Randy Orton Appears At WWE Performance Center; Wrestling News September 20th 2023

WWE Hall of Famer Edge has been spotted in a teaser trailer for the upcoming Percy Jackson and The Olympians TV series.

Edge’s wrestling future may be uncertain but his acting career is still going strong as the potentially former WWE star is set for a guest starring role in the Disney+ series Percy Jackson and The Olympians. Variety exclusively revealed his casting for the show last year, announcing that he will appear as Ares, the God of War in the show.

Now fans have gotten a sneak peek at The Rated R Superstar in the show. In a teaser trailer released yesterday, Edge can seen for a few seconds at the 1:05 mark where he puts on sunglasses before riding away on a motorbike in front of the protagonists.

Edge was also shown in the release date trailer for the show back in August where he appeared carrying a large greatsword whilst walking towards the camera.

AEW star Jake Hager has officially announced his retirement from mixed martial arts.

The former Jericho Appreciation Society member originally signed with Bellator back in 2017 and competed in four bouts in the promotion between 2018 and 2020. His last fight took place in October 2020 where he beat Brandon Calton via split decision and his MMA record currently stands an undefeated 3-0 with one No Contest result.

Speaking at a signing for K&S WrestleFest, Hager revealed that he has now retired from MMA altogether after clashing with Bellator behind the scenes and is instead putting his full focus on his professional wrestling career in AEW.

“Officially, I’m retired from MMA. I trained hard last year, but Bellator was jerking me off, so I retired and I’m focusing on wrestling now.”

h/t to Fightful

HOOK and Danhausen are the latest AEW stars to be added to the promotion’s premier video game AEW Fight Forever as part of the title’s latest DLC pack.

The two join FTR, Keith Lee and The Bunny as additional downloadable characters for the game’s roster as part of the new ‘HOOKHausen: Very Handsome, Very Evil’ DLC. The pack will be available on September 28th across Xbox, PlayStation and PC platforms, with the Nintendo Switch’s pack coming at an as-yet undisclosed date.

The official AEW Games X account unveiled sneak peek screenshots of HOOK and Danhausen’s models in the game, showing off what the two characters look like during their entrances.

This marks the final DLC pack of the Season 1 pass that was included in the game’s Elite Edition on launch. At the time of writing, AEW has not confirmed if more DLC additions will be coming to Fight Forever in the form of new playable characters or minigames.

Check out these sneak peek screenshots of the @730hook and @DanhausenAD models in #AEWFightForever!

The HOOKHausen: Very Handsome, Very Evil Pack is coming to AEW: Fight Forever on September 28th for Xbox, PlayStation and PC. Nintendo Switch to follow.

Download or be cursed! pic.twitter.com/uKFR9cYGnd

— AEW Games (@AEWGames) September 19, 2023

WWE has uploaded Bray Wyatt versus LA Knight from this year’s Royal Rumble in its entirety to their YouTube channel.

The Mountain Dew Pitch Black bout is notable in being Wyatt’s final televised match before his unexpected passing last month. This was also Wyatt’s first televised match in almost two years, last competing at WrestleMania 37 against Randy Orton before being released by the company the following July.

What do you think of Wyatt versus Knight looking back? Let us know your thoughts by sharing on Facebook or Twitter down below!

AEW executive Jeff Jarrett believes there’s more to the story of The Rock not appearing at WrestleMania 39 earlier this year!

The Rock revealed last week that plans were originally locked in for him to challenge Roman Reigns for the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship at WrestleMania 39 earlier this year. However, the match fell apart due to creative issues between Rock and the company.

Jeff Jarrett has now responded to Johnson’s claims, questioning the legitimacy of why the match fell apart during a recent episode of his My World podcast:

“So, I’m not sure I’m buying that Rock was uninspired going into SoFi this year. We all know what happened the day after [Endeavor buying WWE}.

Well, I just think there was a lot going on behind the scenes. Vince coming back, the sale, the merger, you know, the executive situation. WWE over the last 12 months, when you really think about it, if you want to pull in 18 months? Think about that Conrad. Yeah, lots of changes.

So I can kind of see in my man Dwayne, second and third generation going, ‘You know, there’s a lot more upside to having a little patience. I’m going to set this one out,’ for whatever reason. And that — so okay, now Endeavor and UFC, and maybe the writers strike, maybe not, I doubt it. But maybe there’s something there that excites him.”

h/t to 411Mania

Kurt Angle has opened up about a conversation he once had with Vince McMahon during which McMahon claimed he would work for WWE until he died.

The WWE Hall of Famer recently appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience and gave his thoughts on Vince McMahon as well as the recent merger between WWE and UFC. During the conversation, Angle recalled a conversation he had with McMahon where the Executive Chairman claimed he wanted to live to 120 and work at WWE until he dies.

“I love the guy. He’s always treated me right. I never had a problem with Vince. I’m glad he got the money he got. I never thought he would sell the company. I thought you would have to pry it from his cold dead hands. I thought he would keep the company forever. He put his heart and soul into it.

No one works harder than he does. He’s a machine. You know what he told me when I came back to WWE? He said, ‘I’m going to have this company for a lot longer than you think, Mr. Angle. I’m 73 right now. My mom lived to be 101. I plan on living until I’m 120. I’m never letting the company go. I’m always going to work here. They’re going to have to pry it from my cold dead hands.’

That’s what keeps him going. That’s why I’m a little, not nervous, but what’s he going to do now? His life is wrestling.”

h/t to Fightful

A bizarre match that saw Minoru Suzuki wrestle on a Japanese bullet train has made headlines across worldwide mainstream media.

In a recent bout for DDT Pro Wrestling, Suzuki took on Sanshiro Takagi in a Falls Count Anywhere match where the two took the meaning of ‘anywhere’ quite literally. The match ended up taking place on board the Nozomi Shinkansen, a bullet train that traveled from Tokyo to Nagoya at speeds of up to 285 km per hour.

The strange clash was streamed live earlier this week and even ended up making headlines from mainstream media outlets across the world, with the likes of ABC News, Sky News, The Independent, and 9 News Australia covering the bizarre events.

DDT is known for its bizarreness at times, most notably thanks to its infamous Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship. The title has changed hands over 1,500 times thanks to its 24/7 defense rules and has been held by the likes of a literal apple, the entire audience of an independent event, and an inflatable sex doll called Yoshihiko – which has held the title 20 times.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fupkSZrhkVY

AEW has released a brand new video to their YouTube channel, highlighting the entire history between Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara in the promotion.

The two are set to face off for the very first time tonight at AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam in Arthur Ashe Stadium. Ahead of the bout, the company has uploaded a two-and-a-half-hour video looking back at nearly every match and segment involving the two men in AEW history.

Moments highlighted include Guevara joining Jericho’s faction The Inner Circle on the first-ever episode of Dynamite, the first Stadium Stampede match which saw Jericho & Guevara compete alongside the rest of The Inner Circle against The Elite & Matt Hardy, and the two’s relationship turning sour in recent times.

What’s your favorite AEW moment involving Jericho & Guevara? Let us know by sharing on Facebook or Twitter down below!

Eagle-eyed fans on social media were quick to spot a hilarious moment on this week’s RAW which saw Becky Lynch admitting that she messed up.

The Man laid down an open challenge for her newly-won NXT Women’s Championship on RAW which was accepted by Natalya. Whilst the ensuing match saw Lynch successfully retain her title in her first defense, it was her pre-match promo that left the biggest impression on social media.

Maffew Gregg, the creator of Botchamania, posted a clip of Becky’s promo to his X account which highlighted a  funny botch that even caused Lynch herself to remark that “I messed that up” into the microphone.

“So tonight, tonight is the night for somebody new because I am issuing an open challenge. And I can’t think of a better place than now, and I can’t think of a better time than- (Natalya’s music plays)

…I messed that up.”

becky having a fun time on raw pic.twitter.com/9vmSy928O1

— forever botchamania (@Maffewgregg) September 19, 2023

Tony Khan has broken his silence on Jade Cargill’s status following her reported exit from the company and plans to move on to WWE!

Reports emerged last week that Cargill had finished up with AEW and is now WWE-bound after unsuccessfully challenging Kris Statlander for the AEW TBS Championship on the September 15th edition of Rampage. Cargill is reported to be headed straight to the main roster with WWE cooking up creative plans for her as a “high priority.”

Speaking on the Superstar Crossover podcast, the AEW President avoided saying much about the now-former AEW star but expressed that she was always welcome in the promotion and someone they’d love to work with again.

“Jade had a great match on Friday night on AEW Rampage and it was a great match against Kris Statlander. Kris Statlander retained the TBS Championship on Rampage on Friday night and I thought that was a great match, definitely one of the best matches I’ve seen either of them have and I thought a really great main event for the show.

As far as Jade goes, I can’t really comment on that except to say that Jade’s been a great wrestler for AEW and certainly always welcome in AEW, you know, could always be somebody we would always love to work with here in AEW.”

Football legend Cristiano Ronaldo could be set to make his WWE debut later this year in Saudi Arabia!

Spanish sports newspaper Diario AS first reported that WWE is attempting to secure an appearance by Ronaldo at their upcoming Crown Jewel Premium Live Event in Saudi Arabia later this year. It is unknown exactly what the company’s plans for the football legend could be at the event.

Ronaldo currently plays for Saudi-based team Al Nassir following the termination of his contract with Manchester United in late 2022. The 38-year-old signed with the club for two-and-a-half years in December 2022 as part of a contract reportedly worth $215 million per season.

Randy Orton looks to be preparing for an in-ring return after being out of action with injury for the past 16 months!

The WWE veteran was spotted heading into the WWE Performance Center yesterday, with Orton teasingly telling fans who saw him that he wasn’t there. Now Fightful Select has provided a brand-new update on the star ahead of what seems to be preparations for his long-awaited return!

Sean Ross Sapp reported via Fightful Select that The Viper has been continually working out in the gym as of late and at one point got “huge” but was not cleared for in-ring action at that point. WWE is said to have a strict rule that those returning are expected to work out in some capacity, suggesting Orton could be preparing for such a move.

Sapp also notes that Orton has been “adamant” to those close to him that he will be returning to the ring after successfully recovering from back fusion surgery last year. Orton last competed on the May 20th 2022 edition of SmackDown, where he and Matt Riddle lost the RAW Tag Team Championship to then-SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos.

Morning everyone, hope you’re having 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:

• Randy Orton Appears At WWE Performance Center
• Cristiano Ronaldo Potentially Appearing At WWE Crown Jewel?
• Tony Khan Says Jade Cargill Is “Always Welcome” In AEW