NEWS

She’s up next. WWE has been expanding its slate of large scale shows in stadiums, meaning there are multiple events that need big time cards. The most common way to do this is with championship matches and there are several to pick from at any given point in WWE. Another of those was added to the lineup this week, as a new championship match was set for an upcoming major event.
This week on SmackDown, Shayna Baszler won a gauntlet match to become the new #1 contender to the SmackDown Women’s Title. The match featured seven women, with Baszler last eliminating Raquel Rodriguez. Baszler will receive her title shot against champion Liv Morgan at Clash At The Castle in Cardiff, Wales on September 3. This will be Baszler’s first televised shot at a singles title since Money In The Bank 2020.
Opinion: I have long since wondered how Baszler never won a singles title in WWE. While she had the great run as NXT Women’s Champion, nothing ever happened on the main roster for some reason. Hopeful..

Tick Tock. On tonight’s episode of WWE Smackdown, Karrion Kross and Scarlett officially made their return to the company to close the show.
Business just picked up!@realKILLERkross has taken out @DMcIntyreWWE on #SmackDown! pic.twitter.com/f53VjJhvFn
— WWE (@WWE) August 6, 2022
From our own Thomas Hall:
Here is the Bloodline (minus the recovering Paul Heyman) for a chat. After getting his acknowledgment, Reigns talks about how he respects Brock Lesnar but Lesnar put Paul Heyman in the hospital. Cue Drew McIntyre who says he’s ready to fight Reigns right now….but then everything goes black and white. A woman appears in the entrance and Karrion Kross returns to take out McIntyre. The woman, Scarlett, brings her hourglass to the ring and Kross stares at Reigns to end the show.
This is the duo’s first time on WWE programming since they were released in November 2021.
Editor’s Opinion:
I don’t know about you, but I marked out on my couch when his music hit. This was completely out of..

They’re back. There are a lot of titles under the WWE banner and some of them are specifically for one set of wrestlers. Those titles often have smaller fields of competitors, which means things can be a bit tighter when it comes to challenging for a championship. It is going to be the case again soon, as WWE is going to be crowning a new set of champions in the near future.
It was announced on this week’s SmackDown that a tournament would begin next week on Monday Night Raw to crown new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. There were no details on the tournament, including the participants, number of teams or when the finals would be held. Sasha Banks and Naomi vacated the titles when they walked out on WWE back in May, with a tournament being promised shortly thereafter.
Opinion: This surprises me a bit as the titles had not been mentioned in several months. I don’t know if the women’s division has the depth to support the titles but if more women are being brought in, it could work out..

Smackdown
Date: August 5, 2022
Location: Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, South Carolina
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee
We’re done with Summerslam and well on the way to Clash At The Castle, which should make for an energized few weeks. WWE seems to want to make this show into something special and they have the ability to do so. The main event is already set and now we get to see what else they have. Let’s get to it.
We open with a long recap of Summerslam.
The Bloodline arrives.
Pat McAfee gives us a telestrated recap of him kicking Happy Corbin low at Summerslam. We see the impact about ten times before cutting to the back, where a bunch of people are laughing at Corbin. Ricochet laughs a lot and gets a match with Corbin tonight as a result.
Ricochet vs. Happy Corbin Corbin throws him into the corner to start but Ricochet kicks him in the face, setting up the big flip dive to the floor. Back in and Ricochet’s springboard is broken up but he’s fine enough to block..

ROH World Heavyweight Champion Claudio Castagnoli was recently interviewed by Bleacher Report, where he discussed several topics. Among them were joining AEW, winning the ROH Heavyweight Championship, the future of the Blackpool Combat Club and more.
Below are some highlights from the interview:
On joining AEW and the matches that he had:
“[Blood and Guts] was awesome in a way that I was thrown right into the fire,” he said. “It was a kind of trial by combat, so to speak. Trial by Blackpool Combat Club [laughs]. I wrestled Zack Sabre Jr. that Sunday in a very, very technical match. I think he’s probably one of, if not the, best technical wrestlers in the world.
“And then there was the Blood and Guts match on Wednesday where I was in from the beginning to end. I’m always looking for challenges and that was definitely a big one. It’s so much fun to be in the ring with the Blackpool Combat Club.
“I’ve only known Wheeler Yuta for about a month, but it feels way longer. Bryan Danielson..

Impact Wrestling
Date: August 4, 2022
Location: Old Paristown Hall, Louisville, Kentucky
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt
We’re just over a week away from Emergence and most of the show has already been set. The World and Knockouts Title matches are ready to go but now we need to build up a little more of the card. That is what we can take care of over the next two weeks, as Emergence is already starting to look strong. Let’s get to it.
The opening recap looks at Honor No More’s issues, setting up a ten man tag at Emergence. If Honor No More wins, they get a Tag Team Title shot, but if they lose, they’re done.
Opening sequence.
Deonna Purrazzo vs. Rosemary Taya Valkyrie and Jessika are here with Rosemary but there is no Chelsea Green for some reason. They glare at each other to start before Rosemary wins a test of strength. A bite to the face in the corner sets up a bulldog to drop Purrazzo again but she’s back up to wrap Rosemary’s arm around the rope. That doesn’t do ..

Get your scripts updated. WWE has been undergoing a variety of changes and some of them are going to be felt for a long time to come. Most of these changes have been behind the scenes, but a good many of those are going to have an impact on what happens in front of the camera. That seems to be the case again, as some longstanding rules might be relaxed a bit.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE is relaxing its rule on the use of the terms “wrestler” and “wrestling” in promos. Previously, the terms needed prior authorization to be used but now the terms are no longer considered dirty. This is said to be part of the changes taking place in WWE, many of which are seen as positives. Triple H is now in charge of both creative and talent relations and is said to be someone who cares about talent.
Opinion: This is the kind of change that seems like the most logical idea in the world. At the end of the day, only WWE would ever think to call itself sports entertainment rather ..

That’s quite the number. While AEW and WWE get the most attention in the wrestling world, they are certainly not alone. There are all kinds of other promotions, some of which have television or web series that you see on a regular basis. At the same time, there are other places where it is a bit harder to find them, and one such one off show did something very impressive.
Last weekend, Jim Crockett Promotions was brought back for one night only to present Ric Flair’s Last Match. The show featured Ric Flair wrestling for the last time, teaming with Andrade El Idolo to defeat Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the event drew 6,800 fans and a gate of $448,502, both of which are the second highest results in independent wrestling history, behind All Out’s 10,541 fans and $458,525 gate.
Opinion: This is the kind of thing that you do not see happen very often but well done for Flair for having such a well received show. Flair may not have the best ..

It’s part of the business. Wrestling is a unique form of entertainment, as the industry is built around the idea of scripted feuds and rivalries. The wrestlers regularly get along behind the scenes, though that is not always the case. There are some wrestlers who do not get along no matter what, and that is the situation between two of the more prominent names today.
AEW’s Bryan Danielson was a guest on Renee Paquette’s The Sessions podcast and discussed his real life heat with the Miz. Danielson talked about the segment between the two of them on Talking Smack, where Miz yelled at him after Danielson called Miz a coward in the ring. The original idea would be for Danielson to punch Miz, either causing him to get fired or to set up a match between the two. Danielson felt that it was better to walk away and leave Miz with his momentum as he was not medically cleared to wrestle. While Danielson said that they don’t like each other, he does respect Miz for all of his hard work.
Since yo..

That’s a serious situation. Back in 2021, WWE announced the Next In Line program, which was designed to find non-wrestling athletes and bring them into the WWE system, with the chance of eventually becoming WWE stars. The program has brought in several prospects, but now one of them is facing some very serious legal issues that could change his career path in a huge way.
According to the Oklahoman, WWE NIL signee and former Oklahoma State University wrestler AJ Ferrari is facing a charge of felony sexual battery with a warrant being issued for his arrest. Ferrari was accused of holding a woman down in Stillwater, Oklahoma on July 2 and performing unwanted sexual acts on her. The woman filed an emergency protective order against Ferrari three days later. WWE has not commented on the situation or on Ferrari’s future with the NIL program.
Opinion: That is a very serious charge and if the accusations against him are true, I cannot imagine he is going to have much of a future with WWE. Fe..

He’ll have another. Wrestlers often have to rely on their talking abilities to make the fans care about what they are doing. If a wrestler is good enough with a microphone, it can open quite a few doors for their careers. This is the case for other industries outside of wrestling, and that was the case again for another legend who achieved quite the success outside of the ring.
WWE Hall Of Famer Glenn Jacobs, better known as Kane, has announced that he has been re-elected as Mayor of Knox County, Tennessee on Thursday. This marks Jacobs’ second term in office with another four year term. Jacobs has still made occasional wrestling appearances while in office, most recently at Summerslam. He also wrestled in Saudi Arabia at Crown Jewel 2018.
THANK YOU Knox County for electing me to serve a second term as your mayor.
I am so grateful for the support you have shown me and my family throughout my campaign for re-election, and will continue to do all I can to serve you to the best of my ..

NXT UK
Date: August 4, 2022
Location: BT Sports Studios, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Andy Shepherd
Things should be getting a bit more energized around here as we had the big showdown for the United Kingdom Title last week. Ilja Dragunov is going to need a fresh opponent after dispatching Wolfgang and a bigger one would be nice. This week is a title week also, as we have Meiko Satomura defending the Women’s Title against Sarray. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Here is United Kingdom Champion Ilja Dragunov for a chat….and he’s on crutches. Dragunov says he suffered a severe ankle injury during his title defense last week (insert clip here) and that means he cannot defend his title. Therefore it has to be vacated, but he isn’t going to talk about how hard this is for him.
Everyone back there is fighting hard every day and there is nothing special about him. He doesn’t regret anything he did in the ring and when he looks around the ring, there are bits of his so..