Author: Bryan Rose

Miro vs. Powerhouse Hobbs set for AEW All Out

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Miro and Powerhouse Hobbs will meet soon.

It was confirmed on Saturday’s Rampage that Miro and Hobbs will meet at All Out on September 3 at the United Center in Chicago. After Hobbs defeated Kevin Ku on Saturday, Miro addressed Hobbs. He told Hobbs that they have more in common than just their muscles, for example, he believed in a book too once. He said that now he walks alone, and would get redemption at All Out.

The two started their feud after Hobbs issued the challenge on last week’s Collision. Miro came out, but was then jumped by members of QTV, who distracted Miro long enough for Hobbs to lay him out with a spinebuster.

This is the second match announced for All Out, which takes place just one week after AEW All In in Wembley Stadium. Darby Allin will face Luchasaurus after winning the Royal Rampage match last month. Allin defeated Christian Cage on Saturday’s Rampage, but was laid out after by Luchasaurus.

Here is the updated lineup for All Out:

  • TNT Championship: Luchasaurus defends against Darby Allin
  • Miro vs. Powerhouse Hobbs

CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe official for AEW All In

Posted on by Bryan Rose

CM Punk and Samoa Joe will officially meet at Wembley Stadium.

On Saturday’s Collision, Samoa Joe entered the ring to face a masked opponent called The Golden Vampire. However, it quickly became clear that The Golden Vampire was CM Punk under a mask, laying out Joe with the go to sleep. Punk then announced he accepted Samoa Joe’s challenge for All In before walking off.

It was then announced that Tony Khan had confirmed the match for Wembley Stadium. It will be for CM Punk’s Real World Championship.

Two weeks ago, Samoa Joe issued the challenge to Punk, saying he didn’t want their feud to end with a roll-up. The following week, after Punk ignored Joe’s request for a match, he choked out Punk during his and FTR’s match against The House of Black, ultimately leading to CMFTR’s loss.

Here is the updated lineup for All In:

AEW All In, Sunday, August 27, 1 p.m. Eastern time on pay-per-view —

  • AEW World Championship: MJF defends against Adam Cole
  • AEW Women’s World Championship: Hikaru Shida defends against Toni Storm, Britt Baker & Saraya
  • AEW World Tag Team Championship: FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) defend against The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson)
  • Real World Championship: CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe
  • Stadium Stampede match: Eddie Kingston, The Lucha Bros (Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix), Orange Cassidy & Best Friends (Trent Beretta & Chuck Taylor) vs. Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta) & three TBA
  • Coffin match: Sting & Darby Allin vs. Mogul Embassy (Swerve Strickland & AR Fox)
  • Chris Jericho vs. Will Ospreay
  • The Golden Elite (Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi & Hangman Page) vs. Bullet Club Gold (Jay White & Juice Robinson) & Konosuke Takeshita

Zero Hour pre-show, 12 p.m. Eastern time on AEW’s YouTube channel —

  • ROH World Tag Team Championship: Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) defend against Better Than You Bay Bay (MJF & Adam Cole)

Best-of-seven series booked for NJPW Road to Destruction

Posted on by Bryan Rose

A best-of-seven series is set to take place during NJPW’s Road to Destruction tour next month.

Off the heels of their 20 minute draw during the G1 Climax tournament, Ren Narita and Shota Umino will team against one another in a best-of-seven six-man tag team matches through the NJPW Road to Destruction tour, which starts on September 10 in Togane. Narita will team with Minoru Suzuki and El Desperado to take on Umino, Master Wato, and Yuji Nagata.

The other six matches will take place September 17 in Fukuoka, Nagoya on the 25th, Korakuen Hall on the 30th & October 1, October 7 in Miyagi, and the final match will take place at Destruction in Ryogoku on October 9 at Sumo Hall.

Here is the updated card for the October 9 Destruction event at Sumo Hall:

Destruction in Ryogoku on Monday, October 9 lineup:

  • IWGP World Heavyweight Champion SANADA defends against EVIL
  • NEVER Openweight Champion David Finlay defends against Tama Tonga
  • Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions Gabe Kidd & Alex Coughlin defend against El Phantasmo & Hikuleo
  • Shota Umino, Master Wato, and Yuji Nagata vs. Ren Narita, Minoru Suzuki, and El Desperado

FTR to appear on AEW Collision Fight for the Fallen

Posted on by Bryan Rose

FTR are set to appear on Saturday’s Fight for the Fallen edition of AEW Collision.

The AEW Tag Team Champions will make their first appearance since news of Cash Wheeler’s aggrevated assault arrest became known on Friday. The two are currently set to defend their tag titles against The Young Bucks at All In on August 27.

A match between Dalton Castle and Jay White was also added to Saturday’s show by Tony Khan on Friday night.

Ricky Starks will also make an appearance. On last week’s Collision, he announced that he had been suspended 30 days from wrestling in AEW due to attacking Ricky Steamboat. However, he said that he had secured a manager’s license.

Powerhouse Hobbs will be in action after challenging Miro on last week’s show to a match at All Out. When Miro came out, he was ambushed by members of QTV. However, it was Hobbs who eventually laid out Miro. It was also announced that we will be hearing from Miro on Saturday.

Here is the lineup for Saturday’s Collision:

  • Darby Allin vs. Christian Cage
  • Willow Nightingale vs. Diamante
  • Jay White vs. Dalton Castle
  • Ricky Starks to discuss his comments from last week
  • FTR appearance
  • Powerhouse Hobbs in action
  • We’ll hear from Miro

Jon Moxley vs. Rey Fenix, Elite vs. Bullet Club set for AEW Dynamite

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Jon Moxley vs. Rey Fenix is set for Wednesday’s Fyter Fest edition of AEW Dynamite.

The Blackpool Combat Club have been feuding with both Best Friends and the Lucha Brothers in recent weeks. As a result, Moxley will wrestle Fenix ahead of their Stadium Stampede match at All In which will see the BCC and three mystery opponents against Fenix, Penta El Zero Miedo, Best Friends, Orange Cassidy & Eddie Kingston.

The Elite (Kenny Omega & the Young Bucks) will also be in action as they will take on Juice Robinson and The Gunns.

On this past week’s Dynamite, Robinson and Jay White jumped Omega as he was giving a sitdown interview with Jim Ross. Later in the show, the Young Bucks were attacked by Robinson and White after they defeated The Gunns, which led to their All In opponents, FTR, making the save.

The ROH Tag Team titles will also be on the line with Aussie Open defending against The Hardys.

After Aussie Open retained the titles on Rampage against Brother Zay and Ethan Page, a video was shown of the Hardys congratulating Aussie Open and challenging them to a title match.

Other matches announced for Fyter Fest include Skye Blue vs. Ruby Soho and Swerve Strickland & AR Fox teaming together to take on Darby Allin & Nick Wayne.

In addition, Renee Paquette will speak to both Adam Cole and MJF. Jack Perry will retire the FTW Championship, and Chris Jericho & Will Ospreay will hold a contract signing ahead of their match at All In.

Here is everything announced for Wednesday’s Dynamite:

  • Jon Moxley vs. Rey Fenix
  • The Elite (Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks) vs. Juice Robinson & The Gunns
  • Skye Blue vs. Ruby Soho
  • Swerve Strickland & AR Fox vs. Darby Allin & Nick Wayne
  • ROH World Tag Team titles: Aussie Open vs. The Hardys
  • Jack Perry to retire the FTW Championship
  • Renee Paquette to speak to Adam Cole
  • Renee Paquette to speak to MJF
  • Chris Jericho, Will Ospreay contract signing

Jimmy Uso appearance set for next week’s WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Jimmy Uso will return to SmackDown next week.

On Friday’s SmackDown, Kayla Braxton interviewed Paul Heyman and asked about the status of The Bloodline. Heyman wouldn’t give any answers and ended up answering a call. When he returned, Heyman said he was informed that Jimmy Uso would be making his return to SmackDown next week.

Last week’s SmackDown saw Jey Uso confront Jimmy over Jimmy turning on Jey at SummerSlam. Jimmy said that he only did it because he didn’t want Jey to become tribal chief and turn into something like Roman Reigns. The segment eventually ended with Jey laying out Jimmy with a superkick and declaring he was out of WWE.

Also added to next Friday’s show is Rey Mysterio facing off against Grayson Waller. On Friday’s SmackDown, Waller accused Mysterio of not being ready to pass the torch to Escobar, something Mysterio denied. Escobar said the only person he’s mad at is Austin Theory for injuring him prior to their US title match.

Here is the updated lineup for next week’s SmackDown:

  • Jimmy Uso appears
  • Rey Mysterio vs. Grayson Waller

Stadium Stampede match announced for AEW All In

Posted on by Bryan Rose

A Stadium Stampede match has been added to All In.

The Blackpool Combat Club will team with three mystery partners to take on Eddie Kingston, The Lucha Bros., Best Friends, and Orange Cassidy in a 6 on 6 Stadium Stampede match at Wembley Stadium following events that took place on Wednesday’s Dynamite.

After Orange Cassidy retained the AEW International title against Wheeler Yuta, the rest of the Blackpool Combat Club came in and attacked Cassidy. This brought out Best Friends, then Lucha Bros.. Kingston, who has spent the last month competing in NJPW’s G1 Climax tournament, then made his return to the promotion and sent the BCC reeling, challenging them to the Stadium Stampede match.

Two Stadium Stampede matches have taken place in AEW. The first in 2020 featured members of The Elite and Matt Hardy against The Inner Circle. The second took place the following year, with members of The Pinnacle squaring off against The Inner Circle.

Here’s the updated card for All In on August 27:

  • AEW World Champion MJF defends against Adam Cole
  • AEW Tag Team Champions FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) defend against The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson)
  • AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida defends against Toni Storm, Saraya and either Britt Baker or The Bunny
  • Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, and Hangman Page vs. Konosuke Takeshita, Jay White, and Juice Robinson
  • Chris Jericho vs. Will Ospreay
  • Stadium Stampede match: Eddie Kingston, Lucha Bros., Best Friends, and Orange Cassidy vs. Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, and three other partners
  • Sting & Darby Allin vs. Swerve Strickland & AR Fox in a coffin match
  • Zero Hour pre-show: ROH Tag Team Champions Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher) defend against MJF & Adam

Kenny Omega trios match added to AEW All In

Posted on by Bryan Rose

A six-man tag match featuring The Golden Elite has been announced for Wembley.

Kenny Omega will team with Hangman Page and Kota Ibushi to take on Konosuke Takeshita, Jay White, and Juice Robinson following events that took place during Wednesday’s Dynamite.

Omega was being interviewed by Jim Ross when Callis walked interrupted, confronting Omega. This was a ruse as Takeshita jumped Omega and was soon joined by Robinson and White, leaving Omega laying on the floor after assaulting him with weapons. AEW then showed footage of Hangman Page outside of the hospital Omega was at and said that he, Omega, and Ibushi would team together at Wembley Stadium.

Callis has been feuding with Omega ever since he ended their relationship earlier this year, driving a screwdriver into Omega’s head. In recent weeks, Callis had attempted to court Chris Jericho into his group with Takeshita. Jericho initially agreed on Wednesday’s show, but turned on Callis after it was revealed Callis had been planning an attack on Jericho in the event he said no.

Here’s the updated card for All In on August 27:

  • AEW World Champion MJF defends against Adam Cole
  • AEW Tag Team Champions FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) defend against The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson)
  • AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida defends against Toni Storm, Saraya and either Britt Baker or The Bunny
  • Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, and Hangman Page vs. Konosuke Takeshita, Jay White, and Juice Robinson
  • Chris Jericho vs. Will Ospreay
  • Stadium Stampede match: Eddie Kingston, Lucha Bros., Best Friends, and Orange Cassidy vs. Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, and three other partners
  • Sting & Darby Allin vs. Swerve Strickland & AR Fox in a coffin match
  • Zero Hour pre-show: ROH Tag Team Champions Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher) defend against MJF & Adam

Dominik Mysterio & Rhea Ripley vs. Dragon Lee & Lyra Valkyria set for NXT Heatwave

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley will be wrestling on next week’s NXT.

On Tuesday’s NXT, Rhea Ripley laid out the challenge to Lee and Valkyria, upset that it wasn’t enough for Valkyria to get an endorsement from Ripley. Mysterio had successfully defended the North American title against Dragon Lee on last week’s show thanks to help from Ripley.

A match between Baron Corbin and Von Wagner is also set. Wagner confronted Corbin on Tuesday’s show, with Mr. Stone running down Corbin. Corbin responded by saying that he wanted to hear what Wagner had to say. Wagner said that Corbin could bring any of his eight characters to the ring next week, promising that he would ‘table’ Corbin. After the talking ending, Corbin attempted to cheap shot Wagner, but Wagner countered with a clothesline out of the ring.

In a video posted on social media following NXT, Ava challenged Ivy Nile to a match at Heatwave, saying after she gets done with Nile, The Creed Brothers will be forced to reveal themselves.

NXT Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton will also make an appearance on next Tuesday’s show.

Here is the updated lineup for next Tuesday’s Heatwave:

  • NXT Championship: Carmelo Hayes defends against Wes Lee
  • Ilja Dragunov vs. Trick Williams
  • NXT Heritage Cup: Nathan Fraszer defends against Noam Dar
  • Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley vs. Dragon Lee and Lyra Valkyria
  • Baron Corbin vs. Von Wagner
  • Ava vs. Ivy Nile
  • Tiffany Stratton appearance

Carmelo Hayes vs. Wes Lee title match official for NXT Heatwave

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Wes Lee will be getting a NXT Championship match next week at NXT Heatwave.

Lee defeated Dijak on Tuesday’s show to become the new number one contender for the title, currently held by Carmelo Hayes. The finish had Lee connect with the cardiac kick, then pinned Dijak with a sky twister press.

Lee had confronted champion Carmelo Hayes earlier in the show as he was signing autographs. Lee told Hayes he would soon be NXT Champion. Hayes told Lee to worry about winning the match first. After Lee had won, he again confronted Hayes, destroying his autograph table and told him to sign the contract in the ring. The main event segment of the show had the two exchange words before signing the contract for Heatwave.

The two have had issues with one another since they teamed together on the August 1 edition of NXT, where they lost to Noam Dar and Oro Mensah. Lee was upset and confronted Hayes about the loss after the match.

Here is the current lineup for Heatwave:

  • NXT Championship: Carmelo Hayes defends against Wes Lee
  • Ilja Dragunov vs. Trick Williams
  • NXT Heritage Cup: Nathan Fraszer defends against Noam Dar
  • Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley vs. Dragon Lee and Lyra Valkyria
  • Baron Corbin vs. Von Wagner
  • Ava vs. Ivy Nile
  • Tiffany Stratton appearance

Daily Update: WrestleMania 40 presale code, NXT, AEW notes

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Daily Update

Latest News

Latest Audio

Latest Free YouTube Video

See Dave & Bryan in London

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

In this issue:

  • Match of the Week and Wrestler of the Week
  • The big Saturday night with SummerSlam, UFC, Diaz vs. Paul, Collision and G-1 and who watched what
  • The departure of Brock Lesnar and his scheduled return, and departure of Ronda Rousey and her importance and the MMA rules attempt
  • The Bloodline angle
  • Business numbers including PPV, WWE buyers who bought Forbidden Door, Spence vs. Crawford and Diaz vs. Paul
  • What record did SummerSlam set and what record that it set will last only a few more weeks
  • The ruling in the Cung Le vs UFC lawsuit regarding it becoming a class action suit, what the judge said, the MLW suit against WWE, and how this lawsuit potentially affects WWE
  • Full coverage of the G-1 Climax tournament, with the storylines and match reviews from the past week
  • All In sets its own new record and update on the show
  • Full coverage of Saturday’s UFC show
  • CMLL anniversary show news
  • The most in depth look at the ratings of all national pro wrestling and MMA shows, including segment-by-segment and by different groups, as well as where the wrestling and MMA shows stood in the overall weekly cable and network standings
  • Lots of foreign stars coming to CMLL
  • TripleMania notes
  • Stardom Five Star Grand Prix tournament update
  • N-1 tournament update
  • NOAH sells out in seconds
  • New Japan’s All-Star Junior event in Philadelphia
  • Hulk Hogan and his new stories
  • Schedule of shows for London over All In weekend
  • Arenas trying to block their agreements with WWE from public view
  • Legendary tag team reunites
  • Young Bucks talk signing their new deals and current thoughts on wrestling
  • Full Gear 2023 update
  • Dynamite and Smackdown upcoming time changes for baseball playoffs
  • Lots of injury updates
  • Upcoming attendance numbers for WWE and AEW
  • International TV ratings and streaming numbers
  • Update on Forbidden Door PPV numbers
  • Dana White predicts a fight doing 10 million buys at $100 a view
  • New UFC main events
  • Bellator planning huge show
  • Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz
  • Logan Paul’s next fight and why it’s such a joke
  • Boxing superstar signs with MMA group
  • Vince McMahon’s ownership in the new UFC/WWE company
  • New Board of Directors
  • Plans for NXT
  • More on Kairi’s return
  • AEW star close to signing with WWE
  • WWE performer going for the real wrestling Triple Crown
  • How much is WWE currently worth

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter

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Tuesday Update

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WWE Raw video highlights: The Judgment Day stand tall

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The Judgment Day once again stood tall at the end of Monday’s Raw.

Despite constant interference from all members of the Judgment Day, Cody Rhodes managed to defeat Finn Balor on Raw Monday. After the match, Dominik Mysterio and Damian Priest jumped Rhodes as he was recovering. Sami Zayn came out for the save with a chair, but was stopped by JD McDonagh, who laid out Zayn. Judgment Day then continued their beatdown, with Balor giving both Zayn and Rhodes a coup de grace.

The show ended with Priest putting Zayn through a table with the Razor’s Edge, then Rhodes being taken out with another coup de grace.

Despite joining together in the end, dissension continued between Finn Balor and Damian Priest on Monday’s Raw, with Balor not taking part in the opening segment, instead sending out McDonagh to relay a message. Later backstage, Balor told Priest and the rest of Judgment Day that they needed to be on the same page for later that night..

More coverage from last night:

Raw video highlights:

The Judgment Day stand tall:

The Judgment Day lay out Cody Rhodes:

Cody Rhodes defeats Finn Balor:

Becky Lynch and Trish Stratus wrestle to a double count out:

Otis vs. Gunther:

Shinsuke Nakamura gets his World Heavyweight title match:

Indi Hartwell vs. Rhea Ripley:

The Miz hints at a LA Knight confrontation on SmackDown:

Drew McIntyre and Matt Riddle face The Viking Raiders:

Chad Gable vs. Giovanni Vinci:

Maxxine Dupri slaps Ludwig Kaiser:

Sami Zayn vs. JD McDonagh:

Piper Niven asserts herself into being Chelsea Green’s new tag team partner:

Sami Zayn attacks JD McDonagh:

JD McDonagh interrupts The Judgment Day:

Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus cage match set following WWE Raw double countout

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Becky Lynch and Trish Stratus will meet inside a steel cage.

Stratus and Lynch wrestled to a double count out on Raw Monday after the two started to brawl outside of the ring. After the bell had sounded ending the match, they brawled through the crowd and into a nearby merchandise stand. As Lynch was about to take out Stratus on top of a table Zoey Stark, who had been barred at ringside, clipped Lynch’s leg allowing Stratus to lay out Lynch, ending the segment.

Later backstage, Adam Pearce confronted Stratus and Stark, telling Stratus that she will wrestle Lynch again and next time, it would be inside a steel cage. It wasn’t said when the steel cage match will take place.

Lynch and Stratus have been feuding dating back to when Stratus turned on Lynch in the weeks following WrestleMania. The two first wrestled at Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia back in May, with Stark helping Stratus defeat Lynch. After several months, Lynch was finally awarded a match with Stratus after defeating Stark on a recent episode of Raw.

Seth Rollins accepts Shinsuke Nakamura’s challenge on WWE Raw

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Seth Rollins and Shinsuke Nakamura will soon meet for the World Heavyweight title.

On Monday’s Raw, Michael Cole interviewed Nakamura and asked him to explain his actions. Nakamura said he wanted a World Heavyweight title match. Rollins came out and the two exchanged words, with Rollins granting Nakamura a title match, telling Nakamura that he could name the time and the place.

The segment ended with the two shaking hands, but Nakamura whispered something in Rollins’ ear as he was making his exit. Whatever Nakamura said took Rollins by surprise, long enough for Nakamura to come back and lay out Rollins with the kinshasa.

Last week’s Raw saw Nakamura fill in for Sami Zayn as he teamed with Rollins and Cody Rhodes against The Judgment Day. After the match, the trio celebrated their win, only for Nakamura to lay out Rollins with a kinshasa.

Rollins last defended the World Heavyweight title at SummerSlam, successfully defeating Finn Balor. He’s been champion since May, defeating AJ Styles in a tournament final to crown the first champion.

Piper Niven declares herself Chelsea Green’s tag team partner on WWE Raw

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Piper Niven has declared herself one half of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, becoming Chelsea Green’s new tag partner.

On Raw Monday, Green was upset that Adam Pearce had suggested she vacate the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles due to Sonya Deville’s ACL tear. Green said she would call human resources and instead suggested she hold auditions to determine her new tag team partner. After Kayden Carter and Katana Chance came in to claim a title match, Chance was laid out by the returning Niven, who grabbed one of the titles and declared herself Green’s new partner.

TMZ announced last week that Green’s former tag team partner, Sonya Deville, had torn her ACL and would be out for the foreseeable future. Deville suffered the injury in a tag match with Green against Charlotte Flair and Bianca Belair on SmackDown the day before SummerSlam.

Niven has not been seen on WWE television since defeating Dana Brooke in a match on Main Event back in May. Her last match in WWE was a loss against Becky Lynch at a WWE house show in Newcastle, England on June 30.