When Bayley joined WWE she quickly rose to popularity with her "Hugger" gimmick that became beloved amongst the fans. The special connection that she had with audiences earned her a spot on the main roster with her other fellow four horsewomen Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch. The four women changed the landscape of women's wrestling forever. While the other three women had gone through immense character development, Bayley found herself in need of a complete character change. That's why in 2019 on an episode of SmackDown she slashed the inflatables and officially began her heel turn which shocked fans. She has continued to work heel over the years until this year when Damage CTRL attacked her in the lead up to WrestleMania 40, effectively turning her face.

Bayley's Infamous Heel Turn in WWE

On the What Do You Wanna Talk About? podcast, Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and Bayley, now Women's Champion, discussed several topics about their careers, including Bayley's unforgettable heel turn. Bayley revealed that the idea to turn was actually her idea, as she believed she was at a crossroads in her career. She wanted to try different things and felt like it was as good of a time as ever to see if it would stick.

"Yes, I was more so nervous because I thought, what if it didn't work? But, I was also in that spot where that character, the fan favorite bubbly baby face wasn't working either. So it was kind of like I was at a crossroads of, if I never try this then i'll never know. I always, as a fan, wanted to do everything. I wanna be a good guy, I wanna be a bad guy, I wanna be in a love story, I wanna do the craziest things cause I want all of that experience. I was a little nervous when I first started because I thought I would get a lot of female Cena comments, which is the best compliment I could ever get in that character, but I also was like, I wanna try different things.

So, turning to a bad guy was my decision because I felt that I was going nowhere and the fact that they actually wanted to go with it, it was perfect timing. I cut my hair off and had to go in to see if it was okay. They cut off my whole gimmick and luckily they approved of it and liked it. I just think that is really when, I mean, I had so much fun with that character but being able to embrace myself and my own personality in a real way -- and I always try to connect who I really am with my character and it just felt like I was growing as a person inside. Being able to share that with the audience, it just felt like the right time and it was scary, but I think that's what made it good" (h/t: Fightful).

Bayley is the current WWE Women's Champion, having won the Royal Rumble and defeated IYO SKY at WrestleMania. She will face her biggest challenge in this reign -- Nia Jax -- at SummerSlam in Cleveland in just a few weeks time. Jax won this year's Queen of the Ring which included a title shot at the event. The only problem is Tiffany Stratton is currently holding the Money in the Bank briefcase, which means she can cash in any time. If she chooses to pull a similar scenario to IYO, she could cash in at SummerSlam and make it a triple threat, though it seems like that's unlikely and her story will continue for awhile longer. Besides, she hasn't even gotten a chance to bling out her briefcase!

Stay tuned to Comicbook for updates on WWE.

AEW star Will Ospreay has released a documentary that goes over his final days as a top star in New Japan Pro Wrestling and on the independent scene, specifically his final match in RevPro. The documentary also dives into Ospreay's double life in Japan, and how appreciative he is of the culture and people. Ospreay joined AEW earlier this year following his departure from Japan, as his final match was in February. His first match as an official AEW roster member took place at AEW Revolution in March, the same show that Sting had his last match. He faced Konosuke Takeshita and many believed it to be a show stealer.

"I had this documentary filmed of my last matches in New Japan & Revolution Pro. To really show how much both companies really played a huge part in me maturing into a man," Ospreay wrote on X. "Beyond grateful for everything that they both gave me & I miss them so much. Big thank you to @markashleyfilms for capturing and editing this, hope you all enjoy."

Since Ospreay took the leap of faith to come to the United States, he's become one of AEW's fastest rising stars. He captured his first championship in the company in May at Double or Nothing and has been involved in the picture for AEW's top prize, the AEW World Championship. Heading into August, Ospreay will head home to England for the first time since his final RevPro show which AEW President Tony Khan attended. There is a high probability that if AEW does in fact sign former WWE star Ricochet to a contract, given their history, he could be Ospreay's opponent for AEW All In.

"I don't know how much longer he has got in his contract, but I think it might be up soon, man, I don't know. I want him to know that there are people here that genuinely appreciate his work and I want to wrestle him again. I want him back here," Ospreay recently told Comicbook. "I want him to know that there isn't a bar. You are the f--king bar."

Before he does that, though, he will go up against former AEW World Champion MJF next week and they have thrown more than a few shots at each other in the lead up to the match. MJF referred to the champion as a "talentless hack" prompting the "Aerial Assassin" to respond on live television. Fans are used to Ospreay delivering extremely fiery promos but ended up disappointed by his execution on Dynamite. He responded to fans apologizing for his mistake and letting them know he'd do better next time.

Check out the full documentary on YouTube below..

Stay tuned to Comicbook for updates on AEW.

A tenured member of the WWE women's division reportedly just re-signed with the company, according to PWInsider. Although she's currently not on television and hasn't been for quite some time, the new deal could bring her back on-screen sooner than later. Reports have been flying about the status of Natalya as her contract inched closer and closer to the end. There was reported interest from outside companies that may be looking to bring her to their rosters as she has a lot of experience training and coaching young wrestlers with her husband TJ Wilson, a former wrestler turned WWE producer.

Natalya has been with WWE for nearly two decades, first signing back in 2007 where she was quickly paired with Victoria. She went through several tag team partners the first few years, eventually sticking it with Beth Phoenix. She was also part of The Hart Dynasty stable around this time with Wilson and David Hart Smith. She eventually began souring on her own, winning the Divas Championship in 2011. She was a critical part of many of the women's during that era thriving on television as they had little to no wrestling experience.

As she had grown up around wrestling her entire life and had actually been trained in the sport, she was able to give advice to the locker room, becoming a locker room leader which she appears to still be. Years later she won her second championship, the SmackDown Women's Championship, in 2017. Fans had believed that she had earned it after all the years she put in WWE, selflessly putting other women ahead of herself. She won her most recent championship in 2021 with Tamina, the Women's Tag Team Championships.

Back in April, Comicbook spoke to former Women's Tag Team Champion Jade Cargill about Natalya as she had a hand in helping her train for her big WWE debut. Cargill explained how thankful she is to have someone like Natalya is in the locker room, and how integral she was in her development. "It was great. You know, she's a veteran in the game. She gave a lot of advice. What I can do better, what, you know, what I can enhance and [she's] very vocal," Cargill said. "Very kind, very sweet. You know, I think it was last week, I came in with an erect house against Damage CTRL. She was the first person that text me and say, 'hey, you did phenomenal, you look great.' You know, she's a locker room leader. I'm excited. I'm thankful to have her in our locker room."

Natalya joins a number of WWE superstars who have recently signed new contracts after originally inking new deals in 2019 right around the time AEW was forming. Top superstars Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Finn Balor, Chad Gable and Cody Rhodes have all signed multi-year deals while one star opted to leave at the end of their contract, presumably to sign with AEW.

Stay tuned to Comicbook for updates on WWE and Natalya.

Marigold officially crowned the inaugural Marigold Women's World Champion during the Summer Destiny event this weekend. Fans gathered inside of Ryogoku Kokugikan to see a stacked card of incredible talent face off against one another as well as the return of WWE superstar IYO SKY. In the main event, however, was Sareee and Giulia battling it out for the Marigold Women's World Champion, hoping to cement themselves in history as the first ever champion. Giulia recently told Tokyo Sports that her time in Marigold is nearing the end and she hopes fans will see her matches in Japan while they still can.

After an extremely hard fought match between the two women, Sareee attacked Giulia's injured wrist which took her out of action for several weeks. It originally appeared that Giulia would debut for WWE at NXT Heatwave but because of her injury and prior commitments to Marigold, that didn't take place. Giulia had no force but to submit and the former NXT star was crowned champion.

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-- Sareee (@Sareee_official) July 13, 2024

When Marigold was founded, Giulia promised to stick around with Rossy Ogawa and the girls until the company had gotten off the ground. With the first champion officially crowned, that means Giulia's future is going to start looking a little bit different. Giulia appeared WrestleMania weekend in Philadelphia, taking photos with WWE CCO Paul "Triple H" Levesque, leading many fans to believe she had signed a contract.

In the reports that followed it became clear that she had in fact done so and would likely be starting with the NXT brand at some point very soon. WWE is currently working to expand their global partnerships, including in Japan where they have worked with All Japan Pro Wrestling, Marigold, and Pro Wrestling NOAH. As of this writing there are no upcoming Premium Live Events for NXT, though they are looking to get her on television as soon as possible.

There are rumors that an event could take place in Cleveland during SummerSlam weekend, but that hasn't been announced and with just a few weeks to go until the big show, it doesn't seem incredibly likely that will happen. The former multi-time STARDOM Champion has other business ventures in the works, including her autobiography My Dream set to release overseas at the end of August.

Stay tuned to Comicbook for updates on Giulia, WWE, and Marigold.

DIY was finally able to capture the WWE Tag Team Championships on last week's SmackDown, taking down A-Town Down Under and creating an unforgettable moment in the process. For Austin Theory and Grayson Waller, the loss stung a bit more as Waller accidentally attacked Theory at several points in the match, but they were intent on getting those Titles back during tonight's episode of SmackDown. DIY wasn't about to let those go without a fight, and they came out swinging, absorbing a few comeback attempts along the way. Once again though Waller ended up hitting Theory, which would lead to Waller getting pinned and the Champions retaining. Unfortunately, they would then get attacked by The Bloodline to close out their big win.

Championship Rematch

The Champs hit a double drop kick and then Ciampa hit a knee strike and Gargano dove through the ropes, but Theory dodged it and Gargano hit the floor. Waller then threw Ciampa into the ring post, while Theory threw Gargano into the barricade. Waller then slammed Ciampa onto the ring apron and the challengers were now handily in control. Back from break, Gargano was able to get to his feet and get the hot tag from Ciampa, and he subsequently went on a frenzy in the ring, slamming down Waller and Theory before holding off Waller and spearing Theory.

Gargano went for the cover but Theory kicked out and Ciampa tagged in. Ciampa and Theory traded strikes but then Waller jumped into the ring and knocked Ciampa down into a roll-up by Theory, but Ciampa kicked out. Waller tagged in and the two set up for a Meet Me In The Middle, but Ciampa evaded the attack. Then Waller took out Theory again, hitting him with a knee strike and setting himself up for the Shatter Machine and a Meeting in the Middle, and that got them the win.

Crashing the Party

While DIY celebrated the win, Waller and Theory would start to argue at ringside, with Theory clearly frustrated about Waller's repeated attacks on him during their past few matches. All of a sudden their argument was interrupted by The Bloodline's Jacob Fatu, who came in like a freight train and knocked over both Waller and Theory to the floor. Fatu then threw them aside and headed in the ring, where he collided with Gargano and slammed his head into the turnbuckle before hitting a slick move off the top rope that left Gargano reeling.

Ciampa then jumped in and got the best of Fatu for a second, where he even hit Fatu with a DDT. Sadly Fatu never went down from the move, shocking Ciampa as the Bloodline's newest recruit jumped back to his feet. Fatu then attacked Ciampa and left both members of DIY on the mat. This was in preparation for The Bloodline's next segment against Cody Rhodes, but it was also a sign that Fatu, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, and Solo Sikoa are likely coming after those Tag Titles sooner rather than later.

What did you think of the match? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

WWE SmackDown ended on an emotionally charged note as The Bloodline attacked the current WWE Tag Team Champions, DIY, and continued their assault into the final segment of the night when Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes appeared to confront the group. Solo Sikoa has been hellbent on making the entire world acknowledge him as the leader of the group, but Rhodes wasn't going to let that happen. He gets straight to his point: he's out there because he wants to finish this Bloodline business once and for all. While he would prefer to end it right then and there, that isn't possible so instead he lays out a challenge to the group's new leader at WWE SummerSlam.

Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, Sikoa and Jacob Fatu swarm the ring and attack the champion who appears helpless in the assault. He's not alone for long, though, as "The Viper" tries to even the odds for his friend. Earlier in the night, Randy Orton was speaking to Rhodes backstage and insisted that he'd help him finish things up with The Bloodline and that when the locker room comes for his title he'll have his back then too. It's still just too overwhelming for both of them as they get punched, kicked, speared, thrown through the announce table and spiked around ringside.

ACKNOWLEDGE THEM!! ??#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/do28YtXFps

-- WWE (@WWE) July 13, 2024

The Bloodline ends the night standing tall over the champion and future WWE Hall of Famer, but how much longer does Sikoa have left as the leader of The Bloodline? With Paul Heyman out of the picture from an assault on him, Roman Reigns has to be nearby waiting in the wings to come take his spot at the head of the table back. Whether or not he'll appear at SummerSlam will be determined during the show, but considering it's the last major event of the year aside from Survivor Series, if he's going to return in 2024, SummerSlam would be the perfect time. Reigns hasn't been seen since his title loss at WrestleMania 40 against Rhodes. Instead of being booed, fans are chanting his name, wishing for a return so he can put a stop to his family's tirade.

It appears WWE may also be building to an eventual second Bloodline Civil War match between the two generations which could definitely be a WarGames scenario at Survivor Series. That would then leave things pretty open for Reigns heading into WrestleMania 41 next year against The Rock, provided he's ready to return.

Stay tuned to Comicbook for updates on WWE,

WWE's Money in the Bank delivered two new briefcases into the mix, though one of them didn't make it out of the event. Drew McIntyre ended up cashing his in on Damian Priest only to have CM Punk mess it up for him. That leaves only one briefcase still active, and Tiffany Stratton is the superstar in control of it. Stratton had the briefcase with her on tonight's SmackDown, and while it wasn't blinged out yet, she did almost put it to use with a cash-in. Stratton's ally Nia Jax attacked WWE Women's Champion Bayley and left her in the ring, and that's when Stratton started to try and cash in the case, only for Jax to come in and interrupt it while Stratton played it off.

A New Alliance

Stratton and Jax have been helping each other out for a few weeks now, and it all started after Jax became Queen of the Ring and won a Title shot at Bayley's Championship. Stratton started to help Jax out a bit and soon the two became full-time allies, helping each other quite a bit in recent weeks. It's proven to be a fruitful partnership, but tonight the first cracks started to show now that the briefcase is in the mix.

By winning the Queen of the Ring tournament, Jax also won a shot at the Women's Champion Bayley, and the match is set to take place at SummerSlam. Jax has been reminding Bayley of their impending battle every chance she gets, even as Bayley has had to defend her Championship against other opponents. So far Bayley has been able to fend them off, but now Stratton has the upper hand in any given situation by holding the briefcase.

Issues With the Team

While Stratton holding the briefcase only makes this duo even more of a threat, it's also causing issues between the team, fully on display during tonight's episode. After Jax took out Bayley, the Champ wasn't remotely recovered as Jax left the ring. Stratton could be seen looking back at Bayley as she neared the ropes to exit, and after a few times looking back, Stratton finally started to walk back and towards the referee.

Stratton then pulled the case and handed it to the referee, who was trying to figure out if she wanted to move forward with the cash-in or not. Things were just about to take off until Jax saw what was happening and came back into the ring and interrupted, looking confused as to what Stratton was doing. When Jax came up Stratton put the briefcase behind her back and played it off, but Jax was still puzzled and shocked as they left the ring.

Stratton didn't end up cashing in, but now the stage is set for a possible cash-in at any time, and Jax will assuredly be on the lookout for that as we head towards SummerSlam. Granted, Stratton could also wait until Jax is the Champion and then cash it in on her, but for the moment, Jax is more concerned with getting Bayley to SummerSlam as Champ so her match doesn't fall through.

What did you think of Stratton's attempted cash-in? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

LA Knight had a few things to share on tonight's episode of WWE SmackDown. "The Megastar" has been on an upwards trajectory over the last year, feuding with many of the company's top stars. Most recently he competed in the Money in the Bank match which he appeared to be a clear favorite in alongside "Main Event" Jey Uso. Although neither of those men won, it isn't stopping Knight from moving onto the next thing and that's becoming a WWE Champion. He'd been carrying a folder around backstage all night which naturally produced several questions -- what's in the folder? Is it a contract of some sort? He answered both of those questions in his promo when he addressed United States Champion Logan Paul.

Paul and Knight have been feuding for quite a few weeks. Knight broke into his home and was floating in his pool and then he pinned the champion in a Money in the Bank qualifying match a few weeks back. Because of this he's called his shot -- he wants a title match at SummerSlam next month. Nick Aldis signed on the dotted line as did Knight, so all they need is Paul's signature but he's not in the building.

To end the promo, Knight promises to do whatever he has to in order to get the title match in Paul's hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. Paul joined an incredible lineage of United States Champions at Crown Jewel back in November with less than a dozen matches under his belt at the time. He's continued to hold it up until now, although he's only defended it twice, the last being at WrestleMania 40.

What's Happening at WWE SummerSlam?

SummerSlam 2024 looks to be an unforgettable night in the home of Rock 'N Roll. While Knight vs. Paul has yet to be made official, there are currently two matches set to take place that were decided a number of months ago. When Gunther and Nia Jax claimed the King and Queen of the Ring crowns, they were automatically afforded a championship opportunity for the title on their respective brand.

For Gunther, that means going head-to-head with World Heavyweight Champion Damian Priest in a singles match capacity for the very first time. Jax, meanwhile, will look to dethrone Bayley who won the Women's Championship at WrestleMania 40. Teases have already begun for the eventual Tiffany Stratton cash-in, whether that's at SummerSlam or much later down the line.

Stay tuned to Comicbook for updates on WWE.

When AEW was founded in 2019 they sought out ways to be different from their competitors. One of those ways was to bring back the hardcore style in modern wrestling and put it onto the main stage. After a throwaway comment from then WWE head Vince McMahon about AEW being all about "blood and guts," AEW coined the term for a television special. The famed match highlights the hottest bubbling feuds in AEW, with this year's being The Elite against Team AEW. Since AEW showcased several of its women in a blood street fight a few years back, fans have clamored for the division to get a Blood & Guts match of their own.

Will AEW Ever Do a Women's Blood & Guts Match?

Last year it seemed like signs may have been pointing that way with The Outcasts feud but that never came to fruition. At the time AEW President Tony Khan revealed that due to injuries plaguing the division as well as many of them being tied up in the Owen Hart Cup Tournament, he opted to put a pause on the idea. Khan came back around to it when asked by the Battleground Podcast if one would ever take place.

"At some point, it would be great to have a women's Blood & Guts match. You need a lot of people tied in on story and a lot of healthy people. We have a great roster that we're building up and I think our women's roster is strong than it's ever been right now, today. I'm really excited about that. If we ever get to a point where we have enough people tied together and the story makes sense, I think it would be great" (h/t: Fightful).

Certainly it's something the division could handle at this stage as more women come back from their long-standing injuries while more depth is created in the division with signings like Mercedes Mon? and Kamille who has reportedly been signed to AEW for some time. There's also an opportunity to work with their partners in New Japan Pro Wrestling, CMLL and now STARDOM who have had engrained stories in AEW as of recent.

This year's Blood & Guts takes place in Nashville, Tennessee on the July 24th edition of AEW Dynamite. Currently, the Young Bucks, Hangman Adam Page, Kazuchika Okada and Jack Perry will go up against AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland, Mark Briscoe, Kyle O'Reilly and The Acclaimed.

Stay tuned to Comicbook for updates on AEW.

WWE is not taking its foot off the gas when it comes to their women's division. Over the last few months they have signed a few stars, including former CMLL star Stephanie Vaquer. After seeing her skills at AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door against Mercedes Mon?, it got several promotions interested in bringing her over full-time. As many have reported, several CMLL stars have left in the middle of their contracts with notice in favor of larger ventures. She cited "personal issues" for her untimely departure from both CMLL and NJPW.

Vaquer ultimately took the sports entertainment giant up on their offer which was made official this week. It's unclear whether or not she will debut on the main roster of stick to the NXT brand with former STARDOM Champion Giulia, but regardless, she will have plenty of opportunity on both rosters.

Many have wondered how they'll factor her into storylines or if they will immediately debut her into a storyline. According to WWE's official Spanish X account, Vaquer will debut for WWE this weekend when the company heads to Mexico for stops in Mexico City and Monterrey. There has been talk of WWE attempting to strengthen their relationship in the country like they have with Japan in recent months, potentially by partnering with the UFC who already have an established presence there.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, one source in WWE explained Vaquer was offered a "tremendous contract" on July 7th because they were aware of AEW's move to obtain her. According to sources, she hadn't seriously entertained AEW because she grew up watching WWE with a goal to someday make it there. She previously tried out for the company in 2018 but nothing came of that experience.

Vaquer made her professional wrestling debut in 2009 and since then she's made a name for herself all over Mexico and the world. As one of the standouts in women's wrestling, she recently came to fame over the last year when Mon? defeated her in the NJPW STRONG Women's Championship tournament. She eventually won that championship many months later as well as the CMLL World Women's Championship and Tag Team Championships which she vacated this past weekend.

Because Vaquer pulled out of her bookings, including the ones happening this weekend, a new CMLL World Women's Champion will be crowned at NJPW's Fantasica Mania. AEW's Willow Nightingale as well as Lluvia and Viva Van will compete for the championship in a triple threat.

Stay tuned to Comicbook for updates on WWE.

WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Garcia (formerly Nikki Bella in WWE) has begun planting seeds for a future match with a major star in AEW. Although Garcia hasn't wrestled in any capacity since the 2022 women's Royal Rumble, she has been keeping tabs on women's wrestling all around the world and has sent out more than a few feelers on social media. A few months back the former Divas Champion made it clear that she'd like to return to the ring someday, but that day isn't for awhile as she juggles motherhood with her husband Artem Chigvinstev and her many business ventures with and without her twin sister Brie Garcia.

Nikki did reveal that she had "talks" with AEW President Tony Khan following the groundbreaking debut of Mercedes Mon? in AEW after hearing her inspiring promo about taking the women's revolution global. In a recent live podcast episode of The Nikki and Brie Show, the twin sisters chatted with The Lawrence Brothers and former AEW Women's World Champion Britt Baker.

When the conversation shifted over to wrestling, they gave positive remarks about Khan's leadership of AEW where the women are concerned. Brie noted something that she loves about AEW is that there aren't "restrictions" on what women can do in the ring, unlike WWE where there aren't a ton of "hardcore" moments. They reflected on their time in FCW before officially becoming WWE superstars, having matches in bars down in Florida where they'd give German Suplexes onto the hardwood floor.

Nikki noted that she misses that grind of trying to make it onto television when Baker cut in to let her know that she doesn't have to miss it because the opportunity is right in front of her. It's no secret Baker is a huge fan of the highly respected veterans, she's mentioned many times she grew up watching them and emulating them in her matches. Nikki comes off flustered at first but regains her composure, letting everyone know that she'd come out of wrestling retirement for Baker. Her current goal is to make a comeback to wrestling "in a few years" but Baker appeared to have no problem waiting.

The AEW women's division has shown great improvement over the first half of 2024 with the signing of Mariah May who is currently in a heated storyline with her former mentor and Women's World Champion Toni Storm, the signing of Mon?, Willow Nightingale and Kris Statlander becoming reliable figureheads in the company and the potential signing of Kamille, though she hasn't officially debuted in any capacity.

Stay tuned to Comicbook for updates on AEW.

Over the last several months, developer Activision has increasingly been going down the Fortnite route with its new content in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone. Most recently, we've seen the developers partner with Fallout, but they've also added content from Gundam, Cheech and Chong, and Diablo. Earlier today, Activision teased its next big crossover, and it's going to make fans very happy. When Season 5 kicks off in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone on July 24th, players will have new WWE content to pick up. Unfortunately, details about what's coming are still relatively light, but we should be learning much more relatively soon.

The short, six-second teaser Activision posted to the Call of Duty Twitter account doesn't include any real hints about which WWE stars are joining the game in Season 5. The post leads with "It's about to be a smackdown," an obvious reference to one of the WWE's weekly flagship shows. It's also famously one of the catchphrases for former WWE star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, though it would be a big surprise if he's one of the characters coming to Call of Duty in this drop. The Rock has become a big enough star through his film career, that he would warrant his own campaign.

Instead, it's more likely these are current WWE stars. At the end of the teaser, you can see the shadows of three WWE wrestlers. It's tough to make out anything from those shadows, but it does seem like the character in the middle might be Roman Reigns. The shadow has a top knot hairstyle, which fits with Reigns' current look. Plus, he'd easily have the pull to headline a Call of Duty campaign. However, that's just a guess based on a shadow you can see for two seconds, so don't be surprised if it's someone else entirely.

Fortunately, we probably don't have to wait much longer to learn more about which WWE superstars are coming to Call of Duty. Usually, Activision drops the season roadmaps about a week before the season goes live. That means we should be seeing the new roadmap sometime next week. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone are available now on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC platforms.

TNA was gearing up for a massive resurgence at the tail end of 2023 leading into the new year. With plans to reintroduce the TNA brand to fans after transitioning from the "IMPACT" name and an unforgettable Hard To Kill pay-per-view in January, it seemed like TNA was finally getting back on track to its glory days. Several new stars had signed with the company and it appeared that their partners were more than happy with the way things were going. Former TNA head Scott D'Amore parted ways with the company after allegedly trying to buy it out, which made for a rocky road for many of TNA's stars with an allegiance to him. Still, Jordynne Grace appeared in this year's Royal Rumble which strengthened the relationship with WWE that has now opened many more doors for the wrestling company.

Rob Kligman, Anthem Sports' Chief Revenue Officer, recently spoke to EssentiallySports' Think Tank about the trajectory of TNA and where the brand is headed. The newfound relationship has seemed to benefit TNA in a lot of ways, which they are hoping to ride the momentum of into an "even larger" distribution deal.

"We both [WWE & TNA] have historical realms behind each brand. The brands both can speak for themselves and stand for themselves," Kligman said. "Right now, the difference really is the distribution mechanism that WWE uses to push their content out versus what TNA does. Right now, we're focusing on getting that distribution even larger than it is for TNA. But that's the big differentiation point; the production is the same quality and the content is the same quality, [but] the difference is the distribution.

So that's one of the big reasons why I came on board was to help the distribution, work with our team internally at TNA and lock in an opportunity for the fans to see it worldwide and that's our ultimate goal but right now, that's where we see the differentiation point between World Wrestling Entertainment and TNA. It's simply distribution, because when you look at the content, the production -- like I said earlier -- is spot-on and the content and the characters are spot-on so, once we get that distribution deal, I think you're gonna see a little bit more of an even keel between both organizations."

In December TNA partnered with Endeavor Streaming to launch its subscription based service TNA+ where all of their original programming is being housed. As for a distribution deal, they are currently airing on AXS TV which they have been doing for quite a few years but it limits their visibility greatly as many people have moved away from traditional cable in favor of streaming.

Stay tuned to Comicbook for updates on TNA.

All Elite Wrestling continues to go through shifts and shakeups with its roster. Through the company's first three years of existence, just about every talent in the locker room remained under contract, with only a couple of names moving on preemptively. When 2022 came around, the first batch of three-year contracts began to expire. The first name to exit was co-founder Cody Rhodes, as he elected to return to WWE in April 2022. Notable names like Brian Pillman Jr. (NXT's Lexis King) and Jade Cargill followed Rhodes to WWE, while originals like Joey Janela and Marko Stunt returned to the independent circuit.

Not every name to move on from AEW has been a tenured individual. Stars like Lio Rush and Matt Cardona have been brought in for a couple of programs and then moved on. The same can be said for the latest AEW departure, as her run ends less than one year after it began.

CJ Perry Leaves AEW

CJ Perry is no longer with All Elite Wrestling.

As reported by Fightful and then later confirmed by Perry herself, the performer formerly known as Lana has left AEW just 11 months after she debuted at AEW All Out 2023.

"(My) time with them (AEW) has just finished," Perry told USA Today. "I'm really focused on finding talent and cultivating them and helping them become the best wrestler, champion possible, I guess you could say I want to be the Paul Heyman."

Perry spent her entire AEW tenure as a manager, first debuting to confront ex-husband Miro at AEW All Out 2023. Miro shunned Perry, resulting in Perry pursuing another talent to align with. She ended up managing Andrade El Idolo up until this past December's AEW Worlds End. Perry turned on Andrade at that event. This would be her last appearance for the company.

Perry is most known for her tenure with WWE. She spent eight years at the global leader in sports-entertainment, largely managing Rusev (Miro). She would begin wrestling in 2016, competing in a total of 231 matches over the course of five years, most of which came on WWE's live event scene. Her last match was on a May 2021 edition of WWE Monday Night Raw.

Perry's words indicate that she plans to stay in professional wrestling, but it is unclear as to where she will go next.

2024 has already been an incredible year in professional wrestling as the phrase "never say never" rings especially true now more than ever. AEW has announced a new partnership with several promotions for a new joint show coming next year while WWE has stepped outside of its bubble to work with promotions all over the world like Marigold, TNA, and NOAH. Currently the most prosperous of the bunch appears to be TNA because they have now had several talent exchanges and it doesn't show signs of slowing down anytime soon. Following several NXT stars appearing at recent TNA tapings, talent crossed over to the NXT brand to further storylines and possibly create new ones.

Several top stars in WWE have made it obvious that they would like to be part of the crossover festivities, including former TNA stars. While WWE doesn't currently have an event like AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door, TNA does and it's Multiverse United. When it was announced two years ago, the company had been working with NJPW and that was still the case last year. With them officially entering a relationship with WWE, it remains to be seen if bridges will be burned, but WWE involved in the Multiverse certainly presents interesting possibilities.

A Joint TNA x WWE Show

Rob Kligman, the Chief Revenue Officer of Anthem Sports (TNA's partner), opened up about goals he'd like to see come to fruition in the newfound partnership. "That I don't know yet [if TNA and WWE will collaborate WrestleMania weekend]. I think, again, the way I look at the organization and how I look at building a business is its crawl, walk, run. It's taking those small steps and doing them really right the first time and then mature and get to the second step and get to the next step. That's an ultimate goal and that would be amazing. I think there's an opportunity for potentially maybe doing events in the same weekend.

Finding a way to do something where we parallel the opportunity for fans to gather around and see content where they wanna see it at their time and that could be an event weekend that parallels TNA and WWE at some point. You just never know. But, obviously, WrestleMania is the ultimate. There is no such thing that's even bigger than that but, I think the opportunity that could exist to be part of WrestleMania would be an ultimate goal" (h/t: POST Wrestling).

Stay tuned to Comicbook for updates on TNA and WWE.

This weekend world renowned wrestler AJ Styles returns to Japan for the first time since signing with WWE in 2016. He is set to go up against wrestling legend Naomichi Marufuji at NOAH's upcoming Destination event. His appearance is the same weekend thet former Women's Champion IYO SKY also makes her grand return to wrestle for Rossy Ogawa's startup promotion Marigold. In 2024, WWE has really worked to expand on its partnerships with other countries, including Japan where Charlie Dempsey competed earlier this year, kicking things into overdrive. This has renewed interest in several members of the roster, including Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes.

Speaking to Planeta Wrestling ahead of their match, Marufuji discussed the opportunity to work with whom he calls an "all-around great performer" in Styles. He also let it slip that he's interested in "all" wrestlers in WWE, and would be interested in wrestling them or competing in a WWE ring if he had the proper training.

"[Styles] is an all-around great wrestler and one of the best in the world. I want the fans to genuinely enjoy my exchanges during the match with him. And I think we can achieve that," Marufuji explained. "I am interested in all WWE wrestlers. I want to invite various wrestlers to NOAH's ring. To compete in the WWE ring, I think I need more training before that, so I can't say it right now."

Rhodes was quick to put his name into the hat for a potential match between the two down the line. Rhodes departed WWE in 2016 and competed all over the world, including in Japan, where he did a complete career 180 after joining the villainous Bullet Club stable in New Japan Pro Wrestling.

He hasn't been back in the area since 2019, right as AEW was putting boots to the ground but he will return to Japan for the first time in five years at the end of July when WWE heads back to Japan for a live tour. It kicks off July 25 in Osaka and continues through July 26-27 in Tokyo at the Ryogoku Arena.

"It's not hyperbole to say Marufuji on the other side of the ring is how important he is to modern pro wrestling and modern sports entertainment. I mean, if you hit the ropes behind another guy, you call that a 'Marufuji.' That's what I do," Rhodes told NOAH. "That's part of my comeback that I have in my own matches. The fact that I've never gotten in the ring with him, that's something that could happen down the road."

Stay tuned to Comicbook for updates on WWE.

Back at WWE's WrestleMania 40, Sami Zayn challenged Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship. At the time of the match, Zayn's character arc had been through so many twists and turns. After he was ousted from The Bloodline, he made amends with several people, including Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso and his best friend Kevin Owens who have since become his allies in WWE. Zayn and Owens won the Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania 39 and carried them for several months and then he entered a period of floating. It became part of his story as he attempted to build himself back up from the shell he once was by overcoming the largest obstacle in WWE: Gunther.

Zayn shockingly won the championship from the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion in history but Gunther is now moving into the world title picture after winning this year's King of the Ring tournament. His win at WrestleMania cemented him in the history books with his fourth Intercontinental Championship in his tenured career. Now Zayn is approaching the 100 day mark as of this writing and he's already reached a spectacular milestone.

This reign is officially his longest-reigning singles title run across any championship that he's won in WWE. Zayn acknowledged the accomplishment on social media, writing, "Very proud of this time in my career. It's been a really great run, thanks for the support." Zayn's three previous reigns took place throughout 2020 and 2022 and it was his first main roster title win following his NXT call up in 2016.

So far, he's defeated some of WWE's largest stars -- both metaphorically and physically. Chad Gable, Bronson Reed, and most recently the former multi-time NXT Champion Bron Breakker who has shown to be a top prospect moving into WWE's Netflix era. That might not be the last of them, though, as Breakker could look to cut this reign short with SummerSlam in August. Following their title match on WWE Raw, Breakker at first appeared to be a good sport but quickly turned sour when he speared Zayn and attacked him after the match. A rematch could certainly be in the cards for the 26-year-old wrestler as he invoked his family's lineage on WWE Raw Talk.

"I have Sami Zayn and the Intercontinental Championship exactly where I want them to be. And look, yes, Sami Zayn defeated me at Money in the Bank. He defeated me in the biggest match of my entire career on my very first PLE, God forbid," Breakker said. "God forbid, Sami Zayn, a WrestleMania main eventer defeats me, a rookie, in my very first PLE. God forbid. You know what? Something's funny. I've been listening to all you people out there doubt me. All you people saying, 'Oh man, Bron fumbled the bag so bad, how's he ever gonna recover?'

"I'll tell you how. Because I know who I am. I'm the dawg. I am the badass around here, built upon effort, attitude and toughness. I am willing to scratch and claw and give everything that I have in my being to get back to Sami Zayn and winning the Intercontinental Championship. Because don't get it twisted. Yes, the marquee, the poster, it says 'Bron Breakker', but Sami Zayn, I'm about to whip your ass like a Steiner and take that Intercontinental Championship" (h/t: WrestleTalk).

Stay tuned to Comicbook for updates on WWE.

Decorated professional wrestler Giulia is set to release an autobiography about her life as a professional wrestler, making a name for herself all over Hapana including in STARDOM where she is a multi-time women's champion as well as some of her newest ventures in the business. Titled My Dream, the book is slated to release on August 23rd and is available to pre-order through various Japanese book retailers.

Giulia continues to cement her name in the history books of professional wrestling just a few short years after her debut. In her seven year career, she has become a two-time Artist of STARDOM Champion, a World of STARDOM Champion and a Goddesses of STARDOM Champion. Those accolades earned her interest from several companies including New Japan Pro Wrestling where she's the former NJPW STRONG Women's Champion, AEW and WWE where she is reportedly heading next.

Giulia appeared at the NXT Stand and Deliver Premium Live Event WrestleMania 40 weekend and was shown on screen for the very first time. She received a warm reception from fans which she has expressed being shocked by. Reports indicated she was originally supposed to debut in WWE this past weekend at NXT Heatwave but due to her injury and prior obligations that wasn't possible. However, another well respected female wrestler, Stephanie Vaquer, announced that she signed with WWE and Shawn Michaels let it slip that she may be competing for the NXT brand.

The synopsis for My Dream reads, "I am a professional wrestler. I live for my dreams. The biggest star in women's professional wrestling, both in popularity and ability, has written a book for the first time! From her turbulent upbringing to her professional debut, the death of Hana Kimura, the hair-cutting match, her determination to leave STARDOM and join Marigold, and her challenge to major overseas wrestling... Giulia, a professional wrestler who cannot be contained in a single category, has a story of her past and future."

Giulia joins a handful of female wrestlers that have written books about their lives and professional wrestling careers, including multi-time WWE Women's Champion Becky Lynch, Nikki and Brie Garcia (WWE's The Bella Twins), AJ Mendez (WWE's AJ Lee) and Ronda Rousey, to name a few. It remains to be seen when the book will become available overseas for fans in the United States and other countries so stay tuned to Comicbook for future updates.

Logan Paul has taken over WWE in just over two years. The social media superstar made his in-ring debut at WWE WrestleMania 38, teaming with The Miz to defeat Rey and Dominik Mysterio. Logan followed that up with an impressive singles showcase against The Miz later that year at WWE SummerSlam 2021 and parlayed that victory into an Undisputed WWE Universal Title match against Roman Reigns that fall. Since then, Logan has put on instant classics against Seth Rollins and Ricochet, captured viral moments in the Royal Rumble and Money in the Bank matches, and won gold in the form the WWE United States Championship.

Logan Paul Sets Sights on WWE Championship

The Maverick believes he will hold WWE's top prize one day.

Speaking on his Impaulsive podcast alongside co-host Mike Majlak and guests iShowSpeed and Kevin Durant, Logan Paul praised his current position within WWE and applauded the company's efforts at WWE WrestleMania 40. When Durant asked if he is going to keep doing it, Logan clarified that he is under contract and sees himself holding the WWE Championship eventually.

"It's a fantastic job. I'm going to do it, bro," Logan said. "I think I could become [WWE] champ if I just put my mind to it and commit."

Logan has had two cracks at WWE's biggest piece of gold since becoming a professional wrestler. He challenged Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WWE Crown Jewel 2022 and most recently Cody Rhodes at WWE King and Queen of the Ring 2024. While he came up short in both matches, Logan impressed in his ability to not only hang, but match the level of two of the biggest names in the sport.

In the foreseeable future, Logan is on a collision course with LA Knight. Logan and LA's feud began shortly after WWE WrestleMania 40, with the megastar attempting to track down Logan for a one-on-one title match. LA would get his hands on Logan in a triple threat Money in the Bank qualifying match, even pinning him to win the bout and advance to WWE Money in the Bank. With a pinfall victory over Logan, LA seems poised for a title shot as soon as August's WWE SummerSlam. Logan has reigned with the star-spangled gold since last November and recently eclipsed 250 days as champion.

WWE SummerSlam goes down on Saturday, August 3rd.

All Elite Wrestling has been backed into a corner multiple times when it comes to injured titleholders. AEW's woes began in Summer 2022 when newly-crowned AEW World Champion CM Punk broke his foot just three days after winning the company's top prize. AEW responded to this by crowning an Interim AEW World Champion in the form of Jon Moxley. The same situation happened later that fall in the women's division, with AEW Women's Champion Thunder Rosa going down with an injury and Toni Storm being crowned in the interim. The troubles continued down the card, as titleholders like AEW TNT Champion Adam Copeland, AEW International Champion Jon Moxley, and AEW Women's Champion Jamie Hayter have all been forced to either vacate or quickly lose their gold due to injuries.

AEW Strips Jay White and The Gunns of Trios Titles

As of this Saturday, Bullet Club Gold is no longer Unified Trios Champions.

During Wednesday's taping of AEW Collision, Interim AEW Executive Vice President Christopher Daniels stripped Jay White and The Gunns of both the AEW Trios and ROH Six-Man Tag Team Championships. White is currently off of television selling injuries suffered at the hands of a Christian Cage-led attack.

Bullet Club Gold attempted to push back on this decision, citing the "Freebird Rule" (which stipulates that any collection of a faction can step in to defend either their tag or trios titles), but Daniels would not allow Juice Robinson to slot in for White. It's worth noting that when Adam Cole and MJF were ROH Tag Team Champions, MJF was allowed to defend those titles by himself while Cole was injured.

Bullet Club Gold will get the chance to win back the Unified Trios Championships almost immediately, as the threesome of Robinson and The Gunns will face The Patriarchy for the vacant Unified Trios Titles at a later date. The Patriarchy is made up of Cage, Killswitch (Luchasaurus), and Nick Wayne.

This is the second time that the AEW Trios Championships have been vacated. The inaugural champions, Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks, were stripped of the titles just three days after first winning them for their involvement in the infamous post-show brawl with CM Punk after AEW All Out 2022. Omega and the Bucks would recapture the titles five months later once their suspension had been lifted.

AEW Collision airs this Saturday at 8 PM ET on TNT.

Darby Allin has returned to All Elite Wrestling, and it appears the beloved star is ready to get revenge on the members of The Elite. Allin had gone on a bit of a hiatus earlier this year, following Sting's retirement, and was planning to scale Mount Everest. An injury kept that dream from becoming a reality, but Allin was able to come back in May to take part in Anarchy in the Arena at Double or Nothing. The young daredevil has been away since that match in May, but surprised fans with his return on Wednesday's new edition of AEW Dynamite.

During the second half of Dynamite, Elite cameraman Brandon Cutler was seen backstage, with half of his face painted in the style of Darby Allin. Cutler was being attacked by Allin, who took away the camera to deliver a message to Jack Perry and the EVPs, Matthew and Nicholas Jackson.

"Jack Perry, what's that s--t you say? 'We all have to make sacrifices,'" Allin says into the camera. "Brandon just made his. Elite, you really thought this was over? Dynamite 250, we're just getting started."

"Elite you really think this was over? Dynamite 250, we're just getting started!" - Darby Allin.

Watch #AEWDynamite LIVE on TBS!@DarbyAllin pic.twitter.com/Jrsryk3sBE

-- All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) July 11, 2024

Next Wednesday night is the 250th episode of AEW Dynamite, and it's clear that Darby has big things planned for the special occasion. With Will Ospreay set to face MJF for the AEW International Championship. the episode has already got a pretty monumental feel to it, and Darby reigniting his feud with the Young Bucks and Jack Perry will certainly add to the excitement.

Given the timing of Allin's latest AEW return, fans will probably start wondering if he will be taking part in this year's Blood & Guts festivities. It's already known that Blood & Guts will be taking place in Nashville, TN on July 24th, one week after Dynamite 250. The Elite will be taking part in the violent match and AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland is set to captain their opponents, Team AEW. Blood & Guts is the kind of match that caters to a guy like Allin, and he's already got some real bad blood with the Elite, so it wouldn't come as much of a shock if he announces next Wednesday that he is also joining Team AEW.

Over the last year or so, much of Darby Allin's work in AEW was directly tied to Sting, Darby's mentor and tag team partner, who was preparing to hang up his boots and retire from professional wrestling. He did so by defending the AEW Tag Team Championships alongside Darby at Revolution earlier this year. Now, Darby will once again have the opportunity to make a run on his own.

The main event of tonight's AEW Dynamite was the second of two Owens Hart Foundation Tournament matches, but it delivered far more than just a new Champion. There was already intrigue going into the match, as if Willow Nightingale won she would become a two-time Tournament winner. If Marian May won, she would earn the chance to face her mentor Toni Storm at AEW All In, and Toni was there to watch her protege win that opportunity. The match was thrilling throughout and even featured a run-in from Kris Statlander, and ultimately it was May who would walk away the winner. That's when things took a surprising turn though, as May turned on Storm and brutally attacked her, making it clear that their friendship and partnership is now 100% over.

Nightingale vs May

Nightingale and May traded holds at the start of the match, but eventually, things got broken up and reset. Nightingale won the power battle and shoved May into the corner for a nasty chop, and then May got knocked down with a shoulder tackle. May got some offense in next, hitting a dropkick to the face and a powerful chop of her own, and then May threw Nightingale into the ropes and hit a forearm to the back of Nightingale's head, followed by a dropkick to the back.

Nightingale kicked out of the pin attempt quickly and then absorbed a few hard chops from May, and that clearly ticked her off because she spun May around and slammed her down for a cover. May kicked out but then Nightingale hit a crossbody into another pin, though May kicked out again. Nightingale then dove out of the ring and collided with May, knocking May to the floor.

While Nightingale continued to control the match during Picture in Picture, May got back into the match though with a big dropkick and a slam, but Nightingale kicked out of the pin attempt. Nightingale knocked May into the corner and followed it up with a big forearm shot and a spinebuster into a cover, but May kicked out once again.

Nightingale then went for a sharpshooter, but May fought out before she could lock it in. May then hit a suplex and hit a big uppercut, but Nightingale was able to reverse a throw, only to get countered and hit with a series of strikes. Nightingale was up top and got hit with a hurricanrana into a pin, but Nightingale kicked out once more. May looked a bit frustrated and then missed a knee strike, which Nightingale capitalized on by hitting a Fisherman's suplex. May kicked out of the pin and then hit a huge head butt that knocked both stars down to the mat.

Then someone with a hooded sweatshirt ran to the ring and started messing with Nightingale, and it turned out to be Stokely Hathaway, as Kris Statlander then hit Nightingale with a knee strike to the head. That left her vulnerable for a kick and a pin by May, but Nightingale somehow kicked out. May picked Nightingale up but then set up a pin attempt, only for Nightingale to kick out again. Nightingale hit a lariat on May and went for the pin, but May kicked out once more. May crawled to the corner and Nightingale got ready to charge, hitting a cannonball. Nightingale picked up May into a fireman's carry, but May reversed into a cover and got it, winning the Owen Hart Foundation Women's Tournament.

Loyal No More

Toni Storm couldn't have been more thrilled for her protege, and she jumped in the ring to celebrate with May. They celebrated in the ring and then headed out of the ring and celebrated some more, hugging and skipping up the ramp for May to collect her Championship Title. Unfortunately, that's where the celebration ended, as May took the Title and suddenly attacked Storm repeatedly with it. Then May alternated between hitting Storm and Luther with it until she ultimately knocked Luther off the stage to the level below.

When May turned her attention back to Storm, the Champion was bleeding quite a bit from her forehead, but May didn't stop the attack in the least. May kicked Storm in the stomach and then hit several more times with the Title before lifting Storm up to the camera. May has clearly made a statement here, and now that she's won a Title shot at All In, she will look to make sure Storm no longer rules the women's division.

What did you think of the turn and the episode? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

The 2024 edition of All Elite Wrestling's Owen Hart Foundation Tournament upped the ante by granting the winners a World Championship opportunity. The men's side of the tournament came to an end on Wednesday, pitting two absolute titans of AEW against one another for a wildly anticipated matchup. Bryan Danielson, on the final full-time run of his career, went to the Owen Hart final to face "Hangman" Adam Page, who has been completely unhinged since his return. Of course, when an unstoppable force meets and immovable object, something has to give.

Much to the shock of everyone in attendance and all those watching at home, Bryan Danielson took home the victory, and was presented with the Owen Hart Cup by the late wrestling legend's close friend, Jeff Jarrett. Danielson, not Hangman, will be facing Swerve Strickland for the AEW World Championship at All In.

A bleeding Danielson fought tooth and nail to stay in the match, after Hangman absolutely obliterated him outside the ring. The American Dragon was nearly counted out, struggling to even get up off the floor. Things only got uglier from there. Hangman beat Danielson down in merciless fashion, despite a last-ditch knee strike that almost gave Danielson a shot.

Some help from "Special Enforcer" Jeff Jarrett couldn't stop Page's onslaught. He entered as a referee after Paul Turner was knocked out, but Page still seemed to be on the offensive. Things changed after Danielson was nearly choked out, as a brilliant reversal put Hangman in a vulnerable position and cost him the match.

Hangman Page's Warpath

The match was intense from the very first bell, which is to be expected given the absolute warpath Hangman has been on, determined to earn a title shot and get revenge on AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland.

If you recall, Swerve and Hangman ignited a heated rivalry during Strickland's ascension to AEW's top spot. At the time, Swerve was the one playing dirty, going as far as to break into Hangman's house and spy on his child just to get inside fhe former champ's head. The actions were despicable, but the AEW fans eventually found a way to fall in love with Swerve, and he became one of the most popular names in the company on his way to taking the title from Samoa Joe.

When Hangman finally returned to AEW action last week, he returned to a world he barely understood. He watched Swerve threaten his family and hang him from the ring with a chain. The man is a force of evil in Hangman's eyes, but the crowds love and praise him. This clearly broke something inside Page, as he has gone full heel in his quest for revenge. Bryan Danielson, unfortunately, was another person standing in the way of that mission.

MJF went from most beloved to most hated over the course of a week thanks to his brutal turn on Daniel Garcia, and that was before he went on a tirade about how the AEW fans threw him to the side for others while he was away. Tonight MJF was also a topic of discussion, though mostly from the point of view of Will Ospreay, who delivered a promo about the role he plays in AEW and why it's bothering MJF so much since he returned. Ospreay also gave an update on Garcia, revealing that he still doesn't have feeling in his arms and is not close to a return to the ring. MJF would respond to Ospreay, and after their back and forth a challenge was given for the International Championship on Dynamite.

An Update on Garcia

Ospreay started out his promo by addressing MJF's actions against Garcia. "So last week at the end of Dynamite I'll be honest with you guys, I was appalled and disgusted, but being honest, I'm not surprised. I have heard rumors about MJF, I've heard rumors that you are one of the most insecure men in pro wrestling. And you showed it, because a guy like Daniel Garcia earns every opportunity he gets, and the moment that he starts creeping up on MJF's popularity, he does whatever it takes to stop it," Ospreay said.

"Daniel Garcia is still at home now with no feeling in his arms and no idea on when he's going to come back to pro wrestling, if he comes back, and you want to blame the people. You want to blame them for opening up and being vulnerable to them, you being open, and you've spoken about your ADD. Bruv, I have ADHD and it doesn't give me an excuse to be a little prick," Ospreay said.

Why You Don't Like Me

"Listen right, I've only had a few interactions with MJF, and I can already tell you don't like me. Reason 1, that bidding war of 2024 didn't really go your way, because Tony Khan would rather spend his money on guys who would elevate AEW rather than bury it," Ospreay said. "Reason no. 2, apparently I'm a talentless hack. Alright, you're welcome to that opinion, but last time I checked I'm in Calgary yeah. Very well-educated, smart, pro wrestling fans, I think we CAN all agree I've goT more talent in my left nUT than you do in your entire body bruv."

"And I think the main reason you don't like me is because I remind people what the identity of AEW is meant to be. I represent the foundation of this place. You came swarming back after your injury and you had a tattoo on your calf with AEW, bet on yourself, but if you were really honest, it would say AEW, all about myself you selfish little prick. You only care about yourself, and I'll be honest with you guys, the moment I stepped foot in AEW, I've been cleaning up someone else's mess, and I found the guy I've been cleaning up after," Ospreay said.

MJF's music hit and then MJF appeared on screen. "I've beaten every one of their favorites that they thought were top guys and guess what, they all fell beneath my feet. Do you think you're any different? I don't have to murder myself to get them interested in me. I just have to speak," MJF said. "The difference is I'm not replaceable. You on the other hand?"

MJF wasn't about to answer a challenge tonight, but he had a challenge of his own to make for next week. "Say next week MJF vs Will Ospreay for the international championship. That way for the first time in your career you won't be wrestling for stars Will, I'll be punching you in the face until you start seeing them," MJF said.

Are you excited for next week? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

Earlier today it was revealed that CMLL World Women's Champion and former NJPW Strong Women's Champion Stephanie Vaquer was possibly departing the company and headed to WWE or AEW, and now the news is official. Not only were those initial reports true, but WWE then came out and outright confirmed it, with Shawn Michaels welcoming Vaquer to WWE on Twitter. Michaels tweeted, "Welcome to the WWE Family, @Steph_Vaquer. See you in Orlando!" That does indicate that Vaquer will be showing up on the gold brand before making appearances on Raw and SmackDown, and it's another big get for an already stacked NXT Women's Division. There's no timetable on when she will appear, but we'll keep you posted when we know more.

Moving to WWE

Vaquer's name has come up quite a bit after her feud with Mercedes Mone over the NJPW Strong Women's Championship, which took place at AEW Forbidden Door. The match was highly praised, and though Vaquer was on the losing end of the match, it wasn't long before reports indicated that both WWE and AEW had significant interest in recruiting her. It turns out there was a lot of truth to those reports, as now Vaquer is part of WWE and will likely debut in NXT soon.

As for when, that remains to be seen, but NXT has had a pattern with big signings. They often debut at a premium live event or a special episode of NXT first, appearing in the crowd so that WWE can highlight them on commentary and introduce fans to the fact that they are set to debut soon. Great American Bash is coming up not too long from now, which would be a great place for a debut, but having her appear ahead of that even would also allow her to have a match on the card depending on timing.

Saying Goodbye

In a tweeted statement, Vaquer announced her departure from CMLL and NJPW, saying that she was vacating the Championships while also apologizing for missing scheduled dates. She did highlight that it was simply due to terms between companies, and apologized for not being able to attend. Her full statement reads, "At this moment I stop belonging to the ranks of CMLL and NJPW. Clarify, I AM LEAVING THROUGH THE BIG DOOR, forever grateful to the WORLD WRESTLING COUNCIL AND NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING, and in the best terms. From today I vacate the CMLL World Women's Championship as well as the CMLL World Women's Couples Championship.

For which I offer an apology to the fans. For obvious reasons, I will not be present at the next shows and I hope you can understand that the terms between companies are what lead to this statement. With Mexico in my heart and with the commitment to represent Mexican wrestling wherever I go. Infinite thanks to SR Salvador Lutteroth for his good wishes and also to all the unconditional support of my people and my colleagues. THANK YOU"

Are you excited for Vaquer in WWE NXT? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb

Professional wrestling's free agent pool is as populated as it's ever been. The westward expansion of New Japan Pro Wrestling in the 2010s combined with the launch of All Elite Wrestling in 2019 has given talent from across the industry multiple legitimate landing spots, a far cry from the monopoly that WWE had on the business for much of the 2000s. For the first time in decades, there are actual bidding wars for talent, evident by WWE and AEW's simultaneous pushes for stars like Will Ospreay, Mercedes Mon?, Finn B?lor, and more. While the first half of 2024 tied up a lot of prospective free agents in lengthy deals, there remains a number of players seeking a big contract.

Stephanie Vaquer Abruptly Exits NJPW and CMLL

Another top name has become a free agent.

As announced in a press release, Stephanie Vaquer has abruptly exited both New Japan Pro Wrestling and CMLL, citing "personal reasons." Vaquer was an active member of both companies' rosters, competing for NJPW since 2023 and CMLL since 2019.

CMLL has made significant changes as a result of Vaquer's departure. Her scheduled match against Lluvia at CMLL Fantasicamania on July 13th has been cancelled and she has been stripped of both the CMLL World Women's and World Women's Tag Team Championships. As a replacement, a new CMLL World Women's Champion will be crowned at the event in a three-way bout pitting Lluvia against NJPW's Viva Van and AEW's Willow Nightingale.

? ANUNCIO ESPECIAL CMLL-NJPW
Queremos informarles que Stephanie Vaquer de forma abrupta nos ha comunicado que no participar?, porrazones personales, en su pr?ximo combate en FantasticaMania USA. A partir de hoy, tambi?n deja de pertenecer al talento del CMLL y NJPW. pic.twitter.com/OhsxtHeRDw

-- Lucha Libre CMLL (@CMLL_OFICIAL) July 10, 2024

Fightful Select reports that Vaquer has had talks with both WWE and AEW. Both of those companies have "maintained interest" in acquiring Vaquer.

Vaquer recently had a mini run with AEW, feuding with AEW TBS Champion Mercedes Mon? in the build up to AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door. At that event, then-NJPW STRONG Women's Champion Vaquer and Mon? battled in a bout with both of their titles on the line. Mon? defeated Vaquer and left the UBS Arena as a double champion. Fightful added that AEW sources present at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door believe that Vaquer is WWE bound.

WWE signing Vaquer would be the latest prestigious addition to its women's division. WWE recently signed former multi-time STARDOM Champion and former NJPW STRONG Women's Champion Guilia. She is expected to make her official WWE debut at some point this summer.

Finn Balor has a new lease on life within The Judgment Day. The Prince linked up with the brooding faction in Summer 2022 in a "can't beat 'em, join 'em" scenario. Ever since then, Balor has been a staple of WWE Monday Night Raw, often finding himself in and around the flagship show's main event. Balor has enjoyed high-profile singles feuds with the likes of WWE Hall of Famer Edge and then-WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins during this time and has captured WWE tag gold on three occasions. He currently reigns with the WWE World Tag Team Championship alongside tag partner and stablemate JD McDonagh.

Finn Balor Reflects on His "Lowest" Career Moment

Before The Judgment Day came into his life, Finn Balor was going through the motions.

"I haven't said this publicly, ever, but the two months before I turned heel was probably the lowest I'd been in my career with respect to investment level, the personal investment," Balor told What's The Story. "I was just showing up. I was going, 'Yeah, who do you want me to lose to today?' It was just kind of the same s--t that I'd been doing over and over again, and I was doing the same act for so long, and I just felt like I had so much more to give."

Balor's main roster run had been very start-stop until he joined The Judgment Day. His frustrations with his momentum led him to return to NXT in Fall 2019, a move that significantly revitalized his career. When he attempted to parlay that resurrected momentum to the main roster once again in Summer 2021, Balor once again found himself directionless.

"It wasn't anyone's fault. There were a lot of factors that led to this," Balor continued. "One of them was COVID because COVID meant that my green card process got all f--ked up, and then, because of that, I had to go home to Ireland for two months right before WrestleMania, so then I was kind of out of the buildup to WrestleMania."

At the time, WWE Hall of Famer Edge was building a stable of talents he saw as being underutilized. Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley were the first two to join, and Balor was next on his list.

"It was Edge who was the one who said, 'No, I want this guy. We're not using him enough. I want him in Judgment Day,'" Balor recalled. "That's kind of where things started to turn. Eventually, I turned on Edge because I think someone got injured, and they needed to turn Edge back babyface or something like that. One domino falls, the whole stack goes."

WWE NXT had a few surprises up its sleeve tonight, including a reunion of an NXT Tag Team, but it saved its biggest surprise for last. Earlier in the night Brooks Jensen got reinstated to NXT and then proceeded to attack Je'Von Evans, which eliminated him from being able to tag with Trick Williams against Ethan Page and Shawn Spears. Williams tried to find another tag partner but it wasn't revealed who that would be until the match was about to start, and then it was revealed to be none other than TNA's Joe Hendry. Hendry and Williams would end up getting the win, but Williams wasn't sure what to make of his new ally, and the commentary team played up the fact that we could have a new championship contender in the mix, teasing a future Title shot.

A New Tag Partner

The crowd was in on Hendry from the beginning, even doing the wave right along with him. When the match started Williams hit Page and then knocked him down before throwing Spears into the ring and clocking him with multiple strikes in the corner. Williams then knocked Page for a loop before tagging Hendry in, who threw Spears up for a slam and then hit an impressive vertical suplex on Page. Williams went up top and knocked Spears down with a crossbody soon after.

Back from break, Hendry was able to break out of a hold from Page and tag in Williams, who knocked Page down with a roundhouse kick. Page came back and knocked Williams to the floor before throwing him back in the ring to Spears, but then Oro Mensah changed up everything when he ran in and started attacking Page. That caused Page to have to hop the barricade and run, leaving Spears on his own.

A New Title Challenger?

Hendry had Spears and hit him with a fallaway slam before more chants of "we believe" hit. Spears wasn't happy and then Hendry threw him out of the ring so he could get hit with a Trick Shot. Hendry then lifted Spears and hit the big slam for a pin and the win, getting his first pin in NXT. A fist bump between the two winners followed and then they celebrated with some arm waves, but the commentary team started to play up the fact that NXT could have a new challenger to the NXT Championship here with Hendry, especially if he's sticking around. Williams' expression of wariness echoed this, and it looks as if Hendry and Williams might have to clash sooner rather than later if that's the case.

While NXT might not have been prepared for just how big a reception Hendry received in his first appearance, they seem fully aware of it now. NXT teased Hendry's return repeatedly over the past few days and even ended NXT Heatwave with Hendry's turning towards the camera. If they're ending their PLE with a Hendry tease, it's clear they know he's a draw, and that continued throughout tonight's episode, with more teases of Hendry. He didn't show up until the end of the show, but his presence was clearly felt.

What did you think of Hendry's appearance on NXT? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

Tonight's episode of WWE NXT featured yet another surprise TNA crossover, but this crossover was also a long-awaited reunion for Superstar Wes Lee. Lee went out to the ring to address the crowd and his future in NXT after losing his battle for the North American Championship against Oba Femi at NXT Heatwave. Lee seemed like he was about to leave NXT (much to the crowd's dismay), but then he was interrupted by familiar music, and it was none other than TNA stars Zachary Wentz and Trey Miguel. Wentz actually debuted alongside Lee in NXT as MSK, and before that, they were part of a team with Miguel known as The Rascalz, so this was a reunion on multiple fronts. The trio is sticking around for a while in NXT, and they all shared a hug in the ring before the segment came to a close.

Rascalz Reunion

Wentz and Miguel interrupted Lee's promo as he was about to announce his departure from NXT, and the crowd chanted welcome back as they approached Lee in the ring. "You're about to say something stupid, we don't want to see Wes Lee go," Wentz said. "We have missed you so much. I can't believe we're here." More welcome back chants kicked in, and Lee said, "Just like all of them I have missed you so damn much. And look, I've been watching everything. I am really proud of the men you have become."

Miguel said, "We know", and then Wentz said, "Look, this isn't about us, this is about you. You are the greatest North American Champion ever!" Then Miguel added, "And on top of that, the two of you, are the best tag team to step foot in this very building." Wentz said, "So this is what we came for. We are here in NXT. I think it is time we get MSK back together. And, I think it's time the Rascalz wreck shop around here, what do you think?" Rascalz chants broke out and they all hugged, closing out the segment.

Where Have They Been?

Back in January of 2021, Wentz (going by Nash Carter) and Lee debuted in NXT as MSK, and they would quickly become fan favorites and Championship contenders. They would win the 2021 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic and later would go on to become two-time NXT Tag Team Champions, with their last match together being at NXT Stand & Deliver in 2022. They would never get a chance to defend those Titles though, as Wentz was released by WWE shortly after the release of a photo depicting him giving the nazi salute. Wentz would apologize for the photo in a statement (via Wrestling Inc) but didn't return to WWE. Later he joined Impact Wrestling and reunited with Miguel, and now he has returned to NXT.

What did you think of tonight's NXT? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb.

WWE's broadcast booth continues to evolve. The global leader in sports-entertainment currently has three two-man booths across its three weekly in-ring shows, those being the pair of Michael Cole and Pat McAfee on WWE Monday Night Raw, Corey Graves and Wade Barrett on WWE SmackDown, and Vic Joseph and Booker T on WWE NXT. All six of those commentators have been within the WWE system for multiple years and have been cycled throughout the three shows, as every aforementioned name has experience on at least two of WWE's three products. The most recent pivot within the system was Graves shifting from color commentary to play-by-play, as he took over lead announcing duties on the blue brand this past January.

WWE SmackDown Broadcast Team Shifts Again

Just six months later, the WWE SmackDown announce table is playing musical chairs once again.

As announced in a press release, WWE has hired veteran broadcaster Joe Tessitore as a play-by-play announcer. Tessitore currently also works for ESPN and ABC where he has called ESPN Monday Night Football, the College Football Playoff, and World Championship boxing matches of Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder, and Terence Crawford.

"Whether it's a world title fight that's got the globe buzzing or a college football rivalry that's grabbed the nation's attention, Joe's voice provides that big event feel each time he is behind the microphone," WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque said. "We're excited for Joe to join legendary WWE broadcaster Michael Cole and our esteemed announce team, bringing his signature energy and meticulous preparation to our WWE telecasts each week."

Tessitore is slated to "work alongside analysts Wade Barrett and Corey Graves." Given that he has been hired to be a play-by-play announcer, this indicates that Graves will pivot back to being a color commentator and WWE SmackDown will once again be a three-man booth. The WWE Monday Night Raw booth of Michael Cole and Pat McAfee remains unchanged.

"It's an honor to be a part of WWE. The recent success and trajectory are undeniable," Tessitore said. "Being there at WrestleMania XL, one could feel it - from Cody, Seth, Roman and The Rock, to creative and production, these are some of the very best storytellers in TV. Corey and Wade are absolute stars and it is my privilege to join their team. Pat and Cole are just magical together and Cole is the greatest to ever sit in that chair. As a lifelong viewer, I'm humbled to join this team and to serve our fans."

Tessitore is set to begin with WWE later this summer.

To close this week's WWE Raw, Liv Morgan teamed with The Judgment Day's Dominik Mysterio against Zelina Vega and Rey Mysterio. The two sides have been going at it for a while, but last week when Vega challenged Morgan for the Women's World Championship and Dom got involved. Rey made sure he didn't pull any funny business, but it set up their tag match for this week. Morgan has been trying to align herself with the group since Rhea Ripley announced her unfortunate injury following WrestleMania. She wants to take everything from the former Women's Champion -- including Dirty Dom.

Reports have been circling for quite a few days that Ripley may return to television soon. If not in a wrestling capacity, they at least want her presence back on screen. They have built her into a few storylines but it makes the most sense for her to come straight back into the title picture given that's where she left off. Backstage during the show, Priest answered a phone call asking the person on the line where they are at. He was in good spirits, leading fans to wonder if it could be Ripley on the other end.

MAMI'S BACK! ?#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/RYciCsrkS3

-- WWE (@WWE) July 9, 2024

After their tag match win, Morgan wanted to celebrate with Mysterio, pulling him into an embrace which caused the both of them to lose their balance and fall onto the ring mat. Morgan took is as her opportunity to try to pull a fast one on him and kiss him, but "Mami" quickly thwarted those plans. Ripley stormed the ring with her eyes locked on Mysterio. Morgan made a break for it, running through the crowd. When Ripley got in the ring she appeared to question Dom and his intentions, but as she stared into him, he couldn't do anything but look down.

For weeks the rest of the group has been trying to get Mysterio to lay off Morgan but he makes little to no actual effort in that department. Every time he says he's going to call her out or put a stop to things, he's always at the scene of the crime helping her retain her championship one way or another. Priest has relayed to Mysterio that "Mami" isn't happy with him, but that still wasn't enough. Not to mention, he previously lied to them about being in contact with her in the first place. Hopefully now that Ripley is back she can set him straight, but in the meantime, if she's cleared in time for SummerSlam, a match between herself and Morgan seems more likely than ever.

Stay tuned to Comicbook for updates on WWE.

It looks like Bo Dallas is going to be back in action very soon. The longtime WWE Superstar, and brother of the late Bray Wyatt, hasn't appeared in a match for the company since 2019, but has been sporadically appearing as the masked Uncle Howdy character since 2022. In recent weeks, the Howdy character has been featured more heavily, leading a faction known as the Wyatt Sicks and appearing in haunting vignettes. Some of the recent videos even featured Dallas sitting face-to-face with his Howdy alter ego, but this week's new episode of Monday Night Raw saw Dallas finally make his in-person return.

While Dallas has appeared as Uncle Howdy and in pre-packed videos on Monday Night Raw, he hasn't shown up live as himself, ready to get back to action in the ring. That changed on Monday, July 8th, after a new Wyatt Sicks video. Chad Gable, a victim of the Wyatt Sicks attacks last month, was complaining to Raw GM Adam Pearce about getting the group under control, feeling as though they're still targeting him. After Gable walked away, Pearce opened the door to his office to reveal Bo Dallas sitting in a chair, waiting to speak with him.

It's important to note that Dallas goes through a bit of a shift in his mannerisms after Pearce enters the room, hinting at the personality split with Uncle Howdy. At the end of the below video, you'll see Dallas rocking back and forth in the chair, seemingly dealing with some awful fear or anxiety, until he notices Pearce in the room. Dallas immediately changes his behavior, sits up, and smiles at the GM.

Wait for it...#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/7jaQKDM2yD

-- WWE (@WWE) July 9, 2024

This in-person return for Dallas comes after yet another eerie video tape from the new Wyatt faction that was left with the commentators earlier in the episode. The video shows off the other members of the Wyatt Sicks (Joe Gacy, Dexter Lumis, Erick Rowan, Nikki Cross) as Dallas tells Uncle Howdy about how they're all ready to be free.

"My family. I took those who no one wanted. The discarded, the forgotten. I gave them a purpose," Dallas says. "They're so happy that you remembered them. Because being a glutton for punishment doesn't make abandonment hurt any less. Forsaken, alone, begging for mercy as the buzzards circled. There's been loss; too much. But grief is the price you pay for love. But now, we must set the captives free, so they need no master. Do you think I... Do you think we are sick?"

After Howdy responds with "Yes, I do," Dallas delivers the chilling final lines of the video: "Then sick is what we'll be."

Dallas' in-ring WWE return hasn't been announced just yet, but with his appearance in Pearce's office taking place on Monday night, and SummerSlam around the corner, it wouldn't be surprising to see him in action very soon.

At WWE Money in the Bank, Seth Rollins got his title rematch against Damian Priest after his devastating loss at WrestleMania 40. The match was squared until Drew McIntyre decided to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase the same night he won it. CM Punk rained on his parade by preventing him from winning the championship, allowing Priest to narrowly retain. The only person that truly lost in the situation was Rollins, and he made his feelings immediately known to Punk as he stood irate ringside staring daggers at him.

His emotions carried over to Monday Night Raw where Punk was talking to the fans in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Rollins interrupted his festivities and got straight to the point, asking Punk why he had to stick his nose in his business when he was warned not to. Punk reminds him he was handling his own business that has become personal to him. McIntyre is running around with a bracelet with his wife and dog's name on it and he's going to get his "pound of flesh." Punk says he doesn't have problems with Rollins but he apologizes if he ruined things for him at Money in the Bank. But because it's Rollins, he can't really be that sorry.

What has CM Punk so infuriated right now?#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/9uf61maq1u

-- WWE (@WWE) July 9, 2024

Rollins calls him a gaslighter and says he's probably never genuinely apologized for anything because he doesn't think he's wrong about anything. Rollins promises that once Punk is cleared, he won't even be able to utter McIntyre's name because he's going to snap his arm again and put him back on the shelf. The World Heavyweight Championship means everything to him and since he no longer can challenge for it, he promises to take something from Punk too -- much like McIntyre said.

Ever since Punk debuted in WWE, there has been threads to a storyline with Rollins. Originally the two were supposed to wrestle for the championship at WrestleMania, but Punk wound up injured, forcing them to pivot. With the former World Heavyweight Champion recovered from his own injury, a match between the two may happen sooner than later. SummerSlam is just a month away and there's no current plans for either wrestler, but from the promo, it appears like it could be a triple threat situation when McIntyre's "suspension" is lifted.

Stay tuned to Comicbook for updates on WWE.

Ethan Page had been with AEW for several years but over the last few years he hadn't been used in storylines as much as many fans would have liked. Earlier this year he quietly exited the company as Internet sleuths had realized his photo was removed from AEW's roster page. Just a few weeks later he popped up in NXT to confront the NXT Champion Trick Williams. He has been heavily involved in the title scene since his debut, which head of NXT Creative Shawn Michaels revealed was a "last minute thing."

Page recently opened up in one of his first interviews post-AEW release on WWE stars Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson's Talk'n Shop podcast. As all three men were once on the AEW roster at the same time and now they're in WWE, Page discussed the differences he's found between both companies. In his experience, one is far more chaotic than the other.

"Pretty crazy. I went from somewhere that was so chaotic and unorganized to a place that, I mean I'm still learning because I'm still so new here, but this is a machine and it's incredible," Page said. "It feels good to not feel like I have to do everything myself. To have people that want to see me succeed is kind of mind blowing."

Michaels has made it clear that he's high on Page and at NXT Heatwave that proved to be true when he snagged up the NXT Championship from Williams. The result left fans divided, while many were stunned, others were excited to see Page get the push they have felt he's deserved for a long time.

Page also discussed how his release from AEW came about, explaining that it was time for him to leave. Prior to his departure, he appeared to be in a Ring of Honor storyline with ROH World Television Champion Kyle Fletcher but that was quickly scrapped. "It was definitely time to leave. I could sit in catering for the next three years and my career would end or I try and do something before my career ends." Page admitted that he's been a lifelong WWE fan and that it was his dream to join the company.

When he received a phone call during an independent booking, he couldn't believe it was real and it led to a follow-up call with WWE higher-ups. "I was like, 'this is not real,' and they were like, 'yes it is, here's the offer,' and I was like, 'yes,' and then they hung up. I was like, 'wait a second, that was a real phone call that just happened?'" (h/t: Wrestling Inc).

Stay tuned to Comicbook for updates on WWE.

Leading into WWE Money in the Bank, Drew McIntyre heavily played into CM Punk's family life, referencing AJ Mendez (former WWE star AJ Lee) on more than one occasion. He also stole Punk's bracelet with Lee and their dog Larry's name, and he's been parading around with it ever since. The Money in the Bank pre-show teased Lee at several points, including a moment from Big E, mentioning his early days on the main roster and quoting her theme song. While nothing is ever definitive in wrestling, this seemed a little too obvious to completely write off.

Is A WWE Return from AJ Lee in the Cards?

However, the show came and went and there was no sign of Lee, disappointing fans that hope to see the former Divas Champion in a ring again. Punk did spoil McIntyre's cash-in of the briefcase, allowing Damian Priest to retain the World Heavyweight Championship and seemingly setting up their SummerSlam match if Punk gets cleared. Speaking at the WWE Money in the Bank press conference, Punk was asked about Lee potentially stepping in the ring again. While he doesn't want to speak for her, he explains that it's a "brave new world."

"Hmmm...I appreciate the question," Punk said. "You would have to ask my wife, but she's not here. She's taking care of Larry. I don't want to fall in the trap of saying, 'Never say never.' I don't want to give people false hope, I also will not put words in her mouth and say, 'I think this could happen.' I think this is a brave new world. And I don't think a lot of people thought I was gonna show up. It's really all on her" (h/t: WrestleZone).

Lee was with WWE from 2010 until 2015 and although she had a fairly short career compared to many of her contemporaries, she accomplished a lot in very little time. During that era of women's wrestling, it was all about the "Divas" but Lee's character prided herself on being the "anti-Diva." She wore knee-high Chuck Taylors and dressed more tomboy compared to the other women at the time decked out in rhinestones and bright colors. Because of this, fans took to her quickly and she was able to open doors for the women that led to more time in matches and on-screen promo time. Her last match took place in March of 2015 on a random episode of Monday Night Raw and she retired a three-time Divas Champion.

At the press conference, Punk also clued fans in on what Mendez has been up to recently as she has started her own production company. Mendez has been busy working on writing projects, as well as acting in Sacramento with Kristen Stewart and Michael Cera and several episodes of Heels season 2. She previously helped with the relaunch of WOW - Women of Wrestling in 2021, boarding the women's promotion as an executive producer. She departed the company last year when her contract expired.

Stay tuned to Comicbook for updates on WWE.

At the beginning of 2024, it was revealed that Kazuchika Okada's contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling would be coming to an end. After a decade and a half competing in the company, they amicably went their separate ways, but not before Okada vowed to finish out any dates he was still scheduled for. Many rumors about what The Rainmaker was going to do soon followed, as it's been no secret every major company has been interested in signing him for years. Ultimately, AEW beat them out and he's been aligned with The Elite ever since, spreading his wings in a refreshing heel persona as the Continental Champion.

Although Okada is no longer with the Japanese promotion, he still has some involvement as an AEW star. At AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door he teamed with the Young Bucks against newly appointed NJPW President Hiroshi Tanahashi and The Acclaimed where The Elite continued their reign of dominance over AEW. His official debut in AEW came at AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door 2022 in a fatal four-way for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, with a handful of appearances thereafter. He has been a champion in AEW since March when he defeated Eddie Kingston, so far holding the Continental Championship for over 100 days and counting.

Now New Japan Pro Wrestling is releasing a documentary on the legendary wrestler, The Rainmaker: Kazuchika Okada Untold Story. From the trailer it appears as though fans get a rare glimpse at Okada's personal life with his family and the lead up to his big decision to leave Japan. The documentary is available for purchase now on New Japan World for $19.99 but it will only be available until July 31st. There are two versions available: the Japanese version and the English version which contains subtitles.

?Kazuchika Okada Untold Story The Rainmaker?

The Documentary of Kazuchika Okada

Limited Time PPV on NJPWWORLD Until July 31st!

Purchase Here
?https://t.co/TIMihzjOgW
Viewing Fee: $19.99
?Purchase via Web Browser#njpwworld #KazuchikaOkada pic.twitter.com/hRb9qAhJSR

-- NJPW WORLD (@njpwworld) July 8, 2024

Outside of terrorizing the locker rooms on AEW programming every week, Okada can be seen next teaming with The Elite in the fourth annual Blood and Guts match which will take place on the July 24th episode of AEW Dynamite. The Elite as a group are competing in their second event, but the group has changed a ton over the last year. In 2023, The Golden Elite -- Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks, "Hangman" Adam Page and Kota Ibushi reunited to go up against The Blackpool Combat Club, Konosuke Takeshita and PAC. This time around, they've added Okada and new AEW Champion Jack Perry to the mix, Okada and Perry's first time in this environment.

Stay tuned to Comicbook for updates on AEW and NJPW.

Damian Priest left Toronto with his WWE World Heavyweight Championship, but not without some unexpected help. WWE Money in the Bank saw Priest defend the WWE World Heavyweight Title against inaugural champion Seth Rollins in a high-stakes bout. If Rollins lost, he would never be allowed to challenge for the prize for the remainder of Priest's reign. If Priest lost, he would have to leave his faction, The Judgment Day. Prior to Mr. Money in the Bank Drew McIntyre attempting to play spoiler, Rollins laid out Priest with a Falcon Arrow, resulting in referee Rod Zapada counting the 1-2. Despite Priest not kicking out, Zapada stopped the count prior to three.

Backstage Reaction to WWE's Botched Money in the Bank Pinfall

WWE has moved on.

As reported by insider account @WrestleVotes, there is "no real heat" on referee Rod Zapada following the botched pinfall count during the WWE World Heavyweight Championship bout between champion Damian Priest and challenger Seth Rollins. It was added that "in years past" there would have "absolutely" been blame and consequence placed on him.

"Referee's decision is final," WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque said during the WWE Money in the Bank post-show press conference. "I'm looking forward to having a conversation with the referee to see what he saw that I didn't see, that you didn't see, that no one saw. Human beings in a ring, mistakes happen, things happen. It is what it is."

Rollins himself did not look pleased during the match, as WWE cameras caught him saying, "Oh, f--k off," to Zapada.

am i trippin or did seth say "oh fuck off" to the ref??? pic.twitter.com/nzxpO00U8u

-- maddy (@rhodecross) July 7, 2024

"It's a shame that that's all people will talk about," Triple H continued, referencing how the botched pin overshadowed what ended up being a great match. "That's just the negative outweighs the positive sometimes, and to me, I wish I could just go in the back, shut off his phone, have no one talk to him for a while and just let him think about all the other great stuff that happened in that and the roll that he has been on and how great of a job he has done as world champion, and what he's done to get there and deserve it. He deserves all the credit in the world for all those things."

Fallout from WWE Money in the Bank begins tonight on WWE Monday Night Raw on USA Network at 8 PM ET.

WWE Money in the Bank 2024 changed the landscape of sports-entertainment forever. Going into the premium live event, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque teased that the summer staple would alter the course of the company's trajectory, a promise that was made true by John Cena officially announcing his upcoming in-ring retirement tour. Beyond that, WWE Money in the Bank saw Tiffany Stratton become Ms. Money in the Bank, Bron Breakker suffer his first main roster loss, Drew McIntyre win the Men's Money in the Bank briefcase and lose his cash-in in the same night, and Solo Sikoa pin WWE Champion Cody Rhodes.

WWE Money in the Bank Sets Revenue, Viewership Records

WWE Money in the Bank delivered on its namesake this weekend.

As touted by WWE in a press release, WWE Money in the Bank 2024 became the "highest-grossing WWE arena event in Canada in company history." This puts it ahead of recent smash successes in the Great White North like WWE Elimination Chamber 2023 and WWE SummerSlam 2019.

The revenue stream was largely thanks to the crowd. WWE announced that over 45,000 fans attended the string of three shows in Toronto's Scotiabank Arena (WWE SmackDown, WWE Money in the Bank, NXT Heatwave) as well as WWE Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn's comedy show on the Thursday before.

"Weekends that bring visitors en masse to our host cities play an important part in our planning process," WWE President Nick Khan said. "The results are a testament to our Superstars, our creative team led by Paul Levesque, our media & production team led by Lee Fitting and, most importantly, our fans who both attended and created our massive viewership."

Outside of those in the building, WWE Money in the Bank 2024 was the most-watched edition of WWE Money in the Bank in the event's 15-year history. Viewership was up 46 percent from WWE Money in the Bank 2023, which was the previous record. Social clips also amassed massive eyeballs, as John Cena's retirement announcement brought in "more than 65 million social media views" within its first 24 hours. This makes that segment WWE's higher viewed social clip since WWE WrestleMania 40.

Fallout from WWE Money in the Bank begins on WWE Monday Night Raw, which returns to programming on Monday, July 8th at 8 PM ET on USA Network.

The main event of NXT Heatwave was a fatal four-way for the NXT Championship held by Trick Williams. His three opponents -- former AEW star Ethan Page, Shawn Spears, and Je'Von Evans -- all made their claims to a title opportunity which was set in motion by NXT General Manager Ava. Evans has only been in NXT for a few months but he's taken the brand by storm with his high-risk and high-flying abilities at such a young age.

Spears recently returned to the NXT brand after years away crafting his character in AEW and he's ready to show why he can't be counted out yet. As for Page, most fans were unfamiliar with his game prior to his first appearance, but they have come around to him after just a few matches and in-ring promos. He's been in the title picture ever since his debut, so it appears like there's big things in his WWE future.

OH. MY. GOD.

ETHAN PAGE IS THE NEW #WWENXT CHAMPION!!!#NXTHeatwave pic.twitter.com/vkk5eWb0UL

-- WWE (@WWE) July 8, 2024

All of the men in the match had bright showings, but the crowd was pretty firmly behind the champion. The whole time it was heavily stressed that Williams had a 25 percent chance of retaining the title, and though there were many near falls, including some of his own, he was unable to retain the title. In the end, Page stole a win as he fell on top of Evans after taking a Trick Shot and Williams was pulled out of the ring to prevent breaking up a pin. After his celebration, the feed cut to a white screen followed by TNA's Joe Hendry.

WWE and TNA have opened up a partnership in the last few months where they have exchanged several of their stars back and forth and it doesn't seem to be ending here. When asked about future appearances from Hendry following his NXT debut, Michaels has made it clear that he believes Hendry has a bright future in the industry. Michaels has also been candid about Page and Spears in NXT and how much their leadership has helped the locker room.

Say his name, and he appears at #NXTHeatwave!@joehendry https://t.co/APnBFqpQmu

-- TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) July 8, 2024

NXT Heatwave 2024 Results

• NXT Championship Fatal 4-Way Match: Trick Williams (c) vs. Je'Von Evans vs. Ethan Page vs. Shawn Spears
  
• NXT Women's Championship Match: Roxanne Perez (c) vs. Lola Vice
  
• NXT North American Championship Match: Oba Femi (c) vs. Wes Lee
  
• NXT North Women's American Championship Match: Kelani Jordan (c) vs. Sol Ruca
  
• NXT Tag Team Championship Match: Nathan Frazer & Axiom (c) vs. Chase U
  
• Karmen Petrovic & Arianna Grace vs. Jacy Jayne & Jazmyn Nyx

Stay tuned to Comicbook for updates on WWE and NXT.

WWE's Roxanne Perez and Lola Vice have been circling each other for a while now, and they finally faced each other one-on-one at NXT Heatwave. Vice has shared just how much this match and spotlight means to her, and for Perez, her chances at a long and prosperous reign as NXT Women's Champion were riding on this. The intensity and animosity were high throughout the match, and Perez was able to capitalize on Vice's hurt arm about midway through and wear the challenger down. Perez had to deliver five Pop Rocks to get the win, but she got it and is still your NXT Women's Champion.

No Holds Barred

Perez and Vice locked up immediately, with Perez getting the first shot in. Vice then took down Perez and went for an armbar, but Perez was able to escape. Perez targeted Vice's arm with hard strikes and then Vice hit a few knee strikes before going for her back elbow strike, but Perez was able to dodge it and roll out of the ring. Vice was thrown into the ropes back in the ring and then Perez connected with hard shots to the back of Vice's head. Perez threw Vice into the opposite turnbuckle and then stopped on her chest as she taunted the crowd, but Vice was still able to kick out of the pin attempt. Perez taunted Vice with slaps to the head and then Vice threw Perez face-first into the turnbuckle before going for a pin, but Perez kicked out.

Perez pulled Vice's hair and used the ropes as leverage, but was made to break it up by the referee. Perez charged forward with a big uppercut and a Russian leg sweep into a cover, but Vice kicked out. Perez immediately applied a hold that put pressure on Vice's shoulder and arm but then got hit with several strikes to the midsection before almost rolling up Vice. Vice connected with her trademark kicks and then a hip throw but Perez countered and almost rolled Vice up again for a pin.

The Turning Point

Vice missed with a kick and ran into the unbuckle, but then Perez was caught with a sleeper hold when she went to follow up. Perez was able to break it but Vice caught her again with another sleeper hold, and Perez got to the outside and broke the hold by slamming Vice into the announce table. Perez then dodged Vice's backfist again, but this time Vice slammed it hard into the ring post. Perez capitalized by stomping on that same hand and then hitting a vicious suplex onto the floor.

Perez stayed on the hurt arm and stomped on it before trying to pull it out of the socket, though Vice was able to kick out of the pin attempt. Perez went after the arm again with a knee strike and then stopped on the arm to do it again but Vice was able to evade it. Perez caught the arm one more time and hit a suplex on the challenger. Perez went up for a springboard moonsault but then Vice locked in a triangle. Perez was able to break it but then Vice finally connected with the backfist, sending Perez to the floor.

Vice pulled Perez into the ring and went for the pin, but Perez got her foot on the rope. Vice was clearly having a hard time with her hurt arm, and then Perez damaged it further with big strikes to the arm on the outside. Perez then threw Vice's arm into the ring post again, but Vice was still able to get in some big kicks to the Champion. Perez hit the arm again and hit Pop Rocks, but somehow Vice was able to kick out at the last minute.

Perez knocked Vice to the floor and cleared the announce table and hit Pop Rocks on the table. It didn't shatter, but the damage was done, and Perez got Vice back into the ring for a cover, only for Vice to kick out. Perez started hammering the hurt arm of Vice and then locked in a crossface. Perez then countered a move and went for Pop Rocks but didn't get all of it. Then she hit it a fifth time and got the pin and the win, retaining her NXT Women's Championship.

NXT Heatwave Card

• Karmen Petrovic & Arianna Grace def. Jacy Jayne & Jazmyn Nyx
• NXT North American Championship Match: Oba Femi (C) def. Wes Lee
• NXT North Women's American Championship Match: Kelani Jordan (C) def. Sol Ruca
• NXT Tag Team Championship Match: Nathan Frazer & Axiom (C) def. Chase U
• NXT Women's Championship Match: Roxanne Perez (C) def. Lola Vice
• NXT Championship Fatal 4-Way Match: Ethan Page (C) def. Trick Williams, Je'Von Evans, and Shawn Spears

What did you think of NXT Heatwave? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

It hasn't been a smooth ride thus far for the WWE NXT Tag Team Champions, as there's been some infighting regarding focus. That's because ever since they became Tag Team Champions, Axiom has been focused on keeping those Titles, while Frazer has been focused on adding more Titles to his collection. Frazer has been in the mix for every Title he can find, and it's not gone over well with Axiom. That lack of focus was also present tonight at NXT Heatwave, as towards the end of the match Frazer ended up accidentally attacking Axiom twice and almost costing them the win in the process. While they did defeat Chase U, there are some additional problems that the Champs will have to sort out.

Chase U's All In

Andre Chase and Axiom got things started for their respective teams, and they exchanged holds for a bit till things really got going. Chase looked especially on his A-Game early, as he was able to deal with and counter Axiom's incredible speed. That continued when Hudson and Frazer tagged in, as Hudson stopped Frazer cold with a huge belly-to-belly suplex that sent him flying.

Hudson then went to work on Frazer and teamed up with Chase to wear the Champ down, but Frazer was able to tag Axiom in and hit Chase with a devastating combo of offense. Axiom went for the pin but Chase kicked out, only to get clubbed with a vicious clothesline from Axiom soon after. Axiom had a hold on Chase, and after Chase got away, Frazer tagged in and the two superstars knocked Chase for a loop with twin superkicks.

Frazier went up top and tried to connect with a move, but Chase countered and bought himself some room to breathe. Both superstars tried to get to their corners, but Frazer got to Axiom first, and Axiom caught Chase. Axiom then went for an armbar but Chase was able to force a break, but Axiom then countered into an ankle lock. Axiom then got thrown into the corner turnbuckle, and Hudson tagged in and left the Champions knocked to the mat. Hudson slammed Axiom to the mat with a one-armed power slam and then tossed Frazer up in the air with ease, but Frazer was able to kick out of the pin attempt.

Hudson hit a nasty German Suplex on Frazer but then Frazer countered a move and knocked Hudson into the turnbuckle. Then Axiom and Frazer went through the ropes and knocked Hudson and Chase down multiple times, and Axiom went up top and hit a Frog Splash. Frazer then hit the 450 but Hudson kicked out of the pin. Hudson was countered on the power slam but then Hudson caught Frazer with a Stratusfaction. A DDT followed on Frazer into a pin, but Frazer kicked out.

Out of Sync

Hudson put Frazer on the top rope but Frazer connected with a headbutt. A missile dropkick followed and then Axiom tagged in. Then it was complete chaos, with all four in the mix, and Axiom and Chase would get to their feet. Chase and Axiom traded kicks but then Chase took out both Frazer and Chase, and Frazer accidentally hit his partner two times in the head. That led to a cover by Chase, but Axiom somehow kicked out.

Chase stomped on Axiom back in the ring and then went up top and hit the crossbody into a cover, but Frazer broke it up. Chase went after Axiom again but Frazer security tagged in. Chase went up top but Frazer caught him and hit the suplex and got the super kick. Axiom hit the Golden Ratio and got the pin and the win, retaining their Titles.

NXT Heatwave Card

Karmen Petrovic & Arianna Grace def. Jacy Jayne & Jazmyn Nyx
NXT North American Championship Match: Oba Femi (C) def. Wes Lee
NXT North Women's American Championship Match: Kelani Jordan (C) def. Sol Ruca
NXT Tag Team Championship Match: Nathan Frazer & Axiom (C) def. Chase U
NXT Women's Championship Match: Roxanne Perez (C) vs. Lola Vice
NXT Championship Fatal 4-Way Match: Trick Williams (C) vs. Je'Von Evans vs. Ethan Page vs. Shawn Spears

What have you thought of NXT Heatwave? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

The action of NXT Heatwave was turned up a notch when Kelani Jordan defended the NXT North American Women's Championship against Sol Ruca. Since Ruca returned earlier this year after nearly a year away from the ring due to injury, she has been chasing that defining moment that's going to put her back in the conversation in the NXT women's division. Jordan won the championship back at NXT Battleground, marking her first title win in her short career. The match was high-octane as both women pulled out their best high-flying moves to try and put one another away.

The beginning of the match was evenly contested amongst the women as they countered each other's moves expertly. Sol gained control after she hit a Springboard 450 Clothesline which Jordan kicked out of. Ruca goes up top for a moonsault off the ring post which causes both of them to just barely make it back into the ring to break the 10 count.

Nobody does it like @kelani_wwe! ???#NXTHeatwave pic.twitter.com/1KlD0yqNTw

-- WWE (@WWE) July 7, 2024

They eventually make it back in the ring with many near falls. Jordan climbs up top but Ruca is able to get her knees up at the last second to prevent her from hitting the full move. The champion uses her move against her, hitting the Sol Snatcher but it's going to take a lot more than that to stop a determined Jordan! Reverse Alabama Slam from Ruca on the hurricanrana. Jordan hits a Poisonrana off the top rope, sending Ruca to the other side of the mat and then hitting a split-legged moonsault to retain the championship.

Jordan is the inaugural NXT North American Women's Champion and she's clearly already making an impact with her reign. She may only have just about two years of wrestling experience, having made her debut in the fall of 2022, but it's clear that she has a bright future ahead of her. With the impending debut of a major former free agent as well as the NXT and TNA newfound partnership, the women's division is sure to begin heating up, giving Jordan some fresh, new competition.

NXT Heatwave 2024 Card

• NXT Championship Fatal 4-Way Match: Trick Williams (c) vs. Je'Von Evans vs. Ethan Page vs. Shawn Spears
  
• NXT Women's Championship Match: Roxanne Perez (c) vs. Lola Vice
  
• NXT North American Championship Match: Oba Femi (c) vs. Wes Lee
  
• NXT North Women's American Championship Match: Kelani Jordan (c) vs. Sol Ruca
  
• NXT Tag Team Championship Match: Nathan Frazer & Axiom (c) vs. Chase U
  
• Karmen Petrovic & Arianna Grace vs. Jacy Jayne & Jazmyn Nyx
  

Stay tuned to Comicbook for live updates on NXT Heatwave.

The WWE NXT North American Championship was on the line at NXT Heatwave, but the stakes were even higher for Wes Lee. Lee was not only challenging Oba Femi for the Title, but he was always fighting for his chance to ever contest for it again as if he lost tonight's match, he would no longer be able to challenge for the Title so long as Femi held it. You could tell the stakes were high from the very start, as the intensity never left the match throughout, and as a result, these two superstars delivered one of NXT's best matches of the year. Femi leaned into his power while Lee added new tricks to the playbook to take down the Champ, but unfortunately for Lee, Femi was able to counter those new moves and counter several attacks towards the end, getting the win and ending Lee's quest for the North American Championship.

Speed vs Power

Lee got some quick kicks in but then got swept and knocked to the mat by Femi. Femi shoved Lee into the corner turnbuckle but Lee stayed aggressive and connected with some big hits to the face. Femi then got rocked again in the corner after getting tied up in the ropes, and Lee went right after the knee and leg of Femi. Femi missed again, but then that power came into play after Lee missed on an attack, and Femi connected with a big forearm to knock the challenger out of the ring.

Lee hit a big dropkick but then Femi tossed Lee in the air like it was nothing and slammed him to the mat. Femi then kicked Lee out of the ring and to the announce table before throwing him under the ring, knocking his head off the steel frame and to the floor. Lee was able to get back in and beat the count, but Femi wasted no time in causing more pain, slamming Lee down on his back and then hitting a spear in the corner.

Femi stepped on Lee put all his weight on Lee's back before stomping on it, and then Femi brought down Lee's back multiple times on his knee. More clubbing blows followed and then Lee hit the turnbuckle at full speed. Lee then got thrown into the other corner and got tied up in the ropes, and Femi went right for him but hit the ring post instead. Lee then kicked Femi's head into the ring post, and then was able to get loose and send Femi over the ropes to the floor.

Back in the Fight

Femi then came right back with a monster chop that knocked Lee to the ring apron. A backbreaker from Femi followed and then Femi stretched Lee's previously injured back once again. Lee got his wind back and knocked Femi to the mat after a series of punches and kicks, finally getting the Champion off balance. Lee followed up with another big attack and a slam to the mat, but Femi was able to kick out of the pin. Lee then dove through the ropes multiple times, stalking Femi until he slammed his head into the announce table.

Back in the ring Lee went up and went for the meteora, but Femi was able to counter, only for Lee to reverse that counter and slam Femi down. Lee then leaped off the top rope and got hit with a huge uppercut from Femi, and then Femi lifted Lee and went up top. Lee fought back and then went for a hurricanrana, but Femi reversed and slammed Leee but then Lee countered. Lee then hit a cardiac kick and went for the pin but Femi kicked out.

Lee then hit a splash but Femi picked him right up, and then both superstars ended up over the ropes. Lee grabbed the ropes and hit the moonsault, but Femi picked him up and spiked him onto the floor with a pile driver. Lee then hit a double stomp to Femi's back and went for the cardiac kick but Femi caught him. Lee ended up on his feet and kicked the Champ, going for the kick one more time but got caught and hurled into the air. Femi hit a huge power slam and that was it, ending Lee's run at the North American Title.

NXT Heatwave Results

• NXT North American Championship Match: Oba Femi (C) def. Wes Lee
• NXT Championship Fatal 4-Way Match: Trick Williams (C) vs. Je'Von Evans vs. Ethan Page vs. Shawn Spears
• NXT Women's Championship Match: Roxanne Perez (C) vs. Lola Vice
• NXT North Women's American Championship Match: Kelani Jordan (C) vs. Sol Ruca
• NXT Tag Team Championship Match: Nathan Frazer & Axiom (C) vs. Chase U
• Karmen Petrovic & Arianna Grace vs. Jacy Jayne & Jazmyn Nyx

What have you thought of NXT Heatwave? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

At WWE Money in the Bank John Cena made a bombshell announcement about his future in wrestling following his appearance at WrestleMania 40. Cena entered the ring in Toronto and spoke candidly to the fans about his career, revealing that next year, 2025, will be his final year as a wrestler. This surprised a lot of fans but Cena has been speaking about the big "R" word for months.

In April, he told Pat McAfee that he was looking to take a break from Hollywood to go on one final WWE run. At the WWE press conference following Money in the Bank, Cena explained his schedule over the next year and that he's looking to give back to the fans that have so graciously spent so much time with him in WWE.

Backstage, Cena reunited with one of his longtime rivals in CM Punk. When Cena was still full-time with WWE and both men were at the height of their careers, their feud took place over two years. Punk defeated Cena at Money in the Bank 2011, solidifying himself as the next guy to take the company into the future. Their last singles match was a #1 Contender's match for the WWE Heavyweight Championship in 2013, which Cena won. Punk revealed at the press conference that he's chomping at the bit to get in the ring with the 16-time World Champion "at least" one more time.

Legendary opponents @JohnCena and @CMPunk reunited backstage last night at #MITB, the event these two defined together. pic.twitter.com/bEGQG5TdYY

-- WWE (@WWE) July 7, 2024

Speaking to Comicbook, Punk revealed their initial conversation after Cena made the announcement live at the event. "I text him right away and I said, 'don't leave before you say hi to me.' And he text back, 'haha, have a good one tonight.' I immediately took that as, 'piss off, I'm leaving,' so I know he's busy, he's filming Peacemaker, so I figured he was leaving right away. I was pleasantly surprised to run into him afterwards and I told him I'll be the guy that drags him out of retirement. This retirement that he says he's gonna adhere to and this is it and when the final one happens that's gonna be it, like, yeah, 15 years I'll drag him out of retirement."

Punk also explained what Cena has meant to his career, which Punk gives him a lot of credit for. "But Cena I think to my career means a lot. I don't think there's many people up in that rare air where if you talk about my career, I feel you have to talk about John. And it makes me feel proud that I think if you talk about John's career, I think you have to talk about me. We're married in that respect. Proud of him, he gets to go out on his terms, I know that's important. I'm looking forward to what he does, and I told him that if it's gonna be one more time, we gotta do it at least one more time."

Stay tuned to Comicbook for updates on John Cena and his WWE retirement tour.

At the beginning of June, Becky Lynch officially entered free agency after reports that her WWE contract was coming to an end had surfaced. It remained unclear whether or not she had re-signed with the company or not, but regardless it appears she's taking time away from the ring for the time being. Following WrestleMania, she picked up the pieces with news of Rhea Ripley's injury, and helped usher in a new Women's World Champion shortly after. She had a rematch on WWE Raw after her title loss, but hasn't appeared on television since.

Seth Rollins Gives Insight Into Becky Lynch's Contract

Naturally, this absence has posed a ton of questions. While Lynch previously stated she had no interest going elsewhere, she is a highly sought after free agent and anything is possible in professional wrestling. In a sit down interview with Michael Cole ahead of Money in the Bank, Seth Rollins gave a bit of insight into where Lynch's head is at. The two share a three-year-old daughter who takes up much of their time.

"'The Man' is great. She's great," Rollins said. "I can't speak to her future or what she's got moving forward, but she's great, she's in good spirits, and the little one's awesome as well. She's three-and-a-half, and she's a menace. She runs the ship" (h/t: WrestleZone).

Rollins isn't the only one to comment about Lynch's break, as WWE CCO Triple H previously explained she is on a hiatus. "You can really feel both shows ramping up as we come into summertime and we come into SummerSlam, where those stories will all blow up," Levesque said on The Pat McAfee Show. "He mentioned Liv [Morgan] and Dom {Mysterio] earlier, I would imagine at some point, this is not gonna sit well with Rhea [Ripley]. So when you look at where we're at right now and how much excitement there is, and you still start thinking about [how] we don't have Roman [Reigns], we don't have Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch is out on a hiatus right now."

Rollins is still actively wrestling as he made his return from injury on WWE Raw ahead of WWE Money in the Bank. He laid out a rematch for the World Heavyweight Champion Damian Priest and although he lost due to shenanigans from the Money in the Bank cash-in, it seems that it's lit a fire under him heading into WWE SummerSlam.

Stay tuned to Comicbook for updates on WWE and Becky Lynch.

At WWE Money in the Bank, the women stole the show with the women's ladder match for the briefcase. Six stars with all the potential, some who have never wrestled in a ladder match or in a Money in the Bank match for that matter, worked to earn a future title opportunity any time, any place. Several women got very close -- including Chelsea Green who was tipped off a ladder onto two tables -- but ultimately, it was "Tiffy Time" in Toronto.

After winning the briefcase which Tiffany Stratton told Comicbook she has big plans to decorate, she came face to face with Trish Stratus. The WWE Hall of Famer hasn't shied away from letting fans know she wants a match with the young star who resembles her in a lot of ways. The backstage segment made fans excited about a future match, especially because it seems as though Stratus isn't ready to fully retire again just yet.

Stratus gave advice to the former NXT Women's Champion, warning her not to get too arrogant or ahead of herself. She let Stratton know that it only matters what happens after she cashes in that will determine if she becomes a future Hall of Famer or if she's just another face roaming backstage.

WWE's Tiffany Stratton Is Ready To Fight Trish Stratus

At the Money in the Bank press conference, Stratton made it known she is ready to step into the ring with Stratus. "Listen, those are two different generations. Trish, Trishy, Trishy Time, she is one of my idols in professional wrestling, and I am ready to get in the ring with the GOAT" (h/t: Fightful).

Tiffany Stratton vs. Trish Stratus?!

Um, YES PLEASE! pic.twitter.com/lHhYa0PuUK

-- WWE (@WWE) July 7, 2024

The last time Stratus competed in a WWE ring was back at WWE Payback last September against Becky Lynch in her first-ever steel cage match. She had been feuding with Lynch for several months after her heel turn on Lynch and Lita. She has previously stated that if she were to come back to WWE, she would want to make sure she's at "100%" and it would have to be the right story. She also has a lot of history with Zoey Stark who was another competitor in this year's Money in the Bank ladder match. This was acknowledged when the two had a face off on-screen this week and it's a story Stark hopes to revisit at some point.

Stay tuned to Comicbook for updates on WWE.

At WWE Money in the Bank, John Cena made a major announcement about his future in wrestling. Addressing the fans in Toronto, he revealed in an emotional promo that his in-ring competition will wrap up in 2025. Following his bombshell announcement, he fielded questions from the media at the WWE press conference about his impending retirement. He gave insight into his schedule over the next year as well as his goals for this final run and what legacy he hopes to leave.

As for why he decided that next year had to be the last year of his career, Cena explains to Insight with Chris Van Vliet that he originally approached WWE with the idea and they were the ones to initiate the talks about why now is the time for it to happen. Furthermore with wrestling at an all-time high, specifically WWE, Cena notes that he takes pride in still being an individual WWE can call up and bring these big moments together so that they can make something out of it for the fans. He ended it by saying he's flattered he was asked to be part of a retirement tour.

Cena has been in WWE for over two decades at this point, first joining the fray back in 2002. He won the fans over with his unique character and his rap career, but over the years his philanthropy and consistency to the business is what helped make him a bonafide star in WWE. During his time with the company, he has won dozens of championships and is recognized by WWE as a 16-time World Champion.

Cena's last appearance in an WWE ring came at the Raw after WrestleMania 40 where he teamed with Awesome Truth against The Judgment Day. The night before, he helped Cody Rhodes win the Undisputed WWE Championship from Roman Reigns in what is often referred to as an Avengers-style moment with The Undertaker, Solo Sikoa, Seth Rollins, The Rock, and Jey and Jimmy Uso also involved.

WWE Money in the Bank 2024 Results

World Heavyweight Championship: Damian Priest (c) vs. Seth "Freakin" Rollins

Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton and Kevin Owens vs. The Bloodline

Men's Money in the Bank Ladder Match: LA Knight vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Carmelo Hayes vs. Chad Gable vs. Jey Uso vs. Andrade

Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Iyo Sky vs. Bianca Belair vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Naomi vs. Zoey Stark vs. Chelsea Green

Stay tuned to Comicbook for updates on John Cena and WWE.

No one expected John Cena to make an appearance at WWE's Money in the Bank, but that was rather small in comparison to what he had to say during his appearance. Cena revealed that WrestleMania 41 in 2025 would be his final WrestleMania, and he was retiring from in-ring competition next year. With someone like Cena, that was obviously massive news, but Cena offered some additional clarity during the press conference after the PLE, where he revealed that his farewell tour will hopefully take place over the entire year. While his final WrestleMania will be 41, his tour isn't stopping there.

The Farewell Tour

"This is where we give you some of the deets on the farewell tour. It's not going to end at WrestleMania. That WrestleMania will be my last WrestleMania, but hopefully if everything goes according to plan, we're going straight through from January to December," Cena said. "We're going to try and do a long list of dates, I think right now tentatively it's hovering in the mid-30s to 40s because I'm still going to try and juggle a lot of stuff that's going on, and that will be the end of my in-ring competition."

"Now, part of this business plan I guess that I proposed and they accepted, thank you they, is me remaining in the WWE family in some capacity for an extended time to come. I've always said to the audience that the WWE is my home and I love it, and just because I physically feel I'm at my end doesn't mean I need to distance myself from something I love," Cena said.

"I have a passion for this business. I still watch Money in the Bank and yell at the screen and yell at the guys for what they're doing or what they could be doing, so I still...I feel I still have some wisdom locked up here that could be of some value. I look forward to ending my participation in the ring in the best way I possibly can and being a member of the extended WWE family for quite some time to come," Cena said.

Money in the Bank Results

• World Heavyweight Championship Match: Damian Priest (C) def. Seth "Freakin" Rollins
• The Bloodline def. Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton and Kevin Owens
• Men's Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Drew McIntyre def. Carmelo Hayes, Chad Gable, Jey Uso, and Andrade
• Women's 2024 Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Tiffany Stratton def. Chelsea Green, Iyo Sky, Zoey Stark, and Naomi
• Intercontinental Championship Match: Sami Zayn (C) def. Bron Breakker

When will you be seeing Cena during this last year of matches? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

The Bloodline has changed a lot since the end of WrestleMania 40, and they just added their newest member to the group Jacob Fatu. The new and improved Bloodline would face an all-star team of Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens, and Randy Orton in a six-man Tag Team match, and it was an all-out war. Fatu was impressive throughout the match, and as expected, The Bloodline utilized every trick in the book to get one over on their opponents. At one point Owens and Rhodes had Tonga pinned, but the referee had been taken out. Bloodline took advantage of that though and some low blows ended that chance at winning, and Fatu would bring in Sikoa to pin Rhodes for the win.

A Monster Debut

Sikoa tagged in Tama Tonga instead of staying in the match. Tonga faced off against Rhodes first and Cody was in control, and then he tagged in Owens, who let loose on Tonga and stomped on him repeatedly in the corner. Then Rhodes tagged back in and continued to wear down Tonga with a vertical suplex, and he would tag in Orton to keep their momentum. Orton connected with several strikes and then an uppercut, but Tonga finally got away with a poke to the eyes.

That let him tag in Fatu, who was making his in-ring WWE debut. Orton shoved Fatu aside and hit the DDT on the ropes, but Fatu got right back up. That surprised Orton, and Fatu then hit a Samoan drop on the viper followed by a kick to the head. Sikoa then tagged in and attacked Orton in Bloodline's corner, and the crowd kept chanting "We want Roman".

Sikoa stomped on Orton's hand and then put pressure on Orton's neck, and while the referee was turned Tonga and Fatu attacked him at ringside. Tonga hit a slick splash from the ropes and tagged in, but Orton hit back with a suplex, buying him some time to recover.

Orton tagged in Owens and Owens unleashed offense on Tonga before knocking Fatu off the ring apron. Owens hit a clothesline and then knocked Fatu back again, and followed it with a cannonball on Tonga in the corner. Owens went up top and hit the swanton on Tonga, but Fatu broke up the pin attempt. Fatu threw Owens into the turnbuckle and tagged Sikoa in, who stomped on Owens and kept Owens off his feet in their corner. Fatu and Tonga Loa also attacked Owens at ringside, but Owens got back into the fight with hard strikes, only to get rocked with an uppercut from Sikoa.

Owens was down in the corner and Sikoa capitalized with a slam into the corner and then Fatu followed up with one of his own that was even more vicious. Owens then got knocked down by a cross body from Fatu, and Tonga tagged in and unleashed strikes and punches on a beaten-down Owens instead of going for the pin. Tonga continued to attack Owens and dragged Owens to Bloodline's corner, and Owens tried desperately to get close enough for a tag.

Sikoa tagged in and pushed Rhodes off the ring apron, and then ended up on the floor after missing Owens. Owens crawled over towards his corner but Loa pulled Orton off the ring apron and threw him into the barricade. Sikoa was back in but Owens was back on his feet and trading strikes, but Owens dodged Sikoa again and bought himself some time. Fatu was tagged in and kept Owens from moving closer to their corner, and then Fatu set up for a charge but hit the ring post when Owens moved out of the way.

The Hot Tag

Rhodes had his hand out for Owens and then got the tag, facing Sikoa one on one. Rhodes hit a power slam and then dove out of the ring to knock down Sikoa to the floor. Rhodes then dove out of the other side of the ring and slammed Loa into the announce table. Fatu and Rhodes faced off outside the ring and Fatu lined up for a charge but Rhodes lifted him up and threw him over the barricade. In the ring Sikoa hit a spear and went for the pin, but Rhodes kicked out.

Then Rhodes hit the Cross Rhodes, but the referee was down when he went for the pin. Owens went up top and hit the frog splash, but the referee was still down. Orton then set up for the RKO, and Sikoa got up and walked right into it. The referee was still recovering but then Rhodes went out and cleared the announce table. Then a brawl started with everyone getting hits in, and Owens would hit Fatu with the big Prime bottle by the ring. Owens then hit the frog splash on Fatu, destroying the announce table.

In the ring, Owens had Tonga up for a slam but Loa came in and hit Owens with a low blow twice. Then Orton hit an RKO on Loa and Tonga, and Sikoa hit a spike on Orton. Rhodes dodged a spike and hit a Cross Rhodes and then another. Fatu was up and knocked down Rhodes from the top rope. Fatu then slammed Rhodes down with a DDT before picking up Sikoa. Fatu picked up Rhodes and held him for Sikoa, alloying him to get the spike. Fatu then picked up the referee and put him in the ring so he could get the pin and the win. The Bloodline walks away with the win.

What did you think of the match? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

The Women's Money in the Bank match was one of the most anticipated matches of the night, and six of WWE's brightest stars were set to battle it out for the Money in the Bank briefcase. Naomi, Bianca Belair, Tiffany Stratton, Iyo Sky, Zoey Stark, and Chelsea Green all took their shot during the match, and there were some amazing spots throughout the match. People got slammed onto ladders in every conceivable way, including an absolutely insane spot by Sky and Stark that left both knocked out of the match. Green was then so incredibly close to grabbing the briefcase, but Stratton at the last minute took her down and took the case for herself, winning the Money in the Bank.

All By Herself

Everyone left the ring, leaving Green all by herself. She tried to jump up but obviously couldn't reach the briefcase, and then took someone's ladder to set up in the middle. Green was afraid of heights and climbed down and tried to reach the briefcase with the ladder as a hook. That didn't work, and Sky then dropkicked the ladder into Green and sent her to the floor.

Stratton met Sky in the ring and the two exchanged taunts, but Sky hit a meteroaa and slammed Stratton into he ladder. Then Valkyria suplexed Sky into the ladder right after, but got caught up in the ropes after Sky pushed her leg. Valkyria recovered and countered, sending Sky to the mat and and then hit a fisherman's suplex onto another ladder.

Valkyria fended off people but it was taking her a while to open the ladder, and Stark dropkicked her from the top rope to halt her momentum. Stark taunted the crowd and then caught Lyra and slammed her onto a ladder before looking to hit a splash, but she hit her head onto the ladder instead. Naomi was back in and she hit the moonsault onto Stark, and that led to Stratton jumping into the match.

They traded moves and Stratton was able to flip over and slam Naomi onto the ladder. Stratton and Sky battled over a ladder and Stratton walked up it and then hit a swanton off the top and knocked everyone to the floor. Green was up and starting to climb the ladder, but Sky slammed a ladder into her back and knocked her to the floor. Sky started to climb but Valkyria was up and climbed the ladder quickly, but Sky managed to pull her down and lock her legs in the ladder rungs, delivering vicious stomps on her head.

Ladder Insanity

Valkyria then suplexed Sky off the ladder and Stark came in with a knee strike to the head. Stark and Stratton met up top but then Naomi joined them and was doing the splits across both while hitting a DDT. Stratton dragged Naomi down and threw her out of the ring, but Naomi pulled Stratton out and threw her into the barricade.

Naomi then had everyone hyped when she grabbed two tables, and Green ran up and threw Naomi into the steel steps. After some stomps, Green and Stratton teamed up for a minute and set up a table (Table Time) by the barricade. They then set up another table, placing them together. In the ring Stark and Valkyria fought and tried to climb up, and then Sky jumped onto the ladder and got close to the TOP. Green had a ladder and tried to fight Sky with it, and it ended up bridging the ropes.

Stark then flipped up Stratton into the placed ladder, and then she raced up to grab Valkyria's leg to pull her down. Stark then power slammed Lyra onto the a ladder, and Naomi was back in and ready to climb up. Green jumped back in and pulled Naomi down, but Naomi fired back. Green stayed on her and slammed Naomi's face into the ladder, and then Green slammed Naomi's face into the other ladder. Stark climbed up and Sky jumped in to keep her from taking it. Sky grabbed Stark's hand and bent her fingers, and then Sky brought her down onto a ladder with a superplex.

Green raced up and almost had it, but Stratton then ran up pushed the ladder over, throwing Green into the tables they set up earlier. Stratton then grabbed the case and is now your money in the Bank winner, and Liv Morgan and Bayley better look out.

Money in the Bank Card

• World Heavyweight Championship Match: Damian Priest (C) vs. Seth "Freakin" Rollins
• Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton and Kevin Owens vs. The Bloodline
• Men's Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Drew McIntyre def. Carmelo Hayes, Chad Gable, Jey Uso, and Andrade
• Women's 2024 Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Tiffany Stratton def. Chelsea Green, Iyo Sky, Zoey Stark, and Naomi
• Intercontinental Championship Match: Sami Zayn (C) def. Bron Breakker

Are you excited for Tiffy in the Bank? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!