Top 10 Wrestling Stories of the Week 9/8: CM Punk Released By AEW, Endeavor’s WWE Acquisition, GUNTHER Sets Record, More
Welcome back, TJR readers! Did you spend all day Friday lost in Margaritaville, and miss WWE Smackdown? Perhaps you spent all day Monday fearing for your life and missed Raw.
Worry not for I have returned with another edition of the Top Ten Wrestling Stories of the Week.
10. CJ Perry Debuts for AEW
Tony Khan decided to replace CM Punk with an even bigger star this week. This past Sunday at AEW All Out, Miro defeated Powerhouse Hobbs in a hard-hitting match. After the match, Hobbs offered to shake Miro’s hand. After the two men shook hands however, Hobbs attacked Miro from behind. Suddenly Miro’s wife CJ Perry (Lana in the WWE) came to the ring with a chair. Perry then hit Hobbs with the chair, allowing Miro to get the upper hand in the exchange. Khan later stated that Perry is not signed to an AEW deal at this time, as he is likely saving his father’s money to try to buy his company some Edge. (TJRWrestling)
I’m not the kind of woman you renounce @ToBeMiro#AllOut@AEWpic.twitter.com/KDl206Rtcy
— CJ Perry (@TheCJPerry) September 4, 2023
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9. AEW Grand Slam Eliminator Title Tournament Begins
The AEW Grand Slam Eliminator Tournament to determine the new number one contender for the AEW World Championship began this week. This past Wednesday on Dynamite, both Roderick Strong and Darby Allin were victorious in their quarterfinal matches. Strong and Allin will now face off AEW Collision this Saturday, to try to secure a spot in the finals. Tonight on AEW Rampage, the other side of the bracket matches will see Samoa Joe face Jeff Hardy and Jay Lethal face Penta El Zero Miedo. The winners of those matches will then face each other as well, with that person moving on to the finals. Whoever emerges from this tournament will face MJF for the World Championship at AEW Grand Slam on September 20th. Personally, this feels like a whole lot to go through, when you can probably just go collect the “real” World Championship from a trash can somewhere. (TJRWrestling)
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cw5KavztgST/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
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8. Becky Lynch to Challenge Tiffany Stratton for the NXT Women’s Championship
Becky Lynch is going to try to capture the one title that she failed to win many years ago. This past Tuesday on NXT, Becky Lynch made a surprise appearance. Lynch appeared on the big screen after NXT Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton successfully defended her title against Kiana James. Lynch then announced that she will be challenging Stratton for the NXT Women’s Championship this coming Tuesday on NXT. This will be Lynch’s first match in NXT in three years, with the NXT Women’s Championship being the only women’s title in the WWE that she has never held. Lynch will also try to restore some of the prestige that the NXT Women’s Championship lost, when its greatest champion ever left to make an OnlyFans page. (TJRWrestling)
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7. Bryan Danielson Returns to AEW
With CM Punk suddenly not available, Tony Khan had to scramble to find someone to face Ricky Starks at AEW All Out this past Sunday. This past Saturday on Collision, Starks came out to officially challenge Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat to a strap match at All Out. Steamboat then came out with a contract stating that Starks would face “ The Dragon” at All Out. Instead of Steamboat himself taking the match however, Bryan Danielson made his surprise return to take the match. At All Out, Danielson was able to defeat Starks in the strap match with the assistance of Steamboat. Danielson has been out of action since June with a broken arm, with him actually returning a month earlier than expected to have this match. After the match, Danielson stated that Starks “carried” him through the match. Reports that Danielson also got help on how to get through the match from “Cowboy” Bob Orton have not been substantiated. (TJRWrestling)
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6. Jey Uso Returns to Monday Night Raw
Raw suddenly is feeling a little more Ucey. This past Saturday at WWE Payback, Cody Rhodes appeared on the Grayson Waller Effect. During the segment, Rhodes announced that a new superstar had been signed to Monday Night Raw. Jey Uso then made his return, and proceeded to quickly superkick Waller. Uso then appeared the following night on Raw, reuniting with his old friend Sami Zayn. Uso was also shown backstage with Judgement Day member Dominic Mysterio, with Mysterio offering Uso a spot with The Judgement Day. This will be the first time that Jey will be on a separate brand from his brother Jimmy since joining the WWE. Personally, I am jealous of Jey, as I tried to convince my mother to put my brother in a different family for years with no luck. (TJRWrestling)
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5. Jon Moxley Captures the AEW International Championship
After defending the AEW International Championship an impressive 31 times, Orange Cassidy finally met his match this past Sunday at AEW All Out. Cassidy faced Jon Moxley in the main event of the show in what ended up being a brutal match. In the end, Moxley was able to defeat Cassidy, to capture the International Championship. Surprisingly, although Cassidy bled heavily in the match, Moxley did not bleed at all. It is unclear if Moxley chose not to bleed because he was worried that it would cause Tony Khan to fear for his life. (TJRWrestling)
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4. Damian Priest and Finn Bálor Capture the WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championships
The Judgement Day captured even more gold this week. This Past Saturday at WWE Payback, Finn Bálor and Damian Priest defeated Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn to capture the WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championships. With Dominic Mysterio holding the NXT North American Championship and Rhea Ripley the WWE Women’s World Championship, all the members of The Judgement Day hold gold. Priest is also the current WWE Money in the Bank holder, with him being given a new custom purple briefcase from J.D. McDonagh on Raw. Honestly, it is also possible that Judgement Day hold some of the AEW Championships as well, but there are so many that nobody can remember or keep track. (TJRWrestling)
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3. Gunther Becomes the Longest Reigning WWE Intercontinental Champion of All Time
The Honk-a-Meter has finally been broken. This past Monday on Raw, Gunther defeated Chad Gable to retain his WWE Intercontinental Championship. With the win Gunther will officially surpass The Honkey Tonk Man’s 35-year record of 455 days as Intercontinental Champion. This is clearly a huge accomplishment for Gunther, who also is the longest reigning NXT UK Champion at 870 days. Of course, neither of these records are as impressive as John Canton’s 7,465 consecutive days covering professional wrestling. (TJRWrestling)
Defining his own legacy. And this is just the beginning…
Congratulations to @Gunther_AUT on making history as the longest-reigning #ICChampion EVER. https://t.co/X48i2ZNtf5
— Triple H (@TripleH) September 7, 2023
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2. Endeavor to Officially Take Over WWE on September 12th
This coming Tuesday will officially change the world of professional wrestling forever. It was announced this week that Endeavor’s takeover of the WWE will officially happen on September 12th. This will mean that UFC and the WWE will merge under one company called TKO Group. Vince McMahon will be the executive chairman of the new company, but will no longer be the majority shareholder of the WWE. The move is also expected to lead to a number of cuts to employees, with Vince McMahon evaluating the performances of the executive assistants as we speak. (TJRWrestling)
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1. CM Punk Released From AEW
CM Punk is finally All the way Out of AEW. This week AEW released a statement announcing that they had fired Punk for cause, due to his latest backstage altercation with Jack Perry at AEW All In. Tony Khan then appeared on Collision to announce Punk’s departure from the company. Khan stated that firing Punk was a difficult decision, before stating that during the incident he felt that “his security, his safety and his life was in danger.” Incredibly this firing comes almost immediately exactly one year after Punk was originally suspended for the infamous backstage brawl at AEW All Out 2022. It will now be interesting to see how AEW Collision does without Punk on the show; although I do admit, I fear for its security, its safety and its life. (TJRWrestling)
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That concludes another edition of The Top Ten Wrestling Stories of the Week. Although I often joke, I have recently started refereeing with GroundZero and training at the Institute of Professional Wrestling, and now respect more than ever what wrestlers do every week. If you like what I do, despite my jokes being as bad as fearing for your life at work. Then follow me on Twitter @Fowlerwrestlin1 and listen to my Podcast The Smark and the Noob. Thank you to all of those who read this every week.