Fightful's ongoing NXT/AEW/IMPACT scoops thread!! We will constantly update this through the night as we get more info.
- As mentioned, AEW officials were very happy with the Bryan Danielson/Daniel Garcia match on Rampage.
- AEW staff and talent have a rare full week off with Collision being taped this past Tuesday
- IMPACT Final Resolution is the last IMPACT date currently on Deonna Purrazzo's contract. She's set to team with Gisele Shaw against Jordynne Grace and Trinity.<...
2023-12-09 21:49:58 +0000 UTC
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WWE talent look to have a full week off for Christmas.
During a recent interview, it was intimated that Triple H hopes for talent to have more time at home with their families than in the previous regime. Early on, it looks like he’s making good on that.
Talent that Fightful have spoken to say that WWE talent will have a full week off in most cases ahead of Christmas, as there are no events scheduled between December 19 and December 25. The WWE Holiday tour picks back up on Dece...
2023-12-09 19:25:36 +0000 UTC
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- The WWE Tribute to the Troops edition of Smackdown in Providence, RI was the highest-grossing televised event in the market's history, per live events reports
- Randy Orton was listed for an in-ring promo on Smackdown, but that may have just been an error
- B-Fab is still internally listed with Ashante "Thee" Adonis
- There were no producers listed for Cody Rhodes and CM Punk promos.
- As if it wasn't obvious, Kevin Owens' injury is storyline.
- Unfortunately, ...
2023-12-09 18:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Did I get to watch even one second of SmackDown? No I did not.
Am I still going to attempt to review it? YOU'RE GOD DAMN RIGHT I AM.
But mostly we're going to watch Bryan Danielson vs Daniel Garcia and we're going to smile.
But everything sucks. Let's talk about it.
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/m0DZYy2datw
2023-12-09 03:00:21 +0000 UTC
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Fightful has learned the following plans for tonight's WWE Smackdown, which are subject to change.
Please be cognizant of those who wish to avoid spoilers.
- US Title Contender Tourney: Dragon Lee vs. Santos Escobar
- Randy Orton Promo
- Cody Rhodes promo
- US Title Contender Tourney: Karrion Kross vs. Bobby Lashley
- CM Punk
- Charlotte vs. Asuka
- Damage CTRL backstage
- Kevin Owens, Grayson Waller and Austin Theory backstage
2023-12-09 00:57:20 +0000 UTC
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A former WWE Champion is backstage at today's WWE Smackdown in Providence, Rhode Island.
Fightful's Corey Brennan has learned that former WWE Champion John Bradshaw Layfield is at the show. It's unclear as of now whether or not he'll appear on screen.
JBL most recently appeared on WWE programming on November 21, where he announced who would be in the qualifiers for the Iron Survivor Challenge for NXT Deadline.
Fightful should have Smackdown plans as usual shortly...
2023-12-08 21:46:00 +0000 UTC
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Bryan Danielson is the law ‘round these parts.
If someone poisons the social media water hole, Bryan Danielson is one of those responsible for laying down the law. Fightful Select reported last week that Danielson was effectively the face of the disciplinary committee in AEW, and that it extended to laying out fines when necessary.
For some reason, reiterating this on this week’s Hump got a lot of publicity, so we thought we’d elaborate on what we know. The notoriously disco...
2023-12-08 21:33:23 +0000 UTC
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- Biggest stories of the year
- Sheamus
- AEW music
- Okada/TNA
- Deonna Purrazzo
- Isla & Alba
- Miro, Andrade, others
- Danielson's fines
- Deeb, Hayter, Rosa, Britt.
2023-12-08 21:25:23 +0000 UTC
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A major women's free agent is set to hit the open market on January 1.
Fightful had reported quite a while back that Deonna Purrazzo's IMPACT Wrestling Contract was set to expire, and she'd become a free agent at the start of 2024. In following up, we're told that Purrazzo intends to explore free agency, and no deal with IMPACT Wrestling has been reached. Purrazzo has worked WWE, NXT, AEW, ROH, AAA and Stardom in the past.
There were some that believed that Purrazzo was set to sta...
2023-12-07 22:59:17 +0000 UTC
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-The plan is to go on the road in 2024 and hit several new cities, as well as some MLW has toured in the past.
-US Trademark office has confirmed the CONTRA/CONTRA Unit trademark for MLW. There are preliminary discussions to possibly bring it back next year.
-Alyssa Wray of American Idol fame will perform America the Beautiful tomorrow at One-Shot on FITE+ in NYC.
- Fightful has an interview with Xia Brookside dropping next week.
- For those asking about Will Ospreay's...
2023-12-07 18:00:05 +0000 UTC
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The owner and CEO of MLW, Court Bauer, joined Fightful Select for an exclusive interview ahead of MLW’s One Shot PPV on Thursday, December 7th.
Bauer and Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp discussed numerous topics. Bauer said, “The Melrose Ballroom is an important venue regarding MLW’s history.
Sean asked Bauer about the benefits of running a show on Thursdays instead of a different night. Bauer told us, “It worked well for them from a production standpoint.” Bauer says it als...
2023-12-07 00:28:47 +0000 UTC
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Could an AEW talent be headed back to action?
Kyle O’Reilly has been out of action for 18 months, with no sign of a return on-screen within AEW. Unfortunately, the updates in the summer we heard weren’t good. Sources had indicated to Fightful that O’Reilly was not factored into AEW plans due to his injury, and there is currently no timetable for him return. At least one part of that has changed, as we’re told Kyle O’Reilly has been backstage recently and is looking like he cou...
2023-12-06 21:34:17 +0000 UTC
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SRS and Jimmy Van keep the party going!
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/LxDBlF2WTdE
2023-12-06 20:33:00 +0000 UTC
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Bryan Danielson has everyone concerned yet again.
At the Tuesday night AEW Collision tapings, Danielson caused an uproar with fans in attendance and online, as there was belief that he was injured. Fightful has confirmed this was a part of an angle and he's not sidelined from action as of now.
Danielson is expected to be at tonight's AEW Dynamite show in Montreal. The spot at the Collision was planned as a part of the match.
We're told AEW officials are very happy with ho...
2023-12-06 15:54:22 +0000 UTC
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Fightful's Corey Brennan has learned the following NXT plans, subject to change.
These are not in order unless otherwise noted. These will be updated as we get more info
- Last Chance Match: Thea Hail vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Fallon Henley vs. Kiana James kicks off the show
- Alpha Academy vs. Metafour
- Men's Last Chance: Eddy Thorpe vs. Carmelo Hayes vs. Joe Coffey vs. Tyler Bate
- Ilja and Baron Corbin promo ends the show
Potential Spoilers, unannou...
2023-12-05 20:09:45 +0000 UTC
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- There were some within WWE who claimed that Cody Rhodes' merch sales in Chicago were the highest at an event in the company's history in Chicago. When we asked WWE in an official capacity, they didn't deny it.
- WWE Raw in Albany was the highest grossing WWE event in the market's history, per internal live events reports.
- Odyssey Jones was on the road with WWE this weekend, teaming with Cameron Grimes on the WWE Holiday tour against Waller & Theory. The OC were back on the...
2023-12-05 18:00:09 +0000 UTC
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So the setup for the Shinsuke/Cody feud is one of the best they've done in years... until you realize that we all already know the ending.
Also, this version of Drew McIntyre is the best we've ever gotten on the main roster... which is all the more maddening since we could've gotten this literally YEARS ago.
But we got a great 2 out of 3 falls tag match between DIY and "The Imperium", and we still have what should be an exciting Seth vs Jey Uso title match in the main event.
2023-12-05 03:12:24 +0000 UTC
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Fightful Select has learned the following plans for WWE Raw, subject to change
- Drew McIntyre promo
- Drew McIntyre vs. Sami Zayn
- Shayna Baszler vs. Nia Jax
- 2 out of 3 falls: DIY vs. Imperium
- Kayden Carter & Katana Chance vs. Tegan Nox & Natalya
- Cody Rhodes promo
- Creed Bros vs. Judgment Day (Dominik & JD)
- World Title: Seth Rollins vs. Jey Uso
BACKSTAGE NOTES
- Gigi Dolin vs. Elektra Lope...
2023-12-05 00:59:19 +0000 UTC
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- Randy Orton
- CM Punk vs. Stone Cold
- Julia Hart
- QT Marshall
- Raw/Smackdown
- Danielson and disciplinary committee
- Adam Pearce
- SHAZZA
2023-12-04 21:31:53 +0000 UTC
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- There was no producer listed for CM Punk's WWE Raw promo last week.
- As mentioned, Punk is listed internally as a free agent on WWE rosters.
- We're told that AEW knew immediately they'd be cutting Ric Flair's line from the Rampage promo.
- Skye Blue's Collision promo was actually filmed a couple of days ahead.
- Joaquin Wilde had his first televised singles match in three years on Smackdown. His last televised singles match was on NXT in April 2020 against KU...
2023-12-04 21:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Randy Orton hears voices in his head they say DOOT DOOT DOOT, they understand, they talk to him.
Randy Orton is back in WWE after a year and a half away, and is primed for a big angle now that he's joined WWE Smackdown. However, he made a WWE Raw appearance first before "signing" with the Blue Brand. Orton was absent from WWE TV during the draft and was not assigned a brand at that point. WWE wanted to capitalize off the buzz of his return, and put him on last week's episode of WWE Raw,...
2023-12-04 19:30:25 +0000 UTC
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STEPHEN JENSEN is back with a new edition of the WEEKENDER!
- BLP: "Slamilton" results
- GCW: "C'mon Dude" + "What Is Your Choice?" results
- H2O: "Uncharted Territory" (11/27) results
- MLW: "Fusion" (11/30) results
- NXT Level Up (12/1) results
- NWA: "Powerrr" (11/28) results
- HOG: "The Darkest Hour" results
- LPW 21: The Chain Wrestling results
2023-12-04 06:02:59 +0000 UTC
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- We’re told that as of now, Veda Scott will not be coming in to MLW as planned, and had not officially signed with the company.
- We’re told that indie standout Joshua Bishop hasn’t signed full-time with MLW, though a deal was offered. He preferred to work per date for the time.
- Originally, Young Bucks were scheduled to face Komander and Vikingo on the November 15 AEW Dynamite. However, Vikingo was replaced by Penta.
Trish Adora
Fightful Selec...
2023-12-03 21:04:01 +0000 UTC
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By Frank Leon from Fightful Magazine Issue 7
****
Picture this — it’s 2017 and someone from the future comes up to you to let you know that five years later in 2022 Roman Reignsis the biggest heel champion in WWE and Brock Lesnar is the top babyface champion in the company. How do you react? Roman had been booed out of many buildings at this point for being the top guy who was over-pushed and given too much success too fast for only being in t...
2023-12-03 21:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Randy Orton had been out of action for a year and a half before his return to the ring at WWE Survivor Sereis, but that may cause him to be around in WWE even longer.
Orton publicly teased free agency for the first time in 2019, before signing a new five-year contract with WWE at a time when the company mass-signed a ton of talent to long-term deals. However, one WWE higher up said that they “would be surprised” if WWE did not end up extending his current deal.
Orton’s origi...
2023-12-03 20:00:01 +0000 UTC
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Since the text Q&A didn't work too well, we'll have a short live q&a!
Video: https://youtu.be/ICLuNc_R2lk
2023-12-03 17:46:58 +0000 UTC
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I've been under the weather, but there's a TON to talk about over the past 24 hours, so let's do this.
The Continental Classic continues to conjure compelling chronicles. Brody King looks unstoppable. When will Danny Garcia pick up the big victory that proves he belongs? Is Bryan Danielson the anointed one?
Plus, House of Black is feuding with FTR and somehow that's not front page news.
Over on SmackDown Randy's coming for Roman, and they're running a #1 contender's tour...
2023-12-03 02:53:36 +0000 UTC
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Another AEW name is confirmed as being under a full-time contract, even though it was fairly obvious.
Although she hasn’t received the “is All Elite” graphic, Fightful is told that Julia Hart is under a full-time contract with All Elite Wrestling. We’re told this was done quite a while back, but no announcement was made and it wasn’t reported. After Hart winning the TBS Title, Fightful asked why no graphic was given, and were just told there are numerous full-time talent...
2023-12-02 18:00:01 +0000 UTC
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Tonight's WWE Smackdown Plans, subject to change.
Please be cognizant of those who wish to avoid spoilers!
- Bianca, ShotzI, Charlotte promo
- Butch vs. Bobby Lashley
- Pretty Deadly backstage
- Bayley and Dakota Kai backstage
- LWO backstage
- Santos Escobar vs. Joaquin Wilde
- Logan Paul Promo
- Bianca Belair vs. Kairi Sane
- Kevin Owens vs. Grayson Waller
- Randy Orton makes decision
BACKSTAGE NEWS
- A...
2023-12-02 01:08:19 +0000 UTC
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Adam Pearce got a promotion on WWE TV, but he may have sort of gained one behind the scenes.
In October, Triple H introduced Nick Aldis as the GM of Smackdown, promoting Adam Pearce to the role of GM of WWE Raw. For years, Pearce has served as an authority figure on both Raw and Smackdown, some with the help of others, but always with him as a constant. Since then, he’s been Raw exclusive on screen since becoming Raw GM.
However, behind the scenes, Pearce has long been a produce...
2023-12-01 20:22:24 +0000 UTC
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