2019 was going great for Seth Rollins, he had won the Royal Rumble, defeated Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania and SummerSlam, won a fifth Raw Tag Team Championship, and was even #1 in the PWI 500. He was at the pinnacle of the wrestling world by being the top babyface in the biggest company in the world. But, sadly for him, it would all go downhill when he started feuding with The Fiend.

WWE booked the then Universal Champion Rollins to be afraid of his unnatural opponent, and he’d sit in the corner through fear with his eyes closed when confronted. The pair would have a disastrous Hell In A Cell encounter that had one of the worst finishes ever, leaving fans on social media claiming they were done with the product. Now, Rollins has appeared as a guest on Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions and acknowledged how bad the creative was for the match. He also revealed he had to be restrained from physically attacking Vince McMahon once he came through the curtain. You watch him discuss this in the below clip.

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Rollins would be forced to turn heel after losing the Universal Championship to The Fiend at Crown Jewel, becoming the Monday Night Messiah, and regaining his reputation with a match of the night contender at both WrestleMania 36 and then Money In The Bank. Over the almost two-year period since Hell In A Cell, his perception to fans has now fully been redeemed, and he is again seen as a top talent. Nevertheless, it’s doubtful his career will hit the heights of January 2019 through August 2019 again when he was WWE’s main star.

During the SmackDown Women’s Championship match between Becky Lynch and Bianca Belair, Sasha Banks would return to WWE television by attacking Belair resulting in her winning by disqualification. Banks subsequently brawled with Lynch and ended up leaving both competitors laying after hitting them with Backstabbers. As she was walking back to the aisle, she would state she’d be on SmackDown to see both women this Friday.

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Banks has been absent from WWE since being pulled from house shows over the weekend of the 14th and 15th of August, along with Belair for what was described as unforeseen circumstances. While Belair would return to the ring for the next episode of SmackDown, defeating both Zelina Vega and Carmella, Banks remained missing. However, WWE would still promote the pair facing off at SummerSlam, despite knowing that the match wouldn’t happen. In the end, a returning Becky Lynch would shockingly defeat Belair in under 30 seconds to start her heel turn.

WWE nor Banks hasn’t confirmed specific details regarding why she has been absent. Although Banks has been backstage recently, so her return was anticipated. It now appears that Banks, Lynch, and Belair will work a threeway program over the SmackDown Women’s Championship. Although with the draft about to take place, one of the three may be separated.

Last Wednesday, Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston wrestled Minoru Suzuki and Lance Archer in a Lights Out match that aired on Friday’s episode of Rampage. While Moxley was set to have a weekend off to recover, Kingston was booked to make his debut for Seattle-based Defy Wrestling on Saturday night. However, with Kingston being unable to compete, his tag partner would fill in for him, wrestling Schaff, who calls himself the “The Baddest Motherf*cker In Professional Wrestling” in what appears to have been a hardcore match.

With Moxley’s appearance not announced or reported beforehand, fans would be stunned to see the former AEW and WWE Champion come through the curtain. You can see this by their reaction in the below footage uploaded to Twitter by @TheeBrianJ.

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Moxley and Schaff brawled all over the building, and the AEW star would be victorious after dropping Schaff onto thumbtacks and hitting a Paradigm Shift DDT for the victory. You can see this below, thanks to @JoeyJohnela‘s video.

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Following the match, it was announced that Moxley would be returning to the Defy Wrestling promotion for their November 20th showing facing Tom Lawlor. AEW’s contracts allow talents to wrestle on independent shows subject to approval from Tony Khan, and Moxley, who came from the indies, is making the most of this. He recently won the Game Changer Wrestling Championship after defeating Matt Cardona at their The Art Of War Games pay-per-view and is scheduled to face Nick Gage on October 8th

Regarding Eddie Kingston, not much is known about his current injury status. Although both he and Moxley are still advertised for an upcoming rematch with Suzuki and Archer in a Philly Streetfight for NJPW Strong on October 17th, so hopefully, this indicates he won’t be out for long.

Shane Thorne, formerly known as Slapjack, has been wrestling occasional dark matches since Retribution disbanded. Previous fan-filmed videos had shown him wearing plain white gear and playing a generic babyface, however before Friday night’s episode of SmackDown, he would debut a new character which fans have been likening to the 80s character Crocodile Dundee. A brief video of his introduction ahead of his victory over Austin Theory has been shared on social media, and you can watch it below.

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Initially, many fans on social media would call out WWE for giving an Australian wrestler a stereotypical gimmick and declared another carrier ruined. Thorne, though, has since taken to Twitter and confirmed that it was his idea. He’d also mention being inspired by Nikki Cross, who has had renewed career success after pitching a superhero character to creative.

Just to let yous know what I'm trying now is all me and my ideas 🤠
A huge inspiration for me is @WWENikkiASH and you can't deny that she is doing incredible!
Wrestling can be fun!
So relax mate and let's have a good one 👍 pic.twitter.com/Rsmu9VOxX2

— Shane Haste (@ShaneTMDK) September 25, 2021

Thorne has been with WWE since 2016, following a successful tryout the prior year. He originally teamed with his long-time tag partner Nick Miller in NXT and worked with teams including The Authors Of Pain, American Alpha, The Street Profits, and The Revival. He became a singles competitor at the end of 2018 and challenged Ricochet and Velveteen Dream for the NXT North American Championship on house shows. Then after going through several tag partners, including Daniel Vidot, Bronson Reed, Brendan Vink, and Dorian Mak, he was called up to the main roster as part of Retribution.

Jake “The Snake” Roberts has been conspicuous by his absence recently on AEW television, where he managed Lance Archer. Now it has been reported by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter the reason for this is the 66-year-old wrestling legend is suffering from health issues. According to the report, he is currently in a wheelchair and receiving oxygen through a tube he removes for photos with fans. In 2020, Roberts was hospitalized and diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which affects the lungs, which may be related to his current condition.

Roberts first debuted for AEW during their The Road to All Out special in 2019. He’d then appear on the March 4, 2020, episode of Dynamite confronting Cody Rhodes. Initially, he was on a short-term deal that kept being extended. However, he recently signed a new contract keeping with AEW until July 2023.

WWE is introducing new characters and gimmicks to NXT following the revamp of the brand. Among them so far has been former CZW wrestler Joe Gacy portraying a politically correct “woke” character who talked about safe spaces, male privilege, and hugs. Gacy’s gimmick would attract attention from mainstream media such as Fox News, Daily Mail, and New York Post which is something WWE would typically love. However, WWE has since removed references to the gimmick and Gacy from their social media accounts, including making an exclusive digital promo he cut after NXT on YouTube private.

Why WWE has made the decision to seemingly back from the gimmick isn’t known, and as of writing, it has not been confirmed whether the character has been dropped entirely or is instead being tweaked. It should, though, be noted that the Gacy’s match with Cameron Grimes is still available to watch on Peacock and the WWE Network, so he hasn’t been completely removed from history.

Gacy has been with WWE since late August 2020, when the company purchased EVOLVE. He’d later debut on 205 Live before participating in NXT’s Breakout tournament, being eliminated in the first round. The 34-year-old began his career in CZW back in 2006 and went from participating in a scholarship tryout match to holding the companies Heavyweight Championship three times. He was also part of the Switchblade Conspiracy stable alongside Jon Moxley and Sami Callihan between 2009 and 2011 on the indies.

Jeff Katz, who produced Freddy vs. Jason, Snakes on a Plane, and Shoot ‘Em Up, attempted a decade ago to create his own wrestling show called Wrestling Retribution Project. He would raise money through private investment and Kickstarter and filmed the first season, which featured Kenny Omega, The Good Brothers, Dr. Luther, and Sami Callihan under different names in 2011.

Sadly he would disappear without delivering to partners and backers what was promised, and to say his reputation was ruined would be an understatement. Despite this, he now appears to be trying to restore his name and possibly get back in the business and recently participated in a Reddit AMA. He would discuss working in WCW, his public failings, and reveal some interesting tidbits. Among them was that Triple H almost appeared in Snakes on a Plane.

Back in the early 2000’s Triple h was seemingly looking at breaking into Hollywood and had a supporting role as Jarko Grimwood in Blade: Trinity, the movie franchise starring Wesley Snipes. Subsequently, he was meant to star in a WWE Films made motorcycle western titled Jornada del Muerte written by Conan the Barbarian screenwriter John Milius but that deal fell apart. Additionally, he was going to appear in a Conan the Barbarian in a sequel titled King Conan: Crown of Iron, but due to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s role as Governor of California, it never materialized. He would eventually star in straight to DVD releases The Chaperone and Inside Out, which ended any hope of him becoming a star outside of wrestling.

This week’s episode of AEW Rampage was taped following Dynamite at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York. The main event was a Lights Out match between Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston against Lance Archer and Minoru Suzuki, and current Ring of Honor wrestler Homicide would appear at the finish helping the babyfaces get the victory. While it isn’t known if it will air on television, Kingston would take the mic and call Homicide his mentor post-match.

For those unaware, Kingston and Homicide have a long history of teaming together, dating back to 2011 when they tagged at CZW Cage Of Death XIII. Since then, they became known as Outlaw Inc. and have teamed in multiple promotions, including IWA Mid-South, ROH, and Billy Corgan’s NWA. Currently, there is no word whether this was a one-off appearance or the beginning of a working relationship between AEW and ROH, where Homicide wrestles presently.

The former ROH Champion rejoined the promotion at their 19th Anniversary Show on March 26, 2021, and is part of a stable called Violence Unlimited consisting of Brody King Tony Deppen, Brody King, and Chris Dickinson. He, along with Dickinson, were recently ROH Tag Team Champions for two days. Still, due to ROH matches airing on tape delay, their official reign is recognized as 72 days.

“Superstar” Billy Graham has been in ill health for many years suffering from liver difficulties and reportedly been close to death multiple times. Sadly it has now been confirmed that the 78-year-old has again been hospitalized at Mayo Clinic, this time suffering from an irregular heartbeat and fluid in his lungs. He has been in since Sunday, and apparently, there is concern that too much medication could damage his kidneys, so the medical staff is being very cautious.

Graham is a former bodybuilder who became one of the biggest draws in pro wrestling, helping sell out Madison Square Garden 19 out of the 20 times he main evented. While not considered an elite worker, he had incredible charisma and influenced Hulk Hogan, Jesse Ventura, Dusty Rhodes, and Scott Steiner through his look and promos. While best known remembered for his time with WWE, he also wrestled for the AWA, NWA, and New Japan getting over everywhere he went. Unfortunately, due to health issues stemming from steroid abuse, he had to retire in 1987, with his final program being with Butch Reed.

Nowadays, Graham is known for his love-hate relationship with Vince McMahon, famously lying about McMahon’s right-hand man Pat Patterson on The Phil Donahue Show in 1992. He would allege Patterson was involved inappropriately with young boys, and while he did apologize later, he was not forgiven by Patterson. Years afterward, he defended McMahon and WWE following the deaths of Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit. However, he’s declared his Hall of Fame ring meaningless following his $2,000 a month consultancy contract not being renewed and a trademark issue regarding his name. Though he would rejoin the WWE family in 2015 by signing a Legends deal, he soon began scrutinizing WWE again when that expired.

Lucha House Party member Gran Metalik has reportedly asked to be released from his WWE contract. The news comes from MasLucha.com, which states the luchador wants out of his deal due to a lack of opportunities. It isn’t known if WWE will grant him his release, with his deal still having two years remaining, although they have previously allowed certain unhappy wrestlers to depart. Still, with AEW in acquisition mode, they may not want to let the competition potentially recruit the incredibly talented yet underutilized performer.

Metalik is better known in Mexico as Máscara Dorada, where he made a name for himself in CMLL before also working for New Japan. He wrestled for WWE in their Cruiserweight Classic tournament in 2016 on the recommendation of Finn Bálor and would soon sign with the promotion full-time. While he is considered one of the most talented on the roster, he has never received a sustained push and currently teams with Lince Dorado as Lucha House Party.

Earlier this month, Triple H required a heart procedure after suffering what was described as a cardiac event. This is typically another way to say heart attack, and WWE’s official statement said a genetic issue caused it. It’s understood that since then, talents have been allowed to speak with Triple H to wish him well but told not to talk business, and now the 14-time world champion has made his first public comment on social media. He would state he has been blown away by the support he has received, that he is doing well, and plans to see everyone soon.

I’ve been blown away by the outreach and support from so many people. I’m recovering, doing well, & deeply grateful for all the love in my life. Especially grateful for @ShawnMichaels & all the Superstars & crew @WWENXT! (Steph and the girls loved the snacks!)
See you soon 🙏❤️

— Triple H (@TripleH) September 21, 2021

It isn’t known if Triple H, who is the Executive Vice President of Global Talent Strategy Development and COO of WWE, will resume his day-to-day activities on NXT once able. However, it sounds like he will be, based on the tweet which tagged in Shawn Michaels, who ran last week’s episode. Still, if he does, it will be a different product than he was previously involved in, with WWE launching the revamped NXT 2.0 in his absence.

Regarding his legendary wrestling career, he hasn’t been a full-time performer since April 2010 and instead wrestled sporadically, often around WrestleMania season and on big shows in Saudi Arabia. With WWE having rigorous medical protocols, getting medically cleared may now be challenging. This means his final match may have occurred earlier this year when he had a short brawl against Randy Orton. Disappointingly the match would end in a non-contest when the lights went out, and Triple H was gone, with Alexa Bliss there instead.

Non-fungible tokens are believed to be the future of collecting, with fans paying hundreds, and in some cases, thousands of dollars for a piece of digital art. WWE would sell the infamous clip of The Undertaker throwing Mick Foley off Hell In A Cell to someone for a staggering $100,000, and since then, other wrestlers have begun working with companies to produce their own pieces. Chris Jericho would encounter great success selling all 48 pieces from his first release for $650 each, with fans believing that price will be considered a bargain in future years.

To coincide with SummerSlam, WWE would return to the marketplace and this time-release 500 John Cena NFT’s, including an exclusive merchandise bundle. The company would charge $1000 for each package, and they were expected to be a big seller. However, recently speaking at Florida Comic-Con, the 16-time world champion revealed that only 37 in total were sold.

It’s hard to pinpoint precisely why Cena’s first foray into NFT’s was such a failure. Clearly, 500 was too many, and perhaps combining merchandise and the NFT was a mistake. Maybe fans who would have wanted the exclusive merchandise weren’t interested in the NFT, and someone experimenting with NFT likely didn’t care about the physical items. Whether Cena and WWE decide to try again remains to be seen, but they’ll probably try a very different approach if they do.

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