The Top Ten Wrestling Stories of the Week 10/9: Mustafa Ali Leading Retribution on WWE Raw, Cody Wins AEW TNT Title, More
Welcome Back TJR readers! Did you spend all day Friday trying to look up the US Presidential line of succession and miss Smackdown. Perhaps you were standing outside a hospital hoping the president would drive by again on Monday, and missed RAW. Worry not, for I have returned with another edition of The Top Ten Wrestling Stories of the Week to catch you up.
10. WrestleMania 37 Reportedly to be Held in Tampa Bay Instead of Los Angeles
It looks like Tampa Bay may still get to hold a Wrestlemania after all. WrestleMania 36 was scheduled to take place in Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Florida, before having to be moved to the Performance Center due to the current health crisis. Next year’s WrestleMania was supposed to take place in the new SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California this coming April. Reports came out this week however that WWE is planning on making it up to Tampa, and having them host next year’s WrestleMania. Obviously, in these unique times this is all subject to change, as there is no way to know what the world will look like in April or how many fans WWE will be able to have at Mania this year. What also isn’t known is how SoFi stadium in LA feels about this change. Although, the stadium is the home of the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers, so they should be used to disappointment. (TJRWrestling)
9. NXT to Bring Back Halloween Havoc on October 28th
NXT is set to bring back yet another classic WCW event. After already reviving War Games and The Great American Bash, NXT will now hold Halloween Havoc on October 28th. Halloween Havoc was a staple of WCW from 1989 to 2000, and will now once again be held under the NXT brand. Shotzi Blackheart will host the event, which will air during NXT’s normal weekly television show. It is unknown what scary things NXT has planned for the night, but if they choose to air clips from the Presidential Debate I know I’ll be terrified! (TJRWrestling)
8. AEW Celebrates 30 Years of Jericho
On a special episode of Dynamite this week, AEW celebrated the 30-year anniversary of Chris Jericho’s wrestling career. Various celebrities and wrestlers sent in video messages congratulating Jericho throughout the night, including messages from such names as Hiroshi Tanahashi, Gene Simmons, Shaquille O’Neal and many more. Jericho and Jack Hager then defeated Serpentico and Jericho’s longtime friend, Luther, in the main event of the night. After the match, Jericho attempted to thank everybody, but was interrupted by MJF. MJF then proceeded to give Jericho a clown and a picture of himself. Jericho ended up smashing the picture over the clown’s head, before knocking him out with the Judas Effect. MJF and Jericho then teased a confrontation, before both just laughed it off. Most of the roster then came out to celebrate with Jericho, as the credits played with Jericho’s name filling every role. On a similar note, Monmouth County Correctional Institution will be holding a small celebration for Sunny for the 30th anniversary of doing what she does for a living. (TJRWrestling)
Tonight's episode of Dynamite was brought to you by @IAmJericho!#AEWDynamitepic.twitter.com/WX2sYzhZp8
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) October 8, 2020
7. WWE to Take Over Superstars Twitch Account
About a month ago it was reported that WWE superstars had been ordered by their employer to stop promoting on all third-party platforms such as Cameo and Twitch. This understandably upset many fans and superstars, who felt that this policy went against the notion that superstars are independent contractors. This week however, those fans and superstars got some great news! WWE isn’t going to force those stars to stop their Twitch accounts entirely, but instead just take them over and take most of the money from them! WWE superstars will still get a small percentage from the Twitch earnings, but it will of course count against their downside guarantees. Despite WWE’s very generous offer, some fans and superstars are still upset, calling WWE a greedy and evil corporation. I, for one, don’t understand this as it’s not like WWE is firing hundreds of employees during a pandemic while making huge profits or something. (TJRWrestling)
6. Murphy Attacks Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins appears to be out of disciples after RAW this week. After Murphy asked Rollins to apologize for his treatment of Rey Mysterio’s daughter Aalyah, Rollins resisted and instead told Murphy that he owes Rollins an apology for disrespectful behavior. Rollins gave Murphy to 10:00 PM to apologize. The two ended up meeting in the ring, with Rollins screaming into Murphy’s face to apologize immediately. Murphy instead turned on Rollins, attacking him with a kendo stick while Rollins screamed he was sorry. Rollins apologizing caused Murphy to stop attacking, just for it all to be a trick as Rollins then poked Murphy in the eye and started his own attack. This caused Aalyah to run down and beg Rollins to leave Murphy alone. The entire rest of the Mysterio family ended coming to the ring, causing Rollins to leave the ringside. The entire Mysterio family then left with Aalyah, while Murphy was still down in the ring. Rollins is now completely out of followers, although I’m sure WWE will help him start a Twitch account if he wants to get some more. (TJRWrestling)
5. Ember Moon Returns to NXT
For several weeks it was teased that a former champion would be making a return at NXT Takeover 31. After Io Shari defeated Candice LeRae, a motorcycle drove into the building. The person on the motorcycle removed their helmet, revealing a returning Ember Moon. Moon has been out of action for a year with a foot injury, and was last seen as a member of the Smackdown brand. Many fans speculated that the returning NXT Superstar would be Bo Dallas, but I personally never really Bolived that. (TJRWrestling)
4. NXT to Take Place at the “Capital Wrestling Center” From Now On
The former WWE Performance Center, got a new name and a facelift this week. The Performance Center will now be called the “Capital Wrestling Center”, and will be the new permanent home for NXT. Starting this past Sunday with NXT Takeover 31, NXT will now be live from the Capital Wrestling Center each week and will have limited fans in attendance. The Capital Wrestling name is actually a call back to the company Vince McMahon Sr. ran starting back in 1953, before Vince Jr. bought it and started the WWE. Consequently, the same main event that Vince Sr. ran in 1953 is being talked about to headline the next Saudi show. (TJRWrestling)
3. Two Hell in a Cell Matches Booked
Two WWE feuds are set to be settled inside Hell in a Cell on October 25th. Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton will be meeting in their third PPV match since August for the WWE Heavyweight Championship. Orton has lost both of the previous matches against McIntyre and three PPV matches in a row, but will now try to change his fortune inside the cell. Also after getting destroyed at Clash of the Champions, Jey Uso will once again try to defeat his Cousin Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship. This time however the two will meet inside the cell, which Reigns has promised will be for “the highest of stakes”. This could only mean that the loser must have to get into a Delorean and relive 2020 again. (TJRWrestling)
2. Cody Wins TNT Championship
Cody (Rhodes) is once again the TNT Champion. Cody defeated Brodie Lee in an absolutely brutal and bloody Dog Collar Match this week on Dynamite, to once again capture the title. WWE Hall-of-Famer Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, who had a famous Dog Collar Match against Rowdy Roddy Piper, sat in the crowd for the match. After the match, Cody stated that he wanted to defend the championship next week, with Orange Cassidy coming out to accept the challenge. Valentine considered taking the match but decided to wait to see if AEW ever runs Saudi Arabia. (TJRWrestling)
1. Leader of Retribution Revealed
The person behind Retribution was finally revealed this week on RAW. During a match between Mustafa Ali and MVP, MVP’s fellow Hurt Business members Shelton Benjamin and Bobby Lashley entered the ring to try to corner Ali. Before Ali could be attacked, however, the male members of Retribution came to ringside. At first, it appeared that Ali was going to fight alongside The Hurt Business against Retribution. Ali suddenly turned and joined Retribution, however, proceeding to attack and take out The Hurt Business. The segment then ended with Ali and Retribution standing tall in the ring together. It is unknown if WWE will give Ali a cool new name like his fellow members, but if they do can I suggest they solve a long-standing mystery and call him HACKER. (TJRWrestling)
That will conclude another edition of The Top Ten Wrestling Stories of the Week. As always, if you like what I do, please follow me on Facebook and Twitter @BackseatBookers and listen to my podcast The BackseatBookers. (Please be aware that it is explicit as even the President would admit that you should fear my language.)