“Hacksaw” Jim Duggan has had multiple health concerns over the years. First, in 1998 he was diagnosed with kidney cancer which interrupted his WCW career Fortunately, though, he would overcome that and return to the ring. More recently, in 2019, he was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat that required surgery, and later in the year, he underwent two more surgeries for what was described as a “serious infection.”

Sadly on Tuesday morning, his wife Debra would share on social media that he was admitted to hospital and required emergency surgery. What the operation was for is remains unknown. Still, thankfully, it has been confirmed that everything went well, and as you can see in the photograph below, Duggan is giving his trademark thumbs-up.

Out of surgery and back in his room. Everything went well. Thank you for your prayers, good vibes and good thoughts. You can keep them coming in. pic.twitter.com/gPUWI4N6Wq

— Hacksaw Jim Duggan (@OfficialHacksaw) October 20, 2021

Duggan began wrestling in 1979 after an injury cost him his NFL career, and the WWE Hall of Famer was still wrestling until mid-2019 when his health issues caused him to retire. Despite not being regarded as a great worker, his charisma and patriotic crowd-pleasing gimmick made him one of the biggest babyfaces in the 80s and into the 90s, where he worked for both WWE and WCW. Hopefully, he can now make a full recovery, and his fans can again get the opportunity to meet him at conventions and get their 2×4’s autographed.

Over the years, WWE Hall of Famer has suffered multiple health conditions. In the 90s, he was diagnosed with kidney cancer which briefly interrupted his WCW career, and more recently, he suffered an irregular heartbeat that required surgery in 2019. Then later that year, he underwent further surgery for what was described as a “serious infection.” Now his wife Debra has sadly posted on Facebook that he is currently hospitalized and is scheduled for emergy surgery. No further details were provided, and she requested prayers.

https://www.facebook.com/OfficialHacksaw/posts/4934853486539575

The 67-year-old was one of the biggest babyfaces of the 80s/90s, and history will always recognize him as the first Royal Rumble winner. Despite debuting in 1979, the WWE Hall of Famer was still wrestling on the indies until 2019, although in recent years had focused on appearing at conventions and autograph signings. Hopefully, Duggan can make a full recovery, and he can soon resume carrying his 2×4 and proudly waving Old Glory.

When AEW launched, Cody Rhodes was one of the promotion’s most loved stars, and he, along with Chris Jericho, were instrumental in helping establish the company in the eyes of fans. Now though, he is routinely booed when appearing, despite being a babyface. Exactly why fans have turned on him isn’t totally clear, although taking absences to work on other projects is likely an issue.

During an interview with Busted Open, he would address the adverse reactions and liken himself to Woody from Toy Story. Woody was Andy’s beloved toy in the initial movie, with a spot on his bed. However, once Buzz Lightyear came along, Woody was no longer the cool toy and lost his place as favorite. Seemingly this parallel would make Malakai Black, CM Punk, and Daniel Bryan the Space Ranger toy.

Woody would go on to rejoin Andy before the end of the movie, regaining his love and affection, and Cody will be hoping that will be the same with him and AEW’s fans. With AEW recruiting so many big-name talents in recent months, it is understandable his popularity would wane. Although, the fact he is outright being booed has to be a concern. The logical solution would be to turn heel and embrace the adverse reaction. Nevertheless, Cody has repeatedly stated he has no intention to do that.

This past weekend Rhea Ripley lost her luggage while traveling. While losing the physical WWE Women’s Championship belt would have been inconvenient and likely embarrassing, WWE has a spare version available for television tapings. The more significant issue for Ripley was always going to be not having her ring gear, and it’s now been confirmed that she would be forced to borrow pants from the 6 ft 7 Damian Priest. She has subsequently shared a video of her entrance from the El Paso house show, which eagle-eyed fans will recognize as the United States Champions.

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From all accounts wearing the borrowed ring gear didn’t impact her wrestling on the night, and it’s likely many fans wouldn’t have been aware of the issue had she not drawn attention to it. She would not wrestle on this week’s episode of Raw, and it isn’t known if not having her gear played a part in that. In fact, all she would do on the show, along with her tag team partner Nikki A.S.H would be approach Bianca Belair in the back to welcome her to Raw, and it wasn’t clear what she was wearing apart from a studded leather jacket.

Impact Wrestling’s Ace Austin and Gia Miller had a terrifying experience this past Monday when their apartment in Dayton, Ohio, caught fire. Thankfully both would escape unharmed, and their cat would later be rescued from under the collapsed ceiling. However, they now need to rebuild their lives together and have set up a GoFundMe campaign to help.

To show how popular the couple is, despite requesting $5,000 in assistance, as of writing, they have already raised £22,935 from 255 generous donors. Those in the business who have contributed include Scott D’Amore, Chris Jericho, DDP, Cody Rhodes, Shane Helms, Nick Jackson, Deonna Purrazzo, D-Lo Brown, Kiera Hogan, and Matt Cardona.

It’s also understood that 16 other families were also affected by the fire, and the extra money raised will be going to assist them as well. While not yet sure how Austin has also stated that everyone who donates will one day receive something from him as a thank you. If you are in a position to contribute, you can do via this link, or alternatively, you can purchase a t-shirt from Austin’s ProWrestlingTee’s store.

For those who don’t follow Impact Wrestling closely, Austin is one of the company’s top talents despite being just 24 years of age and can become a big star in the future. He first began wrestling on the independents in 2015, and in 2018 would work an enhancement match for WWE under the name Ryan DePolo on 205 Live. The following year he became an Impact Wrestling regular and has twice held their X Division Championship. Then in 2020, he would be joined in Impact Wrestling by his girlfriend Miller, who works as a backstage interviewer. 

In January 2020, Buddy Matthews, then named Buddy Murphy, aligned with Seth Rollins, leading to the pair winning the Raw Tag Team Championships. Eventually, Matthews turned face against Rollins and would beat him on SmackDown, with it looking like a new star was being established. Disappointingly, WWE never followed up on Matthews’s big win, and he would soon be taken off television. When he did return, it was just to put over Cesaro twice before making up the numbers in the André The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Subsequently, he was released by WWE and is currently wrestling on the indies.

This past weekend Matthews would wrestle on Warrior Wrestling’s Sweet 16 show and wrestled Chandler Hopkins, an up-and-coming indie wrestler who has wrestled on occasion for AEW. Those who watched the match have said it was enjoyable, and Mathews looked good, but the big takeaway was that Matthews would use his former tag partner’s signature moves. You can watch this or yourself in the below video, which shows Matthews using a Buckle Bomb followed by a Curb Stomp.

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It isn’t known if this was a one-time deal and Matthews was paying homage to Rollins or whether the former WWE Cruiserweight Champion intends to make this part of his own move set going forward. Right now, the Australian long-term future is unknown, while he is booked for New Japan’s upcoming Battle in the Valley event on November 13th, it hasn’t been confirmed whether he has signed a contract. However, there has been speculation that he is headed to Impact Wrestling full-time shortly, and with Bound For Glory taking place on October 23rd, it wouldn’t be that surprising to see him debut there.

To say Karrion Kross’ stock has fallen since his main roster call-up would be an understatement. While he was a dominant force in NXT with real-life fiancée Scarlett by his side, upon making his Raw debut, he quickly lost to Jeff Hardy and traded wins with Keith Lee. He then began wearing a bizarre helmet, somewhat reminiscent of Lord Humungus from Mad Max 2, as well as 80s tag-team Demolition. Additionally, he’d compete in gladiator-style gear. While a few fans would complement the look, saying it made him look less generic, the general consensus was that he looked ridiculous.

Seemingly WWE has now cottoned on to the fact they are wasting what was once considered a can’t miss talent, as according to the WrestleVotes Twitter account, his character is set to undergo a character revamp. Additionally, he is getting a new entrance and music, however, it was noted the helmet will remain, and Scarlett is not yet joining him.

Why Scarlett wasn’t part of the package when Kross was called up has never been confirmed. Although it was rumored that the plan was for Kross to go on a losing streak, but when Scarlett accompanied him, his career would transform, and she’d immediately be a big deal. If that was the plan, though, it was quickly abandoned, and now Scarlett’s career is in limbo.

There had been rumors of Braun Strowman returning to WWE on a lower salary, however that now doesn’t appear to be happening with his 90-day non-compete having expired. Right now, he is a free agent and free to work wherever he wants, and while it’s known he has spoken to multiple promotions, including MLW, it’s understood his asking price is a stumbling block for most. Although, one promotion that could afford him is Impact Wrestling, and PWinsider has reported Strowman met with their Executive Vice President Scott D’Amore at a hotel bain Detroit on Saturday.

While there is no confirmation that Strowman is definitely joining Impact Wrestling, it’s known the promotion has been interested in the former Universal Champion for some time. Previously D’Amore joked about the event being called “Braun For Glory” during a Twitch stream, and with surprises speculated, Strowman would fit the bill.

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When Kevin Nash returned to WWE in 2002, he would end up having backstage heat with The Rock. While The Rock has never publicly discussed it, Nash has mentioned during shoot interviews that The Rock only wanted him to get one of his moves in when they wrestled. Apparently, this was because Nash would talk trash about The Rock during his days in WCW and had claimed he would show him up on the mic if the pair ever crossed paths. Nevertheless, when this did happen, The Rock would get in the first shot in by calling Nash “Big Daddy B*tch,” totally catching Nash unaware.

Now though, it appears Nash wants to put that behind him, as following a Twitter exchange between the pair regarding working out in the gym, Nash would come through in an apology. Graciously, The Rock would acknowledge this, saying he was always a fan and wished they could have worked together more.

Nash and The Rock were two of the biggest stars of that time period, and an extended feud between the pair would have made the company a lot of money. However, they would only share a ring five times, and only once was it a singles match which ended in a disqualification. It’s good to know though both men have put their animosity behind them, and perhaps with Nash now having retired and focusing on his acting career, maybe he’ll make a cameo in one of The Rock’s future movies.

Rhea Ripley and Nikki A.S.H are currently an odd couple tag team in WWE and currently hold the Women’s Tag Team Championships. However, while they may be champions, Ripley doesn’t have the physical belt right now. She revealed this after taking to Twitter to tell her followers it had gone missing along with her ring gear.

*LOST GEAR BAG*
My MosherZ of Albuquerque I know this is a stretch but, if any of you have seen a black travel suitcase around Office Boulevard & Montaño rd please hold onto it and let me know. It has all my gear in it, including my title. Cheers!

— RheaRipley_WWE (@RheaRipley_WWE) October 17, 2021

While this is clearly a significant inconvenience for Ripley, it is likely losing her gear, worrying her more than the belt. The reason for this is WWE actually has spare belts which are kept with the company to be used on television. So hopefully, Ripley can be reunited with her possessions and has asked that if anyone sees anything being sold online, they let her know.

Buddy Matthews, who wrestled as Buddy Murphy in WWE, has been rumored to be AEW or Impact Wrestling bound since he was released earlier this year. While that could still very well be the case due to companies working much closer together than ever before, it has now been announced that he is set to wrestle for New Japan via a video on Twitter.

'They say as one door closes, another opens… Maybe it was staring at me the entire time.'

Buddy Matthews is coming. #njpw #njBitV @SNM_Buddy pic.twitter.com/Wqzk62CTFX

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) October 17, 2021

The event he is scheduled for is called the Battle in the Valley and takes place in San Jose, California, on the 13th November show. Matthews’ opponent has yet been confirmed, however, it is known Jay White, Tomohiro Ishii, Will Ospreay, and Juice Robinson are set to appear on the show.

The Australian’s last WWE match took place in April when he made up the numbers in the André The Giant Memorial Battle Royal on SmackDown. Two months later, he was deemed surplus to requirements and released. With his 90-day release clause expiring several weeks ago, he has already made a handful of indie appearances, with his most high profile being ROH founder Rob Feinstein’s inaugural BCW show. Matthews was booked to wrestle AEW’s Brian Cage but instead faced KC Navarro when Cage could not compete.

Roman Reigns is arguably the biggest star in wrestling right now, and despite being a fully-fledged heel, he is WWE’s top merchandise seller. The newest item on sale is a t-shirt based on the legendary Exorcist franchise featuring what appears to be a possessed Reigns titled The Suplex-Orcist. While it isn’t uncommon for WWE to release merchandise to capitalize on Halloween, what makes this specifically interesting is that in addition to merchandise, WWE has also filed a trademark application for wrestling performances, meaning it looks set to become part of it Reign’s gimmick.

Reigns is currently set to defend the Universal Championship against Brock Lesnar at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia on October 21, 2021. While the outcome isn’t public knowledge, at present, Lensar isn’t scheduled for any post-Crown Jewel appearances, with him going on hiatus until around the Royal Rumble. So this would seemingly be an appropriate time to debut The Suplex-Orcist, with Lesnar being known to take his opponents to Suplex City.