NEWS

I guess it didn’t work out. There have been all kinds of stables throughout WWE history and some of them have been quite effective. It makes sense to pair a bunch of wrestlers together and see what you can get out of them collectively, which WWE has done several times over the years. It is still the case today, but now one of them has lost perhaps its most important member.
This week’s SmackDown featured the Maximum Male Models attempting to break a record for the longest held pose in the history of Canada. However, Max Dupri broke it up just before the record, saying he was sick of the team not taking anything seriously. Dupri took off his belt with the group’s logo and threw it down, saying his LA Knight catchphrase of “yeah”. This comes after weeks of Dupri having issues with the team’s success.
It didn’t end well. Check out the breakup:
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Opinion: This is something that has needed to happen, as the Models team just wasn’t working. I’m st..

We have some sad news to report as WWE Hall of Famer and wrestling legend Antonio Inoki has passed away at age 79.
From WWE.com:
One of the key figures in the history of Japanese wrestling, Antonio Inoki was among the most respected men in sports entertainment and a bona fide legend in his homeland.
Born in Yokohama, Japan in 1943, Inoki grew into a natural in-ring competitor. The incredible squared circle figure found his greatest success in New Japan Pro Wrestling, a promotion he founded in 1972. Over the course of the next two decades, Inoki built NJPW into the most successful wrestling company in Asia. Utilizing talented Japanese competitors like Tatsumi Fujinami and Riki Choshu, innovative high-flyers like Tiger Mask and Dynamite Kid, and American Superstars like Bob Backlund and Vader, the young promoter created a product that was unique, influential, and far ahead of its time. In addition to running the company, Inoki himself was one of the top stars in NJPW, carrying the cha..

Rampage
Date: September 30, 2022
Location: Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone
Rampage is back to normal this week and that should make for a decent enough show. You never know what you’re going to get around here, though odds are you’ll get at least one important thing. Other than that though, there is a good chance you’ll be seeing some names who aren’t around on Dynamite very often. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Tag Team Titles: Acclaimed vs. Butcher and the Blade vs. Private Party Acclaimed, with Billy Gunn, is defending. Bowens and Kassidy start things off as Matt Hardy is watching in the back. They trade quick one counts as the fans sing in praise of the Acclaimed. A standoff gives us a handshake before Bowens drives Kassidy into the corner for the tag off to Castor. With Kassidy down, Castor stops for some scissoring with Gunn before Bowens comes in for a neckbreaker onto Castor’s knees.
Quen comes in and gets a..

Welcome to KB’s Old School (and New School) Reviews. I’ve been reviewing wrestling shows for over twelve years now and have reviewed over 6,000 shows. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I’ll be posting a new review here on Wrestlingrumors.net. It could be anything from modern WWE to old school to indies to anything in between. Note that I rate using letters instead of stars and I don’t rate matches under three minutes as really, how good or bad can something that short be?
WrestleCon: USA vs. The World
Date: April 2, 2022
Location: Fairmont Hotel, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Veda Scott
This is about as obvious of an idea as you can get: take a bunch of wrestlers from WrestleCon weekend and put them in a bunch of matches, one country vs. the rest. This show has a tendency to be one of the weaker of the WrestleCon offerings but there are some talented people on the card. Let’s get to it.
Warrior Wrestling Lucha Libre Title: Sam Adonis (USA) vs. La Hiedra (World) vs. Mr..

There is a point to them. WWE has a complicated history when it comes to tag teams. The company has had some excellent teams over the years but there have been long stretches when teams are rarely focused on whatsoever. There are times when tag teams receive a focus and it can be interesting to see them pop up. That might be what WWE is doing again, at least with one team.
Earlier this month, a report surfaced saying that WWE was considering calling up Veer Mahaan and Sanga, collectively known as Indus Sher, from NXT to the main roster. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, this would be done to add a powerhouse team, which WWE does not currently have. There has not been such a team on the roster since the Authors of Pain, who were released in 2020.
Opinion: I’m not sure I get the thinking about not having a powerhouse team on a roster that includes the Viking Raiders, who are mostly power wrestlers. WWE does seem to have a plan in mind though and that is more than often se..

It suits him. There are certain wrestlers who are associated with certain events. Undertaker and Shawn Michaels are most famous for their Wrestlemania performances. Randy Orton has had some incredible success at Survivor Series. Roman Reigns and Steve Austin are perhaps the best Royal Rumble competitors ever. Those are some of the biggest shows of the year, but what about the lower level ones?
Mick Foley has released a music video entitled Mr. In Your House, celebrating his success at the series of WWF pay per views which were considered the more minor shows the company produced in the 1990s. Foley has referenced this moniker over the years, saying that “no one came through more when it mattered less”. Foley released the video as part of his Foley Is Pod series.
I think this speaks for itself. Check out Foley’s efforts:
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Opinion: Well that made my day. Foley is one of the most creative and entertaining wrestlers throughout history and a lot..

That takes something special. In the history of professional wrestling, there has never been anyone as powerful as Vince McMahon and there likely never will be again. McMahon ran the most dominant wrestling promotion in the world for several years and was the biggest influence on wrestling for a very long time. It was rare to see him admit a mistake, but we do know at least one time when he did so.
In his new book “There’s Just One Problem…: True Tales from the Former, One-Time, 7th Most Powerful Person in WWE”, former WWE writer Brian Gerwitz told a story of McMahon rehiring Vince Russo as a member of the creative team in 2002. After hearing Russo talk about his ideas, McMahon apologized to the team and reportedly said “This isn’t going to work…I’m sorry I brought that a****** back.” Russo’s return to the company lasted less than a month before he signed with NWA-TNA.
Opinion: McMahon is known to do a lot of things, but apologize is rarely one of them. It takes a lot for him to beli..

Smackdown
Date: September 30, 2022
Location: Canada Life Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Commentators: Corey Graves, Michael Cole
We are eight days away from Extreme Rules and the card is mostly set. There are enough matches ready to go for the show but it wouldn’t surprise me to see a little more added this week. That isn’t a bad thing as there is no major match just yet, but that leaves some ground to be covered. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Madcap Moss/Ricochet vs. Solo Sikoa/Sami Zayn Ricochet headscissors Sami down to start and snaps off a dropkick as Graves compares the Bloodline to the family on House of the Dragons. Moss and Sikoa come in with the former getting taken down into the corner for a stomping. It’s back to Zayn and everything breaks down, with the villains being sent outside. Moss LAUNCHES Ricochet over the top and onto the both of them as we take a break.
Back with Ricochet fighting out of a nerve hold but getting Samoan dropped for two. Another Samoan ..

Impact Wrestling
Date: September 29, 2022
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan
We are done with Victory Road and that means we are only a little over a week away from Bound For Glory. I’m still not sure why Victory Road was such a necessary show before the biggest night of the year but at least it wasn’t an eventful night, meaning Bound For Glory got even more build. Hopefully that can continue tonight so let’s get to it.
Opening recap.
Bullet Club vs. Trey Miguel/Laredo Kid It’s Ace Austin/Chris Bey for the Club, with Juice Robinson in their corner. Austin and Kid start things off with an exchange of wristlocks but hold on as Austin needs to hold up Too Sweet. A quick high crossbody gives Kid an early two so it’s Bey offering a distraction so Austin can take over on the arm. Bey comes in with a backbreaker as we hear about his album coming out around Halloween.
Kid slips away and hands it off to Miguel to fire off kicks at Bey..

Schedule adjustment. WWE presents a lot of events during the course of any given year. Most of these are television shows which are often designed to set up the major monthly events. Since WWE has so many of these monthly shows, they need something to make them stand out. That is what they have done with an upcoming show, but they might be making a change.
WWE is currently scheduled to present Day One on Sunday January 1, 2023 at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. However, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE is considering making some kind of a change to the show. It is not clear what change might be made, but the show might be moved to another date. Brock Lesnar is currently advertised for the show.
Opinion: The idea of having a show on the first day of the year makes sense on paper, but it is only going to work for a little while. Is WWE going to run Day One on Monday, January 1, 2024 instead of Monday Night Raw? Day One is a cool idea but I’m not sure how lo..

It could be a little while. Following AEW All Out and its media scrum on September 4, a huge brawl broke out between CM Punk, Ace Steel and Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks (the Elite). The issues came from statements that Punk had made, accusing the Elite of planting stories about him which he says are untrue. The end result was everyone being suspended and now we are waiting on their returns. It turns out we might be waiting longer than expected.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the Elite has not heard anything back from AEW about their suspensions. The company is not planning to make any public announcements about the situation and has not addressed it on AEW TV. There is a chance that legal issues are holding up the situation, along with a possible “second hold up” of unknown details. There is no word on when the Elite will be back on AEW TV, but Punk is expected to miss around eight months after tearing his tricep.
Opinion: This is a situation that is going to take..

That’s a big worry. WWE has a lot of talent on its roster with its main event scene including some of the best names in the world. Those are the names that WWE builds its shows around and it has produced some successful results. However, there are times where those wrestlers are gone for one reason or another. That is the case with a top star and it might be worse than it seems.
Randy Orton has been out of action since May of this year with a back injury and it is not clear when he will be able to return to the ring. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE is very concerned about Orton’s back injury and when he will be able to return to the ring. Orton is currently not scheduled for any events throughout the rest of the year.
Opinion: That is never good news as Orton has already been out of action for over four months and there is nothing to suggest that he is going to be back in the ring anytime soon. Orton is one of the all time greats but he is in his 40s and has wrest..