Tag: r-truth

R-Truth: Response to WWE near-departure showed ‘the good in humanity’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

What started as a difficult situation for R-Truth (Ron Killings) ended up being a blessing in disguise that affirmed how good humanity can be.

At the start of June, Truth announced that he would be departing WWE with the company deciding not to renew his contract. WWE’s decision led to a huge social media backlash, with both fans and fellow wrestlers expressing their disappointment at Truth being let go. The outpouring of love made a difference as, less than a week after informing him of his departure, WWE reached a deal to bring Truth back.

Truth opened up about the experience during a new interview on the Toronto Sun’s No Holds Barred podcast. He was asked what he would remember most about this period of time in his life.

“The outreach,” Truth responded. “The love. I think it was meant for me and it was meant for everybody, man. Through all social media, [there were] over 100 million reactions of emotions and of unifying on one thing. So if anything, it showed that we all can come together on something. Like, regardless of what, how, when, where — boom, we all came together on something. So that was showing the good in humanity, man. That was great.”

We’ve seen a repackaged version of Truth since his return with the 53-year-old wrestling veteran showing more of his real self. Upon being brought back, he resumed a program with John Cena and is now feuding with Aleister Black. Truth is coming off a victory over Black on SmackDown last week.

No Holds Barred’s complete interview with Truth can be watched below:

WWE SmackDown live results: Tag titles on the line, Jelly Roll appears

Posted on by Marc Quill

Tonight’s live WWE SmackDown from Nashville will serve as the go-home show for both Saturday Night’s Main Event and Evolution.

The Street Profits are set to once again defend their WWE Tag Team titles against the Wyatt Sicks (Joe Gacy & Dexter Lumis). The Wyatts went to a no contest with the champions last month, followed by them winning an eight-man tag match against an all-star team representing SmackDown’s tag division.

Grammy-nominated artist Jelly Roll is set to appear tonight on SmackDown — and many believe it will be the start of an angle that will lead to Jelly Roll making his in-ring debut next month at SummerSlam.

Ron Killings, in just his second match since the news of his release and re-signing happened, will take on Aleister Black, who is looking for his first win since May. Killings was last in action against John Cena on the June 20 SmackDown, picking up a DQ win.

Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

**********

– The voice of Joe Tessitore set up the action over shots of the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN. Shots of the Street Profits were briefly interrupted by the Wyatt Sicks’ graphics as we then saw Jelly Roll arriving and being welcomed by Randy Orton.

LA Knight addresses Saturday Night’s Main Event

LA Knight made his way down to the ring to kick off SmackDown with some words at the ready for his SNME opponent, Seth Rollins.

“Let me talk to ya,” Knight started off in his usual manner. He started talking about predictions and spoilers, two things that came out of Paul Heyman’s mouth an awful lot. Knight called Seth Rollins a desperate man, who made a desperate move by siding with Heyman and forming a crew with “slop house” Bronson Reed and “dog-brained idiot” Bron Breakker. Knight said that Reed and Breakker tried to injure him on the orders of Rollins because he couldn’t do it himself.

Knight said that while he got to drop Rollins on his head this past Monday on Raw, it wasn’t enough because he wanted justice and he wanted to hurt Rollins. Knight declared that Rollins would get his ass kicked because it’s not a prediction or a spoiler, it’s just a fact of life, because he was the spoiler.

Paul Heyman interrupted Knight and admonished the fans for “missing the cue” for his “ladies and gentlemen” introduction. Heyman said that as the Oracle of Seth Rollins, he was gifted with being able to see the future, and that the future of his and Rollins’ group is the future of the entire industry. On the other hand, Knight had no future at all, per Heyman’s claims.

Solo Sikoa and his “M.F.T.” group of JC Mateo, Tala Tonga, and Tanga Loa showed up next. Sikoa said that some things changed, but some things have stayed the same. Sikoa said that when Heyman left to Raw, there was no more Bloodline, no more Tribal Chief, and no more Wiseman. Sikoa threatened Heyman to leave before he and his M.F.T.s put Heyman through a table. On that note, Heyman made his retreat through the crowd.

Sikoa then turned his attention to LA Knight. He said that one thing has changed: he is the new United States Champion. That means the man that beat Knight at WrestleMania, Jacob Fatu? He’s no longer a factor, according to Sikoa. The U.S. Champion issued the same ultimatum to Knight that he did to Heyman, otherwise the M.F.T.s would make sure he’d never be able to walk again. Knight refused to acquiesce to Sikoa’s group as he got ready for a fight.

The M.F.T.s surrounded the ring as a chair got slid into the ring by Jimmy Uso. The two then teed off on Sikoa’s group with chairs before Tala Tonga looked like he wanted to fight. Sikoa managed to get Tala to back down in a strategic retreat.

SmackDown GM Nick Aldis interrupted and said that he still ran the show even though Sikoa had his new friends. He said that it seemed like Sikoa wanted a fight and he was going to oblige that wish with a tag match between Sikoa and JC Mateo versus LA Knight and Jimmy Uso.

I liked this opening segment and I did enjoy the continuity being acknowledged with Solo threatening Paul Heyman.

**********

– Alexa Bliss approached Charlotte Flair backstage and asked her to be in her corner for the fatal-four way match coming up next, since her opponents would have their partners. Charlotte agreed and mocked the idea of being a “cheerleader”, stating that she’d be a cheerleader for herself.

Fatal Four-Way Match: Alexa Bliss (w/ Charlotte Flair) vs. Roxanne Perez (w/ Raquel Rodriguez) vs. Sol Ruca (w/ Zaria) vs. Kairi Sane (w/ Asuka)

Ruca and Bliss mixed it up while Sane and Perez fought it out in the corner. As Ruca went for an early pin, Sane broke it up and went on the attack. Sane sent Ruca to the outside and looked for a dive, but Perez intercepted her with a Thesz Press. As Perez had Sane set up for a move, Ruca took both out with a double drop kick. Ruca wasn’t done yet as she somersaulted and launched herself onto Bliss, Perez, and Sane on the outside, which took us to the break.

We resumed with Perez and Sane fighting on the top turnbuckle as the former looked to an attempt a superplex. Bliss and Ruca rushed towards the corner and we got the Tower of Doom superplex/powerbomb spot that seemed to knock the wind out of everyone. Bliss and Ruca recovered and began to mix it up with Bliss connecting with the flipping neckbreaker for a near-fall. Bliss’s attempt at a DDT was met with a superkick by Perez, followed by the running European uppercut to the back. DIving moonsault and pin was interrupted by Ruca. The NXT Women’s North American Champion pounced and hit a running knee on Perez for the two-count. Scoop slam by Ruca didn’t lead to anything as Sane met her at the top rope and trapped her in a Tree of Woe position for a double stomp. One, two… Bliss and Perez simultanuously broke up the pin.

Bliss attempted the Sister Abigail DDT on Perez, but got countered out of it. Ruca ran to the corner and connected with a double Sol Snatcher on Perez and Bliss. The cover, but Raquel Rodriguez put Perez’s rope to break the count. A melee outside the ring led to Rodriguez tossing Zarya as she then found herself thrown over the commentary table by Flair (and right into Joe Tessitore in the process).

In the ring, Sane’s Insane Elbow was blocked by Bliss’s foot as this match then came to an end with a Sister Abigail DDT and the three.

Alexa Bliss def. Kairi Sane, Sol Ruca, and Roxanne Perez via pinfall

Fun opener that got really chaotic towards the end. It’s always nice to see Sol Ruca break out another variation of her finisher, especially on a main roster show. This was great stuff.

**********

WWE Tag Team Championship Match: Street Profits (c) (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) vs. The Wyatt Sicks (Joe Gacy & Dexter Lumis; w/ Uncle Howdy, Erick Rowan, and Nikki Cross)

Dawkins and Gacy got things going to start this match off. Both men attempted a lockup, but neither man could get an upper hand. Dawkins eventually managed to throw Gacy down as he worked him over in the corner with some hard strikes. Ford entered the match with a tag and looked for a dive, as Lumis pulled Gacy out of the ring. Ford mocked Lumis’ taunt just as we went to a break.

SmackDown returned from break with Lumis attempting to hit a superplex on Ford, but being unable to, on the account of Ford fighting back. Lumis tried again, but got blocked by Ford, who instead hit a sunset flip powerbomb that created needed separation. Dawkins got the hot tag and went to work right away on Gacy with a running shoulder charge, spinning clothesline, and a neckbreaker. With both Wyatt Sicks members outside, Dawkins flew over the rope with a dive to both Gacy and Lumis.

Inside the ring, Dawkins connected with a gigantic Swanton Bomb, but Gacy managed to kick out. Gacy then connected with his handspring clothesline, as he and Lumis nailed a double team combination neckbreaker on Dawkins that wasn’t unable to put an end to this match. Lumis threw Dawkins hard into the corner, as he then sent him outside and we got another break.

SmackDown returned from break with Gacy continuing the punishment on Dawkins, up until Ford got the blind tag, which gave the Street Profits a chance to connect with a double team move, but that wasn’t enough to put the match away. With Gacy in no man’s land, he fell victim to a double team blockbuster by the Profits. One, two… Gacy somehow kicked out at two.

As Ford ran at Gacy, he got thrown to the outside, but Dawkins connected with a pounce, as he then connceted with a diving splash on Lumis inside the ring. Erick Rowan headed up to the ring and pulled Ford out of the ring with the referee distracted by Gacy. Dawkins ran into Rowan and sent him over the timekeeper’s area, which took him out in the process.

Ford headed up top and looked for another frog splash, but he missed thanks to the distraction from Gacy at ringside. This left him at the mercy of the Wyatt Sicks’ double team powerbomb/neckbreaker, and that’s it, over. We have new WWE Tag Team Champions.

The Wyatt Sicks def. The Street Profits via pinfall to win the WWE Tag Team Championships

A really solid tag match and seeing a title change here is quite interesting. Having the Wyatts as the monsters running the SmackDown tag division with teams stepping up to them in the hopes of wresting the tag titles away from them should make this run one to watch, at the very least.

**********

– The SmackDown tag division discussed the fallout of the Wyatts’ tag team title win, as Andrade and Fenix announced themselves as part of the SmackDown tag team division officially based on their recent successes.

– Crews were getting a stage set up for Jelly Roll’s performance coming up next.

Jelly Roll performs

After being introduced as “Nashville’s own hometown hero”, Jelly Roll began to perform a song for the live crowd. Before he could continue on, he was rudely interrupted by Logan Paul.

Paul said that everyone was here to see real WWE superstars, not music by for people who had tattoos of their children, but don’t have custody of them. Paul said that Jelly Roll belonged on the stage, not a WWE ring. Paul got upset about celebrities, clout chasers, and influencers thinking they could hang in the WWE ring. Paul said that the WWE didn’t need a Jelly Roll, but they “needed” a Logan Paul. He said that the WWE loved him so much, his podcast just inked a long-term deal.

Jelly Roll interrupted and said that this was his hometown, and nobody gave a damn about Paul’s podcast in Nashville. The two got in each other’s face before Randy Orton walked down to the ring and took exception to Paul’s dismissal of Jelly Roll.

Orton called Paul a “whiny, entiitled bitch” because everyone moved heaven and earth just to make Logan Paul look good. Before Orton could go on, McIntyre blasted him with a Claymore Kick. Paul attacked the fallen Orton with repeated strikes but Jelly Roll grabbed him from behind and threw him down. Jelly Roll then helped Orton up as Paul wanted a piece of him. Security got Paul to back away

Paul snapped and wrecked the music set on the stage to end the segment.

Well, this was certainly a segment. I can’t say I’m excited at the idea of a Jelly Roll versus Logan Paul feud leading to a match at SummerSlam potentially. Whatever the intent of doing this segment was had the total opposite effect on me, if we’re being honest. In short, I did not like this at all and the hint of potentially roping Randy Orton and Drew McIntyre in this silliness does nothing for me.

**********

– Backstage, Randy Orton thanked Jelly Roll for his help moments ago. Jelly offered to be in Orton’s corner for his match with Drew McIntyre tomorrow for Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Ron Killings vs. Aleister Black

Killings avoided a Black clothesline and hit him with a single-legged dropkick to start. Black recovered and swept Killings with a leg as he transitioned into striking attacks to the former R-Truth. Killings fought back and sent Black to the outside. He was looking to line up a dive, but got kicked by Black. Outside the ring, Black tried for a moonsault, but Killings got out of the way. Killings grabbed a chair from the timekeepers area and wanted to use it as a weapon. Black stopped him with a kick as he looked to use the chair. Black was about to take a swing, but the referee stopped him, which allowed Killings to roll him up for the win.

Ron Killings def. Aleister Black via pinfall

There’s really not much to say about this match since it honestly ended before it could really get going.

**********

– Aleister Black saw Ron Killings walking and made a beeline for him, but Damian Priest stopped him from going further. Black seemed like he was going to back off at Priest’s urging, but he hit him with a knee to the face, followed by a Black Mass kick.

Tiffany Stratton & Trish Stratus speak before Evolution

Wade Barrett was in the ring with the WWE Women’s Champion and her opponent for Evolution to moderate this segment.

Stratton started off by saying that she already beat Charlotte Flair, Bayley, and Nia Jax, and the reason that she chose Stratus was because beating her would put her into consideration for being one of the greats.

Stratus answered by saying that the pressure is on Stratton because she needs the championship and while she’ll leave on Sunday as champion, Tiffany will leave with nothing. Stratus said that she helped solidify the women’s division and that she was still delivering for this division. She said that she loves Tiffany, but she’ll be leaving as an eight-time champion.

Naomi interrupted proceedings, but got clocked from behind by Jade Cargill, her opponent in a No-Holds Barred Match at Evolution this Sunday. Security officials stormed into the scene to keep the two hated rivals separated.

**********

Saturday Night’s Main Event card

  • World Heavyweight Championship: Gunther (c) vs. Goldberg
  • LA Knight vs. Seth Rollins
  • Randy Orton (w/ Jelly Roll) vs. Drew McIntyre
  • United States Championship: Solo Sikoa (c) vs. Jimmy Uso

– Both Cody Rhodes and John Cena were adveritsed to appear on next week’s SmackDown.

LA Knight & Jimmy Uso vs. Solo Sikoa & JC Mateo (w/ Tala Tonga & Tanga Loa)

Sikoa and Knight got our main event started, as the U.S. Champion went on the offensive briefly before getting rocked by a neckbreaker. Knight stomped away on Sikoa as Uso tagged in and hit Sikoa with a running hip drop in the corner. Sikoa recovered and hit Uso with a strike to back him in the M.F.T. corner. Mateo entered the match and tried to continue the momentum, but he fell victim to a superkick, followed by a Samoan drop from Uso for a two-count.

Mateo woke up and hit Uso with an elbow to the face to force him back to his corner. Sikoa tagged himself in and pulled Uso out of the ring, as he delivered a Samoan drop onto the reinforced commentary table to take us to the final commercial break of the night.

Our main event returned with Mateo attempting a backdrop, but Uso escaped and kicked him, which allowed for a hot tag to Knight. The Megastar was on fire as he felled Mateo with a jumping neckbreaker. He attempted a BFT, but got blocked. Roll-up pin by Mateo was unable to put this match away. Knight hit yet another neckbreaker on Mateo, which left him open for a diving elbow, followed by the big Uso splash by Jimmy. Sikoa ran into the ring and broke up the pin at the last second.

Sikoa dragged Mateo back into his corner so he could make the tag. Sikoa attempted a Samoan Spike, but got blocked. He did, however, managed to connect with the Spinning Solo. Knight entered and attacked Mateo on the outside, and was interrupted by the sight of Paul Heyman in the timekeepers’ area. This distracted Knight long enough to get kicked by Tala Tonga.

In the ring, Sikoa found himself rolled up by Uso for the shock one, two, three win.

Post-match, the M.F.T.s chased after Uso in the ring, as Knight took out Sikoa with the BFT. Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed caught Knight by surprise with a Spear and a Tsunami. The show ended with Seth Rollins’ vanguard being led away from the ring by a group of referees.

Jimmy Uso & LA Knight def. Solo Sikoa & JC Mateo via pinfall

**********

Again a pretty standard TV main event to end the night. Really not much else to say about the tag match other than that.

Overall, tonight’s SmackDown fell kinda flat, with only the Tag Team Championship match being a standout highlight of the night. The Jelly Roll/Logan Paul segment was the big disappointment and it seemed like the rest of the show kind of petered out after that segment.

Tag title match, R-Truth vs. Aleister Black set for next WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Ethan Renner

A pair of matches have been announced for the Friday, July 11 WWE SmackDown.

After their last WWE Tag Team Championship match ended in a no-contest, The Street Profits and The Wyatt Sicks will rematch on next week’s SmackDown. The two teams previously matched up on the June 27 SmackDown.

Also announced, R-Truth and Aleister Black will settle their differences in the ring on next week’s episode. Truth interjected in Black’s business on the June 20 SmackDown by taking out Black’s scheduled opponent Kit Wilson before the bell. Black retaliated on the June 27 episode by attacking Truth in the ring.

The Friday, July 11 SmackDown is also the go-home show for both Saturday Night’s Main Event on July 12, plus the all-women’s WWE Evolution PLE on Sunday, July 13.

Next week’s SmackDown lineup:

WWE SmackDown, Friday, July 11 —

  • WWE Tag Team Champions The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) defend against The Wyatt Sicks (Joe Gacy & Dexter Lumis)
  • R-Truth vs. Aleister Black

John Cena vs. R-Truth rematch set for next week’s WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Ethan Renner

John Cena and R-Truth will run it back on the June 20 WWE SmackDown.

In a rematch from last month’s Saturday Night’s Main Event, Cena will face Ron “R-Truth” Killings on next Friday’s SmackDown. The rematch stems from multiple segments on this week’s SmackDown episode where Killings attacked Cena.

The King and Queen of the Ring tournaments will also continue on next week’s SmackDown with a semifinals matchup from each.

In the King of the Ring, Sami Zayn will face Randy Orton with the winner moving on to the King of the Ring finals set for Night of Champions on June 28. Orton advanced on this week’s SmackDown with a win over Carmelo Hayes, LA Knight, and Aleister Black.

In the Queen of the Ring, Alexa Bliss is set to take on the winner of Monday’s Asuka vs. Stephanie Vaquer vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Ivy Nile matchup with a spot in the finals at stake. Bliss advanced on Friday’s show with a win over Charlotte Flair, Alba Fyre, and Candice LeRae.

WWE SmackDown, Friday, June 20 —

  • John Cena vs. R-Truth
  • King of the Ring semifinals: Randy Orton vs. Sami Zayn
  • Queen of the Ring semifinals: Alexa Bliss vs. Asuka/Stephanie Vaquer/Raquel Rodriguez/Ivy Nile winner

June 16, 2025 Observer Newsletter: WBD split & AEW, R-Truth returns to WWE, Money in the Bank & Worlds Collide reviews

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Image: WWE

Dave Meltzer returns with a brand-new Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

The lead story is the news from this past week that Warner Bros. Discovery is planning on splitting into two separate companies in mid-2026 and how that could affect AEW’s future.

Dave also looks at the whole situation around R-Truth and his return to WWE at Money in the Bank.

He reviews last week’s WWE Money in the Bank, WWE x AAA Worlds Collide, and all the rest of the news of the pro wrestling week.

FIRST TIME SUBSCRIBERS GET 50% OFF – READ THE LATEST WON

Click here to read.

Ron Killings thanks Nick Khan for ‘allowing R-Truth to set me free’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Ron Killings is showing appreciation for everyone who helped bring him back to WWE.

Less than a week after announcing that WWE would not be renewing his contract, Killings returned at Money in the Bank over the weekend and then appeared on Raw last night. He announced that he’ll no longer be going by R-Truth, instead choosing to use his real name. The 53-year-old Killings also made a change to his look, cutting off his signature dreadlocks live on Raw.

He followed up on that appearance with a tweet today thanking the WWE fans, Paul “Triple H” Levesque, and Nick Khan for the role they played in his return.

“How? = YOU… Yall brought me back!! They heard, listened, felt, and understood,” Killings wrote. “Thank you @TripleH @WWE and man… thank you Nick Khan for allowing R-Truth to set me free!!! Im driving now…I AM Ron KILLINGS I AM THE TRUTH THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH, Now put some RESPECT on my name!”

It was reported after Truth’s return that Khan — the president of WWE — played a key part in the negotiations to bring him back to the company. This tweet appears to confirm that. The decision to bring Killings back was made after fans and members of the WWE roster took to social media to voice their disappointment over him being let go.

R-Truth: ‘The truth has set me free, I am Ron Killings’

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Enter Ron Killings.

R-Truth entered through the crowd on Monday, stood on the announce desk and cut a promo telling the fans to never let other people say they didn’t matter, as they heard, they listened, they felt, and they understood.

He spent most of his time talking about his alter ego, saying everyone loves R-Truth, he loves R-Truth, but R-Truth can be too funny, too nice, and too forgiving. However, he wasn’t. He said he wasn’t a sideshow act and wasn’t a gimmick. He then proceeded to take out a pair of scissors and cut off his trademark dreadlocks, leading shocked fans to chant “holy s***.”

“The truth has set me free. I am Ron Killings. I am the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Now put some respect on my name,” he concluded before exiting into the crowd.

In a backstage segment, Killings said he’s the one driving now.

Less than one week after being informed his contract wasn’t being renewed, Killings was brought back during the main event of Saturday’s Money in the Bank, spearing John Cena. That allowed Cody Rhodes to pick up the win for his team.

After the show ended, WWE put out merchandise for Ron Killings, using that name. They released more t-shirts following the segment on Raw.

WWE Raw live results: Jey Uso vs. Gunther for World title

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: June 9, 2025
Location: PHX Arena in Phoenix, AZ 

The Big Takeaway —

Jey Uso’s reign as World Champion is over. 

CM Punk will challenge John Cena for the WWE Championship at Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia. 

Roxanne Perez advanced in the Queen of the Ring tournament, and Sami Zayn advanced in the King of the Ring tournament. The tournament will continue on SmackDown and Raw, and the finals will happen at Night of Champions. The winners earn title matches at SummerSlam. 

Bayley is back, and Nikki Bella returned to announce Evolution. Asuka returns next week.

Plus, R-Truth is officially back as Ron Killings. 

**********

Show Recap — 

Becky Lynch, Nikki Bella, Gunther, and Jey Uso (and son) were shown arriving. 

There were highlights from Worlds Collide and Money in the Bank. As usual, these packages are meant to recap what happened—and tell you how big the events were. Among the clips they made sure to include was a shot of Travis Barker and Kourtney Kardashian in the crowd at MITB. 

John Cena and CM Punk segment

Cena entered. He was introduced as the greatest of all time and the last real champion. Cena wore purple and orange to match the Phoenix Suns. (He still has Rise Above Hate and Never Give Up on his merch.) The show was ten minutes old by the time he spoke. 

Cena said “truth” was a lie. The fans wasted their energy on a sideshow comedian whose greatest achievement was pretending to be him. (The crowd chanted, “We want Truth.”) 

Cena asked if they thought those chants actually accomplished anything. The fans were all keyboard warriors and armchair activists who did not have the power to change anything. R-Truth was a gimmick they would not care about in a year. 

Cena had limited time on his farewell tour. Nineteen dates remain. They were halfway done, and the fans shouldn’t waste their voice sending him the class clown. They should spend their energy sending him real competition. He’s already beaten their best by beating Truth, Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton. 

CM Punk interrupted. Punk had a lot to get off his chest. He called it ironic that Cena, the boy scout, wanted to ruin wrestling and ruin the establishment that made him, while the punk-rock kid from Chicago was seemingly defending the establishment. Punk wanted to make it clear: he wasn’t defending the establishment. 

Punk wasn’t defending TKO or the billionaires—he was defending the people. Maybe Cena was mad that the establishment picked him while the people didn’t. The people picked Punk in 2011 to be the voice of the voiceless. 

Punk said Cena was wrong, claiming he hadn’t faced the best. Rhodes was the best they got, but Cena only won because he took cheap shots. Punk wasn’t about to kiss the ass of his “final boss,” because the people were Punk’s boss. 

It was Punk’s job to give the people what they wanted, and if they wanted the truth, they would get Ron Killings. 

It was time for Punk to teach Cena that he was only a spoke on the wheel, too. Punk recalled Cena saying he was sorry after pinning Punk at Elimination Chamber, after Seth Rollins stomped him. Cena knew what he did was wrong. He knew what he was doing was wrong. (The fans chanted, “You sold out.”) 

Punk said Cena would spend the rest of his dates apologizing to the people for his actions. The title corrupted him. Punk knew it because it did the same to him in 2012. Punk had a list of goals when he returned, but winning the title wasn’t one of them because he was afraid of what he’d become if he did. 

Everybody should want to be the champion, and only a few can accomplish it. Punk could now see he had to become a monster to defeat the monster. To people like Cena and Rollins, the belt meant power and control, but Punk thought it belonged to the people. 

Punk said Cena had 18 dates left after today, and he would leave it up to Cena to pick the date that Punk takes the belt from him. Punk challenged him to do it tonight. 

Cena said no, of course. Cena said Punk could follow him to Saudi Arabia so they could do it at Night of Champions. Punk said, “You’re on,” off-mic. 

Seth Rollins entered (with his crew) to show off his MITB briefcase, and the segment ended. 

(Punk claiming that it wasn’t his goal to win the championship until now feels like a total lie. It’s also kind of funny that he’s the one who now wants to save the title from someone else.) 

******** 

Wade Barrett is on commentary tonight instead of Pat McAfee, who has the night off. 

There was a graphic for the Queen of the Ring and King of the Ring tournaments. Cody Rhodes is among those on the men’s side, and Asuka is among those on the women’s side. There’s also a mystery person on the men’s side. The tournament finals will occur at Night of Champions. The winners earn a title match against their respective brand’s champion at SummerSlam.

********

Chad Gable cut a promo during the commercial break. He was pissed that neither he or El Grande Americano were in KOTR. 

AJ Styles vs. Chad Gable (w/The Creed Brothers)  

The opening match kicked off 31 minutes into the show, and they went to commercial 90 seconds into it. Styles overcame interference by the Creeds and multiple Gable ankle locks to hit a Styles Clash for the pinfall win. 

Match result: AJ Styles defeated Chad Gable (7:57) 

********

Backstage, Roxanne Perez suggested to Liv Morgan that they work together to ensure one of them wins. Morgan was not on board. 

Queen of the Ring first round fatal four-way: Rhea Ripley vs. Kairi Sane vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Liv Morgan

Morgan reluctantly worked together with Perez. However, as they set up for a double superplex on Sane, Ripley got underneath and hit them with a double powerbomb. Sane followed with a flying forearm on Ripley for two. 

Morgan and Perez worked together again to regain control. Morgan hit Sane with a backstabber, a move she does all the time, and Cole said it was an homage to Carlito. Ripley fired up and laid out everyone. Morgan tried to catch her off guard with an Oblivion, but Ripley caught her and hit a Rip-tide. 

Ripley had it won, but Raquel Rodriguez appeared out of nowhere to pull Ripley out of the ring and break up the cover. As Ripley and Rodriguez “brawled,” Sane wiped them out with a dive. 

Sane followed with an Insane Elbow on Morgan and seemingly had it won, but Perez caught Sane in a jackknife cover for the pinfall win. Roxanne Perez advances in the tournament. 

There are a lot of big names in this tournament, and like with Ripley here, I think we can expect to see a lot of finishes like this one to save prevent them from advancing. 

Match result: Roxanne Perez defeated Kairi Sane, Liv Morgan, and Rhea Ripley to advance in the Queen of the Ring tournament (12:52) 

********

Lynch walked through the back ahead of a break and passed by Austin Theory and Grayson Waller as they argued. 

There were more highlights from Worlds Collide, and a video package for tonight’s title main event. 

********

There was a Nikki Bella video package. 

Nikki met with Natalya and Maxxine Dupri backstage before speaking with Iyo Sky. Nikki put over Sky and how she carried herself as the champion. Sky thanked Nikki and said, “You paved the way for us.” (Another blatant lie.) 

********

Becky Lynch segment, Bayley returns

Lynch entered with her new IC title belt. She wondered where her “You deserve it” chants were. She didn’t need to hear it because she knew she deserved it. She should be out there celebrating, especially since there are so few opportunities for her to celebrate something new. She’s already won everything and is a best-selling author. Now, she is the Women’s Intercontinental Champion. 

This should be an opportunity to celebrate because this title was about opportunities. But the biggest opportunity this title ever got was Lynch winning it. She welcomed the belt to the big time and said it was now the biggest prize in the business. 

She should have been celebrating with her hot husband and beautiful child, but she wasn’t because the disingenuous bird lady Lyra Valkyria ruined everything. Valkyria raised her hand so aggressively that Lynch thought she dislocated her shoulder. Lynch claimed Valkyria tried to kill her when she attacked her after putting the belt around her waist. Lynch called out Valkyria to do it properly this time. 

Valkyria entered and walked out like an angry cartoon character. Bayley suddenly attacked Lynch from behind, and Valkyria was surprised to see her. 

Lynch bailed but bumped into Valkyria. Valkyria shoved Lynch back into the ring, but she escaped before Bayley could hit her finisher. 

********

Ron Killings / R-Truth segment 

Killings entered in the same outfit he wore at MITB. He entered through the crowd and stood on the announce table. 

Killings said: “Don’t let nobody tell you that you don’t matter. Don’t let nobody tell you that your voice doesn’t matter. They heard, they listened, they felt, and they understood. I am back—because of y’all.” 

Killings reiterated that he was back because of them and was back for them. But he was back for himself, too. “Not only did you bring Truth back, you got me.” 

They all loved R-Truth, but Truth could be too funny and forgiving. But he wasn’t. He felt different. He felt alive. He wasn’t a lie. He wasn’t a sideshow act. He wasn’t a gimmick. 

He pulled out a pair of scissors (as the announcers backed away) and cut his hair completely off. The crowd chanted, “Holy shit.” 

“The truth has set me free. I am Ron Killings. I am the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Now put some respect on my name.” 

The fans cheered as Killings walked away through the crowd. 

********

The male members of Judgment Day met backstage. Finn Bálor thought it was strange that Dom was the only member in KOTR. Dom figured Bálor had a shot at MITB, but that didn’t work out, so he thought Bálor would be ok with him being in KOTR. JD McDonagh said Dom could win KOTR, while they could win back the tag titles. Bálor was all smiles and acted like he was happy with this. 

Perez entered, and they congratulated her on the win. Morgan entered and was not in a good mood. Perez tried to claim she helped Morgan in the match by breaking up Sane’s pin. Morgan bluntly congratulated her and left. 

Bálor told Dom he should speak to Morgan. Dom clearly didn’t want any part of this and scampered off for his match. Bálor was amused. 

********

King of the Ring first round fatal four-way: Sami Zayn vs. Bron Breakker vs. Penta vs. Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio 

It’s been a full 30 minutes since the previous match ended. After all the talking and backstage segments, they went to commercial one minute into this match.

Zayn wiped out Breakker with a dive, Penta wiped out Zayn with a dive, Dom wiped out Penta with a dive, and Breakker nailed Dom with a leaping clothesline off the apron and over the announce table. This led to a second commercial break, just 9 minutes into the match. 

Zayn hit Penta with a sunset flip powerbomb during the break for two. After the break, Penta powerbombed Dom, and Breakker hit Zayn with a Frankensteiner. (Cole continues to attribute the name of that move to McAfee.) Penta hit Breakker with a DDT, and Dom tried to steal the pin, but Breakker kicked out. 

Dom blocked Zayn’s Blue Thunder Bomb and went for three amigos, but Zayn blocked the final suplex and hit Blue Thunder for a nearfall. Penta hit Zayn with a Penta Driver, but Dom caught Penta in a schoolboy. The referee didn’t count the fall because Penta’s shoulders weren’t down (which you couldn’t really see), which sorta ruined the spot. Penta followed with a Canadian Destroyer on Dom for a nearfall. 

Breakker sprinted around the ring and cut down Penta with a spear. LA Knight suddenly appeared and hit Breakker with BFT. (Remember what I said earlier?) 

Back in the ring, Zayn gave Dom an exploder and Helluva Kick for the pinfall win. Sami Zayn advances. 

This was fun. The crowd was hot and went nuts for the closing sequence and Zayn’s win. It felt like he needed a win like this, even if this is just the first round of a tournament. The crowd was into all four guys and really into Breakker’s offence.

Match result: Sami Zayn defeated Dominik Mysterio, Bron Breakker, and Penta to advance in the King of the Ring tournament (17:05)

********

Cathy Kelley interviewed Styles. He was pissed about losing last week and didn’t appreciate being disrespected by Paul Heyman. He didn’t like how Judgment Day or Dom conducted business, either. He left to deal with them. 

Kelley approached New Day for an interview as they spoke to Waller. New Day cut their usual heel promo and didn’t have much to say. 

********

Zayn bumped into Karrion Kross during a break. Kross was happy that Zayn won on his own while taking his message to heart. Zayn had no idea what he was talking about. Kross said he used Knight’s interference to get ahead. He did what it took to win. The real Sami Zayn was a manipulator. 

Zayn said he won because he was good enough, just like he was good enough to win the world championship.  Zayn warned him to stop bothering him, because he was also good enough to handle him. 

********

There was an Asuka return video package. 

Next week on Raw: 

  • Queen of the Ring first round fatal four-way: Asuka vs. Stephanie Vaquer vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Ivy Nile 
  • King of the Ring first round fatal four-way: Sheamus vs. Rusev vs. Bronson Reed vs. a mystery opponent 

********

Nikki Bella segment 

Nikki was happy to be back and thanked her fans. She was here to talk about something special next month. She announced an all-woman PLE: WWE Evolution. 

She main-evented the first one, and seeing how far the division has come was incredible. She put over Ripley, Sky, Bianca Belair, Stephanie Vaquer, and Giulia. She completely butchered Vaquer’s name. 

Liv Morgan stormed out. She said if Nikki was talking about the best women in the division, she should talk about her. Morgan was the most talented woman in the division, proving it again and again. Nikki was jealous of her because she had everything Nikki didn’t. Morgan had respect, a championship, and a man. 

Nikki wondered if Dom belonged to Morgan or Perez. Nikki wanted Morgan to congratulate Perez on taking her title shot and her man. Nikki left the ring. 

Morgan said at least she was a champion, while Nikki was merely a reality show diva. 

Nikki went under the rope to return to the ring, but Morgan laid her out with an Oblivion.

(Nikki didn’t come across well here, and a lot of fans seemed to like Morgan better.) 

******** 

Cena vs. Punk was made official for the title at Night of Champions.

******** 

Jey entered along with his son, and he got his usual big reaction.  

Jey Uso (c) vs. Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship 

They went to break 75 seconds into this world championship match that’s been scheduled for a month. 

Jey went for the sleeper a couple of times in the first two minutes. Gunther escaped it, but Jey remained in control through the break. Jey hit a flying crossbody after the break for two. Jey came up nursing his midsection, selling the damage taken over the past week or so. 

Gunther booted Jey in the midsection repeatedly and ripped off his shirt to expose that his ribs were taped up. Gunther ripped up the tape while continuing to target Jey’s midsection. Jey fought back momentarily until Gunther hit him with a German suplex outside the ring. This led to a second break, 9 minutes into the match. 

After the break, Jey countered a vertical suplex with one of his own. The fans Yeeted as Jey fought back with strikes. Jey went for a running hip attack, but Gunther ducked. Gunther applied a sleeper while in the ropes, but Jey slipped out and hit a suicide dive. 

Jey couldn’t follow up, so Gunther gave him a back drop onto the barricade. Gunther tried a splash, but Jey got his knees up and followed with a spear. Jey hit an Uso splash for a nearfall. 

Jey went for a spear, but Gunther clobbered him with a clothesline. Jey reversed a powerbomb into a hurricanrana for two. Gunther hit a powerbomb for two, and a spear for two. 

Jey failed again to apply the sleeper, but countered a Gunther sleeper and hit a spear. Jey missed an Uso splash and sold his ribs before Gunther caught him in a sleeper. 

Jey fought toward the ropes, but Gunther repeatedly pulled him to the middle of the ring. It seemed like Jey was on the verge of going out, but Gunther let go and hammered away with elbows. Jey slipped out and applied the sleeper, but this time Gunther reversed into a sleeper again—right in the middle of the ring. 

Jey couldn’t fight any longer, and he went out. Some fans began screaming at the visual of Jey going out. The referee called for the bell. Gunther wins. Jey Uso’s world title reign is over. 

— Jey’s son checked on him at ringside. Gunther posed with the belt as fireworks went off. 

Match result: Gunther defeated Jey Uso to win the World Heavyweight Championship (22:06)

R-Truth appearance added to WWE Raw

Posted on by Bryan Rose

R-Truth is set for Raw.

WWE announced just over one hour before the show’s start on Monday that the returning star would be at Raw to speak for the first time since his return at Money in the Bank on Saturday.

At Saturday’s premium live event, Truth ran in and speared John Cena, allowing Cody Rhodes to pick up the win for himself and Jey Uso. Truth had announced previously that he had been let go from WWE, but fan reaction on the following Raw and SmackDown apparently made WWE change their mind, allowing the shocking ending to Money in the Bank to take place.

R-Truth’s last major match was at last month’s Saturday Night’’s Main Event, where he failed to defeat Cena in a non-title match. Cena also acknowledged the crowd’s chants of “we want Truth” on SmackDown, saying the fans couldn’t handle the truth.

WWE Raw lineup for Monday, June 9, 2025:

  • World Heavyweight Champion Jey Uso defends against Gunther
  • Queen of the Ring opening round match: Liv Morgan vs. Kairi Sane vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Rhea Ripley
  • King of the Ring opening round match: Dominik Mysterio vs. Penta vs. Sami Zayn vs. Bron Breakker
  • Nikki Bella returns
  • 2025 men’s Money in the Bank winner Seth Rollins to appear live
  • Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena to appear live
  • R-Truth will appear

WOL: Sorry, R-Truth’s WWE return was not a work

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: WWE

On the Sunday Wrestling Observer Live, Josh Nason returns to talk about, what else, the biggest star of 2025: R-Truth.

Now apparently going by his real name of Ron Killings, he made a surprise appearance at Sunday’s WWE Money in the Bank and laid out John Cena to help Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso pick up the win.

Then, the dumbest argument in some time broke out on social media: was the whole thing a work? I answer that question which you can surmise the answer for by the headline above.

I also look ahead to this Wednesday’s AEW Summer Blockbuster card, what happens to wrestling if Triller goes away and other leftover thoughts from the week.

Click here to listen ad-free (no sub needed)

Daily Update: R-Truth, Ben Askren, UFC 316 fallout

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Latest News

Latest Audio

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

  • WWE cuts this past week, why and more details, lots of reaction to R-Truth and the story behind it
  • Preview of the WWE Money in the Bank and Worlds Collide shows as well as updated ticket demand for the shows as well as odds
  • New Japan Dominion and Kosei Fujita win Best of the Super Juniors in one of the year’s best matches
  • The most detailed look at the ratings of all the pro wrestling TV shows this past week including competition, segments, demo and what things on the different shows boosted the audience
  • Notes on one of the biggest Arena Mexico shows this year
  • Major arena sells out seven weeks in a row
  • Newcomers behind the scenes as WWE takes over AAA
  • Stardom PPV notes
  • Major signings for Hogan & Bischoff’s RAF company
  • Who has won the most awards in specific categories in the 45 year history of the Observer awards
  • Ratings for the past season of Dark Side of the Ring
  • Notes on wrestlers recently cut by WWE
  • AEW departures and details
  • Advance ticket sales for WWE, AEW and TNA shows
  • Lots more notes on AEW going to Arena Mexico
  • Bryan Danielson says his career highlight
  • Significance of the Phil Davis lawsuit and how it affects TKO and perhaps even WWE
  • Promotion cutting prices to increase ticket buys
  • Notes on MMA reporter Jordan Breen
  • Update on WrestleMania in Las Vegas
  • Nick Khan and Vince McMahon selling TKO stock
  • How much are analysts expecting the WWE PLE right and UFC rights to end up at and what does this mean for the stock price
  • Paul Levesque and Dwayne Johnson
  • Notes on WWE counter programming AEW
  • Bill Goldberg updates
  • How much money has Dwayne Johnson made from WWE since his return 18 months ago
  • Top YouTube viewing numbers this past week

This Week’s Back Issue

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Sunday Update

— We had big shows on both Friday and last night. Friday we talked a ton of topics and had some great questions, whether WWE has past its peak and where it stands now, a great question of why the over 50 audience has grown for the remaining TV wrestling shows, Andre the Giant vs. Akira Maeda and other history.

Last night we focused on the major news and coverage of Worlds Collide, Money in the Bank, Exclusive updates on WrestleMania in Las Vegas and how it was finalized and a big key to that week, as well as R-Truth’s return, Mike Tenay announcing, Ben Askren, UFC and a lot more.

— I think everyone realizes by now that the return of R-Truth as Ron Killings was a late decision. It was very interesting as it ended up overshadowing the key points on the show, which were Cody Rhodes pinning John Cena, Seth Rollins winning MITB and the Jacob Fatu babyface turn on Solo Sikoa.  

Not sure why Paul Levesque gave the answer he did to that question basically saying it was part of the show. I’m not even sure why he didn’t just give the answer given it’s a question that was going to be asked. Cody Rhodes had the best answer pretty much thanking the fans for their input and they listened to the audience. Which they did. There are a lot of questions this opens up, but this is also far from the first time this has happened as we talked about on the show last night.

Given that, some probably aren’t happy as Christopher Killings, Ron’s son, in response to Levesque trying to intimate it was all a work (he didn’t say it but clearly he wanted you to believe that) said, in response “Stop the cap” (lying).

Ron Killings did ask for the name change to his real name as part of his new deal as many had suspected. The advantage is that when the new deal ends he will have had TV time as Ron Killings and can then go straight to using that name on indies and for personal appearances.

— Ben Askren is in very serious condition. His family has kept the situation under wraps to a degree. What has come out is he suffered a staph infection and pneumonia and those close to him have asked for prayers. Askren was one of the top college wrestlers of this generation, and then went into MMA, and even without  striking and being pure wrestling and submissions, won world titles in ONE and Bellator. He is currently signed to Hulk Hogan & Eric Bischoff’s RAF for  a comeback as a wrestler.

Wife Amy Askren wrote: “You may have heard that my husband Ben is going through something. He developed severe pneumonia, which came on very suddenly. He’s currently in the hospital and unable to respond to anything at this time. We welcome all prayers for healing and for peace. We are trying to keep life as normal as possible for our children currently and doing our best to support them thoughtfully so please refrain from discussing it with them for now.”

Pat Mineo, a wrestling insider had written, “Wrestling community, we need to pray for and rally around @BenAskren who is in critical condition and battling a severe staph infection. He is also battling severe pneumonia, prayers needed!”

We’ve heard from friends of his who don’t have full details but do now that the situation is very bad. We wish our best to him.

— Kayla Harrison’s women’s bantamweight title win over Julianna Pena, which was expected, sets up Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes. It’s the biggest fight other than Jon Jones vs.Tom Aspinall that UFC could put together. Nunes had not entered the UFC testing pool so in theory it would take six months until she does so before the fight could be booked, but UFC could also waive that. 

After the fight, Harrison, when talking about cutting to 135 said that it came very close to making her quit. She had Thursday night she was ready to just quit.  She looked so unhealthy to the point that I think they need to bring back a 145 division and that she and Nunes should fight there instead of at 135. Harrison is going to have to nearly kill herself getting to 135 and just the way she looked on the scale should cause a reaction instead of just ignoring it and hoping for the best.

— Dana White said that there were no issues with him and Turki Alashikh and that he is still promoting the Terrnce Crawford vs. Canelo Alvarez fight on 9/13. UFC officially is now running its 9/13 show as a Fight Night rather than PPV.  Originally UFC 320 was on 9/13 and last night they announced that UFC 320 will be on 10/4 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. He acted like he paid no attention and there was no issue but I’m certain everyone that has a good relationship with him asked him for weeks and this was the first time he said anything on the subject.

Alalshikh just confirmed that today, saying “My brother Dana will promote this fight. It is the fight of Riyadh Season, and we have a deal with TKO to promote it and it will be the biggest fight in boxing, and tomorrow I think I will tell the details and the platform and the place for this fight, me and Dana.”

It appears the issues that had to do with running a PPV head-to-head have been cleared up.

— On Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall, White continued to talk like they’re doing the fight and it’s done but later said it’s up to Jones and you can’t make anyone fight. He shot down the idea of Jones vs. Francis Ngannou as a co-promotion of course and said if Jones fights it’ll be Aspinall.   When it was brought up about Jones saying that rather than be stripped he’d vacate the title, White said that he wasn’t aware Jones said that and doesn’t pay attention to things like that in social media.

— A memorial service for Sabu will take place on 6/21 at 3 p.m. at The Copper Moon Event Space, 247 Center St. in Lansing,  MI.  Rob Van Dam will deliver the eulogy.

I think overall Worlds Collide was a big success. More than 10,000 fans attendeed although clearly this was a WWE audience going to a show promoted by WWE and very different from an AAA audience.  I thought the idea of doing the angle on the afternoon show to lead to Dominik Mysterio vs. Octagon Jr.. was great when it was done, but after the match, I was baffled why they did it.  It seemed so counterproductive to rush through that match in that manner.

Undertaker was backstage at the Worlds Collide show.

— Money in the Bank yesterday was the No. 2 show of the day on Netflix in Canada and was No. 1 in Mexico. We’ll have all the weekly rankings in the Observer this coming Tuesday. We should have the rest of the world rankings tomorrow.  

— We talked about the Mike Tenay situation on the show last night but he was called to do the show but the two sides did not come to a financial agreement.  

— We talked extensively about Corey Graves’ work as the lead announcer on last night’s show. He did a great job and probably was the only announcer on the WWE’s staff who could have pulled that one off.

— We’re looking for your thoughts on both Money in the Bank and Worlds Collide. You can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match for each show to [email protected]. We’re also looking for reports from the TNA tapings last night in Tempe, AZ.  We’re looking for results, angles and other notes to [email protected]

— For Google searches, last night’s UFC show did about 1.3 million and was one of the two top numbers of the weekend along with Los Angeles. Money in the Bank did 250,000 and Worlds Collide did 60,000.  

— Today is the date of two of the biggest matches in Japanese wrestling history. June 8, 1990 was the date of the Mitsuharu Misawa win over Jumbo Tsuruta which established Misawa as a superstar and led All Japan to its great success over the next decade, really until the death of Giant Baba and Misawa forming NOAH. It was a tremendous match but the key was the Misawa upset win, and the crowd reaction was amazing. I was there live and I’d estimate 75 percent of the people in the crowd were crying seeing the emotion in the building. I was too, because if you were there, you pretty much couldn’t not do it.

The only thing comparable in the U.S that I was at was when Dustin vs. Cody at the first Double or Nothing as far as people crying, but it was far more prevalent in Misawa vs.Tsuruta and just very different. Dustin vs. Cody was a great match but it’s not like that match was responsible for a boom period or set up the biggest feud that skyrocketed the promotion for a few years and created a new No. 1 star of the promotion who stayed in that spot for a decade.  

— 2018 on this day was the famous Kenny Omega s. Kazuchika Okada 2/3 falls match at Dominion, which was the last match the two had. Many people, including myself, thought this was the best match that they had ever seen.

— The episode of  Smackdown on 6/27 will air live from Saudi Arabia from 1-4 p.m. Eastern on Netflix. So it will air everywhere in the world before the U.S. where it will air on a seven hour tape delay.

— While most didn’t know, because it was in Spanish and it was not predominantly a Spanish speaking audience, Dayra Barreca, who sang the Mexican national anthem, messed up the words of the song. Mediotiempo in Mexico ran an editorial about it. They did praise Lilian Garcia doing a great job with the U.S. national anthem.

— Kirk White’s Big Time Wrestling from Friday night in Newark, CA. The show sold out. Alpha Zo b Alan Angels-DQ, Ray Rico b Jheri Jiggalo, Marcw Leis b KJ Oroso, QT Marshall b Bad Dude Tito, Jiah Jewel & Starboy Charlie b Elijah Drago & Brady Booker, Los Suavecitos b Live Danger, Aaron Solo b LJ Cleary, VertVixen b Sandra Moone to  win the BTW women’s title.  Bayley was in attendance at the show. The next show is 8/8 with Matt Cardona and Shotzi Blackheart.

— WWE has a ton of ID tournament matches in Deer Park, NY tonight at 7 p.m. and the NYWC Sportatorium:

  • Kyie Rae vs.  Zara Zakher in a women’s tournament match
  • Men’s tournament matches:
  • Sean Legacy vs. Brad Baylor
  • Aaron Rourke vs. Jackson Drake
  • Ricky Smokes vs. Cappuccino Jones
  • Jack Cartwheel vs.  Marcus Mathers
  • Jordan Oasis vs. Bryce Donovan
  • Ice Williams vs. It’s Gal

Report: Nick Khan took over in new R-Truth WWE contract discussions

Posted on by Josh Nason

The bridge to R-Truth making a surprise appearance at Money in the Bank and signing a new WWE contract was apparently WWE president Nick Khan, according to a report out by Fightful Select.

Following last Sunday’s news that he wouldn’t be returning to WWE, there was a public backlash on social media, chants during Raw and SmackDown, and several WWE wrestlers airing their grief on social media that Truth wouldn’t be coming back.

The outlet reported they were told it was a talent relations employee who initially gave Truth the news rather than a higher-up which only added to the situation given he had been there for so long.

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They stated that Truth ignored WWE’s attempts to talk during the week until Khan himself took the lead to work out a new contract with both sides “meeting halfway.” No details were provided on the length of the deal or if Paul “Triple H” Levesque was involved at all.

It’s also unknown who made the decision to not bring Truth back to begin with and what specifically made them reverse course.

Truth’s surprise appearance came in the main event as he laid out John Cena, clearing the way for Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso to pick up a win over Cena and Logan Paul. New merchandise focused on Ron Killings was then released shortly thereafter.

PWInsider reported Saturday night that something had changed in the prior 72 hours as Truth was already getting inquiries from several organizations about doing business.

R-Truth thanks fans after WWE return: ‘We made history together’

Posted on by Ian Carey

R-Truth says his WWE return came from fans being “seen, heard, felt, and understood.”

Now going by his real name Ron Killings, R-Truth has been responding to people on social media following his surprise appearance at Money in the Bank on Saturday.

On Sunday, @ItsLovelyLaveau posted on X about Truth’s return, writing:

“Wrestling as a collective, fans and wrestlers TOGETHER, used their voices to help get a Black man’s job back in less than a WEEK!! Thats why the ‘how’ is important to ME. 22 million views and broken hearts… Change was made. Period.”

Truth responded:

“#WeWantTruth was seen, heard, felt and understood… Believe me when I say this, I Love EVERYONE of yall to death. We made history together”

Truth also responded to Jackie Redmond, who posted that she doesn’t care how Truth’s return came to be.

“Boom! Thank you Jackie,” he wrote.

R-Truth Returns to WWE

Truth’s return was also discussed by Dave Meltzer and Garrett Gonzales on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio. Meltzer said:

“I don’t know when the decision was made, it was a late decision, but obviously the idea that he was done was very real. I’ve since found out from somebody who would absolutely know that yeah, it wasn’t that close-guarded secret.”

Meltzer later added:

“There’s so many ramifications of this. But also, not just that the fans are going to now do this when anyone of any real name value is cut. Could you imagine if there was a Bray Wyatt type cut now?”

Gonzales and Meltzer also discussed how Truth’s return impacts Cody Rhodes getting the pin on Cena and what that means for their story going forward. The full edition of Wrestling Observer Radio is available here.

WWE Money in the Bank review: John Cena unable to handle the Truth

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Guess who’s back?

One of the top stories of last week was the sudden dismissal of R-Truth exactly one week ago. Fans were upset, wrestlers were upset. Everyone seemed to be down on WWE and TKO for releasing someone everyone enjoyed having around. Chants of “we want Truth” were so loud on both Raw and SmackDown that John Cena even addressed the chants on the latter show, just one day before Saturday’s Money in the Bank in Los Angeles.

Then, lo and behold! WWE listened to the fans and did a 180, bringing Truth back in the main event. John Cena was in control, blasting Cody Rhodes with the WWE title as their partners were out of the ring. Wearing a hood, the returning Truth speared Cena and once he unmasked, the crowd erupted. Truth’s help allowed Cody Rhodes to pin Cena, setting up their likely SummerSlam rematch.

TKO, WWE’s parent company who decided to cut more contracts one week ago, applauded on social media. Yay! 

Truth’s return is great for both the wrestlers and the fans alike that wanted him back. But at the same time, it would be nice if WWE didn’t pretend this was all by design. When a reporter asked Triple H at the post-show press conference what led to Truth’s return, Triple H provided no details and in fact revealed, hey man, it was just part of the show. Great.

Tribalistic fans online both before and after Triple H’s response declared everything was a work, that Truth really wasn’t released, and this was all an elaborate worked shoot masterminded by Triple H. That’s great. So when is Carlito returning? Or Valhallah? Or the 17 wrestlers who were cut last month? Can’t wait for their returns!

Further into the night, R-Truth tweeted that it wasn’t a work. So that settles that. Right?

The main event overall wasn’t much and was overshadowed by the big angle at the end. In fact, all anybody wanted to talk about after the show was the big return. But it served its purpose of setting up Cena’s future opponents and capped off a show that, overall, was fine and easy to watch.

The men’s Money in the Bank was pretty good, though nothing really got going until all the interference startted. The big storyline point wasn’t so much in who won it, but who didn’t. Solo Sikoa did not win thanks to Jacob Fatu, who finally did the big turn and put his former Bloodline associate through a ladder after taking out Seth Rollins’ new associates Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed. It only makes sense that these two are destined for a big match at SummerSlam, but may have a match sooner than that, maybe at Night of Champions or Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Seth Rollins ended up winning the briefcase, so let the countdown begin as to when he cashes in. Could be as soon as this Monday, when Jey Uso defends against Gunther. Or it may not be for months. All I know is the usual formula is one of the briefcase winners cashes in quickly, another teases it for the next 10 months until they pull the trigger.

The women’s Money in the Bank ladder match opened the show, and I thought this was also a solid match. The newest members of the main roster like Roxanne Perez, Stephanie Vaquer, and Giulia all looked good here. In the end, Naomi won the briefcase, continuing her momentum following her heel turn several months ago. She will likely be tailing WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton for some time, or maybe just a week. See above.

Becky Lynch defeated Lyra Valkyria to win the Women’s Intercontinental title in what I thought was a very good match, better than their first encounter. Lynch grabbed the tights for the sudden pinfall. A distraught Valkyria lived up to her end of their deal and raised Lynch’s hand, but then laid out Lynch after she demanded Valkyria put the title around her waist. This will lead to a third rubber match, maybe SummerSlam or sooner than that. One thing for sure, this feud is doing wonders for Valkyria’s career as she’s been a strong promo and people are getting into her feud with Lynch.

Dominik Mysterio quickly retained the Intercontinental title over Octagon Jr in a match that was set up during Saturday afternoon’s Worlds Collide event. I wondered why they added this so late and my only guess was that they had some big angle planned. But then the match happened and Mysterio won in four minutes. Octagon got some stuff in but I am not sure what the point of him losing so quickly was unless they’re building to something involving Mysterio working Triplemania Regia or Triplemania itself.

Or maybe after a show where more WWE guys won than AAA, they wanted to get one more win for the road. Seems counterproductive, but I’m not WWE.

WOR: WWE Money in the Bank, Worlds Collide, & UFC 316 recaps

Posted on by Garrett Gonzales

Dave Meltzer and I, Garrett Gonzales, are back with a very recap heavy episode of Wrestling Observer Radio.

We talked about the news of the day including the following:

  • Ben Askren’s illness
  • R-Truth re-joining WWE
  • WrestleMania 42 being official for Las Vegas
  • The Rock inducting Mark Kerr into the UFC Hall of Fame

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We then recapped both WWE Money in the Bank and Worlds Collide. Then, Paul Fontaine joined us to go over UFC 316 and the news coming out of the show.

Click here to listen (sub needed) or watch on YouTube (video sub needed)