It was a major week in professional wrestling that is only usually scene after a premium live event or a pay-per-view. This week, WWE and All Elite Wrestling (AEW) saw major championship changes at the top of their respective rosters as both companies inch their way to their marquee events – SummerSlam and All In.
CM Punk returned to WWE programming on “Monday Night Raw” and was the replacement in the Undisputed WWE Championship match against Sami Zayn. Cody Rhodes was set to be in the match until he was attacked by Gunther. Zayn thought he was in the clear until Raw general manager Adam Pearce told Zayn he had a replacement. Punk showed up and the crowd in Chicago was immediately sent into a frenzy.
CM PUNK TO DEFEND UNDISPUTED WWE CHAMPIONSHIP AGAINST CODY RHODES AT SUMMERSLAM
Punk and Zayn put on one of the better TV matches of the year for WWE. In the end, it was Punk who captured the Undisputed WWE Championship and ended Zayn’s short-lived reign as champion after nine days. Later in the week, Punk and Rhodes were booked for a title match at SummerSlam but first will have to team together to take on Zayn and Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event in New York City.
AEW’s “Dynamite” featured MJF trying to defend his AEW World Championship against Kenny Omega. If Omega lost the match, he would no longer be able to compete for the title. It was a similar stipulation that Rhodes dealt with when he was in AEW and that “Hangman” Adam Page had in his own match against MJF earlier this year, which he lost.
AEW routinely showcases pay-per-view-level main events on “Dynamite” and Wednesday’s title bout was no different. MJF and Omega showcased their elite talents and went above and beyond to make the title mean something. MJF went crashing through the announce table and tried to use the Dynamite Diamond Ring to cheat his way to another victory.
KENNY OMEGA CAPTURES AEW WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IN EPIC MATCH OVER MJF
Will Ospreay, who is guaranteed a title match at All In, stepped in to take the ring away from MJF before he could use it but nearly cost Omega the title altogether. MJF hit Omega with a low blow and the title as the referee was trying to kick Ospreay out of the ring area. However, Omega kicked out when the referee only counted to one.
The Florida crowed was electric. MJF, seemingly battling through a knee injury, did everything he could to keep Omega down, but to no avail. Omega hit MJF with a few V-triggers and a One-Winged Angel to finally put MJF away. He captured the championship and began his second reign as AEW world champion.
There are many unknowns in pro wrestling despite the scripted nature of the shows and events. You never know who is going to return, you never know who his going to be on the shelf and you never know who is really going to win when it’s all said and done.
What we do know right now is that August will begin and end spectacularly. SummerSlam and All In are shaping up to be must-watch events. Each event have been slower builds than what most fans are used to, but everyone can expect high-level drama and intrigue going into each one. Let’s not discount that fact as the days and weeks go by.
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“Hangman” Adam Page made his return to AEW programming after being away for months following his AEW World Championship loss to MJF earlier this year. Dressed in a black suit jacket, Page made his way down the entrance ramp to a raucous crowd.
He opened up about dealing with cervical radiculopathy, which has kept him out of the ring for nearly four months. He talked about his gardening hobby and planting seeds and told the crowd he wanted to plant one more seed. He recalled putting his chance at ever going for the AEW world title again against MJF and losing the match.
Page vowed he would be a “man of my word.”
COMPLETE PRO WRESTLING COVERAGE ON FOX NEWS DIGITAL
“I know the stipulation, it doesn’t live signed in ink on a contract filed away in a filing cabinet somewhere, but it does live in me. And I wanted to let you know that I intend to be a man of my word,” he said. “I will never challenge for the All Elite Wrestling men’s world championship again.”
He suggested he took inspiration from Omega’s title win and that he sees “miles and miles of empty track” before him. He called out TNT champion Kevin Knight, national champion Mark Davis, continental champion Jon Moxley and international champion Kyle Fletcher.
“I’m going to have to find something else to do and you bet you’re a– I will.”
Welcome back, Page.
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Sheamus made his WWE debut in 2009 – first appearing on ECW and later Raw. He immediately became a formidable challenger for John Cena and stunningly captured the WWE Championship against him at TLC in December of that year.
Man, how time flies.
Sheamus would become a four-time WWE champion, three-time United States champion, five time tag team champion and the winner of the King of the Ring, Money in the Bank and Royal Rumble. In the latter years of his career, he would be hampered by injuries but did get one final moment with Cena in the ring at Madison Square Garden before Cena finally retired.
Reports surfaced during the week that Sheamus’ contract would expiring and that he would be leaving the company. He seemingly confirmed the reports when he changed his social media profiles to his real name, Stephen Farrelly, and fired off an outgoing message to fans.
“Banger after Banger after Banger after Banger after Banger after Banger after Banger after Banger after Banger after Banger after Banger after Banger after Banger after Burger after Banger after Banger after Banger after,” he wrote on X, “slán mo WWE chaired.”
It’s unclear if this will be the end of the road in professional wrestling for the 48-year-old Irishman. But there will certainly be tremendous opportunities inside and outside the ring for him moving forward.
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Overall, it may lead to nothing and go largely unnoticed, but the interaction between CM Punk and Candice LeRae jumped off the screen during “Friday Night SmackDown.”
Punk finished talking to Cathy Kelley when he turned around to see LeRae and Johnny Gargano, who was still planking and not talking to anyone. Remember, Sami Zayn was the only one who Gargano seemed to be listening to – for better or worse. LeRae offered a stark reminder to Punk after he beat Zayn for the title.
“I hope you’re proud of yourself,” LeRae said. “As annoying as Sami can be, he’s the only person who didn’t give up on Johnny. He’s actually the voice of the voiceless. And as long as Sami held that title, it was hope. Hope for the real underdogs. Hope for Johnny, hope for me, and you, stole that from us. So, yeah, I hope you’re proud of yourself.”
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Punk responded the only way he could.
“I am proud of myself. You had hope for a whole nine days. Good for you,” he said. “I hope you can hear me, Johnny Wrestling, because that’s who I remember. Johnny Wrestling. Not whatever this is. And you, too. Just stop whatever you’re doing and get back in the ring. Get back to doing what you two do best. Whatever this is, is not working.”
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It had been quite a while since Baron Corbin had been seen in a WWE ring. But as he finished with Major League Wrestling (MLW), rumors were rampant that his return to WWE was imminent.
He made himself quite known to the roster on Friday night when he interfered in a match between Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes.
Corbin got into the ring and hit the End of Days on both Williams and Hayes. But the big question is why? Why go after both guys who were putting on a banger of a match? Was he back to challenge for the United States Championship? And what did it mean for Ricky Saints who was watching the match intently?
We’ll have to keep watching SmackDown to find out.
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New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s prestigious G1 Climax got started over the weekend in Chicago. Rocky Romero spoke to Fox News Digital about the event before the bell the rang.
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Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling (MLP) will hit the airwaves this week when it debuts on TSN at midnight ET on Wednesday.
Rohan Raja spoke to Fox News Digital in May about MLP and why fans should tune in.
“I remember when we ran our first show a lot of fans, me, even if you go on Twitter and even news articles would report it, the quality is like an AEW or WWE product. It’s very top notch. We have Mauro Renallo as the voice of MLP,” he said at the time. “He’s on fire and he still does a lot of stuff like Jake Paul, he did Anthony Joshua’s last boxing match, Tyson Fury’s last match. We have all these star-studded guys.
“How I kinda summarize it is it’s like a world’s collide but every week because we’ve had guys from AEW on there, we got guys from Japan, we got guys from Mexico, we got guys and girls from WWE who come on it. So, I feel like that’s the biggest thing where not only are they showcasing the Canadian talent but it’s showcasing everything. I feel like wrestling now, you do get glimpses of the worlds collide but I feel like we’re the promotion that’s had everyone – a taste of everything into one. With the TSN tapings and how that’s gonna go, it’s really just going to amp up what we’ve built and it’s something that you wouldn’t want to miss.”
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