NEWS

The next generation? WWE has a rather unique structure among wrestling promotions as they have their own in-house developmental system which also happens to air on national television. As a result, fans have seen the developmental wrestlers in action before they are called up to the main roster and have seen just how good they are. That was the case with some names who appeared before this week’s television show.
According to PWInsider.com, there were a pair of dark matches before this week’s WWE Smackdown Taping, both of which featured NXT stars. First up, Raquel Gonzalez defeated SmackDown’s Toni Storm. Second, the Viking Raiders defeated the Creed Brothers, who had their Diamond Mine graphics but did not have their manager Malcolm Bivens. There is no word on potential callups for any of the wrestlers.
That’s an interesting group. Check out the NXT stars in action plus what went down on this week’s SmackDown:
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The hot tag specialist. A manager can be one of the most valuable parts of a show as you can have them do all kinds of things. They offer something every time they are a part of a match and that can even mean getting in the ring at times. These situations are not always the most successful, but every now and then you get to see something that is truly different, which was the case this week.
The post show dark match at this week’s WWE SmackDown taping saw the Bloodline face the Street Profits/Drew McIntyre in a six man tag. During the match, the Bloodline’s manager Paul Heyman took his jacket off and got on the apron. Heyman was tagged in and got in the ring, only to trip on the way in. Angelo Dawkins of the Street Profits attacked Heyman until Jey Uso made the save, sending Heyman outside as fast as he could. Heyman then leaned on the announcers’ table as Roman Reigns went over to check on him.
Heyman was looking good for a bit. Check out what he did, plus some of his official time ..

I’ll take that bet. Wrestling is quite the good choice for television programming as wrestlers often make for great on-screen characters. They are often over the top and larger than life, or at least larger than most people around them. That allows for some entertaining moments, especially if you can get them out of the ring every now and then. That was the case again this week.
Former WWE star Erick Rowan appeared on the game show You Bet Your Life this week. During the show, Rowan was mentioned as being a professional wrestler, including his loss to the Rock in six seconds at WrestleMania 32. Rowan and his partner won $5,500, the most a team can win on the show, by answering trivia questions about things associated with Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Rowan is still active, having wrestled on the independent circuit earlier this month.
Drop the answer you think is right in the comment section, then tune in tonight to see if you and this unlikely pair of contestants, get the right answer!..

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?
Smackdown
Date: May 11, 2007
Location: Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield
It’s a big show this time around with the Undertaker defending the World Title against Batista inside a cage. That alone should be enough to carry the show and….well that’s about what it’s going to do as that’s the only major thing set for the show. Unless you could spoilers that is, as WWE has already said what happens this time. Let’s get to it.
The opening video looks at Undertaker v..

That’s a heck of an accomplishment. Wrestlers have a lot of things to do in their industry, including several championships. Some of them are more prestigious than others, but it means something to be able to put a title belt around your waist. At the same time though, there are other accomplishments that mean even more and have nothing to do with wrestling. A WWE star achieved one of them this week.
Monday Night Raw star Chad Gable has announced that he has graduated from Full Sail University with a Masters of Fine Arts with a focus on Media Design. Gable graduated with a 4.0 GPA as the valedictorian and earned the Advanced Achievement Award for student most likely to succeed in their field. During the Coronavirus pandemic, Gable felt that he wanted to use some of the resources available to him, including a partnership between WWE and Full Sail University. Gable is currently part of the Alpha Academy with Otis on Monday Night Raw.
Graduated… time to play Earthbound.
Anyone else st..

Sometimes you need to mix things up. With so much wrestling available to be seen these days, there are only so many new ideas out there. At some point, fans have seen almost everything there is to see and something has to be changed up. That can be easier said than done, but you do see it fairly regularly. It is so common that it took place twice on the same show.
This week’s edition of WWE SmackDown saw two major changes for different wrestlers. First up, Shotzi accepted Charlotte’s open challenge in a losing effort. Shotzi blamed Sasha Banks, who had been at ringside, for her loss and attacked her, turning heel in the process. Later in the show, Mustafa Ali was defeated by Drew McIntyre. Following his loss, Ali complained about the fans booing him and said that it was only due to his name being Mustafa Ali. There is no word on where this is going for Ali.
It was an eventful night. Check out what happened to the two of them:
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They took some time getting here. With so many talented wrestlers on the WWE roster, it makes sense that there are going to be some issues at some point. Eventually some people are going to rub each other the wrong way, but it can be even worse if one person rubs several the wrong way. That seems to be the case now, and it has been building for a long time.
Last week, a story emerged about a backstage altercation between Becky Lynch and Charlotte. The issue began when Charlotte literally dropped the Raw Women’s Title as she handed it to Becky Lynch, which Lynch believed made her look bad. This caused a backstage backlash against Charlotte, but now we know a bit more about how bad things have been getting.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the backstage heat on Charlotte has been building for a long time. It is said to be several little things together, including Charlotte wrestling as a heel but doing babyface moves, such as dives. As a result, babyface women have had i..

It was nice while it lasted. There are a lot of wrestling promotions in the world today and some of them are going to get some more attention than others. Two of the biggest promotions going at the moment are WWE and AEW, which are rather different in how they interact with other companies. AEW is much more friendly about working with another promotion, and now we know a bit more about that.
Last week, Impact Wrestling presented its annual Bound For Glory event, which featured a main event of AEW’s Christian Cage defending the Impact Wrestling World Title against Josh Alexander in a losing effort. The show was the end of a working relationship between AEW and Impact Wrestling that had been in effect for the better part of a year. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there is a chance that the two companies could work together again, but Cage will not be returning for a rematch. There is no word on if the Good Brothers will be appearing on AEW programming again in the future..

It’s one less thing. WWE is a huge company and that offers a lot of benefits. At the same time though, it can cause some problems of its own, as there are going to be some decisions made that can force the company to do things it might not want. There is a good chance that this has to do with money, and that is the case again this time, as WWE is going to have to cut some checks.
WWE has announced that they have received preliminary approval of a settlement in a lawsuit filed against the company last year. Stockholders Ryan Merholz and Melvyn Klein sued WWE, along with several company executives, including Vince and Stephanie McMahon, Triple H, George Barrios and more, over making decisions that did not have the best interests of the shareholders in mind. There is no word on how much WWE will have to pay.
WWE has had some money issues before. Check out some of their financial moments:
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Rampage
Date: October 29, 2021
Location: Agganis Arena, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Excalibur, Chris Jericho, Ricky Starks, Taz
It’s another big night as we have a potential classic on our hands with Bryan Danielson vs. Eddie Kingston. If that isn’t enough, we also have Britt Baker vs. Abadon in a street fight and Dante Martin vs. Matt Sydal Part III. Rampage benefits a lot from the shorter time frame so they should be good to go again here. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
World Title Eliminator Tournament Semifinals: Bryan Danielson vs. Eddie Kingston Kingston drives him up against the ropes to start and fires off a hard chop. More chops in the corner rock Danielson but he moonsaults over Kingston to set up the running clothesline. Kingston needs a breather on the floor but comes back in and blocks a single leg. Instead it’s Danielson being taken into the corner for more hard chops and a running knee to the ribs.
Danielson staggers around with his chest getting very red..

Smackdown
Date: October 29, 2021
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Pat McAfee, Michael Cole
We’re still on the way to Survivor Series and this week seems likely to be the Halloween themed show. That means we get a Trick Or Street Fight, because the world was waiting on another chapter in Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Happy Corbin. At least this version is a tag match though so let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Here is Charlotte for a chat, with commentary referencing last week’s “feisty” title exchange with Becky Lynch. She talks about how great she is and how no one can do what she does, because her winning another title is just another Friday. Cue Sasha Banks to interrupt and laugh at the idea of Charlotte being a leader around here. She wants another title shot but Charlotte thinks it should be someone new. Cue Shotzi in the tank to say she’ll have a shot and Charlotte says ok. Shotzi shoots the tank to celebrate.
Shotzi vs. Charlotte Non-title but a..

Impact Wrestling
Date: October 28, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Matt Striker, D’Lo Brown
We’re at the beginning of a new era in Impact Wrestling as this is the first show after Bound For Glory. We do have a new World Champion, but it is not Josh Alexander, who was challenging Christian Cage at the pay per view. Alexander did win, but Moose cashed in his Call Your Shot title match to leave as champion. That’s your big story and now we get to see everything else too. Let’s get to it.
We open with a long recap of Bound For Glory.
Opening sequence.
Here is Moose to get things going but cue Eddie Edwards with a kendo stick. The brawl is on with Moose tossing him outside but getting caught with some kendo stick shots. Security breaks it up and gets Eddie to the back, meaning it’s time for Moose’s title win. Moose talks about everything he had to do to get here and brags about finally getting his hands on the title. He took the title from Josh Alexande..