Jeff Hardy has been one of the biggest names in pro wrestling over the past two decades, and just over a year ago, he signed a contract extension with WWE. At the time, he was in a decent position on the card, winning the Intercontinental Championship from AJ Styles and working a mid-card program with Elias. Recently though, he has been losing matches to wrestlers you wouldn’t expect him to and frequently appearing on Main Event.
Now it seems he has dropped another level, as during Raw, he briefly appeared following a 24/7 Championship match simply to catch Reginald along with Humberto Carrillo, Jaxson Ryker, and Shelton Benjamin. It was the blink-and-you-miss-it appearance, and seeing the former WWE Champion in this position resulted in Hardy trending on Twitter. Bewildered fans would insist he deserves better and that he should join his brother Matt in AEW.
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Given all the buzz AEW currently has, it seems a weird decision for one of WWE’s talents that fans genuinely care about and want to watch to be featured in this manner. Hopefully, with Hardy trending, someone at WWE will take notice, and he will be put in a program worthy of his status soon to avoid turning off even more long-term fans.
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The majority of wrestlers enjoy meeting and interacting with their fans, as long as they don’t overstep boundaries. Unfortunately, though some fans can be overbearing, and among the worst transgressions a fan can commit against a wrestler is interrupting them when they are out eating. Corey Graves recently dealt with this predicament and tweeted about the encounter to educate fans about what not to do. However, Kevin Nash would see the tweet and give the Raw commentator some differing advice, as you can see below.
Fans would go on to share photos and stories of themselves with Nash proving he does indeed walk the walk. However, most wrestlers aren’t as carefree, so fans would be best to respect wrestlers when out dining. At a minimum, they should at least wait until they’ve finished their meal and never interrupt a conversation. Dealing with fans comes with being a celebrity, and it’s said when fans don’t want an autograph or a picture, that is when to worry. Obviously, though, it comes down to timing and picking the most opportune moment to ensure a positive encounter.
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Following Kenny Omega’s victory over Christain at All Out, Luchasauraus and Jungle Boy were both down after failing to save Christian from a post-match beatdown from The Elite. Omega was on the mic, boasting that nobody could defeat him, and then to the crowd’s delight, the lights went out, and Adam Cole’s AEW entrance music would hit. The former NXT wrestler would walk down to the ring, and it was teased he was there to challenge Omega. However, it would soon become evident that he was part of The Elite once he superkicked Jungle Boy and hugged everyone.
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”L16gv0rh” upload-date=”2021-09-06T04:07:47.000Z” name=”Adam Cole AEW Debut” description=”” player-type=”default” override-embed=”default”]At this point, it appeared the rumored debut of Bryan Danielson, formerly known as Daniel Bryan in WWE, wasn’t happening. But then, while Omega was set to close the show with his goodbye and good night phrase, Flight of the Valkyries hit. Danielson would make his entrance and join the babyfaces in the ring, helping to fight off The Elite. He would hit his signature moves during this, and the show would end with the babyfaces celebrating in the ring as fans repeatedly chanted AEW’s initials.
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”kZGQt679″ upload-date=”2021-09-06T04:10:56.000Z” name=”Bryan Danielson AEW Debut” description=”” player-type=”default” override-embed=”default”]Danielson has been a free agent since losing to Roman Reigns on the April 30th episode of SmackDown. At the time, it was thought he was set to move to Raw or even NXT, but it came out shortly afterward his contract had expired. The belief is WWE was so keen to have him re-sign that Nick Khan began negotiations with New Japan so he could work for both companies. Nevertheless, nothing materialized, and by late May, WWE was no longer discussing creative ideas or future merchandise for him.
With regards to Cole, he became a free agent on Friday, August 27th, after failing to agree on a new contract with WWE. The belief is WWE was very keen to get him to re-sign, with Vince McMahon personally meeting with him. The sticking point was that he wanted to keep his Twitch channel, which was against WWE’s policy of allowing main roster talents to have third-party deals. By not allowing that, WWE essentially handed Cole over to AEW.
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During the Casino Battle Royale at All Out, Ruby Soho, formerly known as Ruby Riott in WWE, made her All Elite Wrestling debut. She would come in as number 21, the Joker, and would go on to win by last eliminating Thunder Rosa. She will now get to challenge Dr. Britt Baker, DMD in the future, who retained the AEW Women’s Championship earlier in the evening.
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”4cBw8QAU” upload-date=”2021-09-06T01:58:19.000Z” name=”Ruby Soho AEW Debut” description=”” player-type=”default” override-embed=”default”]Ruby is now going by the surname Soho instead of Riott due to WWE owning the trademark on that version of the name. She actually selected Ruby from the song “Ruby Soho” by punk rock band Rancid when selecting her WWE name, and since departing the company, Lars Frederiksen of the band has allowed her to also utilize the surname. It isn’t yet confirmed whether she has signed a full-time contract with AEW, but it is strongly believed she has.
Ruby started wrestling on the indies in 2010 as Miss Heidi and began making a name for herself in OVW and Shine Wrestling in 2012 when she became Heidi Lovelace. She’d sign with WWE in December 2016, aged just 25, and was fast-tracked to NXT, debuting on the March 22, 2017, episode. Later that year, she was called up to the main roster alongside Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan as the Riott Squad. With Logan also have been released by WWE, this now leaves Morgan as the only remaining member working with the promotion.
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CM Punk returned to the wrestling ring during the August 20th episode of Rampage in scenes that likely won’t ever be forgotten. He came out to Cult of Personality, and the sold-out crowd chanted his name, which clearly moved Punk. He’d go to challenge Darby Allin and will be wrestling his first match in over seven years at All Out. Now in an article by ESPN, it has been revealed that Punk had only signed his AEW contract 30 minutes before appearing on air.
Punk arrived early at the United Center and got a text from his lawyer while there. He told Punk that he should probably sign his AEW contract before appearing on television, so he did that about 30 minutes before the start of Rampage.
ESPN.comPunk’s AEW debut was a very unique situation. While much of the wrestling world knew he was debuting due to multiple clues from AEW and endless dirtsheet news reports, very few people actually knew whether it was 100% confirmed. On the day of the show, Punk was referred to backstage as “a guest,” and at no point did AEW publicly promise he would appear. However, has Punk pulled out at the last minute or held the promotion up for more money, it would have been a disaster for AEW. Nevertheless, Tony Khan had been speaking to Punk for the past 18 months, and they clearly had built up the necessary levels of trust.
The belief is Punk’s contract is for multiple years, and while he is set to be a full-time television performer, it’s believed he will only wrestle between 10 to 12 times per year. While that may disappoint some, it will still allow him to wrestle the up-and-coming talent he has previously stated he’d like to wrestle, such as Ricky Starks and Jungle Boy, while still enabling him to have first-time dream matches with the likes of Kenny Omega and Adam Page.
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Adam Cole is currently a free agent after his WWE contract recently expired. The belief is WWE was very keen to get him to re-sign, with Vince McMahon personally meeting with him in an attempt to keep him. Typically when a wrestler negotiates their contract, if they have any leverage like Cole did, it will be for more money, fewer dates, and potential perks like first-class travel. However, Fightful Select has recently reported that the key to Cole’s discussions with WWE was his ability to retain his Twitch channel, with it deemed “non-negotiable.”
Cole has previously told his Twitch viewers there is zero chance his channel will ever go away, which was a significant indicator that he wasn’t planning on re-signing with WWE. That is because of WWE’s policy of not allowing the main roster to have third part deals, including streaming on Twitch. With AEW having no such rule and Cole being so confident in his statement, it seems inevitable that he will be joining his girlfriend, Britt Baker, shortly.
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Game Changer Wrestling held their The Art of War Games event on Saturday night at the Grand Sports Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The show was headlined by GCW Champion Matt Cardona, who was wearing a Macho King-inspired crown and carrying a spinner version of what he called the GCW Universal Championship. Initially, he would face Frank The Clown in an open challenge, with the commentators declaring there were two clowns in the ring. However, Cardona would quickly win the match, which took place inside the still constructed War Games cage following a belt shot, and he declared he would be GCW champion “Then, Now, Forever,” a line taken from WWE’s opening video.
Subsequently, G-Raver came out with a group of druids, and while Cardona would lay out most of the druids, one would remain in the corner of the ring. It would soon become apparent that druid wasn’t like the others as he hit a Paradigm Shift DDT on Cardona and revealed himself to be Jon Moxley. Moxley would then give Cardona a second Paradigm Shift onto light tubes and pinned him to become the GCW World Championship.
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”cjMvbOu1″ upload-date=”2021-09-05T11:27:06.000Z” name=”Jon Moxley GCW | twitter.com/luchaoutsiders” description=”” player-type=”default” override-embed=”default”]Following Moxley’s victory, he would be confronted by Nick Gage, who announced that he’ll be facing him in a death match for the title at GCW’s Atlantic City show on October 9th. This has been the match GCW has been building up to all year and has the potential to be the biggest in their history. What this means for Cardona remains to be seen, but he may be done with GCW as he has previously stated that fitting their dates in around his busy schedule was an issue for him.
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On December 26th, 2020, the wrestling world lost a fantastic wrestler and entertainer in Brodie Lee. Still, more tragically, his family lost Jon Huber, a loving husband and doting father. AEW would put on a moving tribute show, which saw each match feature at least one member of The Dark Order, and Huber’s eldest son Brodie Lee Jr. was awarded the TNT Championship belt his father previously held. Since then, AEW has continued to support his family and aimed to keep his memory alive, and on Saturday afternoon, it was announced that Lee is getting an AEW action figure with digital artwork shared.
Except for an LJN style, Darby Allin, the entire series of the Unmatched Collection series 3 features Dark Order members with St Grayson, Evil Uno, Anna Jay, and John Silver, in addition to Lee. While Lee has multiple Mattel action figures from his time in WWE as Luke Harper, this will be the first of him produced by Jazwares from his too-short time in AEW. The figure has the potential to become a collector’s item, given what the demand will likely be. At present, it is only known it will be available via Ringside Collectibles, however, if it follows the regular pattern of distribution, it will also be available in stores, although finding one could be a challenge.
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In August, Gable Steveson won the gold medal in the Men’s Freestyle 125 kilograms at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Since then, he has been weighing up his options, with MMA, pro wrestling, and football all being possibilities for him. It was first believed that WWE was a realistic choice after he attended SummerSlam and met with Vince McMahon. Now, after tweeting on Saturday, he put pen to paper on a deal without revealing with who, it has been confirmed he is joining WWE.
What WWE’s plans are for the heavyweight remain to be seen, and it isn’t known when he will report to the Performance Center to begin his pro wrestling training. Most athletics who sign with WWE to train typically earn less than $100,000 a year, but Stevenson will surely be paid significantly more than that due to his other options.
Stevenson is just 21 years old and considered one of the most remarkable athletes in the world. As a collegiate wrestler, he won the Dan Hodge Trophy, is the reigning NCAA Division I National Champion, a two-time Big Ten Conference champion, and a two-time All-American out of the University of Minnesota. Additionally, he is the reigning Pan American Continental champion. Given his history, there will undoubtedly be comparisons between him and Kurt Angle, who is arguably the most successful Olympian who transitions into professional wrestling, and if Stevenson can have half the pro wrestling career Angle did, he will be a resounding success.
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Roman Reigns’ last Raw appearance took place two years ago when he defeated Dolph Ziggler. Since then, he has been exclusive to SmackDown and has become arguably the biggest star in the business, thanks to a heel turn. Now though, it appears he is headed back to Raw for at least one appearance. Reigns, along with Jimmy and Jey Uso, are currently being promoted for the September 20th episode on the official website of the PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The SmackDown roster certainly feels to be the stronger of the two leading brands at present, with both Reigns and Becky Lynch on the blue brand, so a move would make sense. However, the draft is not expected to take place until October, so this may be simply a one-off appearance. Additionally, the SmackDown roster is scheduled to be in the UK, with Raw’s Drew McIntyre expected to headline shows that week, so it’s possible WWE decided there was no need to have Reigns internationally possible for health reasons related to his immune system.
Currently, Reigns is working with Finn Bálor, and the pair are facing off on this week’s episode of SmackDown. It is believed they will also meet at Extreme Rules on September 26th, although that is not yet confirmed. Long term, the plan is for Reigns is to face Brock Lesnar, who made his return at SummerSlam last month, with it expected Paul Heyman playing a significant part in the storyline.
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On Wednesday night, former WCW and TNA star Daffney Unger worried family, friends, and fans due to a live stream on Instagram in which she was clearly distressed and holding a gun. She would talk about being all alone and that she wanted her brain to go to Boston. This was likely in reference to the Boston University CTE Center who carry out studies into brain injuries. Since the Instagram video ended, multiple wrestlers, family, and the police have been attempting to locate her, and it has now been confirmed that Daffney, real name Shannon Spruill has sadly died aged 46.
Following the news becoming known, the wrestling world has been grieving, and multiple wrestlers who were lucky enough to have known and worked with her over the years have taken to Twitter to share tributes. A selection of those can be read below.
Daffney began her wrestling career in 1999 as part of WCW after answering a casting call and would play David Flair’s girlfriend and managed both him and Crowbar. She would work a few matches on house shows before making her in-ring television debut, wrestling Miss Elizabeth on Nitro. Then with Vince Russo writing the show and looking for shocking storylines, he would have her, along with Crowbar, defeat Chris Candido and his girlfriend Tammy Lynn Sytch in a mixed tag team Nitro match to become co-WCW Cruiserweight Champions. On the subsequent episode of Thunder, she would become sole champion defeating Crowbar before losing the title to Chavo Guerrero Jr, who was competing as Lt. Loco in a triple threat match that also included Disco Inferno the following month.
She would end up being released by WCW shortly before they were purchased by WWE and went on to work for countless promotions over the years. She would have a brief spell in WWE’s developmental territory OVW managing Damien Sandow but post WCW, she is best remembered for working for TNA between 2008 and 2011. Initially, she played a fake Sarah Palin character before aligning with Stevie Richard and Raven. During this time, she was involved in some memorable Monster’s Ball matches. However, she would, unfortunately, suffer a concussion in one of them. Sadly this wouldn’t be the last of her injuries, as during a dark match against Rosie Lottalove, she would end up hospitalized after suffering a bruised sternum, a severe stinger, and another concussion.
Once her contract with TNA was not renewed in 2011, she decided to take legal action against the promotion for putting her in an unsafe working environment. The lawsuit was settled out of court in 2013, and while Daffney didn’t wrestle again, she did make appearances from time to time, with the most high profile being for ROH in 2018.
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, please, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
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NXT is currently being revamped, with the focus said to be building stars who can make an impression on the main roster. Triple H, Shawn Michaels, William Regal, and Matt Bloom will still run the brand daily. However, Vince McMahon and Bruce Prichard are now in charge of the TV product, and Kevin Dunn is also involved and was behind the new logo. The belief is the focus will be on younger athletes who are bigger and stronger. This obviously doesn’t bode well for some wrestlers currently on the roster, and Dave Meltzer has now reported that more cuts are planned with being told names the names are those who have been signed for several years.
I’ve definitely heard names. A lot of the guys who’ve been there for a long time are kind of those are the names that have been talked about.
Dave MeltzerWith WWE seemingly being ruthless when releasing talent and not concerned if somebody can go to another promotion and make a difference, it is hard to pinpoint what talent will be cut. However, there are multiple wrestlers, including Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa, Oney Lorcan, Danny Burch, Ember Moon, Roderick Strong, and Kyle O’Reilly, who have all been with the company for at least four years. With none of them seemingly on the radar to be called up anytime soon and all over 30, it appears they are the likely candidates. Those names, though, are just speculation at present, and only time will tell who is actually deemed surplus to requirements.
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