NEWS

Please come back? AEW has done a lot of impressive things during its few years as a wrestling promotion and a lot of that has been due to its roster. The company has put together a mixture of current, upcoming and past stars to make a rather diverse roster. They have also brought in several international stars, but now one of them will not be around much longer.
AEW’s Konosuke Takeshita has announced that he will be returning to Japan for a big DDT-Pro show and does not have much time left in the United States. He also said that he hopes to come back soon and that fans feel the same way. Takeshita has been appearing for AEW since April, facing such names as Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston. It is not clear when he will return to the company.
Your support really encouraged me!!
I have to go back to Japan at the DDT big show on August 20. I don't have much time left in the US. I hope to come back to here soon and I hope you all feel the same way.#AEWDarkElevation https://t.co/0yy1Ri..

It’s good to have him back. There are a lot of wrestlers in the world today but there are also a lot of ways to slow them down. Sometimes a wrestler is going to have something happen to them that puts them on the shelf for one reason or another and they are rarely good things. That was the case with an NXT star but now a little time has passed and he is back.
NXT’s Nathan Frazer made his return to television this week, following about a month away. Frazer sent out a tweet on June 28 announcing that he was dealing with a bit of an injury but would be back “before you know it”. He made his return this week, appearing with Chase U and saving Andre Chase from a post match attack at the hands of Giovanni Vinci. Frazer has not wrestled on television since June 7.
Opinion: It’s always good to see someone return from an injury as the wait times can be rather long for anyone who gets hurt. Thankfully Frazer wasn’t gone for that long and seems to be ready to return to the ring. He is a rather ..

Call it a scheduling conflict? There are a lot of wrestling promotions in the world today but only a handful are at the top level. WWE and AEW are at the top of the list and the two are in combat for dominance in the United States. They went head to head for a good while under the Wednesday Night Wars, and now they might be going at it again for one day only later this year.
AEW has announced that its next pay per view, All Out, will be taking place on Sunday September 4. According to Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston, the next NXT special will take place on the same day and air on Peacock. It is not clear if the shows will take place at the same time. This is one day after WWE presents Clash At The Castle in Cardiff, Wales, though it is not clear where the NXT event would take place.
Opinion: It would not surprise me whatsoever to see these shows overlap because both companies seem to like to try something like this. It’s rather annoying for fans who want to watch both, but why go wit..

She’s a star. There have been a lot of wrestlers throughout WWE’s history but only a few of them have reached legendary status. These are wrestlers that are remembered for a long time to come, though sometimes they are more remembered for something a little less positive. That was the case with a legend who appeared on WWE TV this week with a reference to her more infamous moment.
WWE Hall of Famer Alundra Blayze appeared on this week’s edition of NXT, where she accepted Roxanne Perez’s half of the NXT Tag Team Titles, leaving them officially vacant. Blayze announced a fatal four way for the vacant titles next week, with Valentina Feroz/Yulisa Leon vs. Ivy Nile/Tatum Paxley vs. Katana Chance/Kayden Carter vs. Toxic Attraction. Blayze’s appearance was in reference to Cora Jade dropping her title in the trash last week, ala Blayze with the WWF Women’s Title in 1995.
Opinion: It was quite the random cameo, but at least it does have something of a history. There were not many other optio..

NXT
Date: July 26, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph
It’s the first show of the new regime and I’m not sure how much of a difference that is going to make. NXT seems a bit more planned out that Raw and Smackdown so it might be a little while before the impact takes hold. Maybe they have a few surprises or at least ideas this week though so let’s get to it.
Here is the recently returned Zoey Stark for a chat. She is REALLY happy to be back and talks about being on the shelf since October after tearing her ACL and MCL. The doctors told her it would be over a year before she could return, but she worked in that trainer’s room so hard and beat the expectations by four months. Now she is the #1 contender for the Women’s Title and only has Toxic Attraction standing in her way. Cue Cora Jade on the platform to say she is already sick of Stark.
Jade was ready to be champion but Stark had to take HER MOMENT, just like Roxanne Per..

Call it a leftover? The biggest wrestling story in quite a log time took place last week as Vince McMahon retired from WWE after forty plus years running the company. That is going to be one of those shakeups that will have repercussions for years to come and the question now is to find out where things are going from here. There are some things that still needed to be updated and that was the case this week.
According to Wrestling Observer Radio, this week’s edition of Monday Night Raw was mostly written before McMahon retired and was not a reflection of the new direction of the show. Most of the show was written by Thursday, with McMahon leaving on Friday. There were a few minor changes made, though it is not clear what they were. It is likely that this week’s SmackDown was written following McMahon’s departure.
Opinion: I don’t think this is much of a surprise as there was little room to make a bunch of changes after McMahon left the company. Let them have the time to set things u..

The people let them know. There is an old Lance Storm line about wrestling audiences: there are a lot more people on the other side of that camera. That is certainly true, but there are often a good number of fans in the arena. While their numbers may be smaller, the feedback is instant, as a live crowd can tell you something in person. That was the case this week, but not in the most positive way.
This week’s Monday Night Raw opened with a brawl in progress between the Miz and Logan Paul. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, this was done to prevent the live fans from booing Paul to open the show. Paul is being presented as the babyface in the story but is still being booed by the fans in attendance. He would appear later in the night, with the hope that fans would have the booing out of their system by booing him before the show began. Paul is expected to face Miz on Saturday at Summerslam.
Opinion: I’m curious to see how Saturday is going to go at this rate, as Paul is the kind ..

Perhaps the top story in professional wrestling in the last 20 years took place last week as Vince McMahon announced that he was retiring and stepping away from WWE. This means that for the first time in 40 years, there will be new leadership in the most profitable wrestling company in history.
Naturally, this decision would lead to several mixed responses from all different members of the wrestling community. Current and former wrestlers, employees, dirt sheet writers, and fans have different memories, thoughts, and feelings about the legacy Mr. McMahon will leave behind.
Not to be outdone, AEW President and CEO Tony Khan also chimed in and gave his thoughts on the landscape of professional wrestling. However, in doing so, he may have unintentionally done something that will spark a chain of events I have seen coming for about three years.
In my opinion, with one single tweet, Tony Khan has shown the world what really matters to him and, in doing so, has foretold the demise and dow..

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?
Armageddon 2007
Date: December 16, 2007
Location: Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 12,500
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Joey Styles, Taz
It’s the final pay per view of the year and it’s more or less a one match show. While there is a Raw main event of Chris Jericho challenging Randy Orton for the Raw World Title, the real main event here is Smackdown World Champion Batista defending the Smackdown World Title against Undertaker and Edge in a triple thr..

He might be next in line. There are a lot of changes taking place in WWE at the moment and they very well could rock the company for a long time to come. That is the kind of thing that you do not get to see happen very often and it is a rare situation where a lot of movement could take place as a result. It seems possible that one person in particular could benefit behind the scenes.
According to a Pro Wrestling Torch VIP Audio show, Paul Heyman may be set to move up in WWE’s creative due to Stephanie McMahon becoming the co-CEO of the company. Heyman and Triple H are said to be close and Heyman’s relationship with McMahon has improved over the years. Heyman was in charge of Monday Night Raw for several months starting in 2020 before being replaced by Bruce Prichard.
Opinion: Now this is intriguing as the power vacuum left by Vince McMahon’s absence begins to be filled. Vince ran the company for such a long time that there were very few people with significant authority. Things seem ..

It might be in order. There have been a lot of changes to WWE in the last few weeks and those changes are likely to continue for the time being. The company has undergone a series of major shakeups behind the scenes which could cause a lot of changes in front of the camera. That meant that an explanation was in order and that was the case this week before Monday Night Raw.
According to Fightful Select, there was a talent meeting held before this week’s Monday Night Raw with Triple H in charge. Triple H announced that he wanted to have a new level of transparency in WWE and for work to be more fun than it was before. The meeting was said to have been positive, as it looked to reverse the issues of wrestlers having to wait a long time to meet with Vince McMahon if necessary. Triple H took over as head of creative and Head Of Talent Relations in the last few days following the departures of John Laurinaitis and Vince McMahon.
Opinion: This is one of those things where it sounds great on..

Welcome back. Wrestling is built on the idea of long term stories and that means things can be shaken up in a big way if someone is taken out. One of the most common ways this happens is through an injury, as a wrestler can be put on the shelf for a period of time. That was the case with a Monday Night Raw star, but now she is back and already getting physical.
Rhea Ripley made her return to television on this week’s Monday Night Raw. Ripley appeared in a backstage segment to distract Rey Mysterio, allowing the rest of her Judgment Day teammates to attack him. Later in the show, Ripley appeared again and kicked Mysterio in his injured arm. This was Ripley’s first appearance since June 13 as she was pulled due to a variety of medical issues.
Opinion: It’s great to have Ripley back as you never want to see someone go on the shelf for any length of time. Ripley is someone who could be inserted into the Raw Women’s Title picture without much trouble and it would be nice to have some fres..