Features

Top 10 Wrestling Stories of the Week 9/23: New Champions In AEW/ROH, WWE Announces Reigns vs. Paul, Saraya, More

By Matthew Fowler • Published 23rd September 2022
jon moxley aew bryan danielson dynamite

Welcome back, TJR readers! Did you spend all day Friday opening up your own checking account, and missed WWE Smackdown? Perhaps you spent all day Monday mourning the news that Mandy Rose got engaged, and missed Raw.

Worry not for I have returned with another edition of the Top Ten Wrestling Stories of the Week.

10. Seth Rollins and Matt Riddle to Compete in a Fight Pit Match at Extreme Rules

For the first time ever on the WWE main roster, a Fight Pit Match will take place. This past Monday on Raw Matt Riddle and Seth Rollins cost each other matches, leading them to get into a fight backstage. After WWE officials broke up the fight, Riddle challenged Rollins to a Fight Pit Match at Extreme Rules on October 8th. A Fight Pit Match has previously been held twice on NXT, with Theory actually competing and losing in the match to Timothy Thatcher in May of 2020. A Fight Pit Match consists of a wrestling ring without any ropes, with the ring being surrounded by steel instead. Unlike a traditional cage match, however, there is no door and the cage is surrounded by raised platforms. The only way to win the match is via submission or TKO. This should not be confused with a Piper’s Pit, where the only way to win is by coconut. (TJRWrestling)

WWE extreme rules matt riddle seth rollins fight pit graphic

9. Erik of The Viking Raiders Suffers a Foot Injury

Smackdown is going to have to do without one of its tag teams for a while. This past Friday on Smackdown, The Brawling Brutes defeated Hit Row, Imperium and The New Day to become the number one contenders for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship. Originally, however, The Viking Raiders were scheduled to compete in the match, but it was announced that Erik of the Viking Raiders had suffered a foot injury. It is unknown when Erik will be able to return to action, but it should be long before either the Vikings or the Raiders return to the Super Bowl. (TJRWrestling)

8. Solo Sikoa Forced to Vacate NXT North American Championship

Solo Sikoa’s first title reign ended up being a very short one. Just one week after Sikoa defeated Carmelo Hayes to capture the NXT North American Championship, he was stripped of the championship by Shawn Michaels. Michaels explained that since Sikoa was not supposed to be in the match to begin with, the result of the match cannot stand and he would need to relinquish the title. Michaels then announced that there will be a ladder match at NXT Halloween Havoc on October 22nd to crown a new North American Champion. Hayes was the first competitor announced for the match, with the other three competitors being determined in qualifying matches over the next few weeks. Stripping a wrestler just one week after he wins the championship seems pretty senseless to me, as anyone who watches AEW knows they should have just crowned an Interim Champion instead. (TJRWrestling)

7. Chris Jericho Captures the ROH World Championship

From the likes of CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson, Kevin Owens and Cody Rhodes, many famous names have once held the ROH World Championship. This past Wednesday at AEW Dynamite Grand Slam, another legendary name was added to the list. Chris Jericho, after hitting Claudio Castagnoli with a low blow, was able to defeat Castagnoli to win the ROH World Championship. With this impressive 8th world title reign, Jericho becomes the first man to ever win the ROH, AEW, WCW and WWE World Championships. Jericho gives instant credibility to the ROH Championship, with him just now needing to win the FTW, AEW Trios, ROH Trios, ROH Pure, ROH TV and AEW All Atlantic Championships as well. (TJRWrestling)

6. WWE Survivor Series to Feature WarGames

For the first time ever, an iconic match is coming to the main roster of the WWE. Earlier this week, Triple H announced that the WWE Survivor Series event in Boston on November 26th will feature both a mens and a women’s WarGames Match. The two-ring steel cage WarGames concept gained fame in the NWA/WCW, before being revitalized recently in NXT. Interestingly it was also announced by Triple H, that these matches will not be Raw vs. Smackdown and instead will be storyline driven. Interestingly, John Canton suggested this very idea on social media about 11 days earlier, which means that we could also be seeing Mandy Rose in every segment very soon. (TJRWrestling)

survivor series wargames

5. Bray Wyatt Possibly Teased on Raw

Another huge return may be happening tonight on Smackdown. Recently, the song “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane has been playing at WWE events, with the song being accompanied by an ominous red light. This week on Raw, along with the song being played, a QR code was shown during a backstage segment with Austin Theory. The code led to an animation of a rabbit, with “Feed Your Head” being shown in the animation. The rabbit then plays a game of hangman, with the clue for the game asking: “Who Killed the World?” The rabbit then guessed the letters D E M O N, before coming up with the answer “You Did.” The rabbit then flashed around text that switched from “9.23” and “9:23”, with the numerals flashing white and blue. This has all led to speculation that Bray Wyatt may be returning this Friday on Smackdown (today’s date is 9/23 aka September 23), especially since The Bunny and Justin Gabriel are currently under contract with other companies. (TJRWrestling)

4. The Acclaimed Capture the AEW Tag Team Championships

Daddy Ass will be doing a lot of scissoring this week. This past Wednesday at AEW Dynamite Grand Slam, The Acclaimed defeated Swerve in Our Glory to finally capture the AEW Tag Team Championships. The Acclaimed have become fan favorites as of late due to Max Caster’s raps and the addition of “Daddy Ass” Billy Gunn as their manager. Gunn joined The Acclaimed after being abandoned by his own sons, with The Acclaimed and Gunn creating the very popular catchphrase “Scissor me Daddy Ass” soon after. The Acclaimed have actually begun selling t-shirts with “Scissor me Daddy Ass” on them, which has upset WWE Hall of Famer Sunny who claims she coined the phrase years earlier. (TJRWrestling)

3. Saraya Debuts for AEW

There is a new homeowner in AEW. This past Wednesday at AEW Grand Slam, Saraya (former WWE Superstar Paige) made a surprise appearance. Saraya debuted during a post match attack that saw Dr. Britt Baker, Jamie Hayter and Serena Deeb attack Athena and Toni Storm. All of the women immediately cleared the ring when Saraya entered it, with Saraya then shouting: “This is my house.” Saraya has not wrestled since 2017 after she was forced to retire due to a neck injury. Saraya should fit in really well with the AEW family, as they have shown in recent weeks that they are really good at fighting with each other. (TJRWrestling)

2. Logan Paul to Face Roman Reigns at Crown Jewel

Roman Reigns will have an interesting opponent at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia on November 5th. This past Saturday, WWE held a press conference to announce that Logan Paul would be the man facing Reigns in Saudi Arabia for the WWE Universal Championship. Paul last competed in a match at SummerSlam this past July, defeating The Miz. Some may question how Paul has earned a championship match after only competing in one singles match, but it is easily explained once you realize that WWE uses the same ranking system as AEW. (TJRWrestling)

wwe crown jewel 2022 roman reigns logan paul

1. Jon Moxley Captures the AEW World Championship

Jon Moxley is once again the AEW World Champion. This past Wednesday night at AEW Dynamite Grand Slam, Moxley defeated Bryan Danielson to capture the vacant AEW World Championship. The AEW World Championship was vacated just two weeks prior, due to champion CM Punk being suspended for a backstage incident and having a torn triceps as well. This is Moxley’s record-setting third time as AEW World Champion, and his fourth World Championship in total (he held the WWE Title in 2016). Moxley will have plenty of challengers for the title as MJF currently holds the AEW poker chip, granting him a title shot at anytime he chooses. Also, a Golden Ticket Battle Royal is scheduled for this Friday on Rampage (it was taped on Wednesday) to determine a number one contender for the championship. Finally, if that was not enough, Moxley will have to defend his title against any random wrestler who suddenly gets a title shot after being on Dark for six months. (TJRWrestling)

That concludes another edition of The Top Ten Wrestling Stories of the Week. Although I often joke, I have recently started refereeing with NYCW and FCWA, and respect more than ever what wrestlers do every week. I wrote an article all about it all right here. If you like what I do, despite my jokes being almost as bad as Mandy Rose being off the market. Then follow me on Twitter @Fowlerwrestlin1. Thank you for taking the time to read this each week.