojo, which will open next month in a new state-of-the-art 4,000 square foot facility in Windsor, Ontario.
A press release by Maple Leaf Pro spilled out all the details, including the assignment of current MLP President Scott D’Amore who will serve as the MLP Academy General Manager.
“The Academy will offer a full spectrum of training, including both beginner and advanced courses, welcoming aspiring wrestlers at all stages of their journey,” said the press release. “In addition to regular classes, the MLP Academy will host specialized seminars and clinics featuring top names from across the wrestling industry. These sessions will cover critical aspects of a professional wrestling career, including in-ring technique, promo skills, character development, brand building, etiquette, and professional conduct – ensuring students are prepared for every part of the business both inside and outside the ring.”
“The Can-Am Dojo has long been a proving ground for greatness, and we’re ready to write its next chapter,” said D’Amore. “With Josh as Head Coach, the MLP Academy will deliver a world-class training environment that prepares talent for success at the highest levels of the Industry.”
“I trained at the Can-Am Dojo. It changed my life,” said Alexander. “This place built me – and now, I’m honoured to give back and help shape the future of this sport. If you’re serious about becoming a professional wrestler, this is where you start.”
MLP shares a working relationship with All Elite Wrestling.
Sgt. Slaughter reveals live-action movie based on his fictional military character in the works
WWE Hall of Famer Sgt. Slaughter revealed the a live-action movie based on his fictional military character is currently in the works.
“It is something that I’ve visualized & worked tirelessly, to have one day, arrive to the paramount, the silver screen,” Slaughter wrote in a post on Facebook.
Slaughter also posted a teaser scene from the movie, adding that he hopes people will stand by him as they have throughout his career and asked for fans to share it and leave a comment.
“This means more to me, than you will ever know,” Slaughter continued.
The synopsis of the movie in the YouTube teaser reads, “In 1983, a reckless but lethal drill instructor — haunted by the battles he fought in Cambodia in 1978 — is stripped of his combat role and exiled to a forgotten backwater. Then a hostage crisis on Diablo Island forces his government to admit what they already know: some problems can only be solved by a man who doesn’t follow the rules.”
The movie is tentatively titled SLAUGHTER: The Origin Story.
Nattie and Roxanne Perez added to Triplemania 34 match in Las Vegas
WWE Superstars Nattie and Roxanne Perez have been added to the AAA Triplemania 34 night one event in Las Vegas.
The two will participate in a four-way match also involving Faby Apache and La Hiedra, with the winner of the match competing for the AAA Reina de Reinas title at the Worlds Collide premium live event later this month.
The Reina de Reinas title will be defended at Triplemania 34 with champion Lady Flammer defending against La Catalina, who earned the right to wrestle for the title after winning a gauntlet match at the Ola de Calor event last Sunday.
Triplemania 34 night one takes place on Friday, September 11 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Night two follows on September 13 from Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico.
Collision rating for 08/29/2026
Collision last Saturday night drew 343,000 viewers for the taped episode on the eve of All In, down 54,000 viewers from the previous week. The show had a 0.06 rating in 18-49, the same number it pulled the prior two weeks. (Ratings credit: Wrestlenomics)
Report: Bayley expected to return to WWE television soon
PWInsider.com is reporting that Bayley is expected to remain with WWE moving forward after some months of indecision.
The website adds that the former multi-time champion will be returning to WWE television very soon, with the creative team pitching storylines already.
Bayley has not appeared on WWE television since late July at Saturday Night’s Main Event, losing to Lyra Valkyria. There were several hints at her moving to AEW when her contract expires, with her best friend Mercedes Mone adding more fuel to the fire in some of her social media posts.
The 37-year-old has been part of WWE since 2012 as is considered one of the women’s locker room leaders.
AEW secures MENA broadcast rights deal with TOD by beIN
TOD by belN is expanding its sports offering with the addition of All Elite Wrestling, giving fans across the Middle East and North Africa access to all AEW programming.
The channel will air weekly episodes of AEW Dynamite and AEW Collision, as well as major pay-per-views including the upcoming All Out on September 26.
TOD by beIN is a subscription-based streaming platform operated by the beIN Media Group that offers live sports and entertainment content in the Middle East and North Africa region and has the rights to the English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, Formula 1, NBA, and more.
The service operates in 22 countries including Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Yemen, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, Sudan, South Sudan, Chad, Mauritania, Somalia, and Turkey.
Chelsea Green talks winning WWE Women’s title, Unreal, Michael Hayes, and more
Chelsea Green sat down with Chris Van Vliet in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to discuss her big win at SummerSlam, her emotional promo on Smackdown, what happens when Rhea Ripley comes back from injury, being featured on WWE Unreal and Michael Hayes’ comments about her on the show, wanting to do a hair vs. hair match, famous Canadians and much more!
My favorite part about you winning this championship is when the crowd starts to realize you’re the last one left in the ring. Then you sit up, and the crowd’s going crazy because they know it’s about to happen here. Were you feeling that?
“Oh my God! So I was laying upside down. First of all, if you watch really close, I’m very ever so slightly trying to shift my weight from toe to toe because my toes are the only thing that’s keeping me there. My legs are cramping. The backs of my hamstrings are on fire because they’re pressed up against the metal, and I’m like, okay, just release this toe and like hold on with this one. I can’t move because if I move, it gives it all away. You know I’m alive. I have to stay dead until that very moment, and then see what happens.”
“Everything was strategic in that moment where I was, and just making sure that I stayed so still. I’m laying there, and I’m looking up at the Tron, and I see that Jade and Charlotte take the final bump, and I’m like okay, this is it. They’ll either know, or I’ll sit up and they’ll know. But I was still upside down, and I felt a rumble, and the minute that I started turning my head and looking around, it was like I felt everyone stand up, and it gave me chills. If I could dream of a scenario where I was winning the greatest title that a woman could win in wrestling, that was better than that moment. I could not have dreamt of that moment.”
Did you plan on dedicating this title win to Michael Hayes?
“No, I did not. Nope, it came out of my mouth, and what a petty queen thing to say! The whole post-show interview was such a blur, and it was incredible. Everything that I said, I was like, oh my god! I slapped so hard with that one! Not a brain cell was going off in my head, I was just speaking. Dedicating it to Michael Hayes. I’m so glad that came out of my mouth, because poor Michael Hayes has just had to take it on the chin since Unreal, and the best part is that he supports me. He is a ride-or-die Chelsea fan. He has always pushed me to be a better version, to think outside of the box. If I do something kind of lame on live events, he’ll tell me. He’ll be like, ‘Don’t be doing that on TV. Practice makes perfect. You got to be better.’ Or if I have one shot, it’s like, ‘You got to do good, because if you don’t do well here, you’re not gonna get the opportunities that we’re talking about.’ He’s always had my back. So the fact that he’s the one that got so much flak for Unreal, we’ve got to play off of this.”
You still have the black eye. Did you know you had a broken bone when it happened?
“Immediately, it happened, I looked at the ref, and people have spotted this. I looked at the ref. I said, ‘My face is broken,’ and that was it. I knew. I always know. Wrestlers are very in tune with our body. Athletes are very in tune. You know immediately when something’s wrong, even if it’s like a minor little thing. But I’ve had quite a few things broken. I did think it was my cheek. I didn’t think it was my orbital bone. I thought I had cracked my cheek because I’ve had that before with a broken nose. But I heard kind of a crack, and then I felt a whoosh of heat. Whenever you break something, it’s just your adrenaline takes over, especially in front of a live audience. I should say, when you have 10 to 20,000 people watching you, usually you don’t feel the pain; you feel a big rush of heat. But this was my most painful injury to date, and that should tell you something.”
Were you instantly thinking, “Oh my God, I just won the Women’s Championship”
“Yes. Not just the week flashed before my eyes, but 13 years flashed before my eyes. Rhea Ripley flashed before my eyes, all of it. I was like, come on! The worst part was I had just said to Sam Roberts, every time something good in wrestling happens to me, it’s followed by something devastating. Something nasty happens to me right after. I have such bad luck.”
So after you get the diagnosis of your injury, what’s the conversation with Triple H or whoever it was about all right, so it’s broken. Now what?
“No, you know me. I didn’t even leave the ER before making sure that they were able to clear me after X amount of weeks. I was not leaving without a what can I do? What would make you, the surgeons, comfortable enough to say, ‘Okay, fine, on this day, you can wrestle.’”
I’ve heard you talk in other interviews that you’re open to doing a hair versus hair match. Are you serious about this?
“I’m so serious that I pitched it for both WrestleManias in Vegas versus Nikki Bella. I’ll lose. I’ll shave my head.”
If you keep this championship for a little while, this feels like a real possibility.
“No, I like my hair now.”
Oh, wait a second! Are you backing out of this idea?
“Now I’m the WWE Women’s Champion, I’m not shaving my head. No, I’m kidding. I think I would, but I so badly wanted to make the US Title something special. I don’t know that I was able to do that in my two reigns, but I think had I been able to have that feud with Nikki and shave my head, I think it would have cemented the US Title as something that wasn’t underneath this title, and that’s what I was trying to do. I really wanted people to enter the Rumble, and when they win, possibly challenge the US Title holder, not just the big daddy of it all. Why can’t the IC and the US Title be a part of that conversation? So I was just really trying to push for that. I was trying to push to elevate that title. I was trying to push to have people care about it, to not have it be second best and all that. I wasn’t able to do it, and now it’s like this [Women’s Championship] doesn’t need that. This already has so much on the line. Every person that goes for that title, they’re already trying to be the best.”
Smackdown rating for 08/28/2026
Smackdown on Friday night had 1,124,000 viewers, down 156,000 viewers from the previous week. The show drew a 0.23 rating in 18-49, down big by 0.09 but still topped the night on the cable television chart. (Ratings credit: Wrestlenomics)
Jim Ross hoping to work All Out later this month
After missing All In due to brain surgery, Jim Ross is now hoping to call a match or two at the upcoming AEW All Out pay-per-view which takes place later this month.
On his latest Grilling JR podcast, Ross said that if he continues to improve at the rate that he is, there will be no doubt that he will be in Chicago for the show, especially since the flight from Oklahoma is a short hop.
“Because it’s a non-stop flight from Oklahoma City to Chicago, I’m not flying to London, I’m flying a short hop, so to speak. Two hours. And to me, that’s a pretty short hop,” the Hall of Fame broadcaster said.
“I’ve made it very known that I want to return to help on some of the main events as soon as I’m able to travel better. As far as just looking at the match, interpreting what I see, and articulating it, I could do that now,” Ross continued.
He did say that they’re still worried about him falling and want to get him better and more steady on his feet before any decision is taken.
Ross has previously said that his AEW contract expired in August, but with the show set for September 26, it seems that it will be a non-issue.
AEW Tag Team titles on the line at All Out 2026 in a three-way chairs, tables, and ladders match
AEW’s version of the TLC match is coming at All Out later this month.
Current AEW Tag Team champions Cope and Cage will be defending their titles in a three-way match involving also The Young Bucks and FTR.
It was Adam Copeland who suggested the match saying their match “may just involve chairs, that match may just involve tables, and that match will damn sure have ladders.”
The current champs are not new to TLC matches, having been involved in a couple of memorable ones during their WWE stint many years ago.
Ospreay vs Moxley for the AEW World title set for All Out 2026
The AEW World title match for All Out has been announced and it will feature champion Will Ospreay defending against current Continental champion Jon Moxley.
The two found out about the match at the conclusion of the show following a 10-man tag team match. Ospreay was part of this match and was about to get attacked by Gabe Kidd after the match was over. But the Death Riders came out and Moxley protected Ospreay while Andrade El Idolo, who also won a shot at the AEW title at All In, took out Kidd.
When the dust settled and Ospreay found his feet, he and Moxley had a stare down and a graphic was displayed on the big screen showing the match for All Out, with both men acting surprised at the announcement.
Moxley handed Ospreay the Union Jack flag before he went out for his match against Kenny Omega as part of his incredible entrance.
Dynamite preview for 09/02/2026
The fallout from All In takes place tonight live on Dynamite as AEW returns to Stateside following several days in the United Kingdom. Tonight’s show takes place from the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen Texas.
Only one match has been announced for the broadcast so far:
- The New Level and Swerve Strickland vs The Rascalz for the AEW Trios titles
Plus, Mercedes Mone will hold her AEW Women’s title celebration and new AEW champion Will Ospreay will kick off the show.
Dynamite airs at 8PM ET on TBS and also streams on HBO Max.
Ric Flair shoots down comparisons of Omega vs Ospreay to matches against Ricky Steamboat
Reacting to the online discourse that Kenny Omega vs Will Ospreay was better than Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat, Flair said it is like comparing “the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean!”
The Nature Boy said that no one has more respect for the two stars than him, but there shouldn’t be any comparisons of their All In match to any match that he and Steamboat had in the past.
“When they have a great match 300 times a year and 200 hour broadways, get back to me,” Flair wrote in a post on X. “Until then, there is no problem with being number two!”
Flair said that both of them are great young talent, but, “Let’s get serious kids! You should only hope that you have people talking about your matches 37 years later! WOOOOO!”
ROH Women’s champion Athena says she wants to do more in AEW
Speaking to Dallas News ahead of tonight’s Dynamite in Allen, Texas, ROH Women’s champion Athena, who is from the area, told the outlet that she would like to eventually move from ROH to AEW proper.
Athena has been champion for a whopping 1,362 days and counting, and said that she’s given “the world” to Ring of Honor and years of her career to be the “forever” champ.
“I’ve given so much to be the longest reigning champion in the modern day era, the most violent champion of the era,” she said. “But when it comes to me, I want to do more with AEW. So this means more.”
Athena does occasionally wrestle on AEW television, mostly on Collision, but she works more for the ROH promotion. Her involvement there kinda limited her work in AEW.
“I want to be AEW women’s champion. I want to be AEW TBS champion. I want to be an AEW tag champion to show the world that everything that I’ve done, holding a whole company on my back, climbing to the top of the mountain with it, was all worth it,” she continued.
AEW holds a double Dynamite and Collision tapings tonight.
Athena has been with the company since 2022 following a six-year stint in WWE as Ember Moon.
Raw views for 08/24/2026
The August 24 episode of Raw registered 2,500,000 global views on Netflix, down 200,000 from the prior week.
Raw was #7 on the Netflix global top 10 chart for the week with 4,400,000 global viewing hours based on an episode edited down to 1 hour and 45 minutes.
The show was in the top 10 in 16 different countries as well, with Bahamas, Bahrain, Bolivia, Canada, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Guatemala, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom, and United States charting.
The New Level say their AEW contracts allow them to wrestle for other indie promotions
Speaking to Ariel Helwani yesterday, Kofi and Austin Creed said that their AEW contracts allows them to wrestle for other independent promotions around the world.
“We can jump around and do some other things. So we still have opportunities to go to other places and to wrestle people,” Creed said.
Kofi added that he’s still getting used to being able to have the freedom that he now has and said “anything and everything” is on the table for them.
“So yeah, like Austin said, there’s opportunities aplenty as you see with a lot of the AEW wrestlers doing all kinds of things on the roster and then internationally as well.”
The duo also revealed that they signed their AEW contracts less than 24 hours before All In.
“We knew what we wanted, we knew what everybody else wanted, but it wasn’t like officially official until very soon before the kickoff time,” Kofi continued.
The two became the first wrestlers to win AEW gold on their first day with the company, winning the AEW Trios titles with Swerve Strickland.
Both men’s and women’s WWE Speed titles deactivated
The WWE Women’s Speed title was deactivated following yesterday’s episode of NXT, where the unified champion Zaria decided to keep the NXT Women’s North American title.
The titles were unified on Sunday at Heatwave, with Zaria defeating then-Speed champion Wren Sinclair and Kali Armstrong in a triple threat winner-takes-all match.
NXT General Manager Robert Stone then announced that with the deactivation of the women’s title, the men’s Speed title is also being abandoned, forcing Lexis King to surrender the title.
The Speed titles were introduced after WWE, in broadcast agreement with X, came up with the WWE Speed concept, a series of short matches that would air exclusively on the social media platform. It started in 2024 and ran for a year until the agreement expired. After months stored away, the titles were brought back to NXT where matches under Speed rules were held.