NEWS

That’s a little spooky. There are a lot of ways to present a wrestler on any given show. Sometimes the best way is to bring them out simply, have them win some matches and go from there. That is the easiest and most common method, but sometimes you need something a bit more complicated. WWE is certainly doing that at the moment and now they are at it again.
This week on Monday Night Raw, a QR cord appeared in the background of a backstage segment. Scanning the code brought up a short video of a white rabbit playing a game of Hangman, with the question “Who Killed The World” at the top. The rabbit then makes the words “YOU DID” appear on screen and “9-23” then appears. This comes less than a week after WWE played the song “White Rabbit” during a commercial break on SmackDown. It is not clear what this is referencing.
It’s certainly different. Check out what WWE aired:
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Opinion: I’m not sure what this is but it would seem to be either somethin..

Two for one. There are a lot of gimmick matches in WWE’s history, some of which are among the most iconic in wrestling. The company has held cage matches, Last Man Standing matches, Iron Man matches and several other kinds in between. WWE has covered all kinds of points throughout its history but now they are going into uncharted territory.
In a new interview with the Ringer, Triple H has announced that WWE will present a men’s and women’s WarGames match at this year’s Survivor Series. No names have been announced for the matches. The match will end the tradition of a Monday Night Raw vs. SmackDown theme to the show. WWE has never run a WarGames match, though NXT has regularly held at least one a year, normally around the same time as Survivor Series.
Opinion: I’m not sure what this is going to mean when we get to Survivor Series but from this far out, it sounds like a heck of an idea. If nothing else, it is a lot more interesting than watching Monday Night Raw vs. SmackDown again, a..

Monday Night Raw
Date: September 19, 2022
Location: SAP Center, San Jose, California
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton
We are less than three weeks away from Extreme Rules and much like we have seen in recent weeks, there is a title match as Bobby Lashley is defending the United States Title. Other than that, we should be getting some build to the pay per view, which is needing some matches added. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
United States Title: Seth Rollins vs. Bobby Lashley Lashley is defending and we get some Big Match Intros. They take their time to start with Rollins having to slip away from the power. The threat of a spear sends Rollins outside but he switches places and tries a dive. That gets pulled out of the air but Rollins avoids the posting. Back in and Rollins kicks away, only to have Lashley block the stomp by putting his hands on the mat and knock him outside.
We take a break and come back with Rollins working on the arm, which went into th..

It’s a special. WWE is in a rather strong place when it comes to their current television contracts. While Monday Night Raw and NXT are on the USA Network on Monday and Tuesday, Friday features SmackDown on the FOX Network. That is the biggest platform WWE has ever had and it means something when FOX wants more programming. That is what they will be having again later this year.
According to PWInsider.com, FOX will air a special looking at the WWE’s Top Ten Women’s Extreme Moments over the first weekend in October. The special will air at varying times throughout different markets. This special will be airing about a week before the Extreme Rules premium live event on September 8. FOX occasionally airs various specials such as this one for certain occasions.
Opinion: This is one of those things that is very good to see for WWE as FOX is confident enough in WWE programming to put it on instead of anything else they have. WWE has a built in audience and if they can bring some of those ..

That’s a big match. There are a lot of ways to present a feud in wrestling. It might be over a championship or something personal but there is often a lot of violence involved. This can often include some kind of a special gimmick or stipulation to take the feud to another level. It has worked for years and now it is happening again with a stipulation we do not see very often.
Matt Riddle and Seth Rollins have been feuding for the last several weeks, with Rollins defeating him at Clash At The Castle when Riddle got too aggressive. The two have since cost each other matches and had to be held apart this week on Monday Night Raw. Rollins shouted that Riddle could pick the next match so Riddle said in the Fight Pit at Extreme Rules. The Fight Pit has only been used in NXT and features a cage around the ring with platforms on top.
Opinion: They needed to do something big for the rematch and I like this more than some street fight or tables match or whatever. Sometimes you need to mix it ..

That could be serious. There are all kinds of injuries and health issues that can keep wrestlers out of the ring. It might be something short term that means they won’t be missing a lot of time, but there are other more serious situations that keep someone on the shelf for a long time. Then there are situations that happen to wrestlers through no fault of their own, which seems to be the case again.
In a new post to Instagram, WWE Hall Of Famer Trish Stratus has revealed that she was forced to undergo appendectomy surgery over the weekend. Stratus said that she had been dealing with a series of pain in her side and realized that something was wrong. She has since had her appendix removed and will be fine. Stratus recently appeared on Monday Night Raw as a special guest last month.
She seems in good spirits. Check out Stratus’ announcement:
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Opinion: That could have been a lot worse for Stratus as an appendicitis is the kind of thing that can..

It has been a summer of change in WWE, as the company has been shaken up in more ways than anyone would have believed to be possible. Vince McMahon finally (ahem) retired from the company and that means it is time to start filling in the power vacuum left behind. Triple H has filled in a big portion of that gap and has made some changes of his own in WWE. While there are a lot of them run together, we are going to be looking at what seems to be the biggest one, and how it ties into the future.
Triple H did a lot of things during his initial time in power in WWE and the biggest contribution he made was the rise of NXT. What used to be little more than bonus content on WWE.com/the early days of the WWE Network because a viable third brand, to the point where NXT ran away with the Battle For Brand Supremacy at Survivor Series 2019. The show wound up getting two hours on the USA Network every week and things were starting to go great.
Then came AEW and, long story short, Triple H’s NXT d..

It’s one less place. WWE has a lot of content available in any given week and that has always been a strong suit. One of the company’s biggest strengths is that they are able to present their product in a variety of places, meaning it is really hard to avoid. That has helped them quite a bit, but now it seems that they are going to be losing one of their bigger platforms.
Last week, reports surfaced that WWE’s content on Hulu was listed as expiring before the end of the month. According to PWInsider.com, the content is scheduled to be pulled on Saturday September 24 or Sunday September 25, marking the end of WWE’s content on Hulu. The deal between the two sides expires before the end of the year and while a new deal could be worked out, the two sides splitting would mark the end of a deal that has been in place since 2012.
Opinion: This is one of those things that feels more like consolidating than anything else, as WWE will likely move their Hulu content over to Peacock. That makes ..

He has spoken. Malakai Black took to social media recently and issued a statement regarding his status with AEW, mental health issues, and more. This comes after reports surfaced that he requested and was granted his release from the company.
The statement reads as follows:
All.
Firstly thank you all for your messages, know they are being read and appreciated. With all the turmoil going on in the landscape of Professional Wrestling I took the time to think of my words but also needed to wait until conversations between mine and AEW’s camp had come to a conclusion.
Firstly, I dislike reading parts of my private conversations between myself and AEW in regards to my mental well being on the internet. These conversations were private and not meant to be shared with the public. As by now most people realize I am a very private person and do not feel the need to have stuff like this out on the internet. If you’ve been following me longer than a cup of coffee you’re aware I’ve spoken abou..

They are in for a treat. Roman Reigns has dominated the last two years in WWE and there is nothing to suggest that anything will be changing in the near future. Reigns has run through almost everyone there is to face and that leaves him lacking in serious competition. There are still some big names left out there though and WWE may be moving him in the direction of one of them.
The Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada is advertising an Undisputed WWE Universal Title match between Reigns and AJ Styles at the September 24 Saturday Night’s Main Event live event. The match marks the first time Reigns and Styles have faced off in a singles match since their feud over the WWE Title in 2016. There is nothing to suggest that a televised match or feud between the two is coming anytime soon.
Opinion: I would certainly be down for a match between these two, as Styles is an all time great and one of the most successful stars in WWE today. He would make a credible threat to Rei..

That would be a big loss. There are a lot of wrestlers who comprise the AEW roster. The company has so many wrestlers in a mixture of newcomers, established names and veterans, who have come together to make for quite the impressive collection. However, sometimes a wrestler is going to head off and that seems to be happening again with a long tenured star.
AEW’s Christopher Daniels has sent out a tweet saying that he is getting close to the end of the in-ring part of his wrestling life. Daniels, 52 years old, has been wrestling since April 1993 and has wrestled in various promotions around the world. He is currently the Head Of Talent Relations and an occasional wrestler for AEW. Daniels most recently faced Konosuke Takeshita over the weekend at the Tokyo Game Show.
I’m pretty sure I’m the first person to hold the distinction of wrestling for all of these great companies in their career. As I get close to the end of the in-ring part of my wrestling life, I’m honored & humbled to have..

Get back in there! It can be difficult to keep track of everyone doing everything in WWE, and that was before all of the returning stars showed up. Those returns have made the WWE roster even bigger and that is going to make things all the more complicated. Now WWE is ready to bring a former World Champion and recently returned star back into the ring.
This week on SmackDown, WWE announced that former Universal Champion Braun Strowman will be returning to the ring for his first match since coming back to the company. Strowman is scheduled to face Otis this week on SmackDown, marking his first match for WWE since May 2021. Strowman returned to the company earlier this month and has focused on the Alpha Academy more than anyone else.
Opinion: This had to happen at some point and it is nice to get Strowman back in the ring. Like him or not, there is no denying that Strowman was one of the bigger stars in WWE and it is nice to have him back in the mix. Strowman is someone who can be adde..