An emotional Bray Wyatt addressed his return to WWE on last night’s episode of SmackDown.
After making his return at Extreme Rules, Wyatt spoke to the audience in the main event segment of SmackDown last night. Wyatt said he was incredibly grateful but nervous to be there because he never thought this would happen.
Wyatt said that — for the first time — this was just him. The genuine Bray Wyatt is a version of himself that he’s never introduced to the audience before. Wyatt said he lost a lot of things over the past year: his career, his self-confidence, two people who were very close to him, and he lost his way.
Wyatt noted that he got to a point where he thought everything he’d ever done was meaningless and didn’t matter to anyone, but he was wrong about that. Once he was done feeling sorry for himself, he went out back into the world and had remarkable interactions with fans. People who were dealing with the same issues as him told Wyatt that his words helped them and saved their life.
Wyatt said the fans saved his life when he was weak and vulnerable. Whenever he tried to run away and hide, the fans were there to find him.
As Wyatt was speaking, the lights went out and he then appeared on the screen wearing a mask. The masked Wyatt delivered a message: “Oh little one, my little one. Come with me. Your life is done. Forget the future. Forget the past. Life is over. Breathe your last. You’ve got no idea who you’re dealing with, do ya? Oh, but you will. You will.”
SmackDown’s fallout from Extreme Rules takes place on tonight’s episode from the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.
After making his highly anticipated WWE return at last Saturday’s pay-per-view, Bray Wyatt will be on SmackDown tonight. We’ll see if Wyatt gives any insight into why he’s chosen to return to WWE.
A new number-one contender for Gunther’s Intercontinental Championship will be determined in a fatal four-way match. Sheamus, Ricochet, Karrion Kross, and Solo Sikoa are competing in the four-way match.
Gunther retained against Sheamus on SmackDown last Friday, but he needed to cheat to get the win. The Brawling Brutes (Sheamus, Ridge Holland & Butch) then defeated Imperium (Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci) in a six-man Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook at Extreme Rules.
Kofi Kingston vs. Sami Zayn and LA Knight vs. Mansoor are also scheduled for tonight’s show. Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
**********
Show Recap:
SmackDown opened in the parking at the scene of a car accident. Michael Cole explained that Karrion Kross and Scarlett were in an accident. Medical personnel tried to check on them. Suddenly, Drew McIntyre ran out and attacked Kross.
It didn’t appear that McIntyre was responsible for the accident as he came running in from the opposite direction.
Cole and Wade Barrett discussed the ending of the McIntyre vs. Kross strap match from Extreme Rules. They noted that Kross is still scheduled for the fatal four-way tonight.
Later, Cole mentions an ongoing investigation.
*******
The New Day made their way to the ring for Kofi Kingston’s match. They reminded the fans that they held the tag team titles for 483 days.
Sami Zayn spoke with Sola Sikoa and Jey Uso behind the curtain. Jimmy’s not there because he’s taking care of business. Zayn decided to give Sikoa the night off and told Jey to watch his back tonight, unlike Monday.
Jey was furious when Roman Reigns called Zayn. Zayn blamed Jey for his loss on Monday. Reigns yelled at Jey over the phone and told him to make sure Zayn gets the win tonight.
Zayn got back on the phone and laughed. Jey wanted to know what was funny, but Zayn said it was an inside joke.
Sami Zayn (w/Jey Uso) defeated Kofi Kingston (w/Xavier Woods) (14:53)
Not surprisingly, Kingston and Zayn had an excellent fast-paced match. The finish was clever and played into the storyline. Despite his hatred for Zayn, Jey actually interferes and helps Zayn pick up the win. Later, it’s revealed that Zayn thinks he won without help because neither Zayn nor Sikoa saw Jey interfere.
They went back and forth for about a minute. Kingston took over and sent Zayn to the floor as they went to an early commercial break.
Back from the commercial, Zayn took over and rocked Kingston with forearm shots. He slowed the pace down with a chin lock. Kingston escaped, but Zayn rocked him with a clothesline for a near fall. After a scoop slam, Zayn leaped off the top rope. Kingston recovered and caught Zayn with a dropkick in mid-air.
Kingston ran wild and climbed to the top rope. Zayn jumped to his feet and shoved him to the floor.
Back from the break, Kingston hit the SOS for a close near fall. As Kingston climbed the turnbuckle, Zayn rolled to the floor. Kingston re-adjusted and hit a dive to the floor, wiping out Zayn.
At ringside, Uso and Woods started arguing. Uso rocked Woods with a superkick, which distracted Kingston. Zayn took advantage and hit the blue thunder bomb for a very close near fall.
Kingston recovered, but Uso interfered again. Kingston rolled up Zayn and had the match won. Uso slipped in behind the referee’s back and reversed them. Zayn held on and pinned Kingston for the win.
*******
In the back, Triple H spoke with officers, presumably about Karrion Kross’ car accident.
Rey Mysterio approached and gave a heartfelt speech about his recent problems with Dominik Mysterio. Rey noted he couldn’t take it anymore and refused to fight his son. He came to SmackDown to tell Hunter that he was quitting.
Triple H wouldn’t let him leave and pleaded with Mysterio to give him a few minutes to figure something out. They entered Triple H’s office.
*********
In the locker room, Roxanne Perez spoke with Shotzi when Raquel Rodriguez walked in. They discussed Perez taking on Cora Jade at Halloween Havoc. Perez explained the pick your poison and asked Rodriguez to take on Jade on NXT.
Damage Control interrupted. Bayley told Perez it was a mistake not to pick her. Perez angered Bayley when he pointed out she was on a losing streak. Bayley didn’t like that comment and challenged the three to a tag match later.
********
Braun Strowman defeated James Maverick and Brian Thomas (1:36)
Strowman looked dominant as he squashed these two local enhancement talents. During the match, Omos and MVP walked to ringside.
Strowman threw Maverick and Thomas around the ring. Thomas tried fighting back, but Strowman killed him with a clothesline. He looked over at Omos as he powerbombed Thomas onto Maverick for the win.
After the match, MVP gave credit where it was due and praised Strowman. But, Strowman looks normal standing next to Omos. He ended by saying that some monsters stay in the shadows. Cole had to repeat the line because MVP had difficulty getting it out.
********
They recapped the Donnybrook match from Extreme Rules.
Sami Zayn, Jey Uso, and Solo Sikoa discussed Zayn’s win. Uso tried taking credit, but Zayn thinks he won the match alone. Neither Zayn nor Sikoa saw Uso help Zayn win. Zayn refused to give Uso credit. Sikoa’s focused on winning the fatal four-way later. He was paying close attention to Zayn because he could learn a lot from him. Uso didn’t like that comment.
**********
They recapped LA Knight turning on Maximum Male Models last week.
LA Knight defeated mån.sôör (w/Maxine Dupri & ma.çé) (2:53)
There wasn’t much to this match. It was basically a squash to give Knight the spotlight.
LA Knight jumped mån.sôör before the bell. After a distraction from Maxine Dupri, mån.sôör took over and slowed the pace down with a chin lock.
Knight escaped and hit a jumping neck breaker. He caught the boot and flipped mån.sôör over. Following up with a hard clothesline, Knight knocked ma.çé off the apron. He then hit the BFT for the win.
After the match, Knight turned on the crowd and noted he didn’t win the match for them. He sent a warning to the locker room.
*********
A video package recapped Bray Wyatt’s return at Extreme Rules.
It started off slow but turned into a good match by the end. It had good pacing and key spots to get everyone over. They gave Perez a lot of time to shine. She looked good in her debut and made a good impression.
After outmaneuvering Dakota Kai, Perez dominated Iyo Sky and sent her out of the ring. She followed up with a suicide dive on Bayley.
Shotzi tagged into a good reaction, but the heels quickly took over. They isolated her on their side of the ring. Rodriguez got the hot tag and ran wild on the heels. She tried to press slam Perez onto Sky and Kai at ringside, but Bayley cut her off.
Sky and Kai pulled Rodriguez out of the ring. Rodriguez held up Kai for a powerbomb, but Sky took them out with a moonsault. Shotzi then hit a flying crossbody onto the pile.
Perez and Bayley went back and forth on their own for the last few minutes. Perez reversed the Bayley-to-belly for a close near fall. Bayley struggled to put Perez away. Perez reversed the Rose Plant, but Bayley reversed again for the win.
**********
A video package recapped Legado Del Fantasma debuting last week and attacking Hit Row.
Bray Wyatt’s symbol flashed on the screen as Hit Row walked to the ring.
A video package recapped Liv Morgan vs. Ronda Rousey from Extreme Rules.
Another Viking vignette aired, this time narrated by Sarah Logan.
Legado Del Fantasma (Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro) defeated Hit Row (w/B. Fab) (1:22)
The pre-match brawl made Wilde and Del Toro appear weak for their debut. The match itself felt rushed since they only had a minute. The fans never got a chance to get into it, either. It felt like a flat debut for Wilde and Del Toro.
Santos Escobar and Zelina Vega didn’t stay at ringside and walked to the back.
Ashante “Thee” Adonis and Top Dolla jumped Wilde and Del Toro in the aisle. They beat them down for several minutes before the match.
Finally, the referee started the match, and Hit Row kept dominating Wilde and Del Toro. Suddenly, Santos Escobar appeared and attacked Adonis, then rolled under the ring. Zelina Vega ran out of the crowd and took out B Fab. Wilde and Del Toro took over and hit the sacrificio for the win.
*******
In the back, Kayla Braxton interviewed Sonya Deville. She mocked Liv Morgan for losing the title. Right on cue, Morgan jumped Deville. They brawled around the backstage area. Mogan then placed Deville on a table, climbed up a structure, and hit a senton onto Deville.
*********
Fatal Four-Way Number One Contender’s Match: Rey Mysterio defeated Sheamus, Ricochet, and Solo Sikoa (16:17)
A wild fatal four-way with non-stop action that told several stories. Mysterio was about to quit earlier in the night and is now the number-one contender for the Intercontinental title. Plus, they set up a feud between The Bloodline and Brawling Brutes.
Before the match, they announced that Karrion Kross was out due to an injury. They introduced the replacement Rey Mysterio to a huge reaction. During the match, Michael Cole announced Mysterio’s an official member of the SmackDown roster.
After Sikoa and Ricochet fought out of the ring, Mysterio sent Sheamus to ringside and hit a dive onto the pile.
Back from the break, Sheamus caught Mysterio with a backbreaker. He teased the Brogue kick, but Sikoa rocked Mysterio with a clothesline instead. Sheamus and Sikoa squared off to a pop from the fans.
Sheamus sent Sikoa to the floor, but Sikoa caught him with a Samoan drop. Ricochet took out Sikoa with a suicide dive, and Mysterio hit a splash on Sheamus.
Ricochet and Mysterio squared off to a huge reaction. They went back and forth, trading pinfall attempts. Ricochet caught Mysterio in a Northern lights suplex into a suplex for a near fall. He climbed to the top rope, but Sikoa jumped back in and ran wild. He destroyed Ricochet with a clothesline and rocked Sheamus with a spinning heel kick.
Back from the commercial, Sikoa was firmly in control as he beat down everyone. Sheamus recovered with a pair of boots to Sikoa’s face. Sheamus climbed to the top rope, but Ricochet and Mysterio cut him off. They attempted a double suplex, but Sikoa cut them off with a double powerbomb. Sheamus broke up the pin attempt with a knee of the top rope.
Sheamus destroyed Sikoa with the 26 beats of the bodhran. After the Irish curse backbreaker, Sheamus locked on the cloverleaf. Jey Uso and Sami Zayn ran out to attack Sheamus. Butch and Ridge Holland ran out to save Sheamus. Sheamus and Sikoa joined in on the brawl. The Bloodline and Brawling Brutes fought to the back.
In the ring, Mysterio set up for the 619, but Ricochet blocked it. Mysterio recovered and spiked Ricochet on top of his head. He hit the 619 and finished off Ricochet with a frog splash for the win.
Mysterio celebrated his win after the match. He’s happy to be on SmackDown and the number one contender for the Intercontinental title.
*******
Bray Wyatt Returns
Whoever came up with this brilliant ending should get a bonus. Bray Wyatt addressed the fans as himself or “the real” Bray Wyatt. He was nervous and stumbling over his words as he poured his heart out to the fans. It was an emotional segment that took a hard turn at the end.
A creepy video of a man in a mask appeared on the big screen. It was cinematic, weird, eerie, and mysterious. Wyatt’s promo perfectly set up the creepy video too. It was a well-done cliffhanger.
With new entrance music, Bray Wyatt returned to a big reaction. He admitted he didn’t know how to feel. He got emotional and added he never got to show this side of himself. He’s just himself. Wyatt said it was a challenging year because he lost his job, his self-confidence, and two close people in his life. He thought everything he did in the WWE didn’t matter, but he was wrong.
Wyatt discussed fans approaching him and thanking him for everything he did. The fans erupted into a “Thank you, Bray” chant. He thanked the fans for being there for him. They found him at his lowest and wouldn’t let him run away. He thanked the fans again. But suddenly…
The lights went out. A creepy masked man appeared on the big screen. It seemed to be the mask Wyatt wore briefly at Extreme Rules. The man in the video said to come with him because your life’s done. Forget the future and forget the past. You have no idea who you’re dealing with, but you will. One last evil laugh and SmackDown ended with quite the cliffhanger.
*********
Next Week: Logan Paul Returns. Plus, WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Damage CTRL defends against Raquel Rodriguez & Shotzi. Also, Liv Morgan takes on Sonya Deville.
The return of Bray Wyatt was the headline event at the 10/8 Extreme Rules PPV.
Windham Rotunda, 35, had last worked for WWE in a match with Randy Orton at the 2021 WrestleMania as The Fiend, a heel character with superpowers that also did big merchandise numbers. At the time he was one of the company’s four highest-paid wrestlers along with Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, and Randy Orton. But after being given time off, he was fired on July 31, 2021. Shortly after that time, he teased returning using the name Wyndham. There was interest from AEW, AAA, and Impact, but none came to fruition, in at least two if not all of the cases because the sides were far apart on money. He then changed his social media name to Wyatt6, and was in serious talks about returning to WWE, and the new deal was struck.
Wyatt6 apparently refers to a group that he will lead, that includes renditions of his different Firefly Fun House characters. His return was teased with codes on television, including leading to a huge rating for the 9/23 Smackdown show when people thought he was returning. They also did teases at every arena show and during commercial breaks for the live audience at television shows. After the 9/23 tease amounted to nothing but a very brief code, the next teases were for the 10/8 show including clips of ECW to signify Extreme. All the teases led to his character and it was an attempt in its own way to do what AEW did with C.M. Punk, which basically tells you he’s returning without outright telling you or advertising it. Because it worked with Punk, both in selling out the United Center and doing by far the largest ratings that Rampage will ever do, it will be copied over and over going forward. Although, it will only work with a very popular character.
The legacy of Inoki, his title histories and highlights, where he stands in Japanese culture, record attendances and gates, stadium shows from around the world, merchandise, major opponents, hostage settlement, Ali vs. Inoki, Bruno Sammartino, the complete story on the most famous mixed martial arts match of its generation, the heyday of wrestling in Japanese domed stadiums, Inoki vs. Don Frye, Inoki’s career start, and his heyday over more than 30 year, formation of new Japan and IGF, New Year’s Eve specials on network television, famous programs with Hogan, Andre, Backlund and Singh, his matches against international stars and stars from other sports, his legacy in foreign countries, the Inoki vs. Maeda and Inoki vs. Baba matches that didn’t happen, and so much more.
What happened with Sammy Guevara and Andrade, from multiple people who were there
WWE PPV business update
WWE television changes
Giulia, the Five Star Grand Prix, biggest match for Stardom at the end of the year and notes on the show
Television ratings for every national show this past week
New Japan Declaration of Power
New Japan notes from England
The story of AEW changing its Latin American distribution
New AEW signing and where other potential signings stand
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Tuesday News Update
WWE
PWInsider is reporting that moving forward, Bray Wyatt will be making appearances exclusively on SmackDown. Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows, who made their return on Raw on Monday, are slated to be exclusive to Raw.
Matt Riddle is the guest on this week’s After the Bell with Corey Graves.
This week’s AEW Road to Toronto, focusing on Bryan Danielson vs. Chris Jericho for the ROH World Championship and PAC vs. Orange Cassidy for the AEW All-Atlantic Championship.
AEW announced on social media that they will be releasing production holds for ticket sales today ahead of their debut in Toronto on Wednesday.
Chris Jericho was interviewed by Now Toronto regarding the upcoming debut. “It’s been a long time coming,” he said regarding the company touring Canada. “Right out of the gate we were a big hit in Canada. I know our numbers on TSN are really good. But we had this little thing called the worldwide pandemic that delayed getting here. I was always asking, “When are we hitting Canada? When’s Toronto?” Now that it’s almost time… it’s really exciting. Toronto wrestling fans are off the charts. Whenever someone asks about the best wrestling cities in the world I always say London, Chicago, Tokyo and Toronto. Toronto is loud. You cheer for who you want to cheer for… sometimes that would drive WWE heads of state crazy. They would call it bizzaro land. But that’s the Canadian way. We’ll go nuts for who we like and we’ll boo who we hate. We don’t care what we are “supposed” to do. I’m excited to see the reaction we get.”
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including RAW from Monday night, the returns of Brock Lesnar and the Good Brothers, NXT preview, Smackdown and AEW ratings from last Friday night, tons of news and more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
WWE later confirmed on social media that Wyatt will be appearing on SmackDown this Friday. The original story can be seen below.
Original story:
WWE is advertising Bray Wyatt for Friday’s SmackDown show in New Orleans.
Wyatt, who returned to WWE after a 14-month absence at last Saturday’s Extreme Rules event, is advertised for this week’s SmackDown taping on WWE.com. The listing appears as follows:
Another QR code aired during Monday’s Raw, pointing to an online puzzle that revealed Wyatt’s new WWE logo. Additionally, another Wyatt video aired during the show:
Wyatt’s Extreme Rules return was recapped on Raw with a full video package, plus Wyatt was the focus of the promo video for SmackDown that aired on Raw, although his Friday appearance was never explicitly announced on television.
Wyatt returned with an elaborate entrance at Extreme Rules, with extensive visual effects, and references to his Firefly Funhouse characters and Fiend character.
Wyatt debuted a new mask in his return as well, with a design playing off the Guy Fawkes mask popularized by the 2005 V for Vendetta film, which later became the symbol for the Anonymous online activist group.
Date: October 10, 2022 Location: Barclay Center in Brooklyn, New York
The Big Takeaway —
Despite some returns and special appearances, this was a remarkably by-the-numbers edition of Raw.
Show Recap —
Shawn Michaels, Road Dogg and X-Pac were in Gorilla Position in DX gear asking each other if they were ready. They then pointed off-screen to Triple H to ask if he was ready. The camera panned to Hunter who was wearing a suit and had a headset on.
Hunter told them to have fun but to be careful because they can’t do what they used to. He warned them not to swear too. They took turns swearing, some of which were censored. Michaels asked who left out four cocks. They cut to four toy roosters. Michaels, Road Dogg, and X-Pac left, so I guess the reunion is later.
Corey Graves welcomed us to Raw and introduced our new play-by-play announcer, Kevin Patrick. They ran down Raw and said we would relive the return of Bray Wyatt last night (so he may not necessarily be appearing tonight).
The Bloodline segment
Roman Reigns and the Bloodline entered. Reigns said you’re always looking ahead when you’re the greatest of all time. His dad always taught him that the loudest in the room was always the weakest in the room. Sami Zayn suddenly looked concerned but Reigns actually singled out Jey Uso.
Zayn interrupted and the crowd chanted for him. Zayn wanted to handle Jey on Reigns’ behalf. Reigns chuckled and said, “he really is the honourary Uce.” Reigns gladly allowed him to continue.
Zayn spoke to Jey who did his best to ignore him. Zayn told Jey that his behaviour of late hasn’t been very “Us-y.” The crowd chanted “Us-y” and Jimmy Uso was amused. Zayn got the crowd to chant for Jimmy and Solo Sikoa. Jimmy was having fun with it but Sikoa remained stoic. Zayn told Jey he needs to be cool like the rest of them.
Jey looked through Zayn and asked Reigns if he was ribbing him. Reigns basically blew him off because this was Zayn’s segment.
Matt Riddle interrupted. Riddle let us know that he beat Seth Rollins in the fight pit. He knew that there was a stipulation that he couldn’t fight Reigns again for the title but his argument for a title match was “come on, bro.” He got the crowd into it. Reigns said no.
Riddle said maybe another member of the Bloodline should fight him. The crowd chanted for Sami so Jey told him he should do it. They got into a petty argument until Zayn challenged Riddle and he accepted.
(Zayn was good here but this wasn’t much of a segment.)
********
There was an Extreme Rules recap video where they showed quick highlights from every match. They often show video packages, of course, but this was something a little bit different. (They didn’t show Wyatt’s return.)
Johnny Gargano defeated Austin Theory (8:50)
Theory controlled through an early break after suplexing Gargano onto the apron. Theory applied the Gargano Escape but Gargano escaped and applied the Gargano Escape but Theory escaped and hit a superkick. Gargano came back with his own superkick and a suicide dive into a DDT followed by One Final Beat for the pinfall win.
********
Uli Latukefu from ‘Young Rock’ was shown at ringside.
Rey Mysterio defeated Chad Gable (w/Otis) (7:47)
Rey and Gable could have a killer match but this was just meant to give Rey a decisive win.
Rey took control just in time for Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio to enter ahead of a commercial break. (Ripley wore a makeshift “BETH” armband as if Beth Phoenix was dead.) Rey went for a dive which was caught by Otis but Rey slipped away and drove him into the ring post. Rey then gave Gable a 619 and springboard splash for the pinfall win.
— After the match, Dominik wanted Rey to hit him. Rey instead fought off the rest of Judgment Day. Rey went for a 619 (on Damian Priest, I think) but Dom clotheslined him.
Dom once again implored Rey to hit him. Rey went to leave so Dom shoved him from behind. Ripley held Rey against the ropes so that Dom could hit a 619. Dom stood over Rey as they abruptly went to break.
[SECOND HOUR]
After a break, they showed a video of Rey crying on the apron as Dom looked on.
Judgment Day segment
They bragged about Finn Bálor’s win over Edge at Extreme Rules. Bálor said he pissed on our parade and had other members of Judgment Day remind us that he got Edge to say “I quit.” Bálor wanted to remind us what happened so they played a very long video package of the match. Dom tried to speak but he basically gets the Vickie Guerrero treatment.
Bálor moved on to AJ Styles but didn’t speak long until Styles interrupted. Styles couldn’t believe their long friendship was coming down to this. Bálor was about to speak but Styles told him he wasn’t there to argue. Styles said Bálor was right. Everything he needed was right in front of him. He knew that what he need were friends and family.
Styles got to a knee in front of Bálor before they hugged. Bálor was thrilled. Styles told him, “I wasn’t talking about you.”
Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows entered. They joined with Styles. The crowd chanted, “holy shit.” Gallows punched Dominik and the two sides brawled. Styles, Gallows and Anderson almost got Bálor to themselves but he managed to escape.
(I don’t know if it’s just me or the crowd mixing, but it’s hard to get a gauge of this crowd so far. Dom legitimately did get good heat and the crowd popped for Styles. They also seemed happy that Gallows and Anderson returned with Styles. But there’s been some weird noise otherwise.)
*********
Byron Saxton had a sit-down interview with Damage CTRL. He asked Bayley a question but Dakota Kai answered instead. Kai told Saxton that she was at rock bottom before Bayley lifted her up. IYO SKY said something in Kai’s ear. Kai said they would do anything for Bayley and she would get the gold she deserved. Bayley said she would kick Candice LaRae’s ass tonight.
********
Reigns, Heyman and Sikoa were about to leave the arena before Jey approached Reigns because he wanted to discuss something with him. Reigns basically said there was nothing to discuss because he wanted to explore New York and it was Jey’s job to make sure Zayn won tonight. Jey wondered about Sikoa but Reigns said Sikoa was with him tonight. Reigns, Heyman and Sikoa left in the car together. Jey seemed annoyed.
********
Candice LeRae defeated Bayley (6:08)
They had a normal match that went through a break and LeRae picked up the sudden surprise win with a rollup.
— Kai and SKI ran out after to attack LeRae so Bianca Belair ran out to make the save but the numbers game was too much and Damage CTRL laid them out. Bayley gave Belair an elbow drop onto Belair’s title belt.
(There seemed to be a lot of fake booing here.)
********
Maryse gave Miz a birthday gift. It was a baseball bat.
The Miz’s birthday party
Miz was excited upon realizing his baseball bat was signed by the best home run hitter in baseball, José Ramírez — not Aaron Judge. There was a table set up with gifts so Maryse told him to grab one. He did, but when he lifted it off the table, Dexter Lumis’s head popped up through the table.
Miz put the gift box over Lumis’ head but Lumis appeared in the ring anyway moments later. Lumis tried to choke out Miz but Miz escaped, after accidentally pushing Maryse into the cake. Miz and Maryse both escaped before Lumis used a knife to grab a piece of cake.
This felt like a complete waste of time.
*******
Michaels, Road Dogg, and X-Pac hyped up two jobbers in the back before they were approached by Miz and Maryse who complained about Lumis. Road Dogg suggested Miz face Lumis next week and if he loses, Lumis would get his balls. Miz accepted. (I don’t think the balls thing was an official stipulation.)
********
1-on-2 handicap match: Omos (w/MVP) defeated two jobbers (1:18)
Omos beat two guys and laid them out afterwards with tree slams.
[THIRD HOUR]
They replayed the entire Bray Wyatt return segment from Extreme Rules.
********
Bobby Lashley entered for his title match. Lashley reminded us that he’s beaten Drew McIntyre, Roman Reigns, and Brock Lesnar. He was ready for Seth Rollins and called him out.
Brock Lesnar return
Lesnar entered instead of Rollins. Lesnar wore blue jeans and a jean jacket. Lesnar was in a good mood and seemed happy to see Lashley. That was before he suplexed Lashley and gave him consecutive F5s. The crowd chanted, “welcome back.” Lesnar put Lashley in a Kimura before letting go. Lesnar put his cowboy hat on and left.
Seth Rollins entered after a break as officials checked on Lashley. Rollins’ midsection was taped up. Rollins got on the mic and tried to egg Lashley on. The line that got him was when Rollins said, “I thought you were supposed to be a soldier.” Lashley limped back toward the ring and told them to start the match.
Seth Rollins defeated Bobby Lashley to win the United States Championship (2:30)
Lashley went for a spear immediately but Rollins countered into a Pedigree for a nearfall. Rollins followed with a frog splash for a nearfall. Lashley hit a spear but was too hurt to capitalize. Rollins hit a series of strikes and a stomp for the pinfall win. Rollins celebrated with his belt as they quickly went to break.
— Saxton approached Lashley for an interview after the break. Lashley was pissed. He challenged Lesnar to show up on Raw next week to prove he was nothing but a bitch.
********
There was a spooky Bray Wyatt video, so they aren’t done teasing stuff. (There was also an ad teasing him for Friday’s Smackdown but it didn’t explicitly say he would be there.)
Elias returns next week.
********
Matt Riddle defeated Sami Zayn (w/The Usos) (16:15)
After ten minutes and a break, Jey tried to get involved but Zayn told him not to which led to Riddle getting the upper hand ahead of another break.
They wrestled back and forth following the break until Riddle hit an RKO for the pinfall win. (Jey prevented Jimmy from getting involved moments before this.)
********
As Riddle exited, DX entered with about seven minutes left in the show.
D-Generation X anniversary celebration
Road Dogg did his usual intro (while referring to them as “geriatric-X”) and had the crowd sing Billy Gunn’s part. Corey Graves said the other guy (Gunn) was doing something with office supplies (scissors) at the moment.
Triple H wondered who was with them 25 years ago when they started and a significant portion of the crowd applauded. Hunter and Michaels did their usual schtick and Michaels implored the crowd to put them out of their misery if they were doing this in another 25 years. He led the crowd in a “you suck” cheer and that was that.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including the return of Bray Wyatt, where they appear to be going with the character, all the matches and angles from Extreme Rules, an NXT line-up for tomorrow, New Japan steals Bryan’s intellectual property, Jon Moxley and AEW and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
The legacy of Inoki, his title histories and highlights, where he stands in Japanese culture, record attendances and gates, stadium shows from around the world, merchandise, major opponents, hostage settlement, Ali vs. Inoki, Bruno Sammartino, the complete story on the most famous mixed martial arts match of its generation, the heyday of wrestling in Japanese domed stadiums, Inoki vs. Don Frye, Inoki’s career start, and his heyday over more than 30 year, formation of new Japan and IGF, New Year’s Eve specials on network television, famous programs with Hogan, Andre, Backlund and Singh, his matches against international stars and stars from other sports, his legacy in foreign countries, the Inoki vs. Maeda and Inoki vs. Baba matches that didn’t happen, and so much more.
What happened with Sammy Guevara and Andrade, from multiple people who were there
WWE PPV business update
WWE television changes
Giulia, the Five Star Grand Prix, biggest match for Stardom at the end of the year and notes on the show
Television ratings for every national show this past week
New Japan Declaration of Power
New Japan notes from England
The story of AEW changing its Latin American distribution
New AEW signing and where other potential signings stand
Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
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Sunday News Update
We have two new weekend shows up on the site. My weekly show with Garrett Gonzales talks the news of the week, Antonio Inoki, Jon Moxley, TV and more, plus we did last night’s show with Bryan talking Extreme Rules, more on Moxley and all the weekend news.
Want to thank everyone for their comments on this week’s Observer and the Antonio Inoki story, which was the largest story we’ve written in the 40 year history of the newsletter. And for good reason if you’ve read it. It’s pretty clear when the dust has settled that with the exception of Vince McMahon, Inoki was the largest and most influential figure in modern pro wrestling history, and one of the most influential figures in MMA history as well.
The funeral for Gene LeBell took place today in Los Angeles. Ronda Rousey who spoke first at the funeral, wore the pink gi, a LeBell trademark, and her black belt in walking to the ring last night prior to beating Liv Morgan to win the Smackdown women’s title. She flew right in from Philadelphia and talked about all LeBell did for her as a judo coach, helping her get into MMA, and more. Mike Lano talked about Gene’s days as a television announcer for his brother’s wrestling company in the 70s Lano talked about LeBell’s interactions with Bruce Lee and Antonio Inoki. Josh Barnett and Bas Rutten were there as was former pro wrestling photographer Dan Westbrook, whose work appeared in the Japanese magazines during that era. They aired the video of the LeBell vs. Milo Savage wrestler vs boxer match in Salt Lake City in 1963.
Regarding Google searches for the week, the only topic in boxing, wrestling and MMA was Extreme Rules which was No. 5 yesterday with 200,000 searches. That’s the usual level of a non-big four WWE PPV. There was no UFC this week and as far as topics went, the Guevara-Andrade, Moxley signing or Bray Wyatt returns did not crack the top 20 on their day this week.
The Bray Wyatt return from last night currently has 1.7 million views on YouTube which is very high, although not close to record setting, since last night.
The VICE schedule on 10/18 lists other programming from 8-10 p.m., repeats of the first two episodes of Tales from the Territories that have already aired in that time slot. That night was the original date for “The Nine Lives of Vince McMahon documentary.” We don’t have a new scheduled date but since both AEW & NXT are going live from 8-10 p.m. head-to-head, it’s a good date to avoid doing a wrestling documentary. I would expect it to air on a Tuesday before the Territories show, but waiting to find out the week. Both myself and Bryan Alvarez were interviewed for that show.
Highlight matches we’ve heard worth checking out this weekend were Josh Alexander vs. Eddie Edwards and Mike Bailey vs. Frankie Kazarian from Friday’s Impact Bound for Glory and the AAA match with El Hijo del Vikingo vs Laredo Kid vs. Black Taurus which was actually last weekend but aired on television this weekend.
We’re looking for reports on yesterday and today’s GCW shows in Atlantic City to [email protected]
We are doing polls this weekend on both Extreme Rules from last night and Impact Bound for Glory from Friday night, so you can leave a thumbs up, down or middle, best and worst match to [email protected]
Predictions are for Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam movie to debut in the $65 million to $70 million range which would be in two weeks.
Dwayne Johnson will be on Good Morning America on Wednesday, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday and Live with Kelly and Ryan on Friday, there to promote the release of Black Adam.
In a unique match, Dragon Gate’s Yamato is scheduled to face Mike Bailey tonight on the GCW show in Atlantic City, NJ at the Showboat.
Smash Wrestling and Canadian Indy Wrestling are both scheduled to debut on the WWE Network and Peacock. The first taping is 11/19 in London, ONT at the Toronto Rec Room.
Paul Craig vs. Johnny Walker has been added to the 1/21 UFC PPV show from Rio de Janeiro.
MMA Fighting has reported that the UFC returns to Australia with a show on 2/11 in Perth, Western Australia. It will be UFC”s first show in Australia since 2019. The show has first reported by Perth Now as taking place at the RAC Arena.
Other Notes
Last night’s Impact tapings in Albany, NY were held up for about an hour due to no ambulance being at the building which is a requirement by the New York State Athletic Commission.
CJ Perry, the former Lana, will be on the new season of “Surreal Life’ ON VH1. The new season will air on Monday nights starting on 10/24.
Hooked on Wrestling will be hosting a 2023 Royal Rumble watch party on 1/23 at BOXPARK in Wembley in London.
Bellator announced the signing of undefeated former Olympian Ali Isaev (9-0). Isaev competed at the 2008 Olympics and won a gold medal at the 2008 European championships in freestyle wrestling. They also announced signing new deals with Bellator ranked fighters Kana Watanabe, Tyrell Fortune, Gadzhl Rabadanov, Sullivan Cauley, Brian Moore and Norbert Novenyl Jr. (11-1).
NFC is running a show on 10/15 at District Atlanta. The main event will be Douglas Usher vs. Jared Gooden for the NFC middleweight title in MMA. There will also be a Jiu Jitsu match under tag team rules, a Female MMA Fight plus the first pro wrestling match in NFC history.
Battleground Championship Wrestling on 12/17 at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia has announced an Extreme tribute show with Rob Van Dam vs. Rhino, Bully Ray (with D-Von in his corner) vs. Matt Cardona, 2 Cold Scorpio vs. Rich Swann, Juventud Guerrera vs. Super Crazy, KC Navarro vs. VSK vs. Brian Kendrick, FBI vs Afa Jr. & Beastman, plus Gangrel, Francine, Shane Douglas, Pitbull Gary Wolf and more.
GOUGE from last night in Chapel Hill, NC: Sean Cruise & Bobby Wohlfert b Metalico & Glamor Boy Khan, Mecha Mercenary b victor Andres, Lee Valiant b Joseph Everhart, Chet Sterling DDQ Seymour Snott, Inuit Joe b Waylon Maze to win the North Carolina title, Snooty Fox & TKO b Viva La Amish to keep the tag titles. Next show is 10/30 in Raleigh, NC at Rebus Works at 3 p.m.
Stardom results from today in Nagoya: Ruaka b Lady C, Mina Shirakawa b Saya Iida, Mayu Iwatani & Momo Kohgo b Giulia & Mai Sakurai, Maika & Himeka DCOR Hazuki & Koguma, Syuri & Mirai & Ami Sohrei b Tan Nakano & Natsupoi & Waka Tsukiyama, Momo Watanabe & Starlight Kid & Saki Kashima retained the Artist of Stardom titles going to a 30:00 draw with Utami Hayashishita & AZM & Saya Kamitani (thanks to No Prima Donnas)
RevPro from today in Southampton, UK: Shaun Jackson b Remi Adetunji, Brendan White & Danny Jones b Samuel Hawkes & Cameron Kahi, Yota Tsuji b Robbie X, Maya Matthews b Safire Reed, Will Kaven b Michael Oku-DQ, Ricky Knight Jr. b Gabriel Kidd to keep the British heavyweight title (thanks to No Prima Donna)
Defy from last night in Portland, OR: King Naja won Oregon Pro Wrestling School Showcase, Miles Deville & Sebastian Wolfe won over Cody Chhun & Guillermo Rosas and The Bollywood Boyz to win the Defy tag titles, KC Navarro b Ethan HD, Amira b Taryn, Schaff b Adriel Noctus, Ortiz b Adam Ryder, Swerve Strickland b Christopher Daniels to win the Defy title. Next show is 10/29 in Seattle at Washington Hall with Minoru Suzuki vs. Tom Lawlor as the main event.
Former UFC fighter and NFL star Greg Hardy scored a knockout over Mike Cook last night in Delray Beach, FL in his pro boxing debut.
The first round bracketing for the AAW Jim Lyman tournament on 10/14 at the Logan Square Auditorium in Chicago, IL has: Yamato vs. Zachary Wentz, Schaff vs. Davey Richards, Fred Yehi vs. Calvin Tankman, Masha Slamovich vs. Dante Leon, Mike Bennett vs. Davey Vega, Gnaris Garvin vs. Silas Young, Manders vs. Josh Alexander, and Ace Austin vs. Rich Swann.
Saturday’s WWE Extreme Rules will likely be remembered for one thing and one thing only: the return of Bray Wyatt.
Indeed, once Matt Riddle’s hand was raised at the end of the show, a long…performance piece, I guess, started. It began with real-life counterparts of The Firefly Funhouse puppets appearing in the crowd. Images of the Firefly Funhouse, now decrepit, dustry and broken down, were shown. A door off the stage was then seen, and after a Max Headroom-like unintelligible promo played, the door opened.
And sure enough, it was Wyatt with a new mask, blowing out the lantern as the show ended followed by a final full screen image of what I guess is a shiny new logo.
Wyatt is a unique persona who is very creative: two things that made him stand out in an era of WWE where everything felt stringent and stale. But his last persona, The Fiend, was booked so poorly it actively hurt everyone he came into contact with (Seth Rollins perhaps being the best example).
It also doesn’t help that Wyatt, at best, is an average wrestler, something that stands out with a roster filled with good-to-great workers. I’m all on board with giving this latest run a try, as perhaps Triple H will refrain from tapping in into aspects of Wyatt that were actively bad. But at the same time, it wasn’t like I was actively rooting for his return, either.
Six matches took place prior to the big reveal at the end of the show.
Going into Extreme Rules, I thought this had a chance to be a very strong show. So it was surprising that, in the end, it just ended up being, as I wrote on Twitter, an aggressively okay show.
The highlight of the event ended up being the opener where The Brawling Brutes bested Imperium in the second-ever Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook match. These teams have terrific chemistry with one another and it showed — just awesome violence that even had Gunther taking a Razor’s Edge into a table.
With The Brawling Brutes’ win, I don’t expect the feud to be over as I feel like there could be at least one more match between Gunther and Sheamus in the future.
Matt Riddle finally got a win over Seth Rollins in the Fight Pit match.
The match was okay, good in some places, but the triangle finish felt like it came out of nowhere, and as a result, the match kind of felt flat. I thought their match last month at Clash at the Castle was way better. Former two-division UFC Champion Daniel Cormier, who was the advertised special guest referee, did nothing of note. There were legitimately points in the match where I forgot he was there. I don’t remember any part of the match where he got involved, only at the end where he raised Riddle’s hand. That was weird.
Bayley and Bianca Belair had a good ladder match that had some cool spots. The problem, and I think this was a theme throughout the show, is that I can only see so many ladder matches, table spots, kendo stick shots, and other WWE trademark violence that it all kind of blends together, and I think this match and others hurt because of that.
I never thought Bayley was going to win the title here, but I do wonder where her stable goes following this loss. I guess we could build towards a Survivor Series WarGames match with Bayley and Belair captaining teams, but we’ll see.
The SmackDown Women’s title match wasn’t particularly good.
Morgan sending Rousey through a table was a cool spot, but that about ends the positives. The baseball bat spots just didn’t work and the finish was weird with Liv laughing as she passed out via a weird submission that I didn’t think came across well in execution. The goal eventually seems to be Ronda and Becky Lynch at WrestleMania, so naturally I’d expect Ronda to remain champion up to that point.
Karrion Kross probably shouldn’t have lost his first match back in the company. Problem is, he had this kind of match as his big return match. While there were some cool stiff shots during his strap match against Drew McIntyre, the match never really got going, and the pepper spray in the eyes finish was not something I would have done. Kross wasn’t someone I had in mind when it came to bringing back people, and this match didn’t really sway me otherwise. Cool entrance, though.
Edge and Finn Balor had a very long I Quit match that went 30 minutes.
Shave ten minutes out of this match, which involved a lot of brawling around the arena, and it would have been better. Still, this wasn’t bad by any means and had a strong storyline-driven ending with Edge being forced to quit after Rhea Ripley threatened to conchairto Beth Phoenix, who got involved during the match. Once Edge quit, Ripley gave Beth the conchairto anyway, because she’s mean. The crowd was super into the drama at the end, including Dominik taking out his father Rey and Edge low blowing Dominik, so this was a success,
I was hoping for a better show than what we got out of Extreme Rules, but there was definitely some good stuff throughout the show, specifically in the Balor vs. Edge and Brawling Brutes vs. Imperium match. Next up is Crown Jewel on November 5, which…hoo boy. I better save anything involving Saudi Arabia in its own column.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back to try to make heads or tails of 1000 SHOWS THIS WEEKEND — WWE Extreme Rules, Smackdown, Battle of the Belts, Rampage, Bound for Glory, Mox vs. Gage, more on Moxley re-signing, any other news we can think of and more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps:
Start: Bray Wyatt returns at Extreme Rules, show recap
26:57: Jon Moxley loses to Nick Gage, re-signs with AEW
33:00: Impact Bound for Glory rundown
35:00: NJPW Declaration of Power card rundown
38:28: SmackDown, Rampage, Battle of the Belts thoughts
The end of Saturday’s Extreme Rules saw the lights go out right after Matt Riddle’s hand was raised as the winner of the Fight Pit match, with a voice singing “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”. After a segment featuring former characters from the Firefly Funhouse appearing in the crowd, and images of the decrepit Firefly Funhouse set, Wyatt emerged from a door off to the side of the entranceway wearing a new mask, holding his lantern. He took off the mask, revealing his face as the show went off the air, blowing out the lantern.
Teases for Wyatt’s return started last month, when the song ‘White Rabbit’ by Jefferson Airplane started to play in between commercials during Raw and SmackDown, as well as house shows. QR codes started to appear during television segments, leading to cryptic videos featuring a white rabbit. The most recent vignettes aired on SmackDown, explicitly pointing to Saturday’s Extreme Rules event.
Wyatt was released from WWE on July 31, 2021 after being off television following his loss to Randy Orton at that year’s WrestleMania. Wyatt largely remained out of wrestling during his time away from WWE.
Friday’s ‘White Rabbit’ clues on SmackDown point to tomorrow’s Extreme Rules event.
Triple H opened up Friday’s show, welcoming everyone to the season premiere. During his segment, A QR code appeared on his microphone. The QR code led viewers to a new video, showing images of a cartoon pig, with a voice repeatedly saying “let me in”, which is the catchphrase of Wyatt. The video also flashed an image of Huskus the pig, a puppet character frequently seen in Wyatt’s Firefly Funhouse segments.
Later on SmackDown, a vignette aired of the white rabbit falling down a purple ‘X’. The vignette ended with the date “10.8.22”, as well as the phrase “feed your head” in multiple languages.
A QR code shown on Monday’s Raw featured latitude and longitude coordinates that led to Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center, which will be the home to this year’s Extreme Rules.
The ‘White Rabbit’ viral campaign started last month, with the song ‘White Rabbit’ by Jefferson Airplane playing between commercials for Raw and SmackDown shows, as well as house show events.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including NATIONAL SCISSORING DAY, AEW’s three-year anniversary and the line-up for the show tonight, tons of news, THE BRAY WYATT CHARACTER, plus NXT TV review and more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
