Top 5 Wrestling News Stories Of The Week 09/30: New WWE Title, AEW Star Ready For Change, The Rock Blasts WWE Bullsh*t On Return & 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.
Brand New WWE Title Gets Inaugural Champion
In August, Triple H announced a new women’s title coming to WWE with the introduction of the Women’s Speed Championship. A tournament began on September 4th with matches airing exclusively on X/Twitter to crown the inaugural champion.
The final of the tournament was taped after SmackDown and will air on October 11th. That match saw former WWE Women’s Champion IYO SKY take on Candice LeRae with LeRae picking up the win and the championship. This is LeRae’s first title win since joining WWE’s main roster and she previously held the NXT Women’s Tag Team Title with Indi Hartwell.
AEW Star Ready For Surprising Change
It seems an on-screen partnership in AEW has come to an end.
Under the direction of Stokely Hathaway Kris Statlander turned heel on her friend Willow Nightingale. A fierce feud between the two followed and culminated in a Chicago Street Fight at All Out.
The chaotic brawl saw Statlander emerge victorious and seemingly no longer requiring the services of Stokely Hathaway.
The AEW Collision tapings for October 5th saw Kris Statlander interrupt a backstage promo from TBS Champion Mercedes Mone and Kamille. Later in the show, Statlander picked up a win against Zoey Lynn before Mone and Kamille appeared with Kamille laying out Kris Statlander.
Now Fightful Select has reported that after asking about Statlander’s apparent change of direction given she has been a heel on-screen for months, the response from AEW sources was that her partnership with Stokely Hathaway is now over.
Hathaway was spotted watching Private Party’s match on Dynamite signalling a partnership between those parties could be in the works.
Britt Baker Admits She Nearly Threw Up On AEW Television
At the AEW Forbidden Door PPV, Britt Baker made her triumphant return to television after about nine months off. Baker later revealed on Dynamite that she suffered a mini-stroke during her nine-month absence while also dealing with a back injury. The Forbidden Door return led to Baker challenging and losing to Mercedes Mone at the AEW All In PPV at Wembley Stadium.
In a recent interview with Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp, Baker admitted that she was so nervous that she almost threw up when she returned at the Forbidden Door PPV.
“I was about to throw up. I told Tony, ‘I’m going to throw up.’ I was in Gorilla and he’s like, ‘Why?’ ‘I don’t think they are going to care.’ He’s like, ‘That’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever said.’ I was really concerned and nervous that the fans were not going to care at all. I think that is anybody’s fear when you’re gone for so long, what feels like an eternity.”
“For a lot of fans, our sense of time and their sense of time is very different. Every week you’re at home feels like a year. For them, it flies by. It was one of the most nervous moments I’ve ever (had) because I had no control. It wasn’t a match that I could contribute to or make worth or have a great spot or shitty spot. I had no control.”
“All I was doing was walking out. It’s not a promo where I could twist and turn the words to make it one way or another, just walking out. What more could you do except hope and pray that fans remember you, miss you, and give a s**t.”
Vince McMahon Turned Down Major Hulk Hogan WWE Heel Turn
Hulk Hogan revealed he wanted to turn heel in WWE.
In a recent interview with Barstool Rasslin, the Hulkster claimed that he wanted to turn heel after losing to Warrior, but the WWE boss man Vince McMahon turned down that idea.
“When I did the job for The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania 6, one of the things I said to Vince McMahon was, ‘Let me turn heel.’”
“If you watch the tape, everybody in the crowd was watching me leave. Slowly, I [could have] turned and [came] back and just ground him.”
The Rock Blasts WWE Bullsh*t On Return
The Rock is back and as foul-mouthed as ever.
The Great made his long awaited return at Bad Blood. As the crowd roared he stared at Roman Riegns and Cody Rhodes before raising an eyebrow, giving a countdown on his fingers and a cut-throat gesture, and left.
Immediately after making his way backstage, The Rock went live on Instagram and cut a promo on just about everyone. The star said he loved Dusty Rhodes but hates his son and threw some shade at John Cena while drinking his Teremana tequila and listening to ZZ Top.
During the video, Rock said there’d been a “lot of bullsh*t” going on since WrestleMania, before saying he’ll reveal his plan when he’s good and ready.
“The Final Boss is feeling a lot of things. And you know why? There’s been a lot of bull**** that’s been going on in the last six months…”
Regarding his return, Rock added:
“The Final Boss will tell you when The Final Boss is ready for you to know.”