Former WWE CEO Vince McMahon is taking public issue with an upcoming Netflix documentary series, which focuses on his career with the company. The founder of World Wrestling Entertainment, McMahon is no longer involved with the company in any capacity, following various sexual assault allegations and a sex trafficking lawsuit from former employee Janel Grant.

Netflix's upcoming documentary series, Mr. McMahon, takes its name from the in-ring persona that McMahon developed within WWE over the years. The negative aspects of the character have become synonymous with McMahon, especially in recent years as more and more allegations of his behavior have come to light. McMahon, however, believes that he's not been painted accurately by the doc. Having watched an early cut of the series, McMahon claims the series has "misrepresented" a lot about him and will cause viewers to believe false narratives.

"I don't regret participating in this Netflix documentary," McMahon wrote in a statement released on social media channels Monday night. "The producers had an opportunity to tell an objective story about my life and the incredible business I built, which were equally filled with excitement, drama, fun, and a fair amount of controversy and life lessons. Unfortunately, based on an early partial cut I've seen, this doc falls short and takes the predictable path of conflating the 'Mr. McMahon' character with my true self, Vince. The title and promos alone make that evident.'

"A lot has been misrepresented or left out entirely in an effort to leave viewers intentionally confused. The producers use typical editing tricks with out of context footage and dated soundbites etc. to distort the viewers' perception and support a deceptive narrative. In an attempt to further their misleading account, the producers use a lawsuit based on an affair I ended as evidence that I am, in fact, 'Mr. McMahon.' I hope the viewer will keep an open mind and remember that there are two sides to every story."

pic.twitter.com/feI8wah51u

-- Vince McMahon (@VinceMcMahon) September 23, 2024

Grant's attorney, Ann Callis, issued a statement on Monday evening responding to McMahon's words about the upcoming documentary.

"Vince McMahon physically and emotionally abused, sexually assaulted and human trafficked Janel Grant for more than two years. Calling this horrific behavior 'an affair' is delusional and nothing more than a sad attempt to save his shredded reputation. Although Ms. Grant has not seen the Mr. McMahon docuseries, we hope it shines a bright light on his abhorrent and criminal actions by accurately portraying the realities of his abusive and explosive behavior.

"Ms. Grant will no longer be silenced by McMahon. Her story, though deeply troubling and exceptionally painful, is one that can help other abuse survivors find their voices. We seek to hold McMahon, John Laurinaitis and WWE accountable and to give Ms. Grant her day in court."

Ann Callis, attorney for Janel Grant, the former WWE employee and sexual assault and human trafficking survivor responded to @VinceMcMahon tonight: https://t.co/lAUIGBt6yp pic.twitter.com/rZNn19U9Zl

-- Kendra Barkoff Lamy (@kabarkoff) September 24, 2024

The Mr. McMahon series is a six-part documentary that is meant to explore the former CEO's "controversial reign" as the head of the company. Mr. McMahon comes from director Chris Smith, who previously directed Netflix's hit Tiger King documentary series. Smith was working on the series before many of the current allegations against McMahon came to light, causing changes to the project on the fly.

"Over the four years of production, the story evolved in truly shocking ways, culminating in some extremely harrowing allegations," Smith said. "The final product is a revealing documentary that we believe offers a rich and nuanced portrait of the man and the complex legacy he left behind."

Mr. McMahon a six-part documentary series that will debut on Netflix this Wednesday. This documentary will ultimately serve as a first step to a massive new partnership between Netflix and the WWE, with the streamer taking over as the exclusive home of flagship series Monday Night Raw in 2025.

To open tonight's episode of WWE Monday Night Raw, Dominik Mysterio and Liv Morgan arrived to the show in style with a Rey Mysterio-esque ride. The Judgment Day duo rolled into the arena in the iconic cherry red Lucha Low Rider that Rey Mysterio rolled around WrestleMania 39 in paying homage to the late Eddie Guerrero. They were there to celebrate but Rhea Ripley very quickly rained on their parade. She doesn't care about their little victory lap, she wants to get down to business ahead of WWE Bad Blood next weekend. Morgan teased Ripley about her knee, wondering if that's what she came to the ring to announce -- her not being cleared to compete.

#WWERaw kicks off with @DomMysterio35 & Women's World Champion @YaOnlyLivvOnce arriving in the Lucha Low Rider!@Mattel pic.twitter.com/KxAW7FIpIH

-- WWE (@WWE) September 24, 2024

In May Dom spoke with ComicBook about paying homage to Eddie in his career in which he pokes fun at his storyline from the early 2000s. "I mean, I think so, you know, if you look at wrestling, everyone does everyone's moves, right? Who gives a s***. But at the end of the day, if you look back in the history books and you watch the Eddie Guerrero promo, you think next time you judge me for doing anything. You remember who he said was gonna carry on the Guerrero name. Just throwing that [out there] at the end of the day. He knew something we all didn't in 2005, 20 plus years ago. He knew something that we all didn't know. So I'm just doing old pops a favor at this point."

Unfortunately for Morgan, Ripley said quite the opposite. She's more than cleared to wrestle Morgan for the Women's World Championship, she's actually there to address Dirty Dom. As he loves to meddle in Morgan's matches and has prevented Ripley from beating her in the past, he will have nowhere to run next weekend. While many fans have expected to see the two women inside a cage, it is Dominik who will be in a cage -- a shark cage, that is.

He will be hanging above the ring, helpless and unable to help Morgan retain her championship. While that handles Dom, there are still several other members of the group that even Priest can't fend off by himself. In recent weeks Jey Uso has aligned with the duo, so perhaps he will help Mami pull out a victory over her rival once and for all.

What do you think of Dom and Liv's new ride? Are you excited to see Ripley challenge at Bad Blood? Let me know your thoughts on X and Bluesky @haleyanne_!

This afternoon wrestling fans began to notice that a key piece of AEW's Nigel McGuinness and Bryan Danielson story was removed from YouTube, pointing to a supposed DMCA claim WWE made that removed the video from AEW's YouTube channel. While it's raises many questions, the answer might not be as malicious as things appears. McGuinness worked for WWE for several years as a WWE commentator and during that time there was a special highlight on his Ring of Honor career on WWE Network. He was also part of a Ring of Honor roundtable with Seth Rollins and Cesaro. A lot of Ring of Honor footage was in the aforementioned special, so WWE's systems very well could have flagged the footage in the case it was the same.

As AEW President Tony Khan now owns Ring of Honor and the footage, it seemed to be a quick fix as the video has now made its way back to the channel. After a near two decade long rivalry, McGuinness and Danielson will battle one last time at AEW Grand Slam in New York, pending Danielson's clearance to wrestle. Their feud was a defining part of ROH's early years, and the very last time they ever met in a ring was all the way in 2009.

On AEW Collision this past weekend, McGuinness addressed Danielson one final time before their match is set to take place. He accused the AEW World Champion of faking his injury and that by him having yet to accept the challenge, he's afraid of McGuinness. Ahead of the match, McGuinness has been on a media tour discussing his decision to return to the ring at AEW All In to now dusting off the boots for a match with his greatest rival.

Nigel McGuinness Reveals Real Reason He Retired

"There is a lot of confusion and misinformation. The truth of the matter is when I stepped away from wrestling, it was purely because I couldn't make a living as a wrestler anymore," McGuinness clarified to TVInsider about his decision to retire in 2011. "I could have gone back to Ring of Honor and wrestled that style, but I wouldn't have made enough money to even afford health insurance, let alone save for the rest of my life. That style in Ring of Honor just wasn't doable. WWE wasn't interested in me because of an old arm injury, even though it was perfectly healed. I didn't want to go back to TNA given what happened there. That was it. There was no AEW or anywhere else to make a living wrestling. I had no choice."

Stay tuned to ComicBook for updates.

Two of WWE's biggest storylines in the modern era are writing massive chapters at WWE Bad Blood. After eight months of trash talk and two bouts with bloodshed, CM Punk and Drew McIntyre are set to culminate their rivalry inside Hell in a Cell. Nearly three years since their paths first crossed and two WWE WrestleMania main events later, WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns are set to join forces for the first time to take on The Bloodline's Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu. These two titanic tussles have boosted WWE Bad Blood to feeling much bigger than a typical B-tier premium live event, but they have also presented a problem: which match gets the main event spot?

Report: WWE Bad Blood Main Event Revealed

The Bloodline's premium live event parking spot has not changed.

As reported by Fightful Select, WWE has internally scheduled WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns vs. Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu to main event WWE Bad Blood. There is no word on how the rest of the card is currently organized.

Rhodes and Reigns vs. Sikoa and Fatu has had the headlining spot "as of last week," meaning things could still shift around come the day of the premium live event. It's worth noting that WWE once scheduled Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship to headline WWE WrestleMania 39 Night 1 but eventually pivoted to The Usos vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships closer to the day of.

WWE Bad Blood's Embarrassment of Riches

Fans have pushed for CM Punk and Drew McIntyre's Hell in a Cell match, a stipulation typically reserved for the definitive conclusion to a blood feud, to close WWE Bad Blood. Punk and McIntyre's story has been building since WWE Royal Rumble in January and their televised segments have drawn Attitude Era-level viewership spikes.

Rhodes and Reigns have been intertwined for nearly three years now and are largely responsible for the two most successful WWE WrestleMania events of all time. That said, their story is currently in an epilogue stage, operating somewhere that is long before their next singles clash.

WWE has instigated this booking before, where star power takes precedence over story. WWE Survivor Series 2011 comes to mind, a show that saw John Cena and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson vs. The Miz and R-Truth headline over CM Punk's official coronation as WWE Champion. WWE Over The Limit 2012 also saw this, when Cena vs. Monday Night Raw general manager John Laurinaitis in a glorified comedy match got the top spot over Punk vs. Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship. Rhodes and Reigns's story against The Bloodline is far stronger than those aforementioned examples, but it does bear the question of whether they are in that spot because their story is the biggest on the card or if it is more so because of their star power.

WWE Bad Blood goes down on Saturday, October 5th.

WWE is taking the grandest show of them all, WrestleMania, to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2025. The news was announced over the summer but at that time WWE hadn't announced any further details on when tickets would go on sale. A bit unusual as they've never waited quite this long before, but with all of the Premium Live Events happening it makes sense for them to withhold it as long as possible. Tickets are set to go on sale just before Halloween on October 25th at 1 p.m. ET via Ticketmaster.

For fans that are looking for Priority Pass ticket packages from WWE's hospitality partner On Location, those are also slated to go on sale soon. With the packages, it gives fans an opportunity to get premium seating, pre-show hospitality with appearances from your favorite WWE stars and legends, ringside photo opportunities and so much more.

WrestleMania 41 will move to the end of April as opposed to its usual early April slot. Instead, it will emanate from Allegiant Stadium on Saturday, April 19 and Sunday, April 20, 2025. Fans looking to attend next year's event can now sign up for pre-sale opportunities so they don't miss a chance at the best seats possible.

As always, WWE makes a huge deal out of WrestleMania, so fans can also expect week-long fun in Sin City with WWE Raw, SmackDown, NXT Stand & Deliver, and the 2025 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony to also take place. They are also bringing back WWE World which was a hit in Philly as it provided fans with the chance to see unforgettable memorabilia like ring gear, title belts, and other iconic WWE props. There was also a plethora of merchandise on sale as well as the chance to get fun WWE themed tattoos. WWE is also looking to host a variety of local outreach events designed to give back to the Las Vegas community.

This year's WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania quickly became the highest-grossing WrestleMania of all time with stars like The Rock, Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch all headlining the event. It's hard to say what will be in store in Vegas, however The Rock has stated on record that he plans on being there as well as Stone Cold Steve Austin who has hinted at his own involvement. Additionally, John Cena's retirement tour is kicking off in 2025 and he has made his intentions of competing in his final WrestleMania very clear.

Stay tuned to ComicBook for further updates.

In early August WWE star and Damage CTRL member Dakota Kai suffered an unfortunate injury during a backstage segment on WWE Raw. The group was attacked which has put her out of action ever since. Worried fans immediately began to wonder just how severe her injuries are. WWE commentary announced thereafter that she would need to get surgery on her torn meniscus -- a surgery that roughly takes 8-10 weeks to heal. While she's been off television and hasn't provided many updates on her status, Kai posted a set of cryptic images on her Instagram stories. It was three separate stories with videos of herself, each one spelling out "see you soon."

DAKOTA KAI VIA HER INSTAGRAM STORY SAID "SEE YOU SOON"

WE ARE SO BACK pic.twitter.com/hQelZI2iGG

-- CrispyWrestling (@CrispyWrestlin) September 21, 2024

This would put Kai way ahead of schedule in her recovery if she is truly set to return to the ring sometime soon, but if she's able to travel they may look for her to get back on television as soon as she physically can. The saddest part about Kai's situation is that she only returned in February from her last knee injury. Nevertheless, when she does return there is a natural story between herself, the rest of Damage CTRL and PFC as they will undoubtedly be seeking revenge for re-injuring their stablemate.

Damage CTRL has been off television for the past few weeks of Raw, but prior to their absence they were in a feud with the former Women's Tag Team Champions The Unholy Union (Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn) as well as Pure Fusion Collective (Shayna Baszler, Sonya Deville and Zoey Stark). The group has lost half of its members in the past few months to injuries, as Asuka is currently out recovering from injuries she opted to begin treating over the summer.

Kai's initial run with WWE began in 2017 where she quickly became a threat on the NXT women's roster. She competed in the first-ever women's WarGames match in 2019 and her first Royal Rumble just months later. During her time in NXT she was a Women's Tag Team Champion, her first title on the WWE brand. She would eventually get released and subsequently rehired a few months later, joining Bayley and IYO SKY to form Damage CTRL. While she's been an undeniable threat in the stable, she has expressed wanting to compete in more singles matches as of late.

ComicBook continues to wish Kai the best in her recovery. Stay tuned for updates.

WWE superstar Zelina Vega is no novice when it comes to tying her love of all things cosplay into her career as a professional wrestler. Throughout the years, you've probably seen her incredibly intricate bedazzled looks on WWE Raw, SmackDown and even Premium Live Events. Her looks have inspired other wrestlers to show their fandoms proudly as well, which can be seen a lot across the WWE specifically, with stars like Jade Cargill, Candice LeRae, Johnny Gargano (another pioneer in the cosplay gear realm), The New Day, Seth Rollins, AEW's Mercedes Mon? (Sasha Banks in WWE), Ricochet, Rey Mysterio and so many others.

Zelina taps into her nerdy side to combine two worlds that are often overlooked with the amount of crossovers there are between wrestling and other "nerdy" outlets like gaming, anime, comics, superheroes, and so much more. In collaboration with ComicBook, Zelina is giving a first look at some of her upcoming cosplays as the Halloween season draws closer. To kick things off, Zelina is showcasing her love of Tokyo Ghoul, more specifically the iconic Ken Kaneki.

Tokyo Ghoul is a dark fantasy series that takes place in an alternate version of Tokyo, Japan, where humans coexist with ghouls. For the uninitiated, ghouls appear like humans but the only way for them to survive is by consuming human flesh. The widely successful manga has produced several other forms of media, including video games, an animated series and a film.

When asked about why she decided to choose to cosplay Ken specifically, Zelina says it mostly came down to how much she connects with his tragic backstory. "I chose this cosplay because I love the anime but more specifically, the beautifully tragic story of Ken losing his humanity and finally giving in to his ghoul side in the form of a subconscious encounter with Rize and the transformation being illustrated by blood splashing on to a white rose, turning into a spider lily.

It's why I have brought spider lilies into my hair and gear. I love Ken's iconic look but I especially love the meaning behind him developing Marie Antoinette syndrome. Being mentally tortured by Jason so much that his hair turned white. "What's 1000-7?" stays with me." The gear that Zelina is referencing was shown on a recent episode of WWE Raw where the white gear is adorned with spider lilies and crystals. Additionally her hair -- which resembles Ken's -- has a spider lily clip and there are other red accents throughout that tie the look together.

The spider lily's origins began when they were planted atop graves to keep rodents and other creatures from digging. Over time, they became synonymous with death in Japanese folklore, and in Tokyo Ghoul specifically, there is a scene where Kaneki is surrounded by the blood red flowers, signifying the death of his old self. Elsewhere in pop culture another Tokyo Ghoul superfan, chart-topping rapper Megan Thee Stallion, has many references to the flowers in the music video for her single "HISS."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Thea Trinidad Bu?dgen (@zelinavegawwe)

Who is Ken Kaneki From Tokyo Ghoul?

Ken is one of the main characters from the highly popular manga Tokyo Ghoul which was released in 2011. Ken is turned into a half-ghoul after having an encounter with Rize Kamishiro after their date, forcing him to battle with a complex social and political climate while grasping at the strings of his humanity.

While it's one of two ways to become a ghoul, the half-ghoul is often much stronger than a pureblooded one due to their unique abilities. Ken is unique, though, because when you're a half ghoul only one of your eyes undergoes the red transformation known as the Kakugan which is a clear focal point of Zelina's cosplay.

Ken's ghoul mask is made of leather with a wide mouth opening filled with artificial teeth and gums, making it appear more realistic. In between there is a zipper which comes in handy for the ghouls so they can easily open and close it when consuming meals without having to take their whole mask off. This also prevented them from being exposed and discovered by what was once known as the CCG (Commission of Counter Ghoul). The organization's main priority was to exterminate ghouls by using their powers against them.

Tokyo Ghoul is streaming on Hulu and Crunchyroll.

The Triple H era of WWE has seen exponential growth and success, and now it enters a new phase as many of the company's flagship programs launch on new networks. SmackDown has already started its new era on USA Network, and NXT will soon set up shop on its new network as well. Monday Night Raw will then shift to its new home at the beginning of next year, and now NBC has joined the party with its Saturday Night's Main Event. Thanks to all of those various moves and deals there have also been some changes to some of WWE's other programs as well as the locations of some older content, which is why we thought it would be helpful to bring all of those details and changes into one place, and these have been confirmed by a Peacock spokesperson as well.

Monday Night Raw

WWE announced a landmark deal earlier this year that will send Monday Night Raw to streaming powerhouse Netflix, and that deal will begin on January 1st, 2025. There are still some details yet to be revealed in regards to the Netflix deal, like how the show will weave in commercials and how much past PG the show will go, but the date is locked in, and it will be a major change for the cable staple.

That deal doesn't start until January though, so in the meantime WWE and USA Network have agreed to partner up during the interim, keeping Raw on USA throughout the rest of the year. During that time, old episodes of Raw will continue to be available on Peacock as part of the past Peacock agreement, and new episodes of Raw will become available on Peacock 30 days after they air on USA Network. This will change though as of 1/1/2025 with the move to Netflix, as Peacock will no longer have the WWE Raw library or new episodes, and a countdown clock will be in place to convey this to viewers.

NXT

At the moment all of WWE's shows are currently located on USA Network, but while Raw won't move until January, NXT is moving in just a week and a half. NXT will kick off its new era on The CW as of October 1st, and it looks to pretty much keep everything intact with the move. That said, like with Raw, there will be some changes to older episodes and where new episodes go after they air.

Right now you can still find old episodes of NXT on Peacock, but as of 10/1/2024, Peacock will no longer have the NXT library of old episodes, and new episodes will no longer go there after 30 days. Like with Raw, NXT will have a countdown clock letting viewers know about the upcoming change. It's currently unknown where new episodes of NXT will be able to be viewed on The CW, but that could end up being possible on The CW's official app, though that's just a theory at the moment.

One other detail of note is that while NXT's special episodes like Great American Bash will air on The CW as they did on USA Network, NXT's Premium Live Events like the upcoming Halloween Havoc will still stream live on Peacock.

SmackDown

SmackDown recently had its big USA Network premiere, hitting the ground running on its new era with Cody Rhodes, the return of Roman Reigns, and plenty more. This is part of a five-year deal WWE signed with USA Network, moving SmackDown to its new home after several years at FOX.

WWE already has a deal with NBC Universal in place for its streaming content and Premium Live Events, which are exclusively on Peacock. This includes all of WWE's Premium Live Events, including upcoming ones like Bad Blood, Crown Jewel, and Survivor Series, and now SmackDown's old episodes will join that growing library, while new episodes of SmackDown will also be available on Peacock 30 days after they air on USA Network.

Saturday Night's Main Event

That brings us to the latest addition to the WWE lineup, and it brings a new network into the fold as well. Part of WWE's new deal with NBC Universal included a new venture for the two companies, and it's called Saturday Night's Main Event. WWE will produce four Saturday Night's Main Event specials per year moving forward, and these will air on NBC in primetime, with the first one launching on December 14th.

NXT Level Up and WWE Speed

Now that we've tackled the big shows, let's talk about two other shows in regular rotation at the moment. NXT Level Up streams every Friday on Peacock and features some of the newest talent in NXT. It's a great showcase for brand-new additions to NXT and allows them to get some spotlight before heading to NXT TV, but right now it's not known if this show will be affected by the NXT and CW deal. As of now, WWE hasn't confirmed any sort of status for it, so we'll have to wait and see.

A much more recent addition to WWE's lineup is WWE Speed, which airs exclusively on X. WWE Speed is directly inspired by the X format and features 3-minute matches, which stream on X every Wednesday. WWE has also introduced WWE Speed Championships, with a Speed Women's Championship currently being battled over through a tournament.

Premium Live Events (Through Rest of 2024)

• Bad Blood - October 5th
• NXT Halloween Havoc - October 27th
• Crown Jewel - November 2nd
• Survivor Series: WarGames - November 30th

Which event are you most excited for throughout the remainder of 2024? You can talk all thigns wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

Lyra Valkyria just made her WWE video game debut in the Global Superstars pack for WWE 2K24, a huge milestone for any WWE Superstar. She also recently returned to NXT to team up with her old partner Tatum Paxley, so it's been a busy few weeks for the Raw superstar. That said, when she's not taking on opponents in the ring, there's one particular franchise that she loves returning to, and that happens to be Lord of the Rings. ComicBook recently had the chance to speak to Valkyria all about her WWE 2K24 debut, but we also asked about Rings of Power and if there was a role she would love to bring to life in the franchise. The answer will delight many longtime fans, as she highlighted one of the mythology's most beloved couples in Beren and L?thien.

Nothing I Love More

With Rings of Power well into season 2, we had to ask what she thought of the season so far. Valkyria hasn't had a chance to dive into season 2 just yet, but she's excited to dive in, and she's also hyped for the upcoming animated prequel series Lord of the Rings: War of Rohirrim. When Lord of the Rings came up, Valkyria said, "There is nothing I love more in life. It's my be-all-end-all. Rings of Power looks incredible. I've yet to dive into season 2, and there's also the animation that's coming out. There's so much, there's so much to delve into there."

Then I had to ask if she could play a role in the series, who would she want to play. The answer jumps back in time all the way to the first human and elven couple, known in song and in the mythology as the beloved love story of Beren and L?thien. "Oh, my goodness, yes, like to have any part," Valkyria said. "The story of Beren and L?thien I've always thought was very beautiful. So maybe something along those lines, who knows?"

An All-Time Love Story

The story of Beren and L?thien is referred to several times in Lord of the Rings, but it often highlights very specific traits of Beren and L?thien as opposed to going into great detail about their thrilling love story. It's not until you read The Silmarillion that you really discover their story in full, and this was later expanded upon in The History of Middle-earth. Both dive much further into the whirlwind romance that stretches even beyond the mortal realm.

Following a betrayal that left everyone dead but him, Beren wanders into the Kingdom of Doriath and meets the immortal beauty L?thien. It's love at first sight, but L?thien's father Thingol lays a challenge at their feet before they can wed. They must retrieve a Silmaril from Morgoth's crown, and Thingol thinks this impossible, so their wedding is essentially forever halted.

Thingol however underestimates his own daughter considerably, as she goes on to save Beren along his journey to attain the Silmaril time and time again. Along with a giant dog named Huan, L?thien frees Beren from Sauron, sings everyone to sleep so Beren can take the Silmaril, heals Beren after he gets his hand bitten off by a werewolf, and then successfully confronts the Gods to bring Beren back to life after he is killed by that same werewolf. The cost of that last heroic act is her immortality, but despite that, the two go on to live a long and prosperous life together.

As you can clearly see, this is a story more than deserving of not just an appearance in a series, but frankly its own series, and hopefully we get to see that story brought to life in some way soon. The story was also given more spotlight in 2017's Beren And L?thien, which showed how the story has changed in subsequent tellings.

How would you like to see this story brought to life? You can talk all things wrestling, TV, and more with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

AEW seems to be close to a new TV deal, and now a new report reveals when AEW's pay-per-views could be moving to a new streaming home. According to Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men Podcast, AEW pay-per-views will be available on Max starting in January 2025 (via WrestlePurists). While they will still be purchasable in other places like they are now, they will all be calling Max home for those who prefer to just have a one-stop shop. If this ends up being the case, there will be more than a few AEW fans signing up for the service ahead of their first pay-per-view of 2025.

Why This Matters

There's a wealth of AEW fans who have wanted the company to find a streaming home for their content, both in terms of being able to find old or recently aired episodes and in regards to their pay-per-views. WWE has a similar deal with Peacock, where you can find older WWE content as well as new documentaries and specials, and that's in addition to all of the WWE pay-per-views throughout the year.

AEW hasn't had that sort of option, so while you can purchase the pay-per-views through a variety of methods, it's more difficult to find older content that happens during the week on Dynamite, Rampage, and Collision. If the Max deal happens and it also includes parts of the library, this will be a thing of the past.

Plus, the value only increases further for those who already have Max. WWE's content gave Peacock a welcome boost of specialized content that keeps people invested year-round, especially with the pay-per-views included. If this deal happens, Max will now be that for AEW, and AEW's content will only benefit a streaming service looking to further increase its standing in the ongoing profitability battle for all streamers.

Max Gets a Boost

Warner Bros. Discovery hopes that Max continues to be a destination service for shows you can't get anywhere else. Their roster currently includes hits like House of the Dragon, Hacks, True Detective, Harley Quinn, White Lotus, Dune Prophecy, Hard Knocks, and most recently The Penguin. There will also be more shows on the way, including the DC Studios launching Creature Commandos, The Gilded Age, IT: Welcome To Derry, The Pitt, Duster, and new seasons of Just Like That and the heavily anticpated season 2 of The Last of Us.

Having an infusion of more original content is never going to hurt, and AEW will give it plenty to work with. Between the pay-per-views and all of the weekly shows (including a possible new addition to that list), AEW will provide original content weekly that should keep Max in rotation even when they are between other big projects. 2025 is shaping up to be a big and very important year for AEW, so having a stgreaming home for even just its pay-per-views will be a welcome step.

When AEW's content lands on a streming service, what is the first thing you're watching? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

Another WWE SmackDown is in the books, with the September 20th episode setting up shop in Sacramento, California in the home of the Sacramento Kings. Tonight though it was all about the WWE Superstars of the blue brand, and as always, there were a host of memorable moments over the course of the two-hour runtime. The headliner was clearly the cinematic face-to-face between Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes, but there were also Championship Titles on the line, a roster spot on SmackDown up for grabs, and the possibility of betrayals in the mix as well. Here are the highs, the lows, and the other standout moments from tonight's stacked SmackDown card.

A Story of Titans

It's impossible not to start with the face-to-face meeting on the football field between Rhodes and Reigns, and this absolutely lived up to the hype. WWE gave this stand-off the full cinematic treatment, and the football field was not only a nice touch visually but also meant something to both superstars, feeding into the larger story and their promos in the moment.

Rhodes and Reigns both had some great lines throughout, though Rhodes citing his previous quote and bringing back Chief without a Tribe deserves some applause, as does his "you played football here and then went back to the beach" line before delivering a most dismissive "thank you". Meanwhile Reigns got things moving with his man with no country lines, and you know parts of that are going to be included across every Reigns video package from here on out.

The segment even closed out strong, with both agreeing to work together without losing the edge and unease that comes from their history. Rhodes not wanting Reigns to dismiss his hold on the Title is palpable, while Reigns just telling him he's in his way and walking off the field was a perfect final note.

Highs

Chelsea Green: Green can turn just about anything to gold, and while the appeal of a dumpster match isn't that high for me, her video segment here completely sold me. Coupled with how phenomenal Michin has been over the past few months in every single match she's been a part of, this has become a must-see TV next week.

The slow slow turn of Kevin Owens: He's been a face for a while now, and while this seemed like one big fakeout, they've effectively let it simmer and develop over time. Now it just about seems like a foregone conclusion, and you simply never know if tonight will be the night that Owens finally flips the switch. When it does happen, it's going to be fantastic.

Lows

What is going on with Vinci: Did you see another loss in the cards? The first loss was a shocking moment, and actually a bit funny, but what I didn't expect was for there to be a second loss the very next week. Now, this is fantastic for Apollo Crews, and I'm always happy to see him get a win, but if you're going to go through all the effort of repackaging Vinci, it does seem odd to then give him one gimmick loss and then an actual loss right off the bat. Hopefully, a plan will become clearer in time, but right now it's a bit head-scratching.

DIY Can't Catch a Break: Boy, it feels like DIY gets the short end of the stick at every possible turn. It was already a blow when they had to lose the Tag Team Championships so quickly, and ever since they can't seem to gain a foothold, getting ambushed or attacked consistently without any wins to balance things out. Even their save spot was more of a showcase for The Bloodline, with Cody making the save after the save. Would love DIY to have some success or at least a real story in the meantime, and hopefully that's in the cards in the near future.

Those are our thoughts on tonight's SmackDown, but what did you think of everything that went down? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

The stakes were high for the Tornado Tag Match on tonight's WWE SmackDown, as the future of two superstars on the blue brand and a Title were all on the line. If Nia Jax or Tiffany Stratton pinned Bayley or Naomi, that person would have to leave SmackDown, and on the other side, if Bayley or Naomi pinned Jax or Stratton, that person would earn a shot at Jax's Women's Championship at Bad Blood. Early on Bayley and Naomi were working well together, but after Naomi broke up a pin by Bayley, the two were only tentative allies. Then it ended up where both were involved in the pin on Jax, so while they did win, they will have to face each other in a one-on-one match next week to decide who gets to take on Jax at Bad Blood.

On The Same Team

The bell rung and all four were battling immediately, with Jax taking on Naomi and Stratton taking on Bayley. Bayley and Naomi teamed up at the beginning to keep Jax and Stratton from getting any momentum and successfully knocked the Champ to the mat after slamming her head into the turnbuckle. Naomi then slammed Jax into the ring apron and hit Jax with a clothesline, but then they both went for the cover.

Jax was able to get back in the mix by throwing Naomi up in the air and sending her hard to the mat, and then they turned their attention to Bayley, with Stratton hitting the blockbuster and Jax going for the cover, though Bayley kicked out. Jax focused on Bayley and Stratton stayed on Naomi, going for a cover that Naomi kicked out of at 1 and a half.

Jax and Stratton knocked Bayley to the floor with a dropkick and then Jax taunted Naomi in the corner, but it backfired as Naomi hit a move off the top rope and went for a pin. Jax kicked out but Naomi stayed on her, only to get hit in the face by the Champ and then thrown into the ring post, sending her to the floor.

Bayley was the active target afterward, with Jax sending Bayley into a dropkick from Stratton. Naomi was back in but then Bayley got thrown to the floor and stomped on. Stratton threw Naomi into the barricade, and Jax did the same to Bayley before switching opponents with Stratton. Jax threw Naomi over the barricade and then went back after Bayley, but Bayley pushed her into a kick from Naomi.

The Turning Point

Bayley delivered a clothesline to Stratton and chased her up the ramp, slamming her into the barricade after catching up. Bayley then dove and knocked the Champ into the barricade, and Namoi hit a crossbody over the ropes and knocked Jax to the floor. Bayley and Naomi pushed Stratton back into the ring but Stratton knocked Naomi down only to eat a big leaping kick from Naomi. Bayley went for the cover and looked to have it but Naomi pulled her away before the 3 count.

Naomi then pushed Bayley out of the way and took a hit from Jax, and then both superstars picked up Jax and slammed her down with a back body drop. Bayley ate an elbow from Jax and then Jax planted Naomi on the mat before setting up for the annihilator. Jax climbed up but Bayley caught her and kept her from executing the move. They both went up by Jax but Stratton pulled Bayley away.

Bayley and Jax both hit moves at the same time for covers, but Stratton and Naomi both kicked out. Bayley sent Jax to the floor and slammed Stratton into the corner, and Naomi joined but Jax pulled Bayley away. Jax then picked up Naomi and Naomi successfully contered with an X-Factor. Then Stratton dove to break it up but she hit Jax with a Swanton after Naomi rolled out of the way.

Who Gets the Title Shot?

Bayley and Naomi were both in the ring and Stratton tried to fight them off, and they hit Stratton with a 1-D. Jax picked up Bayley and hit a Samoan Drop, but Naomi rolled both Jax and Bayley up and got the win. Bayley and Naomi got the team win, but it was unclear who got the Title shot against Jax, as they were both involved in the pin. Nick Aldis would address this in a backstage segment later, revealing that they both had a claim to the Title shot as of right now. That's why he booked a one-on-one match between Bayley and Naomi on next week's SmackDown, and the winner will go on to face Jax for the Title at Bad Blood.

What did you think of the finish, and who do you want to see face Jax at Bad Blood? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

WWE's Bad Blood will be in Cody Rhodes hometown of Atlanta, Georgia, and that homecoming will bring something quite unexpected for the Undisputed WWE Champion, as he will be teaming up with his former nemesis Roman Reigns. They will be taking on Solo Sikoa's new Bloodline in a Tag Team match, and tonight they met on the field ahead of their impending team-up. This was quite the cinematic showdown, impressively conveying the intensity without any sort of crowd. The two superstars had differing opinions on who could claim Atlanta as their city, but they were able to come to an agreement, with Reigns giving his word to Rhodes so Rhodes could have his back at Bad Blood, though there was a catch.

Face to Face

The two superstars met on the field face to face, and Reigns started things off. "You see the ground you stand on? Everything you put your eyes on in here, it's mine. Years ago I shed blood, sweat, and tears on this field, many times. So that means this is my field, and if this is my field, this is my stadium, and if this is my stadium, you better believe this is my city. What have you done for my city?"

Rhodes took a moment before responding. "Seven cars. Subtle. Your stadium. You know what's on the other side of this stadium? Techwood Studios. Down the street, Center Stage. Just that way, what we used to call the Omni, now State Farm Arena. Multiple generations of my family have bled for this city. You played football here and went back to the beach. Thank you. This is my home."

The Pressure Is On You Now

"This is your home. Why don't we just cut to the chase? Enough of the history lesson, why don't we get down to the facts here? You signed yourself into a lose-lose situation. you have everything to lose, and you're dealing with a whole situation with people who have nothing to lose. Take me for example. They took Jimmy from me. They took my wiseman. They took my Bloodline, and they took my Ula Fala. I don't have anything to lose. For the first time in a long time, there's no weight on my neck. It's on yours. I'm a man with no country now," Reigns said.

"You're telling me this like, I'm supposed to be surprised. I told you before WrestleMania the first go-round that you would be standing here like you are now, a Cheif without a Tribe. They took Jimmy. They took your wiseman. They took the Ula Fala. Really think you've got nothing to lose, 'cause I see that situation and I will raise you another," Rhodes said. "Take a look atround WWE. Take a good look. We already got a Tribal Chief, it's not you. And we have a WWE Champion. It's not you. So if you can't even beat your own Bloodline, who is standing here right now? I'll tell you who. It's not the biggest box office attraction in the history of WWE. It's not that guaranteed WrestleMania main eventer, no. It's the guy they used to call Roman Reigns."

Reigns said, "What do you want. Just tell me what you want", and Rhodes replied, "What do I want? I want your word. I want your word that you will have my back so that I can have yours." Reigns agreed but had one stipulation. "I'll give you my word. I'll have your back. Just understand this. When it's all done, I'm taking back what's mine." Rhodes then got in his face and said, "It's not yours to take."

What did you think of the confrontation, and who made the best argument of the night? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

After a thrilling set of five matches against Carmelo Hayes, Andrade won the right to a shot at LA Knight's WWE United States Championship. The match was set for tonight's SmackDown, and as expected, the two superstars put on quite the show. When Knight wasn't slamming Andrade's head into the announce table multiple times, he was hitting insane elbow drops from the top rope, and Andrade delivered epic moves from the top rope and a lethal back elbow strike that almost won the match. Knight would still get the win with an out-of-nowhere BFT though, retaining his United States Championship.

A Respectful Start

After an exchange of respect, Knight and Andrade traded counters, avoiding roll-up pins and a BFT before Andrade stepped out of the ring. The two superstars hit each other with some chops and then Andrade caught Knight with a strike and a crossbody into a cover, but Knight kicked out shortly after 1.

The fight got taken to the floor and the announce table, as Knight slammed Andrade's head into the table about 8 or 9 times. Then Knight knocked him back into the ring and set him up in the corner, but that led to Anraade shoving Knight's face into the ring post, knocking him to the floor. Andrade went up top and hit a moonsault that connected with the Champion, knocking him back to the floor.

Andrade got the Champ back in the ring and went for a pin but Knight kicked out, which only angered Andrade, who dragged Knight to the corner and stomped on him a few times. Knight almost got a quick pin but Andrade kicked out and slammed down Knight for a pin attempt of his own, but Knight kicked out at 1 and a half. Andrade locked in a hold but Knight quickly got to his feet and punched his way out, only to get hit with a knee strike by Andrade.

Andrade went for another cover but Knight kicked out at 1 and a half once more. Andrade started to shove the Champ and push him around before more kicks connected, but Knight soon came back with a host of big strikes and a quick clothesline. Andrade caught another clothesline attempt and then knocked Knight down with a forearm shot.

A Thrilling Finale

Andrade went for double knees in the corner but Knight evaded and slammed the challenger down into a cover, though Andrade was able to kick out. Knight slammed Andrade into the turnbuckle and then hit a neck breaker into a cover, but Andrade kicked out at 2. Andrade went up top and was able to course correct with a big splash in mid-air, but he couldn't keep the Champ down. Double knees followed and then Andrade went for a cover once more, but Knight still kicked out at 2.

Knight caught Andrade and slammed him down before setting up on the top rope, and then he hit the elbow drop on the challenger. Andrade countered a BFT attempt and then hit the huge back elbow strike, but somehow Knight was able to kick out of the pin just before the 3 count. Andrade got Knight on the ropes but got caught twice by Knight, but he couldn't keep his footing. Andrade then missed the big dropkick and Knight came back with a BFT, and that was it for the challenger.

What did you think of the match, and who do you want to see challenge Knight next? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

The blue brand has a new home. Earlier this month, WWE officially pivoted WWE SmackDown from FOX to USA Network, returning the Friday-based show to the channel it aired on from 2016 until 2019. WWE SmackDown shifting locations is the first of three major migrations for WWE in the coming months, as WWE NXT is set to leave USA Network for The CW in October and WWE Monday Night Raw also exits USA for Netflix in January. While on-screen storylines have operated as usual over this transition period, WWE made an added effort to give WWE SmackDown a total facelift come moving day.

"It's crazy because like I said, sometimes when you're in the mix, you don't realize things around you," WWE SmackDown star Carmelo Hayes told ComicBook. "That makes me realize like, I didn't really take the moment in the moment to realize what was going on around me. It was really cool and at the same time, as far as SmackDown goes, it feels like it's the beginning of a new era. It's super special that I get to be a part of that for sure."

That's Carmelo Hayes, one of WWE SmackDown's first round selections from the WWE Draft earlier this year. Carmelo joined the main roster with much fanfare, coming off a decorated run in WWE NXT that saw him headline multiple NXT premium live events and hold the NXT Championship.

"It feels more like when we went to 2.0," Carmelo said when asked about how WWE SmackDown changing networks compared to WWE NXT rebranded three years ago. "It was like that switch of, 'Hey guys, we're getting ready to do something different, getting ready to do something special.' It definitely had that feeling in the air, that same feeling in the air I felt when we switched to 2.0 when we in revealed that new set. That's probably the closest I'd say that I felt to that."

Carmelo has gradually cemented himself as one of WWE SmackDown's most reliable TV talents. He kicked off his blue brand run by matching up against WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and impressed audiences in recent weeks with his series of matches against Andrade.

"The only direction that was given was don't hold back," Carmelo noted regarding his WWE SmackDown on USA Network premiere match against Andrade on September 13th. "When you tell two talents who are very hungry in their careers and just want to make a name for themselves 'don't hold back,' I think that's what you get. It's one of those things where to get their trust and for me being so new, it's something that I needed coming to the main roster. It's hard to try to get in where you fit in, especially on the main roster which is full of guys who are stars, made stars, Romans and Codys and KOs and Randys and LA Knights. I'm glad I was able to do that thing with Andrade."

On the topic of those main event-caliber stars, Carmelo added that he feels himself evolving just by rubbing shoulders with WWE SmackDown's titans.

"I feel like there's like an unlimited amount of knowledge around me at all times. It really makes me want to level up," Carmelo added. "Being on the main roster, there's just so many levels to this game and when you think you unlock the new one, there's another one right after that. I think I had talked to Cody one time and he admitted the same thing. He's like, 'Shoot, I'm still trying to figure it out too.' Being around all these top guys, it's good company to keep."

One of those top guys is Roman Reigns. Reigns returned to programming this past August at WWE SummerSlam after a four-month hiatus and has slowly interwoven himself back into weekly WWE SmackDown broadcasts.

"Obviously it's a little bit more, you know, the ante is a little bit more up," Carmelo said of how the WWE SmackDown atmosphere changes when Reigns is on the show. "But we all still go out the same way and go out and try and kill it, regardless of whether Roman is there or not. The stakes are still high. We still want to put on a good show."

That "put on a good show" mentality is not just a heat-of-the-moment mindset. While significant spotlight will shift to WWE NXT and WWE Monday Night Raw when they make their moves to The CW and Netflix, respectively, Carmelo plans to remain locked in on making WWE SmackDown the best it can be.

"I'm just focused on playing my position on my brand, wherever I'm at," Carmelo said. "A lot of people used to talk about competition between the brands and things like that, but really, it's just where you're at in that moment, how can you make it the best that you possibly can? That's just been my mindset even when I was in NXT. Shawn would always tell me to stop worrying about the main roster, focus on what's in front of you. That's kind of been my mindset ever since. Now that I'm in the main roster, let me focus on what I'm doing on SmackDown. I'm not thinking, 'Oh, well, what if I got to go to Raw?' No, let me just focus on week to week.

"I'm super excited for NXT moving to The CW. That first show looks so stacked. Even that St. Louis card looks stacked. Then going to the Netflix deal, I'm excited for that too. That helps everybody because we'll all be on Netflix at that point. It's going to open up so many more eyes to the product. So many people that didn't tune into wrestling now have the opportunity to watch the replays of SmackDown, the replays of NXT, and then Raw live."

WWE SmackDown airs live on USA Network every Friday at 8 PM ET.

Miro has not been seen on AEW programming in nearly one year. The former AEW TNT Champion last competed at AEW Worlds End 2023, defeating Andrade El Idolo in what ended up being Andrade's final AEW match. Miro's AEW absence has revolved around creative clashes, as the Bulgarian Brute has reportedly turned down numerous storyline pitches while AEW has also denied some of his requested feuds and matches. This misalignment has been consistent between Miro and AEW for just about his entire four-year run with the company, as he has only competed in 36 matches since signing with AEW in September 2020.

Miro Requests Release From AEW

The Redeemer is looking to get out of his AEW contract.

As reported by Fightful Select, Miro has requested his release from All Elite Wrestling. There is no word on whether the request has been granted.

Miro's initial deal, which he signed in September 2020, was set to expire in Spring 2022. He ended up signing a four-year extension around that time which would have him on AEW's books until Spring 2026. It's worth noting that Miro is "earning into the seven figures."

Miro has yet to wrestle in 2024. Following his victory over Andrade El Idolo at AEW Worlds End 2023, Miro was sidelined with an injury that shelved him "longer than AEW expected." It was noted that Miro has "been healthy for quite some time." AEW considered to bring Miro to AEW ALL IN: London in August to work the Casino Gauntlet Match, but those plans never materialized. Miro himself had pitched to work with Jon Moxley earlier this year. It's unclear if that never-seen feud with Moxley would have come when Moxley was IWGP World Heavyweight Champion or if it would've been a standard non-title rivalry between the two. Miro and AEW were described as "unable to get on the same page creatively."

Much of Miro's run with AEW through this point has been categorized as untapped potential. He debuted as "The Best Man" for Kip Sabian's wedding before finding his footing as AEW TNT Champion. He reigned with that price for four months, receiving critical acclaim for adding prestige to the young championship. After losing the AEW TNT Title, Miro graduated to the AEW World Championship scene, advancing to the finals of an eliminator tournament at AEW Full Gear 2021. He fell short to Bryan Danielson and has been relatively directionless ever since.

Prior to joining AEW, most of Miro's entire professional wrestling career existed under the WWE roof. He spent a decade wrestling for Vince McMahon's company as Rusev, impressing with an undefeated streak and lengthy United States Title reign. Rusev had high-profile feuds with the likes of John Cena and Roman Reigns during his tenure. He was released by WWE in April 2020 during the COVID-19 cuts.

AEW star Mercedes Mon? has been trying to work with chart-topping rapper and songwriter Megan Thee Stallion for quite some time but it has never come to fruition. Earlier this year they met after being huge fans of one another and began discussing the possibilities of Megan appearing by her side. Mon? would of course sign with AEW in March, and the two appeared to have begun conversations. When Mon? dropped hints in August that she'd love to get Megan in the ring causing the internet to run wild, many expected that it would happen sooner than later. Now, Megan's song "Neva Play" with BTS' RM, is the official theme song of one of WWE's weekly shows.

Reports that followed indicated that Mon? was caught off guard by the news, but there was no insight into whether or not a partnership between them would happen down the line. However in her latest newsletter Mon? Mag, the TBS/NJPW STRONG Women's Champion finally addressed the rumors.

"Sports Illustrated and other sources reported on conversations between my advocate Kev, and Meg's manager, Mike B., regarding her and me doing stuff at AEW. It's true," Mon? wrote in her newsletter, Mon? Mag. "A few weeks ago in an interview, I made the mistake of teasing the idea, which made headlines. More recently, it was announced that Meg would be part of the new Smackdown theme. It could all be a coincidence, of course. But then, they don't call me the blueprint for nothing. In hindsight, I should have kept my mouth shut about it but all you can do is live and learn."

Mone expressed that she's happy for Megan regardless, because she will have the opportunity to be exposed to a much larger audience. She signed off with a winky face and teased more to come between AEW and her team. "I'm flattered and honored in a way, as it proves we are clearly on the right path. While I would have loved to work with Meg and would have loved to see her work with our brand, I'm still happy for her. She's a great person and talent who will get exposure to the vast wrestling audience. Trust in this, AEW and Team Mon? have a lot more brewing so it's all good. You all will just have to wait this time to hear about it."

Mon? has been what many have considered the face of the women's division since she signed her contract earlier this year. As a double champion she has really taken it seriously, wrestling in both promotions, sometimes even back to back. Her most recent match was against Hikaru Shida at AEW All Out in Chicago.

AEW fans have been waiting for one particular match-up since Ricochet made his All Elite Wrestling debut at All In, and that's against none other than Will Ospreay. The two AEW stars have confronted each other a few times since his debut, but last week Ospreay made a point to rile up Ricochet about getting his wins up for a Title shot. On tonight's AEW Dynamite, Ricochet responded to Ospreay by revealing he had secured a match against Ospreay for the International Championship, and it will take place during the upcoming five-year anniversary of Dynamite.

A Long Time Coming

After Ricochet got himself another win during tonight's episode, Ospreay interrupted a backstage interview and actually looked to apologize for antagonizing Ricochet the last time they met. Ricochet told him there was no need to apologize, and that he had been thinking about what Ospreay said to him for a while. That led to him getting another win, and then that led to securing a shot at the Title.

"I've been thinking a lot about what you told me Will. Do you remember what you said? That's right, you told me to go get my wins up and come back and see you like you the big main event and all this just because you've got that Title," Ricochet said. "But let me show you how it is from my point of view. From my perspective, from the moment I stepped foot here in AEW it's been nothing but everybody else trying to come out of their way to call me out, like they've got to prove to the entire world that they're better than Ricochet."

"So it seems like everybody here in AEW is worried about Ricochet more than Ricochet's worried about them. And it seems that everybody's more worried about me than they are about you, because I don't see nobody trying to call you out Will. So let me do the honors," Ricochet said.

5 Years of Dynamite

"I know next week you busy with Kyle, you trying to reform the United Empire. You trying to win some Tag Team gold and honestly I wish you nothing but the best. But the following week, I hope you not too busy, because I took your advice," Ricochet said. "See I went and talked to Tony and I got myself a match. So on October 2nd, at the five year anniversary for AEW's Dynamite, you see I got myself a match. It's gonna be Ricochet vs Will Ospreay for your International Championship."

"You see Will, you and I have had some matches that have literally changed the landscape of professional wrestling, and over these past couple of years yeah, you have been on another level, but homie I'm still Ricochet and I'm out of this world. And on October 2nd you're gonna find out why. So I will be seeing you soon, real soon...little bro," Ricochet said as he walked off.

Are you excited for the 5-Year Anniversary episode of AEW Dynamite? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

WWE 2K24's Global Superstars Pack is finally here, bringing a number of hotly anticpated superstars to the roster. One of the most requested superstars is Monday Night Raw superstar Lyra Valkyria, who is making not just her 2K24 debut, but her WWE video game debut as well. She's with elite company too, as Valkyria joins Jade Cargill, Nia Jax, Carlito, Kairi Sane, Michelle McCool, and Dragon Lee. ComicBook had the chance to speak to Valkyria and get her reaction to her video game debut, though we also got her dream DLC match-up and found out which of her gears she hopes fans create in the game first.

A Stellar Debut

It's a truly unforgettable moment to see yourself in a video game, and 2K went all out, recreating every facet of her entrance and gear to make sure things lined up perfectly. Valkyria was pretty floored by what they were able to create in the game, and it's a pretty crazy journey from selling 2K games in a game store to now being in the actual game.

"Seeing the entrance online was incredible. Like they nailed it. The wooo chants, the way I move, they got it all down like I'm so excited to just get my hands on it and get into it," Valkyria said. "But as well, just being part of the the highest rated game in the franchise history like, what a way to make my 2K debut. I used to work in a video game shop as well, and 2K was always like, I've spent so many times, so so long labeling the games, and to be in one myself, now, it's absolutely amazing."

Dream Match Scenario

Valkyria joins the game alongside some heavyweights, including two current Champions in Jax and Cargill. That's why we wanted to know out of all of the superstars featured in the DLC with her, who would be the person she would love to have a dream match against. The answer was easy, and it was all about McCool. "Like Michelle McCool would be amazing," Valkyria said. "So run back a little loser leaves, you know. That would be amazing."

There's no one who would pass up on that match-up, and that would be a perfect thing to tease in the upcoming Royal Rumble. The Rumble hits in February, so who knows, perhaps McCool and Valkyria could start rolling there.

The Perfect Gear

We'll just have to wait and see if that match becomes a reality, but one thing we won't have to wait too long for is the creations community to start updating 2K24 with new gears and looks for all the new Superstars, and Valkyria is certainly going to be in that mix. When we asked what gear she would love to see fans bring into the game first, there was one gear that instantly came to mind.

"My Queen of the Ring attire with the big wings and stuff. I feel like that was pretty. That was one of my best looks, so to see that in the game would be cool," Valkyria said. The gear was all black and then featured the slick wings that expanded pretty far, and as you can see in the image below, it is a look that deserves to make its way into 2K24.

Hopefully, someone can figure out how to bring the wings into the game, though Valkyria also loves the gear 2K used, as it holds some special memories for her, including her classic match-up against The Man Becky Lynch.

"The gear that I'm wearing in the entrance that went up, that's my favorite gear as well," Valkyria said. "I wore that in the Becky, my Becky title match. It's my favorite set, so like I feel like it's just all very perfect."

You can download the Global Superstars Pack right now, and WWE 2K24 is available for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. The Standard Edition is also on sale currently for 50% off on Xbox platforms through September 30th, while the WrestleMania Edition is on sale for 45% on PlayStation platforms through September 25th and on Xbox platforms through September 30th.

What do you think of the new DLC? You can talk all things wrestling and WWE 2K24 with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

AEW's Kota Ibushi and Kenny Omega have publicly reunited after quite some time and the photos give a first-look at Omega's recovery following his major health scare that has kept him out of the ring since last December. The two photos see the longtime friends posing for the camera with Omega's iconic callout in Ibushi's training facility in Japan. In the second image they look to be having a lot of fun holding up their drinks. "World domination is just days away," Ibushi wrote on Instagram. "Had a golden practice after a long time. We are still far from done. Next AEW!!!"

Omega often visits Japan for various events, including for video games. Next week, the Tokyo Game Show will begin which could explain the main reason for his trip this time around. As for ibushi, he has returned from injury himself, but many have wondered when he will be back in AEW. He's explained that will depend on Omega.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ???? (@aew_kota_ibushi)

When Will Kenny Omega Return to AEW?

In December, Omega fell to a severe case of diverticulitis that he claims could have ended his life if he took longer to get it taken care of. During one of his last appearances at that time, he appeared very out of it in the ring with Chris Jericho, leading fans to wonder if the "Best Bout Machine" was okay. After being admitted to the hospital, he tried his best to heal himself naturally but doctors grew concerned about his state.

So, he returned on AEW Dynamite to talk to the fans and give an update on his health. It was then that his "friends" in The Elite attacked him, targeting his injured stomach. Omega is quite private about his life so there hasn't been many updates on his recovery since he underwent surgery. He has recently been spotted taking photos with fans and was looking healthy and in great spirits.

Recently, Michael Nakazawa, another longtime friend of Omega, revealed that doctors had to remove 25 centimeters of his colon. "... Little by little, he has been able to do physical training," Nakazawa told Love-Spo. "He is still not able to lift the same weights as before, so he is trying to find the best training that he can do while incorporating rehabilitative elements such as walking and exercising in the pool, and he is working hard toward recovery. He is trying to find the best training he can do at the moment" (h/t: Fightful).

ComicBook continues to wish Omega well in his recovery. Stay tuned for updates.

WWE's checkbook has had little time to rest in 2024. In and around WWE WrestleMania 40 season, five of the company's top male stars were rapidly approaching free agency, those being Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Damian Priest, Finn Balor, and Chad Gable. All five men re-upped their deals and have remained big parts of WWE Monday Night Raw and WWE SmackDown ever since. While WWE's retention rate has been strong, the sports-entertainment giant hasn't been perfect. Former WWE Women's Champion Becky Lynch went home this past June without signing a new contract and remains a free agent. Former WWE Intercontinental Champion Ricochet gave his notice and has since inked a deal with All Elite Wrestling.

WWE Approaches Three Top Names About New Contracts

WWE looks to keep its women's division intact.

As reported by PWInsider, WWE has approached WWE Women's World Champion Liv Morgan, WWE Women's Champion Nia Jax, and top WWE Monday Night Raw star Rhea Ripley about re-upping their deals.

There is no word on how soon any of these three superstars' contracts are due to expire. The report noted that WWE is specifically "looking to get new deals done ahead of time" rather than what happened earlier this year when "talent contracts were slated to expire weeks before talks began."

Morgan, Jax, and Ripley are the three biggest stars in WWE's women's division today. Morgan ascended to main event status following her return from injury this past April, capturing the WWE Women's World Championship in short order and headlining multiple episodes of WWE Monday Night Raw in the process. Jax is enjoying a career year, having headlined WWE Elimination Chamber in February, won the Queen of the Ring tournament, and secured the WWE Women's Championship at WWE SummerSlam. Ripley's success has snowballed for well over one year now, as she has accolades like a Royal Rumble victory, a premium live event main event, and consecutive successful championship defenses at WWE WrestleMania 39 and WWE WrestleMania 40.

Regarding Morgan, Jax, and Ripley's options beyond WWE, there have been no rumblings about any of the three having connections or expressed interest from the larger wrestling world. Aside from Ripley, who spent four years on the Australian independent circuit, Morgan and Jax are completely homegrown WWE superstars. Morgan has been with WWE for over a decade straight. Jax is currently on her second WWE stint, returning to the company in Fall 2023 after two years away.

Stay tuned to ComicBook for updates on Morgan, Jax, and Ripley's WWE contract statuses.

WWE got people talking when they announced that CM Punk would be part of the NXT premiere on The CW, but tonight he revealed exactly what his role would be during the big event. Punk actually tried to announce it earlier in the episode, but he was interrupted by Roxanne Perez and ended up in the middle of a fight between her and Giulia. Later he would appear again, this time after the match between Trick Williams and Ethan Page for the NXT Championship was made official. Punk finally got to make his announcement in full, revealing that he would be the special referee for the match, a match that would define the direction for NXT moving forward.

Second Time's a Charm

After Tyrese Haliburton got Williams and Page to come out and agree to the match, he had one more thing to share. Punk's music hit and he came out and finished his announcement that was interrupted by Roxanne Perez. Punk said a match this big wasn't just about the NXT Title, but would decide the direction that the brand goes in next.

Punk said a match that big doesn't deserve, but it needs something special. The crowd started chanting referee, and Punk said he agreed that the match needed a special guest referee. Punk then revealed that he would be the special referee of their NXT Championship match during the CW Premiere. Then he said since he's the official, they can just start fighting right now, which they did immediately. The brawl was broken up by officials, but Punk was quite happy with the chaos.

Roxy's Not a Fan

Punk tried to make this announcement earlier in the night, and he was warmly greeted by the crowd. Punk said that he's been in NXT at several points, but he's never had a chance to be in the ring in front of the crowd like this, and then went on to talk about the superstars of today and tomorrow being forged in NXT, highlighting Lexis King, Carmelo Hayes, Ethan Page, and Bron Breakker. He then brought up Je'Von Evans before transitioning to his announcement, but Roxanne Perez had some things to say to Punk before he could get to it.

Perez said that 13-year-old her would be freaking out right now as she shares the ring with the best in the world and her fave wrestler of all time. She said she looked up to him and followed in his footsteps, the voice of the voiceless, and while she did give him credit for being her voice, she added "I always did prefer your wife." Perez then brought up how excited she was about his return at Survivor Series, but then she shifted gears.

Perez said "10 years of me impatiently waiting for you to come back, and now you're finally here. I just wanted to tell you, I finally realized I should have been a Drew McIntyre fan. And I know why you're here. I know exactly why you want to show up in Chicago, and that's because you want one final moment of glory before Drew ends your career at Hell in a Cell. Just stay home with Larry, I don't want you there, I don't need you there. Because, when I beat Giulia, Chiago's not going to be your town anymore, it's going to be mine. You need to realize that this isn't about you. This isn't about Giulia. It's about one person and one person only, and that's me."

Punk was pretty entertained overall, and wasn't upset that she interrupted his big announcement. "Well you're certainly on your way to being hated, aren't you? I think you assume I'm upset that you stepped on my big announcement. The balls on Roxanne. I love it kid. Maximieze your minutes. If anybody can appreciate an overconfident champion, it's me. And that chip on your shoulder, man I used to have one just like it. It was actually the size of you. That chip is what made me the best in the world. This chip is what makes you the best, maybe not just in NXT, maybe in WWE. Because ladies and gentlemen, I was in Portland last night, watched Bianca and Iyo Sky tear the house down, and I was thinking you know who would fit in? Roxanne. You know who might be better than these two women, Roxanne? None of that's going to matter when you get your ass handed to you by Giulia.

That was Giulia's cue, and the challenger came out to the ring. Giulia said, "Roxanne, the countdown is on. You have two weeks left." Perez tried to attack Giulia but Punk broke it up, and it seems he has certainly picked a side.

Are you excited for Punk being the special referee? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

Tonight's WWE NXT was full of surprises and got things started in the opening minutes of the show. That's when WWE revealed that not only would Randy Orton be appearing in St. Louis for the NXT's big two-week launch on The CW, but he was also going to be in the ring against a mystery opponent. Orton having a match in an NXT ring is huge on its own, but then Orton took to social media and revealed that he would be facing one of NXT's brightest superstars in Je'Von Evans. Evans has a habit of delivering unforgettable moments in the ring, and now he's going to be in the ring against the master of the RKO in just a few weeks.

The Big Reveal

WWE delivered the breaking news that Orton would actually have a match in NXT, but it wasn't known who his opponent would be. Orton took to X and shared the news himself, writing "Hey Je'Von - Want to know who your opponent is? See you in St. Louis on October 8th kid #wwenxt"

This will clearly be Evans' biggest test to date, as while Evans has taken on some of NXT's best, The Viper is in the most elite of company. As some have also pointed out online since the announcement broke, if Orton delivers an RKO to Evans, it should be truly epic given the air Evans can get at a moment's notice. This should be a fun one.

What's Next for Orton

Orton recently returned to SmackDown to help out Kevin Owens, and before that, he delivered a thrilling match against Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship at Bash in Berlin. It remains to be seen what he will jump into next after the big CW launch, but there are many fans who would love to see Orton finally mix it up with Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship.

Orton has been one of Rhodes' staunchest allies since his return to WWE and has helped Rhodes several times against Solo Sikoa and The Bloodline on SmackDown. Rhodes recently gave his other long-time friend Kevin Owens a shot at the Championship, which resulted in a storyline between the two. Now it would seem like the perfect time for Rhodes and Orton to start their storyline, which many fans have been eager to see since Rhodes returned to WWE.

For now though we'll have to wait and see how things play out, but at least we know we'll see Orton in action against Evans very very soon.

Are you excited for Orton vs Evans? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

Judgment Day has been one of WWE's key stables over the last several years. Founded by WWE Hall of Famer Edge, Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest, the group has gone through several waves of changes. Despite that, some of the core has always remained. That all changed over the summer when Finn Balor and Dominik Mysterio turned on the original members Ripley and Priest. They have been feuding ever since, and will go against each other once more this October at WWE's Bad Blood Premium Live Event. Ripley isn't shying away from her initial reaction to the breakup as she was in the group for over two years.

"The Judgment Day was really family to me; It really was. It helped my career so much more than I can actually put into words 'cause I feel like that was when I started opening up and feeling comfortable going out there in front of the crowd." Ripley told The Wrestling Classic. "I had the boys that I could fall back on, so it was really emotional for me. I saw something come out about Judgment Day members, a specific one crying back stage after everything. I'm not ashamed of it, that was me. I was upset. I was like the last two and a half years of my life is going to be like ... it's changed now; I can't go back to that. They were my boys, they were my family, and it was really sad."

While Ripley and Priest have been exiled from the group, it still moves along with Balor, Mysterio, JD McDonagh, Carlito and Women's World Champion Liv Morgan. Ripley will soon get her revenge on the champ for taking everything from her (as she promised Rhe she would). The two longtime friends have found solace in each other and have since formed their own team, the "Terror Twins," a name coined by Pat McAfee on WWE commentary.

Its origins began with several rock bands during the 1980s, most notably Def Leppard guitarists Phil Collen and Steve Clark as well as M?tley Cr?e's bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee. While fans have been pretty 50/50 on the name, it makes a ton of since when you consider their aesthetics and wrestling characters.

Do you believe that it time for the Judgment Day to split up? Are you happy Ripley and Priest have left the group? Let me know your thoughts on X and Bluesky @haleyanne_ !

The anticpated NXT premiere on The CW is only a few weeks away, but WWE still seems to be stacking the lineup of the show's first two CW episodes. Tonight's episode of NXT opened up with a contract signing between Ethan Page and Trick Williams for their upcoming NXT Championship match, but before they entered the ring, NXT General Manager Ava Raine revealed that the big episode will also feature a welcome return of music superstar Sexyy Red. Red was the special host for NXT Battleground earlier this year, and now she'll be helping lead off the beginning of a new era for NXT.

Sexyy Red's NXT Debut

Sexyy Red made her debut in NXT in May of this year, and the Orlando crowd gave the star a warm reception. She debuted to her hit song Get It Sexyy and revealed she would be the host of the upcoming premium live event NXT Battleground, but that wasn't all. Red also had the chance to reveal a new Women's Championship Title with the Women's North American Championship, though Tatum Paxley did try to steal it shortly after the reveal.

Red would even also interacted with a number of NXT superstars during the episode, including Trick Williams and Je'Von Evans, and she would go on to join them during their entrance later in the night. She even got involved in the match itself after she kept Joe Coffey from stealing the NXT Championship. After the match Red also had some hilarious interactions with Shawn Michaels, closing out a very memorable episode.

Now fans get to see Red make her return to the show, but this time around it's actually in her hometown, so the reactions from the crowd in Orlando will probably look tame by comparison. This will be the second week of NXT's CW run, and WWE seems to be making a point to get the show off to a hot start.

A Big Move

"We are thrilled to welcome the WWE brand into the CW Sports portfolio as they play an integral role in our mission to bring live sporting events to the network year-round," said Dennis Miller, President, The CW Network. "WWE NXT is a perfect fit for The CW thanks to its dynamic young talent featuring the hottest rising stars in the sport and exhilarating, unpredictable weekly events. The passion and engagement of WWE's fanbase is unmatched, and we are eager to grow that audience as WWE NXT's new home on broadcast television."

"The CW has made impressive moves over the past year with its live sports programming schedule," said Nick Khan, WWE President. "It's a truly exciting opportunity to expand NXT's audience by bringing the show to broadcast television for the first time in NXT's history."

Are you excited for the CW premiere of NXT? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

Multi-platinum rapper Megan Thee Stallion recently crossed over into the wrestling bubble with her song "Neva Play" becoming the official theme song of WWE SmackDown. However, there were plans to bring her into the professional wrestling world way sooner. According to a new report from PWInsider, there were at least discussions to bring the "Mamushi" singer over to AEW. During AEW All In week, Mon? revealed that there were plans to bring her into the squared circle for an appearance, but those plans ultimately didn't come to fruition.

Since then, the two women had picked the conversation back up after being spotted together at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards in Tokyo, Japan earlier this year. "A couple years back me and Meg were supposed to do something in the ring together," Mon? told TMZ in August. "We were just rehashing that conversation, seeing where that could all play in the future. Whether she's gonna be my tag team partner or my opponent, we have to see, but I want to get Meg Thee Stallion in the ring very, very soon one day."

Megan Thee Stallion x The CEO of AEW

According to the report, that meeting opened up discussions between the three-time Grammy Award-winning artist's manager Roc Nation's Mike B and Mone's manager Keven Undergaro. After coming to an agreement, Mon? teased bringing her over to AEW and that's when WWE made the move to secure her hit single. This reportedly caught Mon? by surprise, but it remains unclear whether or not Meg will appear in a wrestling ring. Following the announcement, she shared the news with her followers on X. "I think it's finally time I make my debut lol #NEVAPLAY," she wrote, accompanied by three fire emojis.

This wouldn't be the first time Mon? integrated pop culture into her wrestling presentation. Her real-life cousin, Snoop Dogg, has been part of many of her important WWE moments. Mon? is currently having a dominating reign as both the AEW TBS Champion and the NJPW STRONG Women's Champion. She most recently defeated former AEW Women's World Champion Hikaru Shida at AEW All Out. Stay tuned to ComicBook for updates.

All Elite Wrestling's televised future is coming down to the wire. Back in Fall 2019, AEW inked a five-year deal with Warner Bros. Discovery to premiere its weekly flagship series, AEW Dynamite, on TNT. AEW's partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery shifted significantly since then, as the wrestling company added weekly in-ring shows AEW Rampage and AEW Collision to its slate, but the length remained unchanged. AEW President Tony Khan remained adamant about his admiration for Warner Bros. Discovery, never once entertaining the idea of bringing AEW's television rights to another network. Nevertheless, AEW's Warner Bros. Discovery lease being due up on New Year's Eve has raised concerns about whether the company needs to go house-hunting outside of its current neighborhood.

Things began trending upwards in the late summer. Khan told ComicBook that AEW was still having "really productive negotiations" with Warner Bros. Discovery and followed that up in September by teasing that "AEW is here to stay" on Warner's television networks.

AEW's Massive Warner Bros. Discovery Deal

Warner Bros. Discovery is reportedly doubling down on its AEW investment, literally.

As reported by Puck, Warner Bros. Discovery and AEW have a deal that is "close to being finalized." The contract is said to be $170 million per year for four years. Three of those years are guaranteed with the fourth being an option.

Under these reported terms, AEW programming would air twice weekly across Warner Bros. Discovery channels TBS, TNT, and TruTV. This suggests that one of AEW's three current weekly shows will be scrapped.

"We're still in very, very close and exciting negotiations with Warner Bros. Discovery. It's been going on throughout the summer that we've been having these conversations, and it's a very detailed package that we're having discussions about," Khan said earlier this month. "I think it's safe to say, I believe AEW is here to stay on TNT and TBS, and I think that's true for a very long time, and I believe it. I have not put pen to paper. I'm still working on things. It's an exciting time without getting too specific, while giving everybody that anticipation of things to come, there are really exciting things to come and I'm very grateful to have the support of Warner Bros. Discovery, TNT, and TBS."

An announcement on this deal could arrive "as soon as next week."

In early 2025 WWE will officially move its flagship Monday Night Raw to Netflix. The 10-year $5 billion dollar deal will not only expose the red brand to a much larger audience, but there will be opportunities to expand in other avenues, including original content. With wrestling being as big as it has been in quite some time, Netflix also purchased STARZ series Heels which was canceled after two seasons. While a potential Season 3 hangs in the wings given the cancelation and the cast and crew taking on other jobs, fans aren't losing hope that a platform like Netflix could help revive it like it has with shows in the past. Plus, a collaboration with WWE surely couldn't hurt.

WWE and Heels Collaboration Talks

So that begs the question: will the WWE ever collaborate with the DWL? Heels creator Michael Waldron says the two sides have had "great conversations" about a future partnership and that they are "huge fans" of the series. "I think the really exciting thing is, if we're able to move forward with the show, we could more properly integrate the WWE into the storyline, as the DWL becomes a competitor," Michael Waldron told Variety.

Series star Stephen Amell recently weighed in on the topic, hoping that the two sides could come to an agreement. Given he's appeared in WWE before where he's wrestled a match, it doesn't seem like the idea is all that far-fetched. Heels follows the lives of two brothers Jack and Spade -- played by Amell and Alexander Ludwig, respectively -- as they run their family-owned wrestling promotion. As soon as things are on the upswing, it all seems to fall apart as the brothers battled over their late father's legacy. CM Punk also stars in the show as Ricky Rabies, so that's an added connection that could come into play given he's currently on the red brand.

Time will tell if WWE and Heels collaborate on Netflix, but in the meantime both seasons of the wrestling series are available to stream on the platform. As for WWE's Monday Night Raw, through the end of this year the show will remain on the USA Network with stars like Jey Uso, Rhea Ripley, Liv Morgan, Drew McIntyre, Seth Rollins, Damian Priest, Gunther, and Zelina Vega.

What are your thoughts on a future partnership with WWE and Heels? Let me know your thoughts on X and Bluesky @haleyanne_!

Tonight's WWE Monday Night Raw opening featured the return of CM Punk after Drew McIntyre beat him up, stole his bracelet, and sent him off in an ambulance. Since then, the final match of their saga -- a Hell in a Cell match at WWE Bad Blood -- has been confirmed to take place. The feud has gotten extremely bloody and personal over the last few months, but now that Punk is back from his injury, he's ready to settle the score and put "The Scottish Warrior" behind him once and for all.

Punk starts by talking about how many matches he and his "old bones" have left. The answer will make his biggest detractors upset but his fans happy as he doesn't plan on hanging his boots up any time soon. However, as far as Hell in a Cell matches go, he doesn't believe he has any left in the tank. That's precisely why he wants to do it, though. He says he was naive to believe that the feud would be over after touching four corners of the ring and that things should have ended after McIntyre sent him to the hospital the second time.

"You're going to have to kill me because I'm prepared to die; I'm prepared for this heart to stop beating," Punk says into the camera. "I'm prepared for all of this to be over with. I've had a great career and if this is the end so be it. I'm prepared for this to be the end of CM Punk and if you're prepared for this to be the end of Drew McIntyre ... then I'll see you in hell."

Both Punk and McIntyre have a history inside of the steel cage, but where McIntyre is batting zero in terms of winning percentages, Punk has won two of his five total matches inside the cell. Those wins were against Ryback in 2012 and Ryback/Paul Heyman in 2013. McIntyre lost his only two Hell in a Cell matches against Randy Orton in 2020 (where Orton beat him for the WWE Championship) and again in 2021 against Bobby Lashley.

As for the rest of WWE Bad Blood, Rhea Ripley looks to reclaim the Women's World Championship that she was forced to vacate after her WrestleMania 40 victory. Her Terror Twin, Damian Priest, will exact his revenge on Finn Balor for turning on him at SummerSlam which cost him the World Heavyweight Championship. Additionally, Roman Reigns will compete in his first match since his loss to Cody Rhodes in April by teaming with his formal rival against The Bloodline. Reigns recently returned to SmackDown, aligning with Rhodes against their common enemy in Solo Sikoa. While the relationship seems pretty rocky and Reigns hasn't forgotten about the belt, it seems they can put their differences aside for one match.

Stay tuned to ComicBook for news and updates on WWE.

Earlier this year WWE announced an exciting figure collaboration with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that features several top WWE stars dressed as the fan-favorite crime fighting pizza eating turtle crew. Now they are expanding that partnership even further, bringing the turtles to the ring in WWE's most downloaded mobile game WWE Champions. Starting today, players can unlock and play new versions of their fan-favorite superstars -- Rey Mysterio as Raphael, Seth Rollins as Leonardo, Kofi Kingston as Michelangelo, and Xavier Woods as Donatello. The four variants will battle in the ring with iconic looks inspired by Mattel and Nickelodeon's recent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x WWE Elite mash-up figures.

"WWE and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are two of the most iconic brands in pop culture and this mashup is one we know our fans are going to absolutely love," said Zoe Chen, General Manager for WWE Champions at Scopely. "It's been great working with our partners at Paramount and Mattel to bring digital versions of these amazing Action Figures to WWE Champions and create the ultimate fantasy matchups we've never seen in a WWE ring."

The three new moves entering the puzzle RPG experience include the Ninja Diving Kick, Counter Wristlock Flip and Dodge Backfist. The characters can be acquired through loot rewards and playing through various modes and events now available in-game. This isn't the only new TMNT game or collaboration on the table. Stumble Guys revealed that TMNT content would be making its way to the game. In July, Restoration Games announced that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would take part in the latest Unmatched Adventures installment, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate just got a lofty update.

In the meantime, see all your favorite WWE superstars, including the ones outlined above, weekly on WWE Raw, NXT and SmackDown as well as on their monthly Premium Live Events. This October, WWE heads to Atlanta, Georgia for Bad Blood where Drew McIntyre and CM Punk will put their feud to an end once and for all and Rhea Ripley once again attempts to reclaim the Women's World Championship that she was forced to vacate.

While WWE and TMNT have had an existing relationship since about 2016, today's WWE Champions announcement is by far the most exciting addition. What do you think about the collaboration? Will you be playing the game? Let me know your thoughts on X and BlueSky @haleyanne_!

The Triple H regime once again finds itself with an embarrassment of riches. Since fully seizing creative control this past January, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque has instigated a gradual overhaul on WWE's premium live events. Big four shows continue to showcase a bulk of the roster, but the B-tier events are typically limited to five-match cards. This has allowed a variety of stars to enjoy that elusive main event slot, as the likes of Damian Priest, Solo Sikoa, Logan Paul, AJ Styles, and WWE World Heavyweight Champion Gunther have all headlined premium live events in the past five months alone.

While all of those names had feuds that warranted closing the show, they also had one massive common denominator: no Roman Reigns.

After his record-breaking 1,316-day Undisputed WWE Universal Championship reign was ended at WWE WrestleMania 40, the Tribal Chief began a four-month sabbatical. He eventually made his return at WWE SummerSlam in August to handle "Bloodline business," attacking the self-proclaimed Tribal Chief Solo Sikoa. Reigns's feud against The New Bloodline has continued in the weeks since on WWE SmackDown, culminating this past Friday when a contract was signed for a match at WWE Bad Blood: Sikoa and Jacob Fatu vs. Reigns and WWE Champion Cody Rhodes.

WWE Bad Blood's Embarrassment of Riches

WWE Bad Blood will host Reigns's first match in six months. The bout itself will be the latest chapter in The Bloodline Civil War, a storyline that previously headlined WWE Money in the Bank 2023 and WWE SummerSlam 2023. And perhaps the biggest variable of them all, this will be Reigns and Rhodes's first time joining forces, echoing WWE Survivor Series 2011 when generational rivals The Rock and John Cena tagged together.

And still, this match should not be the WWE Bad Blood main event. That spot still belongs to CM Punk and Drew McIntyre.

Punk vs. McIntyre has been one of the most uniquely-built feuds in the modern era. Back in January, McIntyre legitimately injured Punk, delivering a FutureShock DDT that tore his future rival's triceps. As Punk embarked on his road to recovery, he sporadically showed up on WWE programming, interfering in McIntyre's title matches at WWE WrestleMania 40, WWE Clash at the Castle, and WWE Money in the Bank.

McIntyre and Punk traded shots for six months before finally stepping into the ring with one another at WWE SummerSlam, the longest actively-built feud since Rock vs. Cena from the early 2010s. The two bitter rivals have faced each other twice now, each claiming one victory apiece. Neither of those matches headlined the premium live events they took place on, and understandably so. WWE SummerSlam was main-evented by the WWE Championship match between Cody Rhodes and Solo Sikoa while WWE Bash in Berlin was closed by home-countryman Gunther defending his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Randy Orton. In the Triple H regime, world titles take precedence.

The Roman Reigns (Now-Defunct) Rationale

That has been the Roman Reigns rationale for the past four years. Over the course of 1,316 days, Reigns reigned with a world championship. It wasn't until the final year of his run that a second world championship was even introduced. Reigns only took a backseat on premium live event cards for the WWE Royal Rumble, as that show typically ended with the titular battle royal. Even when Reigns was working tag matches, headlining over Seth Rollins's WWE World Heavyweight Championship defenses, the finger pointed back to his record-breaking time with the title as reason enough to place him higher on the card.

The question WWE must ask itself going into WWE Bad Blood revolves around which has more to lose and which has more to gain regarding that main event slot. Reigns and Rhodes are two bonafide generational talents. Their rivalry is the modern-day The Rock vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. How much star power do these two gain by closing a B-tier premium live event after headlining consecutive editions of WWE WrestleMania against one another? How much do they really lose by being the penultimate match?

Punk vs. McIntyre's Headline-Demanding Blood Feud

Now, let's look at Punk vs. McIntyre. Both of these men are on the precipice of smashing through that last glass ceiling to hit Reigns or Rhodes-level star power, and something that will catapult each to that next level is headlining a premium live event. And not just headlining a premium live event, as McIntyre and Punk's WWE Clash at the Castle angle did close that show, but getting that main event slot over Reigns and Rhodes. Think about the message that sends to the fans: this rivalry is so massive that it is getting precedence over the company's two biggest box office attractions.

WWE should want to create as many company pillar stars as possible, not fall into the John Cena trap of the late 2000s and early 2010s. Punk himself experienced it firsthand. His official christening as WWE Champion sat behind Cena and Rock teaming in a throwaway match against The Miz and R-Truth at WWE Survivor Series 2012. Cena and Rock, a white-hot non-title rivalry not unlike Punk vs. McIntyre, took precedence over Punk's WWE Title defense at WWE WrestleMania 28. WWE even favored Cena's nothing feuds with Big Show and then-WWE general manager John Laurinaitis over Punk's fan-favorite series against Daniel Bryan throughout Summer 2012. How much would Cena's star power then have dwindled by being lower on the card? How much bigger would Punk and the WWE Championship have been by headlining just some of those pay-per-views?

Match order communicates investment to fans. Main events matter. And the only way WWE can continue to create main-eventers is by putting them in that very spot.

WWE Bad Blood goes down on Saturday, October 5th.

Logan Paul's wrestling IQ continues to get called into question. Earlier this month, WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash called out the former WWE United States Champion for not knowing wrestling insider terms, specifically the difference between "shoot" and "work," simultaneously taking issue with Logan's reported $5 million annual salary. Nash sent Logan a "f--k you from the boys," seemingly acting as the messenger for the WWE locker room. Logan fired back at Nash hours later, labelling the founding NWO member as "one of the old guys who is bitter that I am better at your job than you ever were."

Kevin Nash Blasts Logan Paul's Wrestling IQ

Big Daddy Cool still doesn't have faith in The Maverick's in-ring IQ.

Speaking on his podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash revealed someone who shared the ring with Logan Paul claimed that the social media star "doesn't remember anything" when it comes to putting matches together.

"I asked a person that has been in the ring with him, 'How is he?' He says, 'He's amazing as far as what he can do physically. He just doesn't remember anything.' I don't know how much truth there is to this," Nash said. "You're not one of the top five guys if you don't know what the f--k we're doing (alluding to Logan being one of WWE's top five highest-paid wrestlers), if you can't just go out there and call it."

Logan has wrestled 15 matches through two and a half years with WWE, all of which have relatively impressed WWE audiences. He was especially praised for his contests against Seth Rollins at WWE WrestleMania 39 and his WWE Championship match against titleholder Cody Rhodes at WWE King and Queen of the Ring. Where Nash takes issue is with Logan's "on the fly" ability, as all of his matches thus far are largely believed to be choreographed down to each individual strike.

"I didn't say 'F--k you.' I said, 'F--k you from the boys.' I guess I'm one of the boys," Nash continued. "I love the fact that the boys are making that kind of money. I just took it in character when we talked about it and did what we do, embellish a little bit."

Nash, who is 65 years old, emphasized that he is not building to a match against Logan and commended him for being "Team Paul Levesque" as an employee of WWE.

WWE's flagship show continues to build towards a familiar premium live event. Following WWE Bash in Berlin, all eyes within the WWE Monday Night Raw roster have been on WWE Bad Blood, a resurrected pay-per-view name being utilized for a WWE PLE for the first time since 2004. WWE Bad Blood was made famous for hosting the first-ever Hell in a Cell Match back in 1997 between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels. The sequel and threequel editions of the event also held headlining bouts in the devil's playground, those being between Triple H and Kevin Nash (2003) and Triple H and Shawn Michaels (2004). 2024's WWE Bad Blood will be no different, as CM Punk and Drew McIntyre are scheduled to conclude their bitter rivalry inside the satanic structure.

CM Punk Returns to WWE Raw

The Second City Saint will give his thoughts on that third and final barbaric stipulation.

After being bludgeoned by Drew McIntyre two weeks ago, CM Punk is scheduled to return to WWE Monday Night Raw. This will be Punk's first appearance since WWE announced that he and McIntyre would do battle inside Hell in a Cell at WWE Bad Blood.

This will be Punk's fifth Hell in a Cell Match. He is 1-3 inside the structure thus far, having lost to The Undertaker (2009), four other men in a non-televised dark match (2011), and Alberto Del Rio (2011) before finally getting a win against Ryback (2012). That lone victory was also thanks to a crooked referee, meaning Punk has yet to secure a decisive victory in the match.

The Judgment Day Civil War Continues

The red brand's resident faction continues to do battle with the spoils of war.

Back at WWE SummerSlam in August, Dominik Mysterio and Finn Balor turned on Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest, seizing control of The Judgment Day and initiating a war against their former stablemates. The first battle went down at WWE Bash in Berlin, with Ripley and Priest defeating Dominik and WWE Women's World Champion Liv Morgan.

Tonight, Dominik and Priest face off in a singles match.

WWE World Tag Titles Are Up For Grabs

The Judgment Day's battles tonight will be a war on two fronts.

Elsewhere in the faction, Finn Balor and JD McDonagh are scheduled to defend their WWE World Tag Team Championships against The New Day's Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods. This is Balor and McDonagh's first televised title defense since winning the titles in June.

WWE Monday Night Raw airs at 8 PM ET on USA Network. You can check out the full lineup below...

• CM Punk returns
• WWE World Tag Team Championship: The Judgment Day (Finn Balor & JD McDonagh) (c) vs. The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods)
• Braun Strowman vs. Bronson Reed
• Dominik Mysterio vs. Damian Priest
• Natalya vs. Zoey Stark
• Pete Dunne vs. Sheamus

Over the last few weeks WWE has introduced a new star into their ranks -- former STARDOM and New Japan Pro Wrestling Champion Giulia. The decorated Japanese wrestler was rumored to be joining WWE back in April when she appeared at the NXT Premium Live Event during WrestleMania 40 weekend. She promised to finish her obligations in Japan before making the trek to the United States which she made good on, competing in a gauntlet match against the entire Marigold locker room as her final sendoff. Upon her arrival to the states she came face-to-face with NXT Women's Champion Roxanne Perez, a match that people have been looking forward to since news of her signing took place.

Giulia faced off against a beloved main roster star in her debut and picked up the win, showcasing her fighting spirit and dominance early into her WWE career. Naturally, her performance has gotten people talking about future opponents they'd love to see her go up against, and we've compiled five of our own of rising stars, veterans, and top stars. Check out our five picks below.

Natalya

Natalya often doesn't get the respect she deserves for helping elevate a whole generation of women's wrestlers and now she's doing so with the women in NXT. Something that Nattie has always been great at is selling for her opponents, and it's likely she'd do a great job helping Giulia become an even bigger star than she is. Given Giulia's fighting style and Nattie's technical abilities, this one seems like a no brainer. While she's been off television for awhile working on her own projects, she officially returned on last week's WWE Raw to go up against Pure Fusion Collective. Now that she's back, if she were to challenge Giulia to prove that she's still got it she will show everyone just why she's called The BOAT.

Rhea Ripley

When looking at the WWE women's roster as a whole it's impossible not to believe that Giulia and Ripley would have an absolute banger (after banger, after banger...) of a match. Whether it's in NXT or the main roster, it seems inevitable that these two strong stars will meet in the ring. It allows Ripley some fresh competition as well, because during her Women's World Championship run she had faced just about everyone on the roster. If she wins it back, it could be a great way to introduce the main roster crowds to Giulia.

IYO SKY

Any time two Joshi stars face off it is almost guaranteed to be a hit. Such would be the case between the former STARDOM champion and IYO SKY who wouldn't hold anything back from each other in the ring. In fact, it's a match that both women have subtlety hinted at over the last few months. "I don't want people to compare IYO and me just based on the Ryogoku match," Giulia told Ameba in July. "The next time I see IYO SKY I think it will be on the opposite side of the ring."

Bianca Belair

You can't have a dream match list and not include the EST in one way or another. Belair remains at the top of WWE as one of the core babyfaces in the women's division but it seems like a lot of fans have forgotten how good she is. Her NXT run in particular was some of her best work, and a hard-hitting match with Giulia would not only test her strengths but remind everyone that she's the EST for a reason. Plus, one of her signature moves is literally called "Bianca" so it has to happen...right?

Sol Ruca

Sol is an up-and-coming star in NXT and a match between these two could certainly create an interesting dynamic. Sol would be able to create more depth in her move set and character work testing herself against a megastar like Giulia. At just 25 years old with a few years of wrestling under her belt Sol is quickly climbing up the ranks of the NXT women's division and Giulia could be exactly what she needs to enter that next phase of her career that will, hopefully, lead to a title in the future.

Honorable Mention: Stephanie Vaquer

Vaquer and Giulia wrestled each other earlier this year in STARDOM where Vaquer captured the NJPW STRONG Women's Championship. In fairness, they deserve a do-over. While the action in the ring was to be expected from two hard-hitting fast-paced wrestlers, the finish left a lot to be desired and they deserve a proper feud where they can really spread their wings. While Vaquer hasn't appeared on live television just yet, you have to imagine she's not too far behind Giulia and this could be a great NXT PLE match.

Two decades ago Samoa Joe became the third-ever Ring of Honor World Champion, a title that he would hold for a record-setting 645 days -- a feat that Champions like Bryan Danielson, Nigel McGuinness, Tyler Black and Kevin Steen (WWE's Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens) have tried to chase. Exactly 20 years later, that record has been broken by the current Women's Champion Athena. Her road to the milestone has seen her defeat the likes of Willow Nightingale, Mercedes Martinez, Nyla Rose, Hikaru Shida, Queen Aminata, Billie Starkz and so many more.

A Fighting Champion

Since AEW President Tony Khan purchased Ring of Honor, Athena has been a consistent bright spot on the brand. However her efforts in the women's division have gone largely unrecognized because ROH is on its own streaming platform separate to AEW and there has been little acknowledgment of her dominance on the road to besting Joe's record. Nevertheless, through injuries and perseverance, she has dedicated the last two years to uplifting both ROH and the women's division, something she hasn't gotten nearly enough credit for. She has shown up for every television taping and every pay-per-view with aspirations of taking ROH global by defending the championship overseas.

For the uninitiated, ROH didn't have a "real" women's title until 2018. Instead of feeling prestigious, it came off more as a way to appear progressive in a wrestling climate that was finally championing women and giving them the respect they deserve. All of this to say the title didn't work and became defunct just two years after it was created. In 2021 a new title -- The Women's World Championship -- was founded and the up and coming Rok-C (WWE's Roxanne Perez) became the inaugural champion. The move was smart on ROH's part, having a young and fresh face carrying around a title certainly helped to begin washing away the stains of the past.

Deonna Purrazzo and Martinez, veterans in the professional wrestling world, helped to build that prestige and make it mean something. But Athena has taken those stepping stones and really forged a path that's all her own while making way for the future of women's wrestling and the division that's on her shoulders. Without Athena's dominating reign, a second women's championship -- the World Television Championship -- would have never been announced.

There are certainly valid criticisms about her usage compared to other ROH Champions who have all appeared on AEW television. Since winning the title in December of 2022, she has only appeared on television twice and on pay-per-view a handful of times. For example, comparing this to Claudio Castagnoli's second ROH World Championship reign, his appearances were nearly four and a half times greater than Athena's and he was champion for six months.

The internet can say that she's being wasted away in ROH (the ones saying this likely aren't watching it anyway), but how can that be true when she's taken bare bones and made complete and utter magic? Here's to many more years of Athena and her minions ruling the professional wrestling world.

The era of WWE SmackDown on USA Network got off to a hot start tonight, opening up with a Steel Cage battle for the Undisputed WWE Championship and ending with an epic team-up between two of SmackDown's biggest superstars. Even before the matches though, WWE revealed a new look for its beloved blue brand, debuting a new logo and new high-profile theme music, and that's also not counting all of the cameos and appearances throughout the night. With the episode now officially in the books, we're breaking down all the highs and lows of the premiere and revealing our thoughts on SmackDown's brand-new era, and let's kick things off with the show's new aesthetic.

A New Look SmackDown

WWE made the first impression with a newly redesigned logo, going for a sleeker look that connects everything with the S. This is actually a bit of a mixed bag, as while everything that goes with the new logo (like the overall color scheme, backdrops, effects, etc) looks great on screen and in graphics and images, the logo itself just looks odd. Love the idea, but you have to stare at it a bit to actually tell it spells SmackDown, which isn't ideal.

That said, the graphics that have followed on social media look unbelievably sick, and even the backdrop used with the logo is impressive. The S on the mics don't exactly scream WWE SmackDown, but it's also something I'll undoubtedly get used to. Now, as with anything, it's not just about the visual presentation, which brings us to the music.

A New Sound

To go along with the new look is a new theme song, but this time WWE went a slightly different route, grabbing two of the biggest stars in Hip Hop and KPop. WWE revealed that Neva Play by Megan Thee Stallion and RM (of BTS) is officially the new theme of SmackDown, and while the introduction of SmackDown felt quite different from the previous era, by midway through the episode I was completely on board. WWE played the song at several points during the show and coupled with new footage during the intro, it successfully got things hyped for the action in the ring. Slam dunk all the way.

Big Show Feel

WWE pulled out all the stops to make this premiere feel like an event, and that included bringing in a host of WWE legends and current superstars to appear throughout the show. Rob Van Dam, Michael Hayes, Damian Priest, Bobby Roode, William Regal, Vickie Guerrero, Ron Simmons, Teddy Long, and more all showed up at various points during the show, and then SmackDown similarly booked all of its big guns for several appearances, including Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, Bayley, Tiffany Stratton, Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill, and The Bloodline.

That said, this was clearly focused on The Bloodline, which makes perfect sense. The storyline at the moment involves the Undisputed Champion, the former Undisputed Champion, and WWE's biggest faction. For most stories having it start the show, play out throughout the show, and then end the show would be overkill, but The Bloodline saga is pretty much Teflon at this point, and no amount of exposure makes it any less compelling. Sure you knew Rhodes would ultimately agree to team with Reigns, but it's the way Rhodes and Reigns executed the plan in the ring that made it must-see television, and that's been the case with this story time and time again.

Highs

• Andrade vs Carmelo Hayes Round 5 Delivered once again.
• LA Knight vs Andrade for the United States Championship is going to be a banger.
• Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton are gold together, even if they are building towards the inevitable split.

Lows

• Seriously that logo just looks...weird. SmackSown has already become a thing for a reason.
• Carmelo Hayes showcased his star power in this feud, but it did still end in a loss, which is unfortunate for a newer star still making an impression on the main roster audience
• A major lack of Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill...I mean they did show up, but would have loved to see more of WWE's Women's Tag Team Champions in the mix for the premiere.

Those are our thoughts on the big SmackDown on USA Network premiere, but what did you think of everything that went down? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

WWE SmackDown's big USA Network premiere began with The Bloodline and ended with The Bloodline, resulting in an epic team-up that many never thought would happen. At the start of the episode Cody Rhodes successfully defended his Undisputed WWE Championship against Solo Sikoa, but The Bloodline's attack would draw Roman Reigns to the fray. That would lead to Nick Aldis making a match involving Reigns, Rhodes, Sikoa, and Jacob Fatu, and while The Bloodline was in, Rhodes wasn't, and there was no answer from Reigns. At the end of the night, Reigns would sign the contract, and despite Rhodes being initially hesitant to get involved, he signed as well, making the Tag Match official for WWE Bad Blood.

The One True Chief

Reigns joined Nick Aldis in the ring at the end of the night, and when Roman reached out his hand Aldis gave him the contract. Reigns looked puzzled and then reached his hand out again, indicating he wanted the microphone. Aldis obliged and Reigns addressed the crowd for the first time since his return.

Reigns said, "Some things change, but not me. I don't need him. I don't need some contract. This family business. This Bloodline business here. I don't need a partner. I definitely don't need the help of Cody Rhodes. And let's just get this one thing straight. Whether I have my family's Ula Fala or not, I am the Tribal Chief," Reigns said. "And you see I'm not just the original Tribal Chief, I am the only Tribal Chief, and don't ever get it confused. This is my ring. This is my show. This is my WWE!"

Tribal Chief, American Nightmare

Rhodes came out right at that moment and headed to the ring to face Reigns face to face. Rhodes said, "Your ring. Your WWE. Well, it was. But it hasn't been since WrestleMania." They threw the mics down and were prepared to throw down, but then Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu headed to the ring. Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa then attaked Reigns and Rhodes in the ring, but Rhodes hit the Cody Cutter on Loa and Reigns slammed down Tonga.

Reigns and Rhodes circled but then Reigns picked up the contract and signed it. Sikoa taunted Reigns that Rhodes didn't like him and wouldn't sign it, but then Rhodes reached out his hand for the contract. Reigns was clearly annoyed, but Rhodes signed it, and the mach was made official.

Sikoa and Fatu weren't thrilled about the new team, probably as thrilled as Reigns was for needing Rhodes' help at all, but now the two teams will battle it out at Bad Blood. It remains to be seen if Reigns brings some additional help to counter the Bloodline's numbers advantage, and if that leads to the eventual return of Jimmy Uso or Jey Uso. Either way, having Roman and Cody on the same team is appointment viewing, and we only have to wait a few more weeks to see it all play out.

Are you excited to see Rhodes and Reigns team up against The Bloodline? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

The series between Carmelo Hayes and Andrade has just about stolen the show on multiple episodes of WWE SmackDown, and after four matches the two Superstars were tied at 2 a piece. Last week both stars mixed it up a bit with LA Knight, leading to a final battle tonight that would not just decide the winner of the series but also Knight's opponent for the United States Championship. The match was as thrilling as fans hoped for, with both superstars countering each other's best moves thanks to the back to back nature of their battles in the ring. It was ultimately Andrade who would walk away with the big win, and he was soon confronted by LA Knight, who revealed the match for the United States Championship was official.

Know Each Other Too Well

Hayes connected with a nasty chop and then threw Andrade to the outside, but Andrade knocked Hayes to the floor after throwing him into the barricade. Andrade stomped on Hayes and then got up on top of the barricade and, though Hayes met him there and a Spanish fly sent both careening to the floor. It took a while for Hayes to get to his feet but he bounced back and went for a cover, though Andrade kicked out before 2.

Hayes locked up the arm and shoulder of Andrade and then brought his knee down as he hit Andrade with elbow strikes. Andrade returned fire with strikes to the head and chops to the chest, but missed Hayes with an elbow strike and hit the turnbuckle instead. Hayes went for a cover but Andrade kicked out quickly, causing Hayes to lock in a submission on the arm and shoulder in the center of the ring.

Andrade fought his way out and stunned Hayes, but then the two superstars collided and fell to the mat. They collided again and fell to the mat. Hayes hit the First 48 but got clocked with a spinning back elbow. Andrade went for the cover but Hayes managed to kick out in time. Andrade went up top but ended up eating double knees, and Hayes got Andrade down for a cover but he kicked out.

A Thrilling Finale

Hayes went up top and tried to hit Nothing but Net but missed and hit the Destroyer, knocking both men to the mat. Andrade hit the double knees in the corner and went for the cover, but Hayes grabbed the bottom rope before the 3 count. Hayes started punching Andrade in the back of the head and Andrade went up top once again. He hit the split leg moonsault but Hayes dodged it and hit a kick to the side of his head. Hayes went up top but was caught and pushed back to the mat. Hayes hit another kick but got knocked out right after, and that was enough for the win. Andrade wins the match and the series at 3 - 2.

That's when LA Knight came out and addressed the crowd. He congratulated Andrade and also noted that he just won the sweepstakes to get his butt handed to him, and Nick Aldis has made the match official. Andrade will challenge LA Knight for the United States Championship on next week's SmackDown.

What did you think of the series between Carmelo and Andrade, and who will walk away United States Champion next week? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

The premiere of WWE SmackDown on USA Network got things started with a huge battle for the Undisputed WWE Championship. After several weeks of issues between Rhodes and the new Bloodline, Sikoa challenged Rhodes to a match for the Title, and Rhodes obliged, but Nick Aldis made the match a Steel Cage match to keep the rest of the Bloodline out. What followed was a thrilling and brutal match that even saw Rhodes hitting a huge splash from the top of the cage. While Rhodes got the win and retained his Title, The Bloodline swarmed and took out the Champ, leading to Roman Reigns coming out and challenging the entire group. We did get a big tease of Reigns vs Jacob Fatu, but Sikoa kept that from happening here, and Rhodes would help Reigns even the odds to clear out The Bloodline.

First Blood

Rhodes and Sikoa traded strikes and then Rhodes hit a few dropdown strikes to get the upper hand, but soon things took a more vicious turn as both superstars slammed each other into the steel cage. Sikoa caught Rhodes and threw him into the cage wall, and then charged into him two times in a row, slamming Rhodes' head against the cage both times. Sikoa got Rhodes in the corner and hit a flying headbutt against the Champ as he was tied up in the ropes.

The second one didn't go as well though, missing Rhodes and allowing the Champ to start climbing up the cage. Sikoa caught his foot and brought him down, and Rhodes was busted open shortly after. Sikoa looked to take advantage of this by slamming Rhodes into the side of the cage, and he threw Rhodes into the other side shortly after. Rhodes would rally though, hitting a Cody Cutter from up high, and then he started climbing up the cage again. Sikoa caught him once more and yanked him down, and another headbutt knocked the Champ to the mat.

Then Sikoa started climbing up the cage and Rhodes soon joined him, with the two superstars meeting up on top of the cage. Rhodes slammed Sikoa's head off the top of the cage and caused him to slip a bit, but then Sikoa managed to bring Rhodes over the side and to the mat with a massive superplex.

Rhodes Won't Stay Down

Sikoa tried to pin Rhodes but Rhodes kicked out, and then Sikoa tried to move towards the open door but Rhodes grabbed his leg. Sikoa then quickly turned around and hit a spinning Solo and then hit another one for a cover, but Rhodes got his shoulder up in time. Sikoa went for the Samoan Spike but Rhodes blocked it and hit a forearm and followed with a disaster kick. Rhodes then hit a Cody Cutter and went for the cover but SIkoa kicked out at 2.

Rhodes was limping a bit and then took a huge charge and a Samoan drop from Sikoa. Sikoa then went up top and hit the flying splash into a cover, but Rhodes kicked out at 2. Sikoa slammed into Rhodes in the corner but Rhodes saw the door open and started to crawl out. Sikoa caught him but Rhodes responded with a Cross Rhodes and went for a pin, but Sikoa kicked out at 2. Rhodes started ascending the cage and got all the way to the top, Instead of climbing down he hit the Lateral Press from the very top of the cage on Sikoa, but Sikoa still kicked out of the pin.

The OTC Returns

The door was open and Rhodes started to crawl out, but Sikoa slammed the door in his face. Sikoa went for the Samoan Spike but Rhodes caught him with a Cross Rhodes and got the pin and the win, retaining his Undisputed WWE Championship. The Bloodline started climbing into the ring, and that's when Sikoa hit a Samoan Spike on the Champion. Tonga Loa, Tama Tonga, and Jacob Fatu kept attacking Rhodes with no help in sight, and then Fatu climbed the cage and was ready to hit a huge move, and that's when Roman Reigns' music hit.

Reigns came out and entered the ring before shutting the door. Reigns attacked Tonga and Loa, and then threw both of them into the cage wall. Sikoa ambushed Reigns but got caught with a Superman Punch. Reigns was hyped as Sikoa got to his feet, and Reigns set up for a spear, but Fatu got Sikoa out of the ring in time. Reigns goaded Fatu into the ring for a face-to-face that many have been wanting since Fatu debuted in WWE, but Sikoa squashed that and dragged Fatu out of the ring. Loa and Tonga then attacked Reigns, but Rhodes was back up and threw Loa into the cage and hit Tonga with a Cross Rhodes. Then Reigns hit Loa with a Spear. That led to Rhodes and Reigns actually helping each other as Sikoa taunted Reigns.

What did you think of SmackDown's big opening segment? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

Matt Riddle has stayed busy amidst free agency. The King of Bros returned to the squared circle this past January, competing for the likes of MLW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, collecting the NJPW World Television Championship in the process. Riddle's competing in the larger wrestling world comes as a result of his WWE release, as WWE cut ties with the former WWE United States Champion in Fall 2023 following a controversial incident at an airport. Riddle's airport fiasco was largely seen as his last straw in WWE, as he had previously served suspensions for violating WWE's wellness policy.

Matt Riddle Reveals Conversation With AEW's Tony Khan

Even with 41 matches under his belt since leaving WWE, Matt Riddle's permanent wrestling future is yet to be written.

Speaking to SI's The Takedown, Riddle revealed he had a conversation with AEW President Tony Khan at some point earlier this year.

"Maybe you'll see me on an AEW channel or broadcast sooner rather than later. Maybe you won't. I talked to Tony (Khan). I don't know if he likes me," Riddle said. "He seemed happy. He seemed cool about it. I don't know. When you meet me, I'm very sarcastic. When I met him, I was like, 'Oh, [did] you like that match [I had against Zack Sabre Jr.]?' but I said it a different way, and he looked at me all confused. And I was like, 'Never mind, dude.' I just walked away. That was my experience with that."

Riddle would bring significant experience to the All Elite Wrestling product. The former UFC fighter cemented himself as one of independent wrestling's top prospects in the mid-2010s, impressing in promotions like Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and EVOLVE. He signed with WWE in late 2018 and surged on the WWE NXT brand before being called up to the main roster. There, he found his biggest successes in a tag team with Randy Orton and a bitter feud with Seth Rollins.

When he wasn't occupied with high-profile storylines, Riddle's baggage began to resurrect. Two months after his feud with Rollins ended, Riddle was suspended for violating WWE's wellness policy for a second time. He was forced to attend mandatory rehab in order to remain with the company. Riddle's in-ring return came in April 2023 and lasted just five months, as he was released from WWE that September.

"I think with me, and it's one of the things I've noticed, I've been relieved after getting fired from WWE. I felt that because I was on TV, and I'm such a provocative character at times, everything was magnified so much because I was on TV," Riddle continued. "The stress of working on TV two to three days a week was a lot. I like pressure. I like stress too, but it was a lot. The best answer would be to go to AEW, get more money, and work a decent schedule. I didn't want to work on TV again. I didn't want the attention for a while. I wanted to step away. I just wanted to do the indies."

Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin and MVP are all free agents. The trio all departed WWE at separate times, Benjamin being the first to exit after he was released in September 2023. Lashley and MVP followed suit, as both men's contracts reportedly expired this past August, neither electing to re-sign. Benjamin and MVP have both made their post-WWE presences felt on the independent circuit, with Benjamin wrestling for PROGRESS in the United Kingdom while MVP showed face at GCW Bloodsport to set a match against Josh Barnett into motion. Lashley has been quite the opposite, laying low within the wrestling world save for a couple of cryptic social media posts.

Collectively, Lashley, Benjamin, and MVP were the original three members of The Hurt Business, a fan-favorite WWE faction that dominated WWE Monday Night Raw during the pandemic era. The group, which also included current WWE star Cedric Alexander, was unexpectedly disbanded in the lead up to WWE WrestleMania 37, and while a couple of reunions were teased, The Hurt Business never returned to full-time operations. Now that the trio are without the bounds of WWE contracts, The Hurt Business reforming seems to not a matter of if, but rather when and where.

AEW Holds Discussions With The Hurt Business

All eyes have been on All Elite Wrestling as The Hurt Business's new office of operations.

Earlier this week, reports emerged that Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin and MVP have had discussions with AEW. This comes a couple of weeks after a trademark was filed for "The Hurt Syndicate" by the same company that trademarked "MVP" and "Ghetto Strong Style," the latter of which was MVP's New Japan Pro Wrestling theme song.

Does AEW Have Room For The Hurt Business?

"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should."

That age-old principle is largely applicable to All Elite Wrestling's free agent strategy. AEW President Tony Khan has made multiple blockbuster signings in 2024, namely Kazuchika Okada and Mercedes Mon?, and both of those talents have been regularly utilized across all AEW programming.

That said, for every properly-utilized star is at least a couple of talents that are registered MIA. Miro and Ricky Starks come to mind, as those two fan-favorites have been absent from television for well over six months with no real explanation for their sabbaticals. Other once white-hot signings like Andrade and Keith Lee came into AEW guns blazing but failed to sustain that initial momentum after their opening feuds.

AEW's Success With Booking Factions

One common denominator in those aforementioned struggling signings is that they were all singles competitors.

Since the company's television inception in Fall 2019, AEW has been the land of factions. Talent that struggled to make it onto AEW Dynamite by their lonesome became weekly regulars thanks to their associations with groups. Angelo Parker and Matt Menard in Jericho Appreciation Society. Wheeler Yuta in Blackpool Combat Club. Shawn Spears in The Pinnacle. This is something that The Hurt Business has working in its favor: it's a lot easier to bring in a trio that shares the screen with another multi-man faction than attempt to book three individual new signings.

As for who they stand opposite against, two readymade feuds exist against the new-look Blackpool Combat Club and The Elite. Those two assemblies of antagonists have been holding numbers advantages in their rivalries, as the BCC stands opposite Darby Allin and Bryan Danielson individually right now while The Elite have run singles and tag programs as they defend their respective championships.

Killing Two Booking Birds With One Stone

The Hurt Business is an immediate natural foil to either of those groups. Should they need a fourth man to completely even the odds, AEW could proactively kill a second bird with one stone by bringing Ricochet into the fold.

MVP recently revealed that he wanted Ricochet and Cedric Alexander for The Hurt Business in WWE but was told he could only pick one. He opted for Alexander in thinking that Ricochet didn't need the boost as much. Ricochet's AEW run only began a couple of weeks ago, but fans are already questioning where he fits in the company's long-term vision following his inevitable feud with Will Ospreay. Linking him up with The Hurt Business not only gives him more direction but also proactively solves his looming promo problems by making MVP his mouthpiece.

Business can be booming under the AEW umbrella, but it all depends on how long the company is willing to invest.

Roman Reigns is back. The Tribal Chief made his return to WWE programming at WWE SummerSlam in August, showing up in the late stages of Cody Rhodes's WWE Championship defense against Solo Sikoa. Reigns slowly made his way to ringside before rushing the squared circle and striking Sikoa, his former stablemate, with both a Superman Punch and a spear. Rhodes covered Sikoa for the 1-2-3, staring down his WWE WrestleMania 40 opponent with a confused yet head-on-a-swivel-esque visage as Reigns watched on from ringside. Reigns has since directed his full attention to The Bloodline, attacking Sikoa and the Tongans on that week's WWE SmackDown before being taken out by Jacob Fatu seven days later. Reigns has not been seen on WWE TV since.

Roman Reigns's Next WWE PLE Revealed

The Head of the Table is coming to WWE Survivor Series.

As revealed in the official WWE Survivor Series poster, Roman Reigns is one of the central WWE superstars advertised for the fall's "big four" premium live event. Reigns is seen in his gear, indicating that he will be wrestling on the WWE Survivor Series card. Alongside Reigns is WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill, Kevin Owens, and Solo Sikoa.

What Will Roman Reigns's WWE Survivor Series Match Be?

All signs point to The Bloodline Civil War commencing in November.

Earlier this week, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque officially branded WWE Survivor Series as WWE Survivor Series: War Games, the third-consecutive year that the fall premium live event will host the double cage match. Reigns himself competed in the first WWE main roster War Games Match in 2022, leading The Bloodline to a victory over the unit of Kevin Owens, Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Ridge Holland, and Pete Dunne.

This year, Reigns will likely run it back with The Bloodline, but this time facing... The Bloodline.

Reigns is currently outnumbered 4-on-1 against Solo Sikoa's iteration of the familial faction. The easiest way to even those odds is to reunite with his original stablemates in The Bloodline, Jimmy and Jey Uso, while also calling on "Honorary Uce" Sami Zayn to fill the fourth man void.

If WWE goes through with Reigns, The Usos, and Zayn vs. Sikoa, The Tongans, and Jacob Fatu, it will be the first main roster War Games Match to not be five vs. five. That said, the looming threat of a returning Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson could change that. The Rock is expected to compete at WWE WrestleMania 41 in what he is hyping up to be the "biggest match of all time." Planting the seeds for Rock vs. Reigns at WWE Survivor Series would certainly set a superlative like that in motion.

WWE Survivor Series: War Games goes down on Saturday, November 30th.

Wrestling fans have been anticipating a big AEW debut from the Motor City Machine Guns after several reports indicated they were heading there, and that anticipation carried over to last night's Dynamite. That debut has yet to happen though, and it turns out it might not ever happen, as PW Nexus is reporting that MCMG are headed to WWE NXT. That would be big news on its own, but the other big kicker is that their NXT debut may be happening extremely soon, as there is talk of them appearing during the upcoming premiere on The CW, which happens in just a few weeks. If that does happen, we've got a few marquee Tag Team match-ups we are dying to see, and we've broken them all down below.

Why It's a Big Deal

Before we get into the dream scenarios, MCMG is massively deserving of their flowers. The Motor City Machine Guns are a renowned Tag Team that includes Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin, and ever since their 2006 debut they have become one of the preeminent tag teams in wrestling. Shelley and Sabin have experienced major success as a team during their time in TNA, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and Ring of Honor, though they have been especially dominant in TNA, where they have been multiple time Chammpions.

Recent reports and rumors suggested that they were headed to AEW and soon, but despite numerous spots that seemed perfect for a major debut, they have yet to appear on AEW TV. Now it would seem that they are instead headed to WWE NXT, and if they end up heading there they will join a number of big name recent additions to the brand, including Stephanie Vaquer and Giulia. It remains to be seen, but here are some matches we hope to see if they do end up joining the WWE NXT roster.

Fraxiom

Seeing that Axiom and Nathan Frazer are the current NXT Tag Team Champions, this seems like a no-brainer, but even without the Titles in the mix, this would be a fantastic match-up. The pure speed on display every time Frazer and Axiom are in the ring is absurdly impressive, and that would pair well against MCMG, as they can meet that speed but also bring a veteran's experience into the mix. Axiom and Frazer deliver every single time they are in the ring, and have shown they can go against any style, and I could easily see this being a trilogy of matches if it were to happen.

Chase U (Andre Chase and Duke Hudson)

Chase U's been through a lot lately, especially after Ridge Holland's betrayal. That said, they are still one of NXT's most beloved groups, and it would be wonderful to see MCMG battle it out with them in the ring. There is one formation of this group though that needs to be involved. While Riley Osborne and Duke Hudson are fun to watch, for this match fans want to see the OG Andre Chase and the MVP Duke Hudson together once more. They've been split off lately with Holland's inclusion, but now that he's gone it's time to get the team back together to face an elite duo in MCMG. The balance of speed and power works well for Chase U, and it should be fun watching Shelley and Sabin have to adapt to it on the fly.

No Quarter Catch Crew (Charlie Dempsey and Tavion Heights)

The No Quarter Catch Crew has become must-see TV each and every week, especially with the addition of Wren Sinclair. The twist that it could be any combination of the group is perfect for a team like MCMG, as you can build a longer program out of the feud as you mix and match, though the strongest combo for the crew seems to be Dempsey and Heights.

Having Wren interfere provides plenty of opportunities for an incoming babyface team (assuming they would be faces when they came in), and Wren and Myles also provide plenty of comedic opportunities that can help make the backstage segments memorable. MCMG should be able to play off of all that quite well, and the matches in the ring should have no problem delivering too.

Hank and Tank

While Hank and Tank are still very new comparatively, they have quickly become a fan favorite duo for their combination of sheer fun and charisma. They also have more of an old-school style to go along with their bigger than life personalities, and all of those elements would make an opening feud with MCMG quite entertaining. Whether MCMG come in as faces or heels, this battle would still work, and it would also give Hank and Tank a chance to mix it up with a brilliant veteran team, which would only benefit them in the long run.

What matches do you want to see if they make their WWE debut? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

Stephen Amell has become one of professional wrestling's biggest success stories in terms of celebrity crossovers, paving the way for people like Grammy Award-winning Latin artist Bad Bunny, Johnny Knoxville, Pat McAfee and Logan Paul to step into the squared circle. Amell's first-ever match took place at WWE's SummerSlam in 2015 at the height of Arrow's success on The CW. He teamed with Neville (AEW's PAC) against Stardust (Cody Rhodes) and Wade Barrett. Fans were left quite impressed by that encounter leading him to teaming with The Elite in Ring of Honor and even a match at the very first All In against Christopher Daniels. Since then, he's re-introduced himself to wrestling fans in his STARZ series, Heels, which is headed to Netflix in 2025.

Will Stephen Amell Wrestle Again?

Speaking to Chris Van Vliet on Insight, Amell poked fun at his time wrestling, noting that Rhodes has joked about him going into the WWE Hall of Fame. "I appreciate that. Cody thinks I'm one good WWE match away from maybe eventually getting the Snoop Dogg treatment, going into the hall of fame."

Additionally, he addressed the question that remains on a lot of fans minds: will he ever step into a ring again? For Amell, the answer is complicated because he wants to be considerate of his wife's feelings. "It depends on how much I want to stay in my marriage. I did say that, look, if Heels comes out and there is some potential with the crossover with Raw being on Netflix and Suits on Peacock. The crossover elements are there for me in the WWE but I feel like I'd have to get my wife to sign off because she's had to take me to the hospital twice after matches. Once for when I hurt myself with Heels and we definitely had to go get my hip x-rayed after All In. So maybe one more. I did go through the entire second season of Heels, we did a bunch of stuff and I came out fine" (h/t: Fightful).

As Amell mentioned, WWE Raw is headed to Netflix in early 2025 for a 10-year $5 billion dollar deal. It was recently revealed that WWE will be changing the presentation of the red brand prior to the shake up, but they anticipate having flexibility with the move to Netflix.

Stay tuned to ComicBook for updates.

Bryan Danielson's wrestling career is in its final countdown. Last fall, Danielson announced that the following 365 days would be the final stretch of his full-time wrestling career, citing a promise he made to put his full focus on his family once his daughter turned seven years old. Going into this summer, Danielson re-emphasized that that timeline was still intact, noting that he would retire at AEW ALL IN: London should he lose his headlining world title match against then-champion Swerve Strickland. Danielson would defeat Swerve to capture the AEW World Championship, his first world title in over five years and his first championship overall in AEW.

Even as AEW World Champion, Danielson's retirement plans are still in place. In his first televised appearance after winning the gold, Danielson declared that once he lost the AEW World Title, he would retire.

As these events were unfolding, Danielson's Blackpool Combat Club stablemate Jon Moxley returned to AEW television. "Wild Thing" was traded in for Moxley's instrumental New Japan Pro Wrestling theme song, his high-energy promos swapped for quiet and calm cryptic words, and his BCC posse replaced by fellow GCW Bloodsport competitor Marina Shafir. Moxley locked in this new persona when he fractured the BCC at AEW All Out, leading an uncomfortable attack on Danielson as stablemate Wheeler Yuta was forced to watch on.

AEW Plants Seeds For Bryan Danielson's Final Opponent

Has the slayer of the American Dragon just been revealed?

After three weeks of calling him out, Jon Moxley finally got his long-awaited "talk" with Darby Allin. Moxley paid respect to Allin, praising the multi-time AEW TNT Champion's relentless work ethic, but ultimately declared that he was "not ready" to challenge for the AEW World Championship. Allin, who earned a world title match earlier this summer, agreed to put that shot on the line against Moxley at AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam on September 25th.

A couple of segments later, Nigel McGuinness appeared before the live crowd. AEW's resident color commentator returned to the ring at AEW ALL IN: London, wrestling his first match in over a decade. McGuinness called out AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson, taunting his former Ring of Honor rival to face him at AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam in two weeks time.

Without anticipating the future timeline, the latter segment feels rushed. McGuinness has spent years pushing for a rematch with Danielson. Why run it on a television taping with a two-week build instead of on a pay-per-view with at least a month of anticipation?

That's because Danielson's time is numbered, and even more so than originally anticipated.

AEW's next pay-per-view event, AEW WrestleDream, is scheduled for Danielson's home state of Washington, and that appears to be the site of his actual retirement match more than ever. Based on Moxley's words on Wednesday, it's evident that Allin is being built up as Danielson's final opponent. The only reason to accelerate the McGuinness match to AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam is because AEW WrestleDream is being reserved for Allin, a fellow Washington native.

In order to lock that into place, Allin needs to beat Moxley at AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam. Will AEW have Mox lose so soon after returning to television? Is that victory alone enough to make Allin "ready" to be AEW World Champion? How can AEW sustain momentum across all of this storyline's variables? These questions, and many more, will need to be answered in what is shaping up to be the most crucial four-week stretch of AEW programming to date.

AEW Grand Slam was in the spotlight throughout tonight's episode of Dynamite, with a number of anticipated match-ups being added to the card. One match that no one expected however was for the AEW World Championship, as Bryan Danielson had been beaten down and nearly suffocated by Jon Moxley last week. After a match with Darby Allin's Title shot contract was revealed earlier in the night, everyone figured a World Title match was out oft the question, but that turned out not to be the case. Instead, fans are getting a long awaited rematch between Danielson and Nigel McGuinness, a move no one saw coming.

World Title Worthy

McGuinness came out and had some news to share, starting with the unfortunate news that Grand Slam was poised not to have a World Championship match on the card thanks to Danielson's current status. McGuinness said that was great for Danielson, saying he was probably in an iron lung gasping for air after what happened with Moxley. He did feel it was a negative for AEW though, as there should be a World Title match up for grabs at such a big event, but he had a solution.

McGuinness had a piece of paper in his hand, but before he revealed what it was, he brought up having to sit on the sideline for so long and watch Danilson have the carreer he was supposed to have. Then McGuinness said that Danielson is scared of him and that match between then is someone everyone wants to see. McGuinness then added that Tony Khan is not afraid, knowing a money match when he sees it.

That led McGuinness to reveal that Grand Slam will feature Danielson vs McGuinness for the AEW World Championship, but he wasn't done. McGuinness also revealed that Oasis will be playing him to the ring, but then asked Danielson if Final Countdown will follow suit or if fans have seen the last match of the American Coward before throwing the ball in Danielson's court.

A Grand Rematch

Soon after Tony Khan confirmed the match would be happening at Grand Slam, though it's not known what kind of condition Danielson will be in when the match happens in just two weeks. The last time we saw the Champion was on a stretcher, so even if he's doing better, that's not a lot of time to recover. There's also the fact that The BCC is lurking around and could attack him again, setting him up for a quick downfall at Grand Slam.

There's a lot of history at play in this rematch, as McGuinness and Danielson had their farewell matches in Ring of Honor at Glory By Honor VIII in September of 2009. That match also happened to take place in New York, and now on the 15th anniversary of that match, their AEW World Title match will take place in New York once more. It's a full circle moment to be sure, and one that could very well steal the show at Grand Slam.

Are you excited for the rematch? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

The main event of tonight's AEW Dynamite saw several tag teams go head-to-head for a title opportunity at AEW Grand Slam against current champions the Young Bucks. Matthew and Nicholas Jackson revealed in a backstage promo that they have heard the outcry from fans about wanting a new tag team at the top to replace them, but the current division has yet to best them. Thus the creation of the gauntlet that is a great opportunity for teams to prove themselves and make a statement. Former AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR as well as Kyle Fletcher and Will Ospreay, a mini United Empire reunion, started things off.

In total, 21 tag teams are supposed to make their way into the ring at random intervals. In order to win, someone must be pinned or submitted. Undisputed Kingdom who have their own history with the Bucks came in, flexing their dominance. The ring is filling up now and The Acclaimed are ready for a chance at the Bucks one-on-one.

Ring of Honor's MxM Collective are out next, hoping to shoot straight to the top of the tag team division. They're firing on all cylinders, working in tandem to take out Matt Taven and Mike Bennett. Top Flight hit the ring ready to make the most of their opportunity after losing out on their momentum in the division in the past. Fans erupt for the surprise of The Outrunners, an up and coming team that has quickly become a fan-favorite. Grizzled Young Vets have come to remind the divison to grit their teeth, but FTR attacks them before they can even make it there.

Bodies are flying everywhere in this Tag Team Casino Battle Royale!

Watch #AEWDynamite LIVE on TBS!@PlatinumMax | @Bowens_Official | @MattTaven | @RealMikeBennett | @NoNamexVincent | @DEATHxWALKS | @SuaveMansoor | @GREATBLACKOTAKU pic.twitter.com/01H8sMHjPM

-- All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) September 12, 2024

The Outrunners attempt a pin on Mansoor but he kicks out and Vincent of The Righteous breaks it up. Fletcher and Ospreay come out of nowhere with The Hidden Blade to pick up a shocking victory before the rest of the teams can even make it to the ring. The men haven't teamed together in AEW in quite some time and it happened before Ospreay was even signed to the company.

So much has happened since then now that Aussie Open's Mark Davis has been injured for nearly a year and Fletcher is finally coming into his own. It's worth noting that Fletcher is still aligned with The Don Callis Family -- a heel stable -- while Ospreay is a face and the current International Champion. There have been several teases since he arrived in AEW that have pointed to the bleach blonde finally turning on one of his best friends, and it seems like the story is headed in that exact direction.

Stay tuned to ComicBook for news and updates on AEW.

Tonight's AEW Dynamite was all about Jon Moxley, as he looked to explain his severe actions against Bryan Danielson. Those actions resulted in Danielson being taken out on a stretcher, but Moxley didn't really show any remorse in his explanation. In fact, he pretty much doubled down on why he did it, and he teased that war is now the only option moving forward for the BCC. That led to a confrontation with Darby Allin, and while some thought Moxley would try and recruit Allin to the cause, that was far from the reason, and the ensuing exchange would lead to Allin's shot at the World Title being put on the line at Grand Slam.

War Is Coming

At the start of Dynamite, Moxley addressed his actions against Danielson, and while he did give Danielson credit as a great wrestler and example, he also pointed out that his diplomatic and patient approach didn't produce results or lessen the chaos within AEW. Mox teased some big changes coming and said that the only way forward is Moxley's way, which is all out war.

Moxley wouldn't go into detail about what change was coming and some of the vague more mysterious elements in his recent promos actually mean, but he did state once again that he needed to meet Darby Allin face to face. After a few weeks of getting called out, Allin obliged later int he episode, but no one likely expected what that confrontation would ultimately yield.

You're Not Ready

Moxley and Marina Shafir would head to the ring to meet Allin after he called Moxley out. Once Moxley was in the ring he started to talk but was quickly cut off by Allin, who then told Moxley how he looked up to him from the beginning of his wrestling career. They even faced each other first on the independent scene, and he always respected Moxley's ability to do things his own way and never selling out, though that has changed with Mox's actions towards Danielson.

Allin told Moxley that he no longer looked up to him, as someone who thought of a person as family would never do what he did to Danielson. That's when Moxley responded with some rather surprising words for Allin, revealing that he wanted Allin to give him his Title shot. Allin asked if Moxley was stupid and if he was drinking again, as there's no reason for him to hand that over. Moxley held back Shafir and then Allin told Mox that if he wanted it so bad, he would have to come and take it from him.

Moxley challenged Allin to match over the Title shot, telling Allin that he doesn't remotely understand what's happening behind the scenes. Moxley also said Allin wasn't ready for a World Title shot, adding he wasn't ready five years ago and wasn't ready now. Moxley was doing him a favor, but after the challenge was made, Allin agreed to the match, making it official for AEW Grand Slam.

What did you think of the exchange, and hwo are you siding with? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

Over the last several months, WWE stars CM Punk and Drew McIntyre have had one of the most talked about feuds in professional wrestling all because of a bracelet that was gifted to Punk by a fan. The friendship bracelet features the colors of the Chicago flag as well as his wife AJ Mendez (formerly WWE's AJ Lee) and their dog Larry's names. McIntyre has made it a point to "torture" Punk with it by stealing it and even breaking it on a recent episode of WWE Raw. This week it was revealed that their feud will end inside of a steel cage at the next Premium Live Event. However, in the past few weeks, AJ has been mentioned on television which has excited fans who wish to see her get her flowers.

ComicBook recently caught up with Mendez to chat about her upcoming comic release with partner Aimee Garcia, Day of the Dead Girl, and inquired about her thoughts on the storyline.

"I mean this in the most loving way, I have no idea what's going on [laughs]. I'm weird about like -- I don't want to watch my husband wrestle live because I'm scared. It's like a weird juju thing," Mendez said. "But also, it's kind of like when you go home from work, do you open up your email? It's kind of like that. It feels like that if people can understand. So, I'm sort of on the periphery, and I get kind of looped in mostly for women's stuff, because that's what I'm interested in.

So my husband will let me know who's the cool chick at the moment. And I'm so obsessed with people. Like Bayley and Naomi? Those are my girls. So that's what's interesting to me. I kind of don't know what's happening in the storyline. I know that my dog is famous all of a sudden! He's got some surprise merch coming. I've been privy to that. But it's cool. I'm happy that he's happy and healthy and just killing it. I'm proud."

Day of the Dead Girl blends horror and the supernatural with a cultural twist. In the miniseries which release October 9th wherever you buy comics, it takes a look into the tradition of D?a De Los Muertos or Day of the Dead. According to the description, "Death is never the end of the story. Coroner Sam Castillo will learn this the hard way, when a supernatural serial killer targets her hometown just as she moves back. A skeptical woman of science, Sam butts heads with her spiritual mother Ana, a leader of a witch coven specializing in Brujeria. But when the coven's Brujas start turning up murdered, Sam and Ana must work together to find the killer and save their town's Day of the Dead festival from turning into an occult bloodbath. As if sharing a bathroom with her mom wasn't hard enough."

While the series doesn't release until October, it is currently available to pre-order online as well as in comic shops nearest to you.

CM Punk kept busy during his seven years away from professional wrestling. The Second City Saint walked out of WWE in 2014 and effectively left the squared circle in the rear view, quietly retiring from the sport at 35 years old. Punk filled his newfound empty schedule with projects from the larger entertainment world, including a number of acting roles. He starred in three horror movies and landed guest and recurring roles on television programs like Heels and Mayans M.C. Since returning to the ring in 2021, Punk has put his acting career on pause, but his recent signing with Paradigm Talent Agency indicates that he is open to re-exploring that avenue once again in due time.

Dave Bautista Praises CM Punk's Acting Ability

Whenever CM Punk is ready to get back on the sets, a familiar face is waiting for him.

Speaking to BuzzFeed Celeb, Dave Bautista singled out Punk as someone he believes has a lot to give to the acting world, noting he would "actually love to work with him" on a future film.

"You know who I think was really overlooked as an actor? I don't know if he hasn't pursued it as much as he'd like to because he's still heavily pursuing professional wrestling but it's CM Punk, Phil Brooks," Bautista said. "His potential in acting is pretty unlimited. I really want to see more from him in acting, and I'd actually love to work with him because I think he has a passion for acting. I think, still, his heart is in professional wrestling. Until he's able to let that go a little bit, he'll never be able to fully envelope himself in acting. Phil Brooks, he's a great actor."

Punk's biggest acting roles to date have come on television, as he worked with Stephen Amell on Heels and within the Sons of Anarchy world on Mayans M.C. He was recently announced to be joining director Ben Kitnick's Let's Start a Cult, an indie comedy set to release this October.

Bautista's interest in working with Punk on a film or television project is a departure from his previous mentality about sharing the screen with fellow former wrestlers. He had previously shut down the idea of working with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and John Cena on a movie. His latest film, The Killer's Game, opens that crossover for the first time in his career, as Bautista stars opposite WWE's Drew McIntyre in multiple scenes.

The Killer's Game hits theaters on Friday, September 13th.