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Top 10 Wrestling Stories of the Week 9/2: WWE Clash at the Castle, AEW All Out Previews, Braun Strowman, More

By Matthew Fowler • Published 2nd September 2022
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Welcome back, TJR readers! Did you spend all day Friday trying to figure out if you want to take a Running Back or Wide Receiver in the first round, and missed WWE Smackdown? Perhaps you spent all day Monday trying to figure out why you’re not in the AEW video game, and missed Raw.

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

10. Matt Riddle and Austin Get Their Names Back

The days of one-word names in the WWE may be coming to an end. This past week on Raw, Matt Riddle got his full name back when it appeared on screen as well and is now reflected in his WWE profile as well. Riddle is not the only wrestler who is getting his first name back, as Theory is reportedly going to go back to being called Austin Theory. Remarkably all of these changes are due to Triple H hooking up with the boss’s daughter and convincing her to change her name. (TJRWrestling)

9. W. Morrissey Appears on AEW Dynamite

Tony Khan added some size to his roster this week. W. Morrissey (former Big Cass in WWE) appeared on AEW Dynamite this past Wednesday night. Morrissey came out and destroyed the Wingman group of Ryan Nemeth, Cesar Bononi, Peter Avalon and JD Drake. Stokely Hathaway then came out and gave his business card to Morrissey. Some fans would argue that AEW does not need more wrestlers, but apparently “you can’t teach that” to Tony Khan. (TJRWrestling)

8. WWE Raw/Smackdown Superstars Appear on NXT

It was the night for surprise appearances this past Tuesday on NXT 2.0. Shayna Baszler, Rhea Ripley, Gunther, Butch and Finn Bálor all appeared in backstage segments. Along with the backstage cameos, Doudrop, Nikki A.S.H and Ricochet all appeared in the ring. Nikki and Doudrop came to ringside to challenge Katana Chance and Kayden Carter for the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships at World’s Collide. Finally, Ricochet came out at the end of the show to challenge NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes to a match at World’s Collide as well. It should be noted that all the surprise appearances are believed to be temporary, and not to make room on the main roster for more released superstars. (TJRWrestling)

7. Kurt Angle Returns to Raw

Oh, it’s true, it’s damn true, Kurt Angle has returned to WWE Monday Night Raw. Angle appeared for an in-ring segment with Alpha Academy. Alpha Academy’s Chad Gable proceeded to offer Angle a spot as an honorary third member for the evening. After Angle turned down the offer, Gable proceeded to berate Angle. This brought out The Street Profits who then faced and defeated Alpha Academy in a match. Angle and The Street Profits then chugged a bunch of milk at ringside to end the segment. We shall have to see if this leads to Angle getting a better or more meaningful final match, like possibly a tag match in Tennessee. (TJRWrestling)

6. NXT Worlds Collide to Take Place This Sunday

The last ever show for NXT UK is set to take place this Sunday at 4PM ET on Peacock/WWE Network. NXT Worlds Collide will feature both stars from the NXT UK Brand and NXT 2.0, and will feature three unification matches. NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose will face NXT UK Women’s Champion Meiko Satamura and Blair Davenport. Also, there will be an NXT & NXT UK Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Championships Elimination Match between NXT World Tag Team Champions The Creed Brothers, NXT UK Tag Team Champions Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen, Pretty Deadly and Gallus. Finally, NXT World Champion Bron Breakker will face NXT UK Champion Tyler Bate. Besides the Unification bouts, Katana Chance and Kayden Carter will defend the NXT Women’s Championship against Doudrop and Nikki A.S.H., and Ricochet will face Carmelo Hayes for the NXT North American Championship. NXT Europe is set to launch in 2023, which for all my fellow Americans is the group of countries that has the one that looks like a boot. (TJRWrestling)

5. Raquel Rodriguez and Aliyah Capture the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships

After a number of changes due to injuries, we finally have new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. NXT duo Nikkita Lyons and Zoey Stark were originally scheduled for the tournament but injuries led to them being replaced by Toxic Attraction. Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne were then victorious in their first-round match, but an injury to Dolin meant that team needed to be replaced as well. This led to a Second Chance Fatal 4-Way match on Smackdown, which was won by Sonya Deville and Natalya. Deville and Natalya then faced Raquel Rodriguez and Aliyah, for the chance to face IYO SKY and Dakota Kai in the finals. Rodriguez and Aliyah ended up winning that match, and then shockingly defeated SKY and Kai to capture the titles. Aliyah pinned Kai, who was not the legal wrestler, so perhaps there will be some sort of rematch soon Hopefully, the Women’s Tag Team division can finally flourish without a bunch of injuries or its belts suddenly ending up on a creepy old man’s desk. (TJRWrestling)

4. CM Punk to Face Jon Moxley at All Out

Less than two weeks after losing the AEW World Championship to Jon Moxley in three minutes, CM Punk will have a chance to regain his title. Dynamite started this week with Jon Moxley leaving an open contract in the center of the ring for a title match at All Out this Sunday. Punk’s longtime friend Ace Steel then came out and grabbed the contract. Later in the evening Steel interrupted a promo from Punk, and convinced him with a motivational speech to sign the contract. Steel may have thought of signing the contract for himself to face Moxley, but he saw what happened to the last “friend” who opposed Punk. (TJRWrestling)

3. Braun Strowman Returning to the WWE

A former Universal Champion is reportedly returning to the WWE. It was reported this week that former Universal, Intercontinental and Raw Tag Team Champion Braun Strowman will be returning next week to the WWE. Strowman was shockingly released last June, and has recently been co-running the Control Your Narrative promotion with EC3. Clearly, Braun has decided that his narrative will be making a lot of money by letting WWE control it. (TJRWrestling)

2. AEW All Out to Take Place This Sunday

AEW’s next PPV Event titled All Out, is scheduled to take place this Sunday at 8PM ET. An incredible 14 matches are currently scheduled including Tomohiro Ishii facing Eddie Kingston. PAC will defend the AEW All-Atlantic Championship against Kip Sabian. Angelo Parker will face Hook for the FTW Championship. Wardlow and FTR will face Jay Lethal and The Motor City Machine Guns in a Six-Man Tag Team Match. House of Black will face Sting, Darby Allen and Miro in a Six-Man Tag Team Match. A new Interim AEW Women’s Champion will be crowned when Toni Storm, Dr. Britt Baker, Jamie Hayter and Hikaru Shida face each other in a Four-Way Match. Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Penta Oscuro, Rey Fenix, Rush, Andrade El Idolo, Dante Martin and a Mystery Competitor will compete in a Casino Ladder Match for a future shot at the AEW World Championship.

Bryan Danielson and Chris Jericho will square off in a singles match. Swerve In Our Glory will defend the AEW Tag Team Championships against The Acclaimed. Jungle Boy will try to get revenge against Christian. Ricky Starks will face Powerhouse Hobbs. Jade Cargill will defend the AEW TBS Championship against Athena. And finally, Jon Moxley will defend the AEW World Championship against CM Punk. A total of 14 matches (with more possibly being added on Rampage tonight) may seem exorbitant, with some fans believing that they don’t need to put 20% of their roster on the card. (TJRWrestling)

1. WWE Clash at the Castle to Take Place This Saturday

For the first time in almost twenty years, WWE will hold a premium live event across the pond. This Saturday, September 3rd. WWE will present their Clash at the Castle Event from Cardiff, Wales. So far six matches have been announced for the show including Sheamus challenging Gunther for the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Edge and Rey Mysterio will face Judgement Day Members Finn Balor and Damien Priest. Riddle and Seth “Freakin” Rollins will finally go one on one. Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss and Asuka will face Bayley, Dakota Kai and IYO SKY in a Six-Woman Tag Team Match. Liv Morgan will defend the WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship against Shayna Baszler. Finally, Drew McIntyre will try to capture the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, when he faces Roman Reigns. I am extra excited for this show, as with the 1PM ET start time it may actually be over before my bed time. (TJRWrestling)

Go read the TJR team Clash at the Castle preview right here.

That concludes another edition of The Top Ten Wrestling Stories of the Week. Thank you for taking the time to read this each week. Although I often joke, I have recently started refereeing with NYCW 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 John Canton’s hands after Sunday. Then follow me on Twitter @Fowlerwrestlin1