NEWS

Welcome to the family. There have been a lot of changes throughout WWE in recent weeks and one of the more interesting has been the closure of NXT UK with NXT Europe on the way next year. Several of the NXT UK stars have been brought over to the main NXT roster and that has shaken things up quite a bit. Now it has happened again, with one of the top names coming over.
The main event of this week’s NXT saw JD McDonagh defeat Tyler Bate to become the new #1 contender to the NXT Title. Following the win, McDonagh and NXT Champion Bron Breakker had a staredown but former NXT United Kingdom Champion Ilja Dragunov debuted and stared both of them down. Dragunov was forced to vacate the title due to a knee injury and has not wrestled since June.
Opinion: That is the kind of addition that could be a game changer in NXT. Dragunov brings so much intensity and energy with him that it could be a huge deal. I could go for seeing a lot more of Dragunov around, as you do not see many stars like him…

It’s an idea. Wrestlers have a weird connection with acting, as they often act in their roles as wrestlers but they are rarely seen as anything more than a wrestler in mainstream acting roles. That gives them a very niche role to fill but occasionally someone will break out with a different kind of appearance. One WWE legend has an idea about how another legend should be used.
September 17 was the annual Batman Day, which prompted several discussions related to the franchise. WWE got involved by sending out a tweet asking which WWE Superstar should play Batman. Hall Of Famer Kevin Nash responded with Randy Orton, who has dabbled in acting over the years. Nash has also acted, including in the comic book movies Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 and The Punisher.
Pick a WWE Superstar to play Batman.#BatmanDay
— WWE (@WWE) September 17, 2022
@RandyOrton
— Kevin Nash (@RealKevinNash) September 18, 2022
Opinion: This is one of those things that is little more than some fun and that is nev..

NXT
Date: September 20, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett
We’re officially into the second year of NXT 2.0 which now seems to be minus the 2.0. Things seem to be moving forward into a new era around here and that should be good for NXT as a whole. I’m not sure what that is going to mean but we do have a #1 contenders match this week between Tyler Bate and JD McDonagh. Let’s get to it.
Opening recap.
Earlier today, Carmelo Hayes and Solo Sikoa came in to see Shawn Michaels and the results of the match last week cannot stand. Sikoa was not the sanctioned challenger and therefore cannot be the North American Champion. The title is handed over and Sikoa hands over the title, with Shawn wishing him luck anywhere he goes. Hayes is ready to have the title handed back to him but Shawn says not so fast. In six weeks at Halloween Havoc, there is a six man ladder match for the title.
Axiom vs. Nathan Frazer Match #2 in a best of t..

Little more warning next time please. With so many wrestlers on the WWE roster, it can be difficult to keep track of what all of them are doing. There are a lot of different ways to present WWE’s collection of stars, but sometimes they go away for a bit before getting to come back and showcase themselves again. That is the case with a certain WWE legend, but now we know when he will be back.
Last week on Monday Night Raw, Edge was taken out at the hands of Judgment Day, with the team injuring Edge’s knee in the process. As a result, Edge was put out of action indefinitely. Now though, WWE is advertising Edge for Extreme Rules on October 8, with no match announced so far. Edge last wrestled at Clash At The Castle, teaming with Rey Mysterio to defeat Judgment Day.
Opinion: I don’t think there is any surprise that Edge will be back at Extreme Rules but it might not have been the best idea to flat out say that he is going to be there so soon. It isn’t like it is some horrible storyline b..

There it goes. Titles are some of the most important parts of any wrestling show. A title makes it clear that a wrestler is one of the prominent stars, which tells fans who they need to focus on. It means something when someone wins a title but it can mean just as much when someone loses one. Now we are seeing the same thing again, as a title has changed hands through different circumstances.
This week’s edition of NXT started with Shawn Michaels calling Carmelo Hayes and NXT North American Champion Solo Sikoa into his office. Michaels said that due to Sikoa not being the designated challenger last week, Sikoa could not be the champion as he was leaving NXT. Hayes believed this meant he would be the champion again, but Michaels made a six person ladder match for Halloween Havoc on November 1.
Opinion: I can go for Michaels as the boss and I can go for Sikoa not being pinned for the title, but another ladder match isn’t doing much for me. That is such a recurring theme for NXT (and wr..

Tone it down. AEW has shaken up the wrestling world and that has mainly been a good thing. The company has opened several doors for the industry, including allowing a lot of wrestlers a new place to go. One of the ways AEW has made its mark is through some unique ideas, but now they appear to be shifting away from one of the things they have used since their inception.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, AEW is toning down its use of the ranking system. Since the titles were established, it has used a ranking system to determine the top five challengers to the World, Tag Team and Women’s Titles. However, the rankings have not been updated since before All Out and have not been emphasized as much on television in recent weeks. There is a chance that they could be brought back, but it does not seem that they will be used as much at the moment.
Opinion: This is quite the good news as I’m not sure how much good the rankings have been doing in recent months. Case in point, FTR..

That’s another take on things. Wrestling is a sport like almost every other, int hat you will always see people moving on from one promotion to another. There are some big names who stick around for a long time but more often than not, wrestlers are moving on to greener pastures on a regular basis. Occasionally a bigger name will move though, and that can create a unique situation. That was the case earlier this year.
Back in February, Cody Rhodes left AEW and returned to WWE later in the year. During a new interview with Ariel Helwani, AEW’s Maxwell Jacob Friedman discussed Rhodes leaving the company. Friedman said that the locker room viewed Rhodes leaving favorably, though not in a personal way against Rhodes. The departure opened up more doors at the top of the card, which is a good thing for any wrestler in the company. Friedman says that is how the business works, as it is a competitive sport.
Opinion: I can get the thinking here and Friedman is probably very right. Rhodes leav..

Back to the old one? Finding the right character is one of the most important things that a wrestler can do. Having the wrong presentation can doom a wrestler’s potential from the get go, but sometimes there are changes made after someone has been around for awhile. That means an adjustment might need to be made, and now the seeds for such a change could have been planted.
This week on Monday Night Raw, Bayley defeated Alexa Bliss in the show’s main event. Throughout the match, commentary suggested that Bliss was not being herself and was not putting her all into the match. According to Wrestlingnews.co, this was designed to suggest that Bliss had lost a step since her return to television. This is taking place at the same time as the White Rabbit mystery continues across WWE TV, which may have to do with the return of Bray Wyatt and a potential reunion with Bliss. There is nothing to confirm that this is the case as of yet.
Opinion: I would hope that this isn’t the case, as the idea..

That’s a good step forward. Wrestlers are larger than life characters who are regularly on television doing things that no one else would ever do in regular life. That can make for some rather interesting moments, though that is not the end of what happens to them. There are several things that take place after the cameras stop rolling and now a former wrestler is getting some good news in his personal life.
Last month, Patrick Clark, better known as Velveteen Dream, was arrested twice in the span of a week on various charges. However, according to PWInsider.com, the August 20 charges of First Degree Battery and Trespassing have been closed, as a hearing scheduled for September 28 has been canceled. Court records cited a lack of evidence in dropping the charges. Clark was recently released from a 25 day jail sentence for a probation violation stemming from the August 20 charges.
Opinion: That is some good news for Clark, but he still has more than enough legal issues to worry about. ..

Back and forth? The rise of AEW has changed the way the wrestling world works. There is suddenly a brand new company that has risen up to give wrestlers another top level place to go. That is something you only see happen once every several years and it is great to have it happening again. A lot of wrestlers have jumped over to AEW, but now one might be interested in going the other way.
Over the last few weeks, AEW’s Malakai Black’s status with the company has changed. He has recently received a conditional release from the company, leaving the four and a half years he had on his contract. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, Black wanted to return to WWE, but it is not clear how things will go due to his contract. However, it was noted that it was difficult to keep someone in a deal they do not want for four and a half years.
Opinion: I’m really not sure what is going on here but it should be interesting to see where it goes. Maybe Black does want to return to WWE and this is the..

It does make sense. Over the last few years, WWE has developed a business relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The deal has been very lucrative for WWE as the company receives millions of dollars in exchange for two shows a year in the Kingdom. WWE is returning in November with a bit of a weird main event, but now we know the reasoning behind it.
WWE has announced that the main event of November 5’s Crown Jewel event will see Logan Paul challenging Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Title. According to Dave Meltzer on the Sunday Night’s Main Event podcast, Saudi Arabia wanted Paul in the spot because he has more mainstream appeal than a regular WWE star like Kevin Owens or Seth Rollins. This will be Paul’s third WWE match to date.
Opinion: I don’t think this is much of a surprise and that is not the worst thing. Paul does seem to be someone who has a lot of natural talent and the ability to get fans’ attention when he is in front of a camera. While I can’t imagin..

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?
Bangerz Only
Date: April 2, 2022
Location: Fair Park, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Denise Salcedo, Sam Leterna, Veda Scott
This is from Mission Pro Wrestling, an all women’s promotion owned by AEW Thunder Rosa, from over Wrestlemania weekend. That means we should be in for a fun show which likely includes a fair few guest stars. I have no idea what to expect from this show and that is a nice feeling, as it could be a little bit of anything. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Shazza McKenzie vs. Janai Kai
Kai has..