Top 5 Wrestling News Stories Of The Week 09/09: WWE Officially Sign Major Free Agents, AEW Has No Interest In Controversial Ex-WWE Star, Drew McIntyre Opens Up About Real-Life Issues With CM Punk & More
Each and every week, the weird and wonderful world of professional wrestling never fails to captivate fans with a plethora of captivating stories that make their way into the news cycle.
Whether it’s shocking upsets, dramatic showdowns, or behind-the-scenes drama, the happenings within professional wrestling always keep fans on the edge of their seats.
Here are the Top Five Wrestling News Stories of the Week.
AEW Star Announces Shock Return To Japan
Toni Storm Announces New Title Match – But Not In AEW
During Stardom’s Namba Grand Fight in Osaka, Storm appeared in a video package after Mayu Iwatani & Hanan defeated AZM & Miyu Amasaki.
The AEW star reminded fans of her achievements in Stardom before challenging Iwatani to a match at Stardom Nagoya Golden Fight for the IWGP Women’s Title. The event is set to take place on October 5th.
“Did you forget about me? Stardom, do you remember who I am? Because I have never forgotten you. I have done a lot in your land and I will always respect Japanese pro wrestling but there is one thing that I must do. In 2017, I became the World of Stardom Champion. Some say it was a mistake. I must prove that it wasn’t. October 5, Nagoya, I challenge you Mayu Iwatani for the IWGP Women’s Championship.”
AEW Has No Interest In Controversial Ex-WWE Star
Tony Khan won’t bring a divisive ex-WWE star to AEW.
Since AEW launched in 2019, the company has naturally attracted several former WWE stars. While not everyone has found success, Bryan Danielson is the current AEW World Champion, and Swerve Strickland has enjoyed the biggest year of his career with multiple acclaimed matches and a World Title run.
Given wrestlers now have more major promotions to work for, every time someone leaves WWE they are immediately linked with a move to become All Elite.
One such name that has repeatedly been discussed is Matt Riddle, who left WWE in September 2023.
During a recent interview, Matt Riddle was very complimentary about AEW, although he’d had a somewhat awkward first meeting with Tony Khan.
“I talked to Tony (Khan). I don’t know if he likes me. He seemed happy. I wrestled Zach Sabre Jr. in Chicago. He seemed cool about it. I don’t know.
When you meet me, I’m very sarcastic. But when I met him, I was like, ‘Oh, you like that match’? But I said it a different way, and he looked at me all confused. And I was like, ‘Never mind, dude’. I just walked away. So that was my experience with that.”
However, according to a new report from Fightful Select, Tony Khan has no interest in signing the star, “especially over the last few years.”
Why Bianca Belair Wants WWE To Bring In New Title
Bianca Belair has heard rumblings of a new WWE Championship.
At NXT Stand & Deliver it was announced that WWE would be introducing a second women’s singles championship for the first time. The Women’s NXT North American Title was subsequently won by Kelani Jordan at Battleground.
During a new interview with the Battleground podcast, Bianca Belair admitted it would be cool to have more championship gold available.
“I’ve been hearing rumblings, just online and stuff. It would be great. We’re at a point in time where our roster is so stacked. Before, you had a few that were at the very top and out there every single show and having all the matches.
You looked at WrestleMania a couple of months before, and you know, ‘This person is going to be at Mania, this person is going to be at Mania, this person is going to be at Mania.’ I feel our roster is at a time now where you don’t know who is going to be at Mania and everybody is trying to fight for a spot on the card. Somebody you might expect to be on Mania might be left off this year.
Our roster is just so stacked. I feel another title would highlight the true talent of our division. There are so many women that could get that opportunity and really highlight their talent. There are so many women in NXT that are eventually going to get called up. It would be cool to have another title and it gives more opportunities for more women on the card,”
WWE Officially Sign Major Free Agents
Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley — better known as the Motor City Machine Guns, have been free agents since April 1st, 2014 when their contracts with TNA expired. However, the pair have kept themselves busy on the independent scene.
On July 12th, Sabin and Shelley wrestled each other at a Prestige Wrestling event and appeared to say their goodbyes after the final bell. That sparked speculation that the pair had signed for a major company but the pair have since made more appearances on the independent scene since then.
PWNexus reported that Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley are heading to WWE with the pair’s debut in the company possibly coming as soon as NXT’s debut on the CW Network on October 1st.
Any doubt about the duo’s future now seems to be at an end as Fightful Select has reported that WWE sources have confirmed that the Motor City Machine Guns have officially signed with the company.
Drew McIntyre Opens Up About Real-Life Issues With CM Punk
Drew McIntyre is determined to remain professional despite real life issues with CM Punk.
When CM Punk made his return to WWE at Survivor Series, Drew McIntyre stormed out of the ring and quickly left the arena. While some reports downplayed the situation, McIntyre made it clear he was less than impressed to see the former AEW star.
The rivalry then took a fresh twist at the Royal Rumble where Punk got injured during a skirmish with McIntyre. This launched the pair into a nine-month storyline which has only grown more violent and more intense with every passing week.
During a new interview with Mike Johnson of PWInsider, McIntyre discussed his rivalry with Punk and the very real issues behind it.
“I mean, if I had a chance to really think about it, initially, I was pretty annoyed (that CM Punk returned to WWE), but I understand business and I understand why it was done. But, I found it interesting that everybody started going, ‘Oh, it’s obviously going to be this, or obviously going to be this guy.’
I was sitting there thinking, there’s a lot of real history here, and a lot of real feelings I’ve got and if I get the opportunity, I know we could tell the most compelling story of all, because no matter my real feelings, I’m still a professional, you know? He’s still a professional, and we’ve been given the platform to show the world what we can truly do creatively.
Our creative team, obviously led by Triple H is very much, you go out there and you take this creative as far as you can take it. You make people feel, you make people believe, and it’s not so hard to make people believe when you truly feel what’s good on-screen, inside and out.”