Brock Lesnar will be making an appearance on Friday Night Smackdown next week live from Madison Square Garden in New York.
In a backstage segment during the show, Paul Heyman received a phone call while being interviewed by Kayla Braxton. He then told Roman Reigns that it was Brock who called and told him that he will be at MSG next week.
Lesnar returned at SummerSlam, interrupting the champion’s celebrations after he beat John Cena. It was his first appearance since losing at an empty Performance Center against Drew McIntyre on night two of WrestleMania 36.
WWE is also loading up next week’s Smackdown by having Edge wrestle Seth Rollins again and there will also be a contract signing between Becky Lynch and Bianca Belair for their Smackdown Women’s title match at Extreme Rules.
TNT will air an AEW double header tonight starting with Rampage at 10PM ET and then the Countdown to All Out starting immediately following the conclusion of Rampage at 11PM ET.
Three matches have been announced for Rampage, which is live from the NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, where AEW has set up base for the All Out week. Malakai Black will face Lee Johnson, Jamie Hayter and Rebel take on Kris Statlander in a 2-on-1 handicap match, and Darby Allin faces Daniel Garcia with CM Punk on commentary. Scheduled for Rampage as well is TNT champion Miro who will be discussing his All Out match.
On the Countdown show, Jim Ross will be sitting down with CM Punk for an exclusive sit-down interview as AEW goes for the final sell of the highly-anticipated pay-per-view.
One half of The Good Brothers, Karl Anderson, stirred up Twitter for all the wrong reasons yesterday and fans ripped him a new one.
After Fightful Wrestling’s Sean Ross Sapp tweeted that WWE sent an e-mail to all its talent telling them that they provide counseling service if they are in need of help following the death of Daffney, Anderson replied to the tweet that “they suck bro.”
Still bitter over his release last year, Anderson got smacked by hundreds of fans who did not approve of his comment, especially not on the day when the whole community was mourning the death of one of their own.
He then tweeted that it “must be a slow wrestling news night” to continue angering fans and after one guy replied “don’t you have a wife to cheat on?” Anderson wrote that this guy is why he “hates MARKS” and wrote that no one asks him “for a f*cking picture” at hotels or if they see him outside.
“You’re lucky I even write back on here,” he then continued. “Lemme say something to you loud and clear…F * C K Y O U All,” as he continued calling everyone a mark.
Meanwhile, Jake Atlas, who was also recently released by WWE, admitted that WWE paid for six months of his therapy that saved his life. “Not everything is what it seems. People who are truly suffering from mental illness learn how to to hide it well. Reach out,” he said.
ESPN’s Marc Raimondi has an interesting article looking at the inside story of how CM Punk returned to professional wrestling with AEW a few weeks ago.
Raimondi’s in-depth look at Punk’s return revealed that while at the United Center waiting for his debut, Punk received a text from his lawyer urging him to sign his AEW contract before walking out through the curtain. Eventually, Punk officially signed his AEW contract 30 minutes before Rampage went on the air.
Punk, as previously reported, also paid for the ice cream bars that were distributed to all fans at the United Center that day. He ordered 15,000 bars from Pretty Cool Ice Cream on August 2 and paid a deposit. Salls Cree, the owner of the ice cream business, said that the order would have normally cost $84,000 but she gave Punk a discount and admitted she had no idea what all the ice cream bars were for. She only realized the next day when she saw the segment on YouTube and her Instagram was filled with messages to buy Punk’s ice cream.
It was also revealed in the article that two weeks before his return, Punk contacted Pro Wrestling Tees owner Ryan Barkan to tell him the news and to design a t-shirt. After getting hooked up with a designer, AEW quickly approved it and PWTees promised a delivery for August 20. The initial batch of t-shirts were printed at a different warehouse to keep the news from getting out to the PWTees staff. To date, nearly 100,000 t-shirts worldwide have been sold.
A report published by the Japanese-based website Gamebiz.jp shows that WWE has dissolved its WWE Japan company on September 1 and permanently closed its offices.
The end of WWE Japan was published in a public notice in the government bulletin yesterday, September 2.
WWE had big plans for the Japanese market with an NXT Japan expansion at one point. WWE also tried to get into agreement first with All Japan and then New Japan promotions but that went nowhere. With the coronavirus pandemic still lingering, it’s also unclear if WWE plans to return to the country in the foreseeable future. Japan did not allow fans for the Olympics or Paralympics and obviously WWE will not travel there if fans will not be allowed in.
The only WWE offices listed outside of the United States on the WWE corporate website now are Singapore, United Arab Emirates, and England.
The wrestling world is still in shock following the death of Shannon Spruill, who fans better know as Daffney the Scream Queen from her WCW and TNA days. Spruill, who posted a heartbreaking live video reading a suicide note, took her life and was found yesterday during the day. Police and EMTs were sent to one of her known addresses after fans raised the alarm on Twitter but she had moved from that place and they were unable to locate her in time.
Many of her former co-workers used social media to express their sadness and to encourage everyone to reach out for help if they’re feeling suicidal.
“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Shannon ‘Daffney’ Spruill. We offer our sincere condolences to her friends and family,” read a short statement from Impact Wrestling where she wrestled years ago. All Elite Wrestling added, “AEW joins the wrestling world in mourning the passing of Shannon Spruill. Our thoughts are with her family, her friends and her fans.” WWE also wrote a short statement on Twitter reading, “WWE is saddened to learn that Shannon “Daffney” Spruill passed away at the age of 46. WWE extends its condolences to Spruill’s family, friends and fans” while adding a short story on WWE.COM.
Shane Helms, who worked with Daffney while in WCW, wrote that there were many teary phone calls yesterday morning. “I was Daff’s first friend in WCW. I taught her how to lock up. We stayed friends throughout our careers. I’m gonna miss her a lot. This sucks so much. I wish I had better words,” he wrote, then later uploading a video of Daffney hitting a hurricanrana from the top rope on him.
Crowbar, who Daffney managed while in WCW, wrote that one of the most enjoyable and fun times of his career was working with Shannon by his side, making an emphasis on the fun. “Neither of us could believe the blessing that we were given – the opportunity to perform on the grand stage of WCW. Each and every moment was appreciated by us,” he wrote. “And we tried to make every moment *FUN* She truly lit up a room and brought smiles to everyone around her. These memories have and always will be cherished and hold a special place in my heart. Rest In Peace, God bless and love you my friend.”
Mick Foley, who tried to reach her by phone when fans pointed out what was happening and urged fans to locate her, wrote, “I’m so very sorry to learn of Daffney’s passing. A terrible loss for her family, friends and wrestling. She was far ahead if her time in our business.”
Velvet Sky worked with Daffney while in TNA Wrestling and described her as an amazing, funny, loving, and caring person. “Rest in eternal peace my sweet, sweet, Angel friend. I’ll never ever forget you. I love you always,” Sky said.
Brian Heffron, better known as The Blue Meanie, wrote, “I wish I didn’t have to say this. Rest In Peace Daffney. You were a sweet soul. You are loved. You are missed. This is a rough one. My heart aches for her family.”
Abyss, who also shared time with Daffney in TNA, added, “Heart broken and speechless. Rest In Peace Shannon.”
Tributes continued throughout the day from current and former wrestling stars who shared the ring and friendship with Daffney.
The All Out go-home episode of Dynamite on Wednesday drew 1,047,000 viewers, down 125,000 viewers from last week’s episode. In nine weeks since AEW has returned on the road, six of them drew over a million viewers so it’s a positive trend. The show did 0.37 in the 18-49 demo, down 0.11 from last week but good enough to top the cable chart for the week. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
The YouTube shows Dark and Dark: Elevation are officially moving to a studio, Universal Studios to be exact.
AEW President Tony Khan announced during a media call today that both shows will be taped in front of a studio audience for most of the weeks throughout the year, confirming an earlier report.
There will be occasions however where AEW will tape Dark and Dark: Elevation on the road depending on the schedule with live events. It’s believed that when Rampage is a standalone taping, then AEW would do the Dark tapings in the arenas that week. For the time being, they will keep the Elevation tapings before Dynamite.
No start date has been given but the change is expected to occur soon. Moving the Dark tapings to a studio would lighten the load on Wednesdays where AEW now has to tape Rampage as well after Dynamite.
Several weeks worth of tapings will be held at one go at Universal Studios so the AEW crew doesn’t have to be there every week as well.
Despite repeated attempts to locate her, help came in a bit late as it was announced that Shannon Spruill, the former WCW and TNA star known as Daffney, has been found dead.
Her mother, Jean, confirmed the news on her Facebook account. “It is with great sadness I have to let you know that my daughter Shannon Spruill…Scream Queen Daff, passed away suddenly last night. Absolutely heartbroken,” she wrote.
The former wrestler went live on Instagram with a very disturbing video, pretty much reading a suicide note and asked that her brain be donated for CTE testing. Fans on social media quickly got her trending and former colleagues tried to reach out to her.
Police and EMTs earlier reached one of her known addresses but they could not locate her for the welfare check.
The heartbreaking video, which we will not be posting, continues to expose the mental health issues some former professional wrestlers are suffering from.
The 46-year-old started her professional wrestling career in 1999 working for WCW as the girlfriend of David Flair, managing both him and Crowbar. Eventually she went on to even wrestle, earning the nick name of scream queen for her loud screams.
After she was released before WCW closed up show, Daffney moved to independent wrestling and eventually landed a gig with TNA Wrestling. She worked for TNA until 2011 and after she left, she filed a workers’ compensation claim against TNA for injuries suffered while wrestling for the promotion. The lawsuit was settled out of court two years later.
Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends.
AEW’s Chief Brand Officer and brand new mom Brandi Rhodes revealed in an interview with Us Magazine that she’s suffering from postpartum depression and anxiety, two months after giving birth to her baby daughter.
Rhodes said she was surprised she’s especially suffering from anxiety as being super busy she thought she wouldn’t have time for emotions but she described how terrifying the feeling is of this mental health issue.
“I tried to fight it or tell myself, ‘Hey, this isn’t real stuff happening, calm down,’ and recently, I finally just gave in and said, ‘You know what? I have postpartum depression for sure,'” Brandi explained.
Cody and Brandi Rhodes will be the subjects of a new reality TV show from WarnerMedia which will debut on September 29. Titled Rhodes to the Top, cameras will follow the power couple as they juggle their wrestling and personal life while waiting for their new arrival.
The full trailer for the Dwayne Johnson upcoming Netflix movie Red Notice was unleashed today by the streaming giant.
Red Notice, which is most expensive movie Netflix has ever made with a budget of nearly $200 million, features Johnson as FBI agent John Hartley who hunts two rival criminals around the world after they are put on the red notice.
The Netflix synopsis for the movie reads, “An Interpol-issued red notice is a global alert to hunt and capture the world’s most wanted. But when a daring heist brings together the FBI’s top profiler and two rival criminals, there’s no telling what will happen.”
Joining The Rock are Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds in the leading roles. The movie is directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber and features music by Steve Jablonsky, the man behind the music of the Transformers movie.
Red Notice comes out worldwide on November 12, 2021 and you can see the trailer below.
The advertised match between Andrade El Idolo and PAC at this Sunday’s All Out pay-per-view has been canceled and will be rescheduled for a later date.
The announcement came from AEW President Tony Khan who used Twitter to explain that due to travel issues, the match had to be taken off the card. Khan did not elaborate on the situation but it looks like it’s something that had to do with PAC returning to the United States.
Khan added that the match will take place on AEW Rampage in the near future instead.
Reacting to the news, Andrade wrote that he just wasted his time. “It’s like in boxing, when they don’t make weight, the fighter has to be fined a sum of money Or is he just not ready to face me and he wants more time,” the former NXT champion wrote.
With the cancelation of this match, the Casino Battle Royale has now moved to the main card instead.
More women were added to the Casino Battle Royale for this Sunday as the number edges closer to the final 21 participants.
Added recently are Abadon, Anna Jay, Jamie Hayter, KyLinn King, Leyla Hirsch, and Rebel. They join Big Swole, Diamante, Emi Sakura, Hikaru Shida, Jade Cargill, Julia Hart, Kiera Hogan, Nyla Rose, Penelope Ford, Red Velvet, Tay Conti, The Bunny, Thunder Rosa for the match, leaving just two empty spots, one of which will most likely be a surprise entrant.
The match, originally scheduled to be in the Buy-In pre-show, has been moved to the main pay-per-view card after Andrade el Idolo vs PAC was canceled.
Former WCW and TNA wrestler Daffney trended on Twitter during the night after she went live on Instagram and fans were concerned about her well-being when she sounded suicidal in the disturbing video.
The 46-year-old, whose real name is Shannon Spruill, did not look okay at all during the live feed and wrestling fans and several of her former colleagues rallied to get her location so emergency services could assist her. Indie wrestler April Hunter wrote that she got in touch with a friend of hers and there are police outside her apartment trying to get in. EMTs were also dispatched to the location.
Mick Foley, who also urged his followers to reach out to her if they know her, said that attempts to reach her on the phone went straight to voicemail.
Daffney wrestled for WCW between 1999 and 2001 and then joined TNA in 2008 until 2011.
NXT on USA Network this week drew 717,000 viewers, up 32,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast. The show did 0.17 in the 18-49 demo, up 0.01 from last week, and finished in #23 in the top 50 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Tonight’s AEW Dynamite on TNT will be the first of three shows at the NOW Arena as the usual red-hot Chicago-area crowd welcomes back CM Punk.
A CM Punk promo is one of three interviews scheduled for tonight’s broadcast which will also see Jim Ross interviewing Chris Jericho and Tony Schiavone interviewing MJF.
Five matches have been announced with The Young Bucks and The Good Brothers vs Lucha Bros and Jurassic Express in an eight-man tag team match, FTR vs Santana and Ortiz, Brian Cage vs Powerhouse Hobbs, Penelope Ford vs Tay Conti, and Orange Cassidy vs Jack Evans.
The All Out pay-per-view this Sunday will stream exclusively on the B/R app, website, and connected devices with WarnerMedia announcing that this will be a “digital exclusive” for Bleacher Report and will cost $49.99 for those in the United States.
The B/R app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, Fire TV, and Xbox. You can pre-order the show now but Fire TV will accept pre-orders on Friday.
The B/R app, which replaced B/R Live, will also allow users to comment on matches in real-time with other users. Bleacher Report is also owned by WarnerMedia and AEW pay-per-views were previously available on B/R Live as well.
Fans outside the United States can order the show through FITE TV.
As expected, AEW today announced that all fans entering the Arthur Ashe Stadium for the September 22 episode of Dynamite: Grand Slam must be vaccinated and must show proof before entry.
Ticket holders are expected to show either a CDC vaccination card, a NYC vaccination record, an Excelsior Pass, the NYC COVID Safe app, or any official vaccination record from outside New York or the United States.
This applies to all ticket holders age 12 and older and those who will not show proof of vaccination will be denied entry. Ticketmaster will provide refunds for those who are now allowed to go in.
A proof of negative COVID-19 test is not required and while masks are not enforced, AEW is recommending that everyone wears one. If the roof of the stadium is closed due to weather, everyone will be required to wear a mask.
These days we can see countless online casinos on the web. The real question is, how you can choose the best one? Well, there are a few things you need to consider and all of these will be explained below. When you are looking for new online casinos you need to take into account specific factors. Yes, we will reveal all of these below and you can apply these to all casino sites. Without further ado, let’s begin.
Choose A Secure Casino Site
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Look for Bonuses
One of the main pieces of information you need when looking for a new place to gamble is bonuses. These are promotions that will help you enjoy longer with the same deposit you would normally use. A new user will get a 100% match when funding his balance and this is the best perk in the business. All experts have been using this for a long period of time. To find the best casino you need to look at the offers and what these give to you. You need a match offer, free spins, daily bonuses, and all the rest you can see. More is merrier so you do get more perks and can enjoy the process more. All players should consider these. A good promo will help you win a higher amount with a higher number of tries. These should be available for as many video titles as possible.
Pay Attention to Software Developers
Your experience is all that matters. Take a look at the conditions offered and all the operators available at that casino. This simply refers to software developers who will be present at that online casino. More of them equals more games so you have more options to try and use. It also suggests that people prefer that website and that it is developing as we speak. Last but not least, you won’t have to read another guide, or visit another website looking for specific slots or games. All of the elements you seek will be implemented into that website. Always check for the bonus and how it applies to offered games such as poker, live dealer options, and more.
We must add that software developers can make a game better and a casino more appealing. They will use new technology that is being developed as we speak and you can test it as soon as it is released. For comparison, if you use a website with one software developer, you will miss this perk. Bigger companies invest more money into development and they offer a great thrill. You can find countless examples out there. A lot of players consider this as the first factor before they make the first bet.
Mobile Support
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Payment Methods You Already Use
In order to gamble you need to add money to your balance. This is possible thanks to payment methods. They’re PayPal, Cards, e-wallets, virtual currencies, and more. The goal here is to find a casino that accepts banking methods you already use, such as Visa. You can get an idea about this if you read the terms and conditions page. All transactions made possible should be paired with SSL so you may want to learn more about this system as well. Believe it or not, SSL benefits are stunning and these come with huge importance to all gamblers and ordinary web users. Before you start, take a look at your web browser and see if that website is secured with this tech. If it is, you are at a much better place and you can accept the requirements and enjoy it.
Customer Support
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Conclusion
All of these factors are essential and each one will have a huge effect on how you gamble, where you do it, and what you can expect. Taking precautions is mandatory and something all users should do as soon as possible. As we have stated above, there are many casinos so it can be difficult finding the one that will meet all your requirements. With these facts, you can do it right now and enjoy the online realm more.
It’s a big week for AEW as the road to All Out starts today with Dynamite. The promotion will be in the Chicago area for the remainder of the week, having three consecutive shows at the NOW Arena located in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
The festivities start tonight with nearly 6,000 fans attending Dynamite. Rampage, with a more or less similar attendance, will be live on Friday night and then on Sunday it’s back to same location for the sold-out All Out pay-per-view where fans will witness the first CM Punk match since the 2014 Royal Rumble.
AEW will also hold a two-day fan fest at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center in nearby Schaumburg, Illinois on Friday and Saturday with live stage shows, meet and greets, merchandise stands, etc.
Tickets for all shows, apart from All Out, are available to purchase from Ticketmaster.com.
