Jade Cargill Admits Cody Rhodes Influenced WWE Move; Wrestling News September 27th 2023

Adam Cole has provided the latest update on Kyle O’Reilly, who has been out of action with injury for well over a year.

O’Reilly last competed on the June 8th 2022 edition of AEW Dynamite where he lost a #1 contenders match for the Interim AEW World Championship to Jon Moxley. O’Reilly has been sidelined with a neck injury ever since.

In a new interview with Inside The Ropes’ Kenny McIntosh, his long-time friend Adam Cole spoke on Kyle’s current condition. He admitted that whilst there isn’t a timetable for the star’s return at the moment, he is getting progressively better every day.

“All I can say is Kyle is continuing to push forward. This has been a very long and very, very tough process for him, but he’s a warrior.

There’s nothing that Kyle loves more than pro wrestling, and he’s doing everything that he can to make sure he’s getting healthy and getting back to a point where he can return to the ring.

Obviously, there’s still no timetable on when he’s gonna be able to come back, but Kyle is progressing. He’s getting better every single week. Just like the rest of the world, I can’t wait until Kyle O’Reilly gets back. I miss him so much.”

h/t to Fightful

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite will emanate from the 1STBANK Center in Bloomfield, Colorado. The next major AEW event is AEW WrestleDream, taking place this weekend.

Matches and segments announced for the show include:

• Hangman Page & Swerve Strickland sign contract for their AEW WrestleDream match
• MJF speaks, Adam Cole gives an update on his condition
• Jim Ross speaks to Darby Allin and Christian Cage
• Julia Hart vs Willow Nightingale
• Penta El Zero Miedo vs Matt Jackson vs Orange Cassidy vs Austin Gunn

What are you most excited to see on tonight’s episode of Dynamite? Let us know by sharing your thoughts on Facebook or Twitter down below!

Tony Khan has addressed Wardlow’s ongoing absence from AEW, which has now lasted over three months.

Wardlow last appeared on AEW programming on the inaugural edition of AEW Collision, where he put his TNT Championship on the line against Luchasaurus. He was ultimately unsuccessful in his title defense and has been entirely missing from the promotion ever since.

Speaking on the pre-AEW WrestleDream media call, the AEW President touched upon Wardlow’s disappearance. Whilst he didn’t provide a reason for the absence nor a timeline for his return, he reassured fans that he is still a big part of the promotion’s plans.

“Wardlow is a great star for us. He’s been one of the greatest TNT Champions and a great star. I’m a very big fan of Wardlow and he will surely be back on AEW TV when the time is right and he’s still very much a part of what we’re doing here.”

h/t to Fightful

Mustafa Ali has taken to social media to react his his replacement at NXT No Mercy following his release from WWE.

Ali was originally set to take on Dominik Mysterio for the NXT North American Championship at the event but was unexpectedly released from WWE alongside notable names like Dolph Ziggler, Emma, Matt Riddle, Aliyah and Elias.

On last night’s NXT, a #1 contender’s match between Tyler Bate, Axiom, Dragon Lee and Trick Williams took place to determine Mysterio’s challenger at No Mercy. Trick was added to the match during the show and ultimately came out with the in, advancing to the No Mercy North American title match.

Now, the man who was originally set to face Mysterio has reacted to his replacement at No Mercy. Ali congratulated Williams in a post to X, claiming that the NXT up-and-comer deserves the opportunity.

“good for trick, deserves it.”

good for trick, deserves it.

— Mustafa Ali / Adeel Alam (@AliWWE) September 27, 2023

Following the release of Matt Riddle, Booker T has claimed the now-former WWE star became “a liability” to the company!

Riddle was one of several talents released from WWE last week following the company’s merger with UFC to form the Endeavor-owned TKO Group Holdings. Other notable names include Dolph Ziggler, Elias, Shelton Benjamin, Emma and Aliyah.

Booker T has given his thoughts on the former UFC fighter’s release from the company during the latest edition of his Hall of Fame podcast. The WWE Hall of Famer believes the negative press surrounding Riddle ultimately caught up to the star and made him a liability to the company rather than an asset.

“We were just talking about Riddle and what did I say that day? I said that’s only going to be tolerated so much. I think I said something like that. You know, you can get away with that kind of stuff only for so long.

It catches up with you because then you become a liability. You don’t want people in the news for negative reasons. That’s the last thing you want. The last thing you need is having someone in the news for negative purposes.”

h/t to WrestlingNewsCo

Now that Jade Cargill’s WWE signing is official, we want to know who you think should be her first opponent!

Should she face one of the company’s up-and-coming stars in NXT like Roxanne Perez or Tiffany Stratton, or maybe even go straight for championship gold in challenging Becky Lynch, IYO SKY or Rhea Ripley?

Let us know your thoughts by sharing on Facebook or Twitter down below!

NXT Women’s Champion Becky Lynch has given her thoughts on WWE’s latest signee Jade Cargill!

The Man spoke to Joseph Staszewski of the New York Post yesterday and during their discussion, the topic of Jade Cargill signing with WWE sprung up. Stazewski asked Lynch if Cargill was someone she followed and if there’s potential for a match between the two down the line.

Becky admitted that she watches not just WWE but AEW as well. She went on to praise Cargill for being “a star” in the making but claimed she was just another person for her to beat.

“I watch all the products. I think it’s great. More women with more platforms. I think she has a lot of work to do when she gets here, but if she is willing to do that, just look at her. She’s a star. It’s more people for me to get in the ring with and kick their a**es.”

Malakai Black has taken to social media to directly address rumors that he is suffering from a major back injury.

The House of Black leader has not competed in AEW since losing the Trios Championship to The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn at AEW All In: London, leading to speculation from some fans that the star has been missing due to injury.

In a new Instagram Story video, Black directly tackled those rumors and addressed why he’s been absent from AEW programming as of late.

“Something that I want to quickly address. I understand this is done from a perspective of caring, and I appreciate the fact that people care and that it comes from a good place.

About a year ago, I made a video about rehabbing a back injury that I have. The video shows the process and strengthening my back. After the video was posted, people started bringing up this idea, ‘Oh, he has a bad back, therefore, ABC,’ which is not the case at all.

For some reason, that has found its way back and the narrative is ‘he has not had singles matches because he has a bad back and nearly retired.’ That’s not true. Why I’m not having singles matches? I don’t know. I think it’s because they want House of Black to do six-mans. I was not in six-mans to hide a non-existing injury.

Rest assured, I do not have a bad back and the reason I am home right now is because, well, due to a minor injury. I had a slight calf tear and a hyperextension in my knee, which is almost nursed back and almost ready to go back on the road. I appreciate the concern, but the reality is, I’m fine, and you will see me sooner rather than later.”

h/t to Fightful

Last night’s NXT saw the company’s first tease of the impending debut of former AEW star Brian Pillman Jr.

A mysterious clip aired during last night’s edition of NXT, showing a unknown man switching through various channels on a CRT television. The channels showed clips of Eyewitness News at 7, the Cinncinati Bengals, and Jim Ross introducing WCW Saturday Night.

The channels seem to reference Brian Pillman who played for the Cincinnati Bengals before transitioning to professional wrestling and competing several times on WCW Saturday Night. This has led many fans to assume the clip is teasing the debut of his son, Brian Pillman Jr.

At one point during the clip, the man can be seen wearing a garish tiger print t-shirt. Interestingly, Pillman Jr has worn that exact t-shirt on AEW programming in the past – adding more fuel to the speculatory fire that the former AEW star is about to make his WWE debut.

Pillman Jr. reportedly signed with the company in early August after he was removed from the AEW roster page in July, seemingly indicating his departure after two years with the promotion.

🎥 🏈 🤼?#WWENXT pic.twitter.com/ybm1LkLrcE

— WWE (@WWE) September 27, 2023

Tony Khan has hit out at WWE over recent layoffs of both staff and talents following their merger with UFC into TKO Group Holdings!

Speaking on the pre-AEW WrestleDream media call, Khan answered a question about the possibility of the promotion moving to FOX with SmackDown moving off the network next year.

Khan responded that as they have a great ongoing relationship with Warner Brothers Discovery, he did not think it was fair to answer that question. He went on to discuss loyalty in the industry and took a shot at WWE over their recent mass layoffs!

“There’s not a lot of loyalty at times and there should be and this is a family business. We’re not a public company.

“Even if I get punched in the face with circumstances, it doesn’t mean I’m gonna take it out on the staff by cutting 100 staff or laying off 30 wrestlers, and I really care about the people here.

I would do anything I can to protect the jobs and the livelihood of the people that work here, and that’s a family business, and that’s the difference between a family business and a public company in a lot of ways. And not every family business has those principles, but we do, and that’s just how I was raised.”

h/t to ITRWrestling

WWE’s latest signee Jade Cargill has revealed that Cody Rhodes was a major factor in her jumping ship from AEW to WWE!

Cargill officially signed with the promotion yesterday and now, the former TBS Champion has opened about one of the major influences behind her decision: Cody Rhodes.

Speaking on The Ringer’s Masked Man Show, Cargill opened up about how Cody was one of the top three factors in her decision to join WWE after seeing what the company did for him following his return at WrestleMania 38 last year.

“He was top three, and not third. He is a phenomenal man. I’ve seen what the business did for him, I’ve seen him be the stellar athlete that he is. I didn’t see any different for myself. He was one of the guys that led me to a great decision.”

Cargill last competed in AEW on the September 15th edition of AEW Rampage where she unsuccessfully challenged TBS Champion Kris Statlander. The match took place less than a week after Cargill’s first appearance in the promotion since losing the TBS title, and her two-and-a-half-year undefeated streak, to Statlander at AEW Double Or Nothing in May.

h/t to Fightful

Morning everyone, hope you’ve had a good week so far!

Welcome back to the TJRWrestling live blog! I’ll be with you from 7am to 1pm EST covering the latest stories & breaking news from WWE, AEW, NJPW and elsewhere across the wrestling world!

Today’s top stories are:

• Jade Cargill Admits Cody Rhodes Influenced WWE Move
• Tony Khan Hits Out At WWE Over Talent Releases
• WWE Tease Debut Of Former AEW Star