Live tonight from the Skyway Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, Impact Wrestling presents Victory Road, airing exclusively on the Impact Plus streaming service. The full card is as follows:
Moose vs Sami Callihan vs Steve Maclin in a three-way Barbed Wire Massacre; Jordynne Grace vs Max the Impaler in a Pick Your Poison match; Mike Bailey vs Delirious for the Impact X Division title; Alex Zayne vs Black Taurus vs Frankie Kazarian vs Kenny King vs Laredo Kid vs Mia Yim vs Trey Miguel vs Yuya Uemura in an intergender triple threat revolver to determine the number one contender to the Impact X Division title; Heath, Rich Swann, and Josh Alexander vs Eddie Edwards, Matt Taven, and Mike Bennett in a six-man tag team match; Mickie James vs Gisele Shaw; Killer Kelly vs Tasha Steelz; The Motor City Machine Guns vs PCO and Vincent.
WWE has published the 2023 Royal Rumble poster and it features none other than Roman Reigns…and Brock Lesnar front and center!
Lesnar, who has not been seen since losing the last man standing match to Reigns at SummerSlam, is also being used to promote the Day 1 premium live event on January 1 from Atlanta, Georgia.
Ronda Rousey, Drew McIntyre, Edge, Bianca Belair, Liv Morgan, Becky Lynch, AJ Styles, The Street Profits, Bayley, Seth Rollins, Bobby Lashley, and others are part of the poster.
The show takes place on Saturday, January 28 live from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
The Dynamite: Grand Slam episode this week drew 1,039,000 viewers, down 136,000 viewers compared to last week’s number. Dynamite faced stiff competition from several network premieres including the likes of the Chicago series, Survivor, The Masked Singer, etc. In 18-49, Dynamite ranked #1 in the top 50 cable chart for the night with a 0.35 rating, down 0.04 from the prior week. The good news is that viewership stayed over a million for the fifth straight week. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Bankroll management is so important because it allows you to last longer while playing online slots and limits your losses so that you don’t go broke too quickly. Unfortunately, many beginner slot lapak pusat players make the mistake of not managing their bankroll, and they end up losing all of their money very quickly.
You can’t win if you don’t have any money in your account. That’s why managing your bankroll is crucial when playing online slots. Here are a few tips to help you get started:
Frequently add funds to your account
You’ll need to deposit money into your online casino account frequently if you want to last long while playing online slots. How often you deposit depends on how much you’re willing to spend on each session and how often you play.
A good rule of thumb is at least to have a few hundred dollars in your account. This way, if you run into a losing streak, you’ll still have money to play with.
Set limits for yourself
Let’s say you only want to risk losing $100 per gambling session. Once you’ve lost $100, it’s time to stop playing for the day. This is called setting a loss limit.
The amount doesn’t have to be set in stone, but it’s essential to have some sort of limit, so you don’t go broke. That way, you can always come back and play another day.
If you have $500 deposited in your account, you don’t want to blow it all in one day. It’s better to play several sessions and walk away with a profit than to lose it all in one go.
Never hit the auto spin
The auto spin is a fantastic way to win big bucks if you have a ton of money in your account. If you’re a beginner, you probably don’t have that kind of money.
Auto spinning can also be very dangerous because you can lose all of your money very quickly. If you hit the auto spin, ensure you’re comfortable with the amount of money you’re risking.
Auto spin is only good if you are betting low amounts. For example, if you have a grand in your account and are betting a nickel per spin, auto spin might be a good choice.
Withdraw your winnings frequently
You play the slots to win, and many people do win significant amounts of money. If you’re lucky enough to win, don’t let the money sit in your account.
Withdraw your winnings frequently, so you’re not tempted to gamble it all away. It’s also a good idea to set aside some of your winnings so you always have money to play again later. It’s okay if all of your winnings end up going back into the slot machine; eventually, you just don’t want it to happen quickly.
It’s not unreasonable to think that some of the money you withdraw will be deposited again someday in your account. What you’re trying to do is slow down how much you spend so that you can last longer and have more fun.
Don’t make the newbie mistake of blowing all your money on a few spins
It’s tempting to be a high roller and go all in when you first start playing online slots. After all, you have no idea if you will win or lose.
You need to be patient when you’re starting out. Pace yourself, learn the ropes, and try not to lose all of your money in the first few days. That’s what bankroll management is all about.
Ruby Soho will be off TV for a while as she will be undergoing surgery to fix her nose which is broken in two places, an injury which she suffered after Tay Conti delivered a knee to her face during the AAA Mixed Tag Team title match at All Out.
Soho, who was supposed to appear at 1PW’s A New Twist of Fate event in the UK next week, recorded a video message to explain her absence.
“Due to the injury that I received at All Out, a broken nose in two places and a mess of a septum, I have to have surgery. And due to the scheduling of that surgery and the recovery time, I won’t be able to make it to the show on October 1,” Soho said.
The promotion announced that instead of next week’s show, Soho will be able to appear at the February 18 event titled No Turning Back.
Due to an injury, @realrubysoho will no longer be appearing at A NEW TWIST OF FATE on October 1st. A replacement will be announced later on this evening.
Ruby will now make her 1PW debut on February 18th at NO TURNING BACK in Lincoln. pic.twitter.com/cufjmToTUX
AEW’s newest arrival, Saraya, seems like she has enjoyed her return in front of fans and was blown away by the reaction of the New York crowd.
“F*cking WOW! Absolutely blown away by the pop in the stadium and the reception outside of it,” Saraya wrote. “Been a long journey. Couldn’t be happier to be in @AEW thank you to everyone!”
She also thanked her boyfriend and singer-songwriter Ronnie Radke for letting her use his song Zombified as her AEW theme song.
Her return video on YouTube has nearly 350,000 views since it was uploaded on AEW’s channel 12 hours ago, the most of any of the videos from Dynamite: Grand Slam.
AEW and NXT will be going back head-to-head for one night only on October 18 and AEW is already loading up the show with a world title match.
Dynamite is being moved to Tuesday because of the MLB playoffs on TBS that week and instead of airing later in the night it was decided to go against NXT. NXT on USA will have it’s Halloween Havoc go-home episode that night.
Headlining Dynamite from Cincinnati on October 18 will be Jon Moxley making his first AEW World title defense against the winner of the Golden Ticket battle royal which will air tomorrow night on Rampage.
Dynamite and NXT went head-to-head from October 2019 till April 2021 when NXT eventually moved to Tuesday nights.
Tickets for the Full Gear pay-per-view went on pre-sale today on Ticketmaster.com using the pre-sale code NJAEWKND.
There are two kinds of tickets which one can purchase: a single ticket to the pay-per-view, or a combo ticket which gives you entry to Rampage on Friday and the pay-per-view as well.
Less than 200 single tickets remain for Full Gear but there are over 1,000 remaining for the combo tickets. The single tickets left start from $185 while the cheapest combo tickets start from just $60 for both shows.
Tickets go on sale to the general public tomorrow at 10AM ET.
Full Gear takes place from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on Saturday, November 19.
This week’s taped episode of NXT drew 688,000 viewers, down 30,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast. This was the third most-watched episode of NXT in 2022 so far. The show did the same 0.15 rating of last week, placing #7 in the top 50 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Dynamite: Grand Slam offered three title changes last night at Arthur Ashe Stadium with the AEW World, Tag Team, and ROH titles all changing hands.
The night started with Chris Jericho adding his eighth world title to his collection after he defeated Claudio Castagnoli for the ROH World title. Jericho hit a low blow and the Judas Effect to win. The man formerly known as Cesaro ran with the title for just two months.
The Acclaimed finally got their hands on the AEW World Tag Team titles when they beat Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee for the gold with some help from Billy Gunn. The Acclaimed came close to winning the titles at All Out earlier this month but came up short, only to win the rematch last night. The win ends Swerve In Our Glory’s 70-day reign. Safe to say, there was a lot of scissoring going on last night!
And finally, Jon Moxley reclaimed the AEW World title after he beat Bryan Danielson for the vacant title. This is Moxley’s third run with the gold and wins it just 17 days after he lost it to CM Punk at All Out.
Jon Moxley became the new AEW World champion – again – last night on Dynamite: Grand Slam after he beat Bryan Danielson in the main event of a memorable show.
With this win, Moxley becomes the only three-time AEW World champion in the company’s history, with only CM Punk being the other multi-time champion.
Mox beat Darby Allin in the semi final after he got a bye in the first round in the Grand Slam Tournament of Champions to advance to the final.
Moxley won the title at the Revolution pay-per-view in February 2020 from Chris Jericho and then lost it to Kenny Omega in December of that year. He won the interim title at AEWxNJPW: Forbidden Door show in June and then beat CM Punk to keep the title and become the undisputed champion.
But Mox lost it a week and half later to CM Punk in Chicago at All Out, a victory which led to an explosive press conference and subsequent backstage brawl. That prompted Tony Khan to vacate the title and hold the tournament of champions.
Last Week’s Rating: 1.175,000 overall; 0.39 in 18-49 demo
Big night tonight. The rating should clear the million mark for the fifth week running. More importantly, will MJF ‘cash in’? I say he shouldn’t. The idea of him threatening to take the belt to WWE isn’t a bad storyline per se, but it is at the moment. That belt needs stability. It shouldn’t change hands between now and February.
It’s Wednesday night, it’s Dynamite. Let’s go.
Excalibur welcomed us, along with Taz, Tony & Ian Riccaboni, and you know what that means! ROH up first. Bobby Cruise again on announcing duty.
Chris Jericho vs Claudio Castagnoli, ROH World Title
Backstory: Jericho challenged Claudio for the title of the only company whose belt he’s never held
The crowd belted out Judas as Jericho emerged, holding up eight fingers, the crowd making it clear this wasn’t your usual few thousand people in the house.
Cary Silkin was there to watch, Aubrey on the call, first ever female to ref an ROH World Title match.
Crowd absolutely hyped as Jericho used the code of honor to take a cheapshot, Claudio drilling him with a flurry of uppercuts, whipping him corner to corner, following him in with running uppercuts, hoisting him up top in a gorilla press and dropping him ‘yambag’ first onto the ropes, as Taz would, and did, say.
Continuing the blistering start, Claudio pursued the BeeWeeBeeCee (BWBC) to the outside, where Jericho used Silkin as a shield to take a cheapshot at Castagnoli, hurling chops, sending CC back inside but caught with yet another uppercut as he attacked off the top for a dodo-rare one count.
An exchange in the middle saw Castagnoli land on the apron but blast the BWBC with another uppercut mid-springboard. Fighting on the apron, a rake of the eyes ended with Jericho suplexing CC all the way to the ringside mats. The crowd loved it; I kinda wish he wouldn’t take those bumps at his age.
Break time.
Rocked by a defensive boot to the face as we returned, Jericho fought back, hurling more chops with Claudio perched up top: shots to the face, top rope hurracanrana. Or not. Claudio converting it to a powerbomb from the top only for Jericho to counter back into a hurracanrana in mid-flight. Jericho then ran at Castagnoli but was caught with the pancake/uppercut combo for a close 2. Hammer and anvils followed – love that the BCC have a thing they all do.
Leaping double-foot stomp for another two slaps of the mat from CC, then the sharpshooter, Jericho slap-bang in the middle but finally grasping the bottom rope. Jericho went for a low blow but had his foot caught, Ricola Bomb for another close count.
Claudio well on top but Jericho refusing to be put away.
Next it was Claudio’s turn to be caught mid-springboard – Codebreaker! – another 2. Getting to his feet, Jericho swept the Swiss into the Walls, despite Castagnoli fighting, grasping at the neck, shots to the face, pulling himself up out of the hold, shots to the jaw.
Big Swing time. Crowd again loved it.
Jericho slingshotted into the buckle, another uppercut as he rebounded, another count of two. Jericho reached for Floyd, Claudio blocked it, went for another Ricola Bomb only to be flung over Jericho’s shoulder, kind-of into Aubrey, allowing Jericho to hit a low blow, then the Judas Effect. The Ocho! New champ.
Does this mean ROH has a TV deal coming?
The JAS out to celebrate, Garcia looking less than impressed at his mentor cheating again.
The vast majority of this was excellent. One or two parts were slightly off, Jericho maybe a little gassed by the frantic pace of the contest.
WINNER: Chris Jericho
Swerve in our Glory vs the Acclaimed
Backstory: Acclaimed lost at All Out in a belter, this is their second shot
Very heavy boos for Swerve as he emerged, along with Fabolous. Lee certainly wasn’t booed but the crowd were very clear on who they were there to cheer: the Acclaimed accompanied by DJ Whooooo Kiiiiiiiiid.
‘Ohhhhhh Scissor Me Daddy!’ the chant from the crowd as the Big Fella and Bowens started us off. Lee with the size advantage, Bowens getting nowhere, Lee striking with a running hurracanrana. Crowd went wild for that.
Perplexed, Bowens tagged in Caster.
Who couldn’t do much more with Lee until finally countering the biel into an armdrag mid-stream, Swerve in angrily to break-up the Scissor as the break beckoned.
Caster was stranded in the corner as we returned, fighting out, powerslam to Strickland then hauling Lee up for a quick suplex/brainbuster as the crowd again exploded. Bowens back in, running wild, back body drop to Swerve, thrust-kick dropping Lee, the crowd hot.
Until Swerve spoiled their fun again, the champs looking for the double-team Swerve Stomp, Bowens fighting out, grabbing a quick 2 count, hurling Swerve to the outside but then meeting Lee’s noggin and plummeting to the mat.
As the Big Fella sized up the biel all the way to the ramp, Bowens landing hard, Caster not faring any better, planted in the middle as he ran in to help. The Big Guy heading up top, missing with the moonsault, both he and Caster down, the latter trying to psyche himself up with Bowens still out of it. Bringing Swerve to the apron with the boombox, blasting Lee with it after Castor ducked.
Blockbuster from Bowens, Castor looking for the Mic Drop but seemingly injuring his knee as he landed, flattening the crowd. Bowens grabbed a 2, Caster finally back in, Swerve drilling Caster with a leaping spinkick, Caster responding with a back suplex, hobbling his way to the top, Swerve striking before he got there. What seemed like a screw-up followed as they set up a double team pounce, acombo powerbomb sufficed instead, Castor kicking out at 2.
Swerve with a ridiciculous 450 legdrop to the outside, wiping out the Acclaimed, going face to face with Billy Gunn, being dragged away by his partner. Allowing Bowens to hit an elbow, Famasser on the outside with the ref distracted, Swerve sent in, the Arrival, the Mic Drop…
New Champs.
This was disappointing. Messy and lacking fluidity, despite a number of very cool spots. They probably tried to do a bit too much. And the sequence where Caster ‘hurt his knee’ was strange in retrospect, taking the crowd out of it and disjointing the match.
Not that the crowd cared: confetti and celebrations as Swerve stared in disbelief.
WINNER: The Acclaimed
FTR with Lexi. Cash congratulated the new champs but they’ve been no1 contenders since April and they want a shot. The Ass Boys interrupted with a series of F-T-Are you…? jokes. FTR didn’t seem to care too much. Weird segment. Should’ve just left it with the challenge.
Yuta joined Tony on the ramp to give his thoughts on the World Title match later, barely getting a word out before MJF interrupted, again coming out to a rapturous response. ‘Questionable Queens, the Devil has arrived!’ Loud MJF chant. He called them his ‘Devil Worshippers’.
Max said Yuta would never receive a response like he just had, this crowd would drink his spit (one guy liked that a little too much) and let him sleep with their wives, if only they weren’t ugly. Yuta insulted MJF, the crowd booed heavily.
MJF called them the Blackpool Cuckold Club, said Yuta could still get advice from Danielson about how to get injured or ask Regal ‘how to pop pills’. Yuta finally snapped, belting him with a slap, MJF finally turning the crowd as he shoved the biggest babyface in the company – Tony Schiavone – on his ass. Only for Morrisey to attack, allowing MJF to drill Yuta with the ring.
MJF was very good here and the crowd loved him; otherwise this was an awful segment. They seem determined to fight the crowd and it made Yuta look stupid.
Diamante revealed that her surprise for Rampage is Trina??? Which was my first thought on Friday after that description but I couldn’t believe they actually thought she was relevant in 2022.
Pac vs Orange Cassidy, AEW All-Atlantic Title
Backstory: The two feuded years ago, recently renewed the rivalry & Orange attacked Pac last week
Excalibur reminded us that Cassidy has never beaten Pac. I fancied Orange to win here, but surely they won’t do three changes in a row?
Amidst the usual antics, Orange flung his shades at Pac, incensing the Brit who ran in and was caught in two quick pinfall attempts before ducking outside to avoid an early Orange Punch. Even hesitating to get back in as Cassidy found his pockets.
The kicks were next, Pac beckoning him to bring it, which Cassidy did with a dropkick but Pac exploded with a violent one of his own, then stomping away in the corner, choking Cassidy with his boot on the apron, working his way outside, drilling Cassidy face-first against the apron before flinging him into the ringpost, Cassidy catching it more with his shoulder than his face.
Pac headed to the top. Cassidy bailed but was walloped as Pac somersaulted over the ropes. Shotgun dropkick from the top as the Brit continued the assault into the break.
Still on top as we returned, the crowd still eerily quiet outside of Orange’s antics, Pac headed up top for the Black Arrow, Orange rolling away but caught and drilled with a German before the Brit headed back up. Cassidy then holding the legs up, playing possum as he grabbed a frustrated Pac into a two-count.
Managing to block a swinging ddt but caught with a Stundog Millionaire, the Brit was then drilled with a tope suicida, diving ddt, kip-up – the pace quickening as Cassidy landed the swinging ddt for a close two-count.
Cassidy got another two countering out of the Brutalizer, then hit an Orange Punch, Pac just about getting the ropes at 2.99, heading outside where he caught Cassidy with the ringside hammer as the ref was unsighted, then rolling Cassidy back inside for 1,2,3.
This was a bit strange. The crowd was dead, eating away at what was a good match. They didn’t care a lick about Pac and the finish was a letdown.
Ethan Page to win it in Toronto?
WINNER: Pac
Toni Storm vs Britt Baker vs Athena vs Serena Deeb, AEW Women’s Title
Backstory: Stems from a tag involving all four last week, Deeb pinned Toni after help from Britt & a chair
Nice responses for Britt and Toni, who squared off straight away, the faces dispatching the heels and going to work, Storm getting a two on Athena via backslide, Deeb trying to pin both at the same time, drop toe hold from Serena on Toni, before locking both in holds at the same time: Storm in a leglock, Athena in an abdominal stretch.
Britt back in with a crucifix pin, then a roll-up, both kicked out of quickly. Slingblade on Deeb, Toni attacking Britt, countering the neckbreaker, running shotgun dropkick, front-chancery throw, Toni to the top but caught by the heels, looking for a double superplex as Athena gave all three a powerbomb from the top.
The crowd have been absolutely silent for this so far.
Storm and Serena had the other girls in a sharpshooter as we returned, talking trash as they faced each other. Deeb was drilled with a German, Toni hip attack to Athena, Britt then blasted by Athena, Serena landing uppercuts to Baker, missing with a clothesline in the corner but then dropping Britt across the ropes before catching Storm with a swinging neckbreaker for 2.
Serenity Lock right in the middle. Crowd could not have cared less.
Britt thrust kick to break it up, Athena catching both her and Deeb, briefly rousing the crowd, dropping both, Britts face getting the worst of it as she was landed on. Crazy athletic sequence in the ropes between the faces culminating with Athena getting a 2, again briefly getting the crowd into it.
Storm then hit a tornado ddt (Stormado ddt?) off the ropes on Athena, Britt with another crucifix attempt, Storm countering back into a roll-up of her own for the victory.
Baker attacked straight after, beating down the champ with blood pouring from her face once again. Bringing Jamie Hayter out once more. But it was a… Swerve Bro! The pair laying in shots, Deeb joining them as they laid out the faces, ending with a Curb Stomp to Athena, then applying the glove, readying the Lockjaw.
Saraya! Huge pop. The heels bailed as the former Paige soaked up the crowd’s adulation. Assuming she’s healthy enough to wrestle, she’ll be a huge addition to the women’s division.
WINNER: Toni Storm
Another of those weird Darby videos ahead of their match with the HOB on Friday. He dragged a body bag around – on the train, in a cab – telling the cabbie he was heading to a funeral at Arthur Ashe.
Bryan Danielson vs Jon Moxley, AEW World Title
Backstory: BCC Boys won their respective semi’s
Regal joined on comms as Moxley made his way through an extremely appreciative crowd. Excalibur again talked about their overall records, Danielson having far the better of it but losing their most recent encounter.
Rapturous response for both as Justin made the introductions, the crowd maybe leaning slightly towards Bryan, MJF looking on from above, clutching the chip.
Cagey start, exchanging grapples and chops, down to the mat, up again, Danielson emerging on top, drilling Moxley in the back of the head until the latter grabbed a keylock to break loose.
Then backing Danielson into the corner, both hurling chops, Danielson on top after more chops, a running leg lariat, a couple slaps to the face as he fired Moxley up. Back to the corner, Mox laying in shots but caught again with a running leg lariat after a reverse. Heavy palm strikes, reverberating through the arena, the crowd oohing loudly, yes! kicks dropping Moxley to the mat, the Dragon comfortably on top early.
One leg lariat too many: Moxley immediately targeting the spine with kicks, jumping stomp to the chest, bodyslam, Danielson though quickly back on top via a barrage of chops and kicks, perching Mox on the top, running dropkick sending Mox to the outside where the attack continued.
Back inside, Danielson landed a leaping shotgun dropkick off the top, Mox decidedly off his game, drilled with a German suplex on the apron as the ads arrived.
Strange crowd – they’re mostly silent but were big into that two count. For the best aprt of an hour, they’ve generally seemed into the entrances, pinfalls and big sequences but aren’t into most of the wrestling.
‘I have five!’ was the message as we returned, the Dragon still in control. No mention or selling of the ankle thus far. Maybe spoke too soon: Mox catching Danielson coming off the top with a powerbomb then immediately targeting said ankle. Then folding him up with brr-rew-tal leg-capture suplex.
A few boos for the back-rake with Danielson on the buckle, Mox looking for a superplex, BD escaping as he did last week, dropping Moxley face-first onto the buckle, straight back up for an avalanche belly-to-back, the cover interrupted due to BD grabbing his ankle, allowing Mox to transition into the LeBell Lock.
Danielson fighting out with more shots to the face, the pair fighting upside down with their legs locked, heads planted on the mat, Danielson applying the Cattle Mutilation, hammer and anvils, Moxley locking the triceps to escape but drilled in the head. Then responding with the King Kong Lariat but eating a back body drop from Danielson, then a busaiku knee for two slaps of the mat.
Moxley struggling to his knees, Yes! kicks ending when Mox managed to catch the ankle, brutal stomp to the face, Death Rider, 1, 2, thr – kickout!
Hands locked, exchanging elbow strikes, Danielson rolling through with the wrists captured, ready to kick Moxley’s head in but Mox again targeting the ankle, Danielson escaping again into the Triangle, both guys fighting frantically in and out of holds, finally landing in the LeBell Lock, the hand perched, ready to tap but somehow making it to the ropes.
Mox to the apron, diving knee off the top from BD but blasted immediately with a Death Rider on the stage, Danielson’s momentum taking him back into the ring where he somehow kicked out once more.
Bulldog Choke, right in the middle, nowhere to go, Danielson fading, finally fighting up, kicking off the buckle but crashing face-first, still in the Choke, all of Moxley’s weight on him, finally passing out in the hold.
As good as some of them were, every other match tonight had either a slip-up or a highly choreographed sequence which, if you’re easily taken out of the moment, might’ve spoilt it slightly. None of that here. This was a fight. This was two guys fighting desperately for control, for and against submission attempts until finally, one could take no more.
WINNER: Jeeeeeee-yoooon Moxxxxx-ley!
Next Rampage (2hrs):
• Hook & Action Bronson vs 2.0 • Sammy Guevara vs Eddie Kingston • Jade Cargill vs Diamante, TBS Title • Hobbs vs Starks • Rey Fenix vs Jungle Boy • Darby & Sting vs HOB, no-DQ • Golden Ticket Battle Royal for future AEW Title shot (Penta, Archer, Lethal in addition to the guys mentioned during the show) • Wardlow & Samoa Joe vs Tony Nese & Josh Woods
Overall impressions
I didn’t actually enjoy this as much as last week. Perhaps it’s just from the recapper’s pov, but I was begging for a five-minute break. For something a little lighter to break up the pile of title matches.
That said, nights like tonight are exactly why AEW should stick with the four (or five) PPVs. They’re able to put genuinely competitive title bouts involving their biggest stars on free tv, culminating in a scorcher between perhaps the two biggest. Now can we get some of those on Rampage? Maybe? Please?
Former WWE Divas champion Paige made her AEW debut last night on Dynamite: Grand Slam under her real name of Saraya.
Saraya came out to a massive pop following the four-way match for the AEW Women’s interim title and saved champion Toni Storm and Athena from a continued attack by Britt Baker, Jamie Hayter, and Serena Deeb.
The new arrival quickly told the heels that this was her house now and hugged fellow former NXT stars Storm and Athena.
Following the segment, AEW President Tony Khan announced that Saraya signed an AEW deal and is now All Elite.
The Brit left WWE after her contract expired in early July and the company opted not to renew her deal. She has expressed her wish to return to the ring and hoped that WWE would use her more but it was not meant to be.
She hasn’t wrestled since December 2017 after getting re-injured during a non-televised live event. She had stints as Smackdown GM and then as a panelist on the WWE Backstage show on FS1.
It’s a big night for AEW as the biggest Dynamite of the year in terms of attendance takes place tonight at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York, the home of the U.S. Open.
Five huge matches – all for the titles – have been announced for the broadcast, headlined by Jon Moxley vs Bryan Danielson with the winner becoming the new AEW World champion.
Also on the show are PAC defending the All-Atlantic title against Orange Cassidy, Claudio Castagnoli puts his ROH World title on the line against Chris Jericho, The Acclaimed get another crack at the AEW World Tag Team titles against champions Swerve In Our Glory, and Toni Storm defends her interim AEW Women’s title against Serena Deeb, Athena, and Britt Baker in a four-way match.
Plus, AEW President Tony Khan has hinted at a surprise or two!
Fans attending tonight’s show will also sit for a two-hour Rampage taping immediately following the conclusion of Dynamite.
With the recent news of Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat lacing up his wrestling boots again after 12 years, Ric Flair has spoken about how he now wants to come back…again!
Speaking on his podcast To Be The Man, Flair, who recently had his “last match” at the end of July, said that Steamboat is better than 50% of the guys in the business today at every level.
“He wouldn’t get in the ring if he wasn’t. He holds himself to a very high standard, and I imagine he’ll probably look better than the guys he’s in the ring with because he’s always in good shape,” Flair said.
The Nature Boy noted that he has been doing training again and admitted seeing Steamboat come back makes him want to do it all over again.
“Steamboat coming back makes me want to come back again,” Flair said.
Steamboat refused to be part of the Ric Flair’s Last Match event in Nashville and said he prefers for fans to have the last image of him against Chris Jericho in a WWE ring from over a decade ago when fans chanted “You still got it!”
Something, obviously, changed a lot in the span of a few months as now Steamboat will be headlining a Big Time Wrestling event on November 27 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
John Cena has joined the cast of Kevin Hart’s Die Hart 2: Die Harter, an action-hero spoof now in its second season airing on Roku.
Variety reports that Die Hart 2 will stream free on the Roku Channel although no premiere date has been announced yet. This season, the former 16-time world champion will play a legendary Hollywood stuntman named Mr. 206 whose help is enlisted along with others to help Hart survive an evil revenge plot orchestrated by someone from his past.
“Any opportunity to work alongside @KevinHart4real is an opportunity to laugh (a lot) and learn (a TON),” Cena wrote in a tweet today. “A masterclass in life and an overall wonderful human to be around. Grateful to be a part of Die Hart S2!”
Hart is no stranger to working with WWE Superstars as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is a frequent colleague of Hart.
Tonight’s Dynamite: Grand Slam has crossed the $1 million mark in gate money, making it the highest-grossing Dynamite in history.
While the attendance will be smaller than last year’s event, this year’s show had a significant higher ticket cost which allowed AEW to cross $1 million with fewer people.
AEW President Tony Khan announced last night that to celebrate this milestone, the ticket buyer who put them at or above the $1 million mark was going to receive a commemorative Grand Slam chair signed by greats from the Tournament of Champions.
The Arthur Ashe Stadium is configured to hold just over 15,000 fans and AEW has moved over 12,000 tickets as of today, leaving around 3,000 tickets available. Last year’s show had over 20,000 fans in attendance.
Raw got crushed in the ratings this week as the two concurrent NFL games left an even bigger dent than last week. Raw did 1,593,000 viewers this week, down 116,000 viewers from last week and last week already had a 300,000+ viewership decrease. This was the lowest viewership since the July 4 episode.
The first hour drew 1,709,000 viewers, then decreased to 1,623,000 viewers in the second hour, and further down to 1,449,000 viewers in the third hour. The NFL did a combined viewership of nearly 21 million viewers across three stations and Monday also saw the premiere of many returning TV shows such as The Voice, Dancing With The Stars, NCIS, etc.
Raw was #5, #6, and #7 in the top 50 chart among the 18-49 demo with 0.46, 0.46, and 0.42 respectively for an average of 0.45, up 0.01 from last week. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Former NXT UK champion Ilja Dragunov made his return to NXT last night and showed up after JD McDonagh defeated Tyler Bate to become the number one contender for Breakker’s NXT title.
But as Breakker and McDonagh had a stare down in the ring, Dragunov came out to a major pop and confronted both stars, with the show ending with Breakker holding up the NXT title.
Dragunov, who had a match of the year candidate with Gunther last August to win the NXT UK title, vacated the championship after he was injured in July. He already has a history with McDonagh as he won against him in May in a loser leaves NXT UK match.
It’s believed that Breakker vs Dragunov vs McDonagh in a triple threat match will headline Halloween Havoc next month.
The NXT North American title was vacated on NXT last night by Shawn Michaels on the basis that Solo Sikoa was not an original choice in last week’s fan voting so technically he was not supposed to wrestle Carmelo Hayes.
Hayes and Sikoa appeared in a backstage segment with HBK where they were informed about the situation. Hayes requested the title back but Michaels declined, saying he has to win it back at Halloween Havoc.
A five-man ladder match will determine the new champion at Halloween Havoc and Hayes automatically qualifies for it. Eight other individuals will participate in qualifying matches to see who will advance to the match.
Sikoa is now part of the main roster on Smackdown and is not expected to be part of NXT moving forward, which made it difficult to carry an NXT title.
“I made the NA title more valuable in a WEEK then any title reign in @WWENXT,” Sikoa wrote on Twitter. “Brought it to Smackdown with me and defended it. Keep in mind i never lost it. There is always more gold out there and i got my eyes set on it already.”
In a sarcastic tweet replying to Sikoa, Hayes responded with, “Thank you for your service.”
