Top WWE Talent Would Be “All For” CM Punk Return; Wrestling News September 6th 2023

Chris Jericho has revealed that WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray conceived the entire idea for his AEW All In: London entrance!

The inaugural AEW World Champion recounted his entire experience in England during the latest episode of Talk Is Jericho. Jericho discussed how his Fozzy-accompanied entrance was conceived by the former Bubba Ray Dudley months before the event whilst his Freddie Mercury-inspired intro came from his former Inner Circle Ally Ortiz.

“Bubba Dudley, months ago said, ‘You should have Fozzy play you to the ring.’ I was like, ‘Seriously? You think so?’ He was like, ‘You gotta do it’ so, Bubba came up with the idea of Fozzy singing, me singing myself to the ring with Fozzy and Ortiz came up with the idea of me doing the Freddie Mercury ay-ohs so, not a lot of creativity or originality from Chris Jericho on that ring entrance (he laughed). That just came from my friends…”

h/t to POSTWrestling

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite will emanate from the Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, Indiana. The next major AEW event is AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam from Arthur Ashe Stadium in just two weeks!

Matches and segments announced for the show include:

• MJF Addresses Samoa Joe All Out Confrontation
• Hangman Page Reveals What’s Next
• Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara vs Aussie Open
• Roderick Strong vs Trent Baretta – World Title Eliminator Tournament Quarter-Final
• Darby Allin vs Nick Wayne – World Title Eliminator Tournament Quarter-Final

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!

Former WWE star Maven has defended JBL against previous allegations that he is a bully behind the scenes.

During his latest YouTube video describing his experiences with WWE stars like Brock Lesnar, Steve Austin and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, JBL was one of the stars whom the inaugural Tough Enough winner delved into working alongside.

Maven directly addressed allegations that JBL engaged in bullying behavior behind the scenes, most notably from former lead WWE announcer Mauro Ranallo, and claimed that the WWE Hall of Famer was in face “one of the nicest guys in the world.”

“I could stand to learn a lot about the financial industry from this guy. Of course, I’m talking about Hall of Famer, JBL, one of the toughest SOBs. I still remember a match he had at a pay-per-view and after the match, he comes back and his whole entire face is just bloody and just battered. Never heard any complaining, you never heard any type of him being upset in any way. Man knew how to do business.

Now the dirt sheets will always say that JBL was a bully backstage. To be honest with you, JBL is just loud. JBL is boisterous. JBL is jovial. John’s not afraid to tell you what he wants and he’s not afraid to tell you how he’s gonna get to what he wants. A lot of people might view that as being a bully. John is also a pretty stiff wrestler, from what I’ve heard. That means when John hits you with a clothesline, you’re gonna feel that clothesline, but that’s the business.

I never knew him as a bully, but sometimes when people are loud, it might rub people the wrong way. Trust me, one of the nicest guys in the world.”

h/t to Fightful

NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion EC3 has advocated for CM Punk to come to the NWA following his departure from AEW.

The former TNA World Heavyweight Champion captured the top prize in the NWA at night 2 of NWA 75, dethroning Tyrus for the prestigious title. Fresh off his title victory, EC3 has laid down the gauntlet to a huge star to become his first challenger: CM Punk!

Speaking on Sportskeeda’s UnSKripted, EC3 called for CM Punk to make his next destination in wrestling the NWA, promising that the promotion’s lockerroom had “a more professional atmosphere” and that the former AEW World Champion could get a shot at Carter’s Worlds Heavyweight Title.

“Obviously, CM Punk, Chicago ties with Billy Corgan so that would be a fantastic challenger. There is a lot of speculation and roundabout talking about the dealings with him and his previous employer, whatever. What I do think about him is that he is dynamite in the ring and dynamite on the microphone. We can definitely draw a lot of intrigue and I’d be into it.

Throwing that out there, to have him come in, would be a game changer. Our locker room has a more professional atmosphere sometimes, so I don’t think the shenanigans and tomfoolery of the intertwining and dramatics would take place as much as people striving to be the best version of themselves and the best version of anybody as EC3 as the Worlds Heavyweight Champion.”

h/t to Fightful

WWE has confirmed that a particular match on an upcoming major WWE event will still take place, despite a result from WWE Payback throwing the bout into question.

At Payback this past weekend, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens lost their Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship to The Judgement Day’s Finn Balor and Damian Priest. The title change was not just surprising in of itself, but also in that it threw a major upcoming match for the duo into question.

Zayn and Owens were set to defend their tag titles against Veer and Sanga of Indus Sher at WWE Superstar Spectacle in Hyderabad, India this Friday, leaving some fans wondering if the match was still going ahead due to the formers’ title loss. However, WWE themself have confirmed this is not the case.

The official WWE India X account posted an advertisement for the bout yesterday, confirming it is still set to take place. However, the match will not be contended for any championships, making Natalya vs Rhea Ripley for the WWE Women’s World Championship the event’s only title bout so far.

Jeff Jarrett has given high praise to Bryan Danielson, calling him the best storyteller in modern wrestling!

Speaking on his My World podcast, Jarrett discussed AEW All Out and put particular focus on the Strap Match between Ricky Starks and the returning Bryan Danielson at the event. The AEW Director Of Business Development showered The American Dragon with praise in the wake of the bout, drawing particular attention to his storytelling abilities.

“I think he is the very best storyteller in modern wrestling. I think he has a unique ability … it’s uncanny.”

Jarrett went on to shower more praise on Danielson, pointing out how he managed to develop the story for the Strap Match with Starks within just 24 hours between his return to the promotion and the match itself.

“You look at where (Ricky) Steamboat started in this story … and then insert Bryan, that’s all a story within 24 hours.”

h/t to WrestlingInc

Dakota Kai has revealed when she’s likely to fully recover from her injury and return to a WWE ring!

The Damage CTRL member has been out of action since May with a torn ACL, suffering the injury during a WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship match alongside Bayley against Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez on SmackDown. Whilst she’s made some on-screen appearances since, Kai is still several months away from returning to the ring.

Speaking during a stream on her Twitch channel, Kai revealed she is unlikely to wrestle until 2024 as she is still in the midst of her recovery. She went on to say she doesn’t expect to be cleared to return until next January at the very earliest.

“Probably 2024. I do think it’s funny that a lot of people are like, ‘she’s not injured at all. Look at her walking around.’ ACL injury, I haven’t even learned how to start running and jumping again yet. I think I’m going to start running this week.

ACL recovery, especially for someone in sport, we use our legs a lot. If I were a desk worker, I’d be back at work. Because it’s wrestling, I won’t be cleared until January.”

h/t to Fightful

Chris Jericho is the latest AEW star to comment on CM Punk’s termination from AEW, calling it “a regretful moment.”

Speaking during the latest episode of his Talk Is Jericho podcast, the former AEW World Champion gave his thoughts on Punk’s departure from the promotion and revealed that he spoke to him at Wembley Stadium, prior to Punk’s altercation with Jack Perry and subsequent match with Samoa Joe at the event.

“I don’t want to dwell on this or talk about, but I should address it. CM Punk, no longer with AEW, Wembley was his last match, which what a way to go out if you’re going to go out.

I did speak to him, briefly, I was going to do a frankensteiner off the top, and I know that he does that sometimes, so I was curious if he was going to do it. I went and talked to him for a bit, asked if he was going to do it, he wasn’t. I told him I was going to do the GTS, with a straight face, and I think for a second he thought that I was going to. I was joking, of course. I did see him that day.

It’s a regretful moment, what happened, but Tony Khan made his decision. CM Punk was a big part of AEW from the time he was here and if you’re going to go out, he went out on top by having this big match with Samoa Joe in a sold out stadium. That’s my thoughts on that.”

h/t to Fightful

WWE has uploaded Chad Gable and Gunther’s incredible RAW match for the Intercontinental title in full to their YouTube channel!

The incredible bout saw Gable challenge Gunther in one of the best matches seen on the red brand in recent times earlier this week. Despite Gable’s best efforts, however, Gunther retained his title and ensured that he will surpass The Honky Tonk Man to become the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion in history this Friday.

Check out the full match above and let us know your thoughts on it by sharing on Facebook or Twitter down below!

Becky Lynch is headed back to NXT to capture the one Women’s Championship she failed to get: The NXT Women’s Championship!

Tensions between Lynch and NXT Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton have built since Stratton began taunting Lynch about the fact that she never won her title. Most notably, Stratton appeared ringside for Becky’s Steel Cage clash with Trish Stratus at WWE Payback and at one point, got in the WrestleMania 35 main eventer’s face.

Following Stratton’s successful title over Kiana James on last night’s NXT, Lynch appeared on the titantron and announced that she will be returning to the black and gold brand next week to face Stratton in the show’s main event for the NXT Women’s Championship. This marked Lynch’s first NXT appearance since November 2019 where she returned and faced Rhea Ripley to a No Contest.

Despite becoming one of NXT’s most prominent female alumni, Becky Lynch never captured the brand’s Women’s Championship. She challenged for the title twice on televised programming, unsuccessfully competing for the belt at NXT TakeOver: Rival and NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable respectively.

Endeavor’s takeover of WWE was initially expected to complete in a few weeks but the move could finish faster than expected!

Last month, Deadline reported that the WWE’s acquisition by Endeavor, and subsequent merger with UFC into TKO Group Holdings, was expected to close between mid- to late-September. However, a more recent report has suggested that the move could come even quicker than that.

PWInsider Elite report that those behind the scenes at WWE expect the deal to be complete very soon and possibly as early as next week. Many employees at the company are said to be “gritting their teeth” at what the takeover will mean for their jobs and overall future with the company.

In a separate report last month, PWInsider reported that there was a sense of “doom and gloom” regarding the move from many WWE employees. Many were said to be looking for their next job out of fear of being laid off as part of the impending takeover.

A new report has provided some insight into the backstage reactions to CM Punk’s AEW exit from WWE, IMPACT and more!

PWInsider Elite report that Punk’s termination from All Elite Wrestling was a big discussion point within WWE shortly after the announcement was made. The idea of the former WWE Champion returning to the promotion received mixed reactions: Some were strongly against it whilst others saw it as a huge opportunity to make money.

Most notably, one high-ranking WWE talent is said to be “all for” Punk’s return to the company but they would have no involvement in securing the move. The identity of this talent was not disclosed. WWE executives, meanwhile, are reported to be focusing on the company’s impending takeover by Endeavor before discussing any interest in the 44-year-old.

Sources within the company noted to PWInsider Elite that Punk returning would ultimately be a decision made by Endeavor, which would favor Punk as he allegedly had a good relationship with the company whilst he was a competitor in the UFC.

IMPACT Wrestling is said to be “super excited” about the possibility of Punk competing there but there’s no word on if any conversations between the two parties have taken place or if Punk would even be open to discussions. The only other promotion that Punk could conceivably head to is New Japan Pro-Wrestling, however, the move is said to be unlikely due to their strong relationship with AEW.

Where do you want to see CM Punk next? Should he return to WWE, give IMPACT a shot or leave wrestling forever? Let us know your thoughts by sharing on Facebook or Twitter down below!

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:

• Top WWE Talent Would Be “All For” CM Punk Return
  
• WWE Endeavor Takeover Could Complete Sooner Than Expected
  
• Becky Lynch Set To Challenge For NXT Women’s Title