Major Update On CM Punk’s WWE Return Plans; November 6th Wrestling News Round-Up

Paul Heyman and Ric Flair are widely regarded as two of the greatest talkers in WWE history, but as revealed in a new interview, the pair didn’t always see eye to eye.

In a new interview with Wrestling Observer Radio, Ric Flair revealed that Paul Heyman’s comments regarding the death of Bobby Heenan in the lead-up to SummerSlam left him furious with the future WWE Hall of Famer.

Flair would reveal:

“I know Dangerously [Heyman] was being funny on TV, but he was on First Take and Stephen A goes, ‘what did you think of Bobby Heenan?’ [Heyman] goes, ‘Ah, he’s dead. Who cares.’

Everybody goes, ‘That’s to get heat.’ It got heat with me.

The answer is, ‘Yeah, he’s the greatest of all time.’ It didn’t get over with me at all.

He’s just being a heel. Be a heel on me.

Don’t say something stupid about somebody who is the greatest of all time,”

[h/t Fightful]

WWE appear to have missed out on signing former NXT star Sareee, but it looks like their search for talent isn’t stopping there.

After reports circulated that WWE had reached out to Will Ospreay regarding a potential signing, new information has broken revealing that WWE is interested in signing another major international star.

PWInsider has today reported that WWE is interested in signing current NJPW Strong Women’s Champion “The Dangerous Queen” Giulia.

The report goes on to note that talks are far enough along that Giulia is currently expected to appear at the WWE Performance Center “sometime this month.”

Giulia is widely regarded is one of the best female wrestlers in the world and is currently the; NJPW Strong Women’s Champion and Artist Of Stardom Champion alongside Mai Sakurai and Donna del Mondo.

Logan Paul has been an unprecedented success in the WWE so far and at Crown Jewel 2023 he became the new United States Champion.

After Logan Paul saved Rey Mysterio from a terrifying botch, he went on to defeat the WWE Hall of Famer and claim his first piece of WWE gold.

Now, in a new interview, Paul has suggested that his talent is familial and maybe he wont be the only Paul to succeed in the WWE.

Speaking with The Daily Mail, Paul revealed that although his and brother Jake’s schedules are tough to align due to their individual sporting commitments there is always the possibility another appearance from the divisive sensation that is Jake Paul.

“It’s tough, bro. He’s a boxer. I’m a wrestler slash boxer. I think he’s going to be focusing on boxing for a bit – but who knows? If I need some back-up and a big right hand I’m going to bring in my brother!’”

Would you like to see Jake Paul in the WWE? Let us know by hitting the thumbs below!

Inside The Ropes is saddened to learn of the passing of independent wrestler Rob Thomson AKA Rob Rage aged just 41.

Thomson played the role of Hulk Hogan in the critically acclaimed VICE TV show Dark Side of the Ring.

Slam Wrestling reported earlier today that Ontario based wrestler suffered a cardiac arrest backstage after competing in a match at the Hammering Cancer 4 fundraising show in Hamilton, Ontario.

Inside The Ropes would like to send our deepest condolences to the friends, family and fans of Rob Thomson during this difficult time.

John Cena has had some of the greatest matches in WWE history and now you can hear the man himself break them down thanks to a new video from the WWE.

Check it the video in full below!

A new report has revealed that, not one, not two, not three but four NXT stars are set to be at tonight’s episode of Monday Night Raw in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

PWInsider reports that the Meta-Four’s Noam Dar, Jakara Jackson, Lash Legend, and Oro Mensah are set to be at tonight’s show one night before Dar puts his Heritage Cup on the line against Akira Tozawa on NXT.

The match between Tozawa and Dar was made official after Tozawa provoked ‘The Supernova’ during WWE NXT’s Halloween Havoc special last week.

Dar is currently on his third reign as NXT Heritage Cup Champion after defeating Nathan Frazer NXT’s Heatwave special back in August.

Today Corey Graves’ After The Bell show celebrates it’s 200th episode and to mark the major milestone Graves is sitting down with none other than WWE icon John Cena.

The episode is premiering right now so check it out below as Cena and Graves reflect on what Cena has learned since returning to WWE, how he really feels about being called The GOAT and more!

Former WWE Superstar Sareee, formerly Sarray, has penned a multi-year deal with New York based wrestling promotion SUKEBAN.

SUKEBAN would take to Twitter to announce the signing, noting that Sareee will debut for the company next month as a member of the Cherry Bomb Girls.

“We have signed @Sareee_official to a multi-year contract. She will debut for Sukeban next month in Miami as a member of the Cherry Bomb Girl.”

You can read the full press release on Sareee’s signing, here.

Speaking on the Gabby AF podcast, Ric Flair would open up on his decision to sign a long term contract with AEW and why he does not agree with the “philosophy” of WWE contracts.

Flair would reveal that he had previously spoken with Khan with regards to signing with AEW but could not at time time due to his WWE contract status.

Flair would go on to state that although he has no issues with WWE and there is no ill will, the nature of WWE’s contracts would not allow him to do all of his outside business ventures that his AEW contract allows him to do.

Something that ‘The Nature Boy’ does not agree with.

“I don’t work for them [WWE] anymore and [there] a number of reasons [but] none of them that are negative. I just wouldn’t be able to do all my outside activities, their contracts are really confining. They pay everybody a lot of money so they pretty much can have the right to do what they want to do. I just didn’t agree with the formula, the philosophy.”

[h/t WrestlingInc]

Crown Jewel 2023 was a night to remember for Sami Zayn!

At Crown Jewel 2023 Sami Zayn defeated JD McDonough during the kick-off show in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

What made this victory extra special for Zayn is that it was his 900th match in the WWE and his 78th of 2023.

The majority of Zayn’s matches came between 2016 and 2017 when he took part in an incredible 344 matches.

Sami Zayn was also revealed to be the hooded assailant at Crown Jewel who cost Damian Priest his chance to become WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

Congratulations Sami Zayn on 900 WWE matches!

Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart speaks exclusively to Inside The Ropes about Summerslam 1992 and the backstage stories behind how he and The British Bullldog Davey Boy Smith came up with the match!

Check it out!

WWE has confirmed that WarGames will be returning at Survivor Series 2023…but how many matches will there be?

A new report from Dave Meltzer appears to confirm that there will be both a men and women’s WarGames match at Survivor Series 2023, also providing an insight into who might be getting involved in the iconic match.

Writing in the Wrestling Observer Daily News Update, Meltzer would state that there is “likely” to be a women’s WarGames match at Survivor Series 2023 and that one of the matches will be main event the PLE in Chicago.

“War Games headlines the next WWE PLE on 11/25.

There’s likely a men and women’s match.

One would think the key angles will be set up on Raw tomorrow night in Wilkes-Barre, PA.”

Meltzer would go on to speculate who might be involved in the match, noting that The Judgement Day and The Bloodline are leading front runners for the match, especially with Roman Reigns not set to appear at Survivor Series 2023.

“It feels like it’s either Judgment Day against babyfaces like Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso and others, or a combined Judgment Day and Bloodline heel team against babyfaces from both brands.

Roman Reigns isn’t booked on the show.”

Who do you think will enter WarGames later this month? Let us know by using the ‘get involved’ feature at the top of the page!

Logan Paul made history by becoming WWE United States Champion at Crown Jewel 2023.

But was it the right call? According to one former WWE star, absolutely.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Stevie Richards would break down Logan Paul’s WWE United States Championship victory including the moment that Logan Paul saved Rey Mysterio from a terrifying botch.

“Logan Paul essentially saved Rey Mysterio from a broken neck. I know this, i’ve witnessed this between Chris Benoit and Sabu, it’s an infamous spot in ECW where Chris Benoit grabs Sabu by the leg, threw him up for a Suplex and Sabu came down, essentially, just like this [showing Rey Mysterio’s botched springboard from Crown Jewel 2023] straight down, hit his head, broke his neck. So Rey, chances were, he was going to break his neck.”

Richards would go on to highlight that although Paul adjusted well to make the save, there is an element of blame that belongs to him.

“There is an element of blame for Logan Paul and his inexperience and being in the wrong position for this Moonsault press, but he more than made up for by essentially, literally, saving Rey Mysterio’s neck.

Whilst praising Paul for saving Mysterio from disaster, Richards would reveal he believes Paul should have been the man to dethrone Roman Reigns.

“I give him [Logan Paul] all the credit in the world, new United States Champion, I was the one who called it a long time ago that he should have defeated Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal title because of his crossover appeal, how popular he is.

So the fact they put the US title on him was a smart move by the WWE.

Do you agree with Stevie Richards? Let us know by hitting the thumbs below!

If you use any quotes from this article please prove a h/t to Inside The Ropes and link back to this original article.

WWE Crown Jewel 2023 was met with mixed reaction from fans but it will certainly have gone down a hit with WWE’s financial office.

A new report from Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics has revealed WWE’s eye-watering earnings from the PLE.

Taking to Twitter, Thurston would reveal that the Saudi Government paid WWE a whopping $50,000,000 for hosting the Premium Live Event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The report notes that WWE is set to earn a subsequent $50,000,000 for every PLE hosted in Saudi Arabia for the remainder of the WWE’s 10-year deal with the Saudi government.

“The Saudi government will pay WWE $50M+ for today’s #WWECrownJewel, the price for each event that’s part of their 10-year deal.

$50M is equivalent to about 3 Wrestlemanias-worth of ticket sales.”

Crown Jewel 2023 featured Logan Paul’s first WWE Championship victory and the long awaited return of Kairi Sane to the WWE.

Vince McMahon may not be pulling the strings in the WWE anymore but that hasn’t stopped him securing a major deal for the UFC.

On March 2, 2024, UFC will host it’s first ever Saudi Arabia event as Fight Night comes to Riyadh in conjunction with the Riyadh Season Festival.

Commenting on the major event, Dana White would credit former WWE owner Vince McMahon with being the driving factor behind the deal.

Speaking with Sports Business Journal, Dana White would breakdown how the deal came to be, noting that Vince McMahon was instrumental in the deal, thanking the former rival for being an “unbelievable incredible partner.”

UFC and WWE have joined forces following the WWE’s sale to Endeavour earlier this year.

WWE have had a strong working relationship with Saudi Arabia since the company signed a nine year deal with the Saudi Arabian Government to host regular events in the country – starting with the Greatest Royal Rumble back in April 2018.

Logan Paul captured the WWE United States Championship just days ago during WWE’s 2023 Crown Jewel PLE in Riyadh.

You can read Dana White’s full comments, here.

Will Ospreay looks to be the hottest free agent of 2024 and we aren’t even into the new year yet.

With Will Ospreay’s NJPW contract set to expire in February 2024 fans have already begun speculating where ‘The Arial Assassin’ might end up.

Previously it had appeared almost guaranteed that Ospreay would remain in  NJPW with the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion stating on several occasions that he could not envision himself living in the United States.

However, in recent months, there appears to have been a shift in Ospreay’s future possibilities as he continues to tease moves to both AEW and, most surprisingly, the WWE.

A new report from Fightful Select has revealed that WWE are heavily interested in signing the British star and have even begun making contact with him over a potential deal when his contract expires.

The report notes that “WWE has shown heavy interest” in signing Ospreay and that sources within the WWE claim that conversations have taken place between Ospreay and the sports entertainment giants, however, sources on Ospreay’s side would not confirm these reports.

AEW and IMPACT Wrestling “maintain interest” in signing Ospreay, however, only WWE appear to have made “preliminary overtures” at this time.

Seth Rollins recently invited Will Ospreay to join him in the WWE following his victory over Drew McIntyre at Crown Jewel 2023.

Where do you think Will Ospreay will end up? Let us know by using the ‘get involved’ feature at the top of the page and we will share your responses throughout today’s blog!

Late last night reports surfaced that CM Punk and WWE had a scheduled meeting in the coming weeks to discuss a potential return ahead of Survivor Series 2023.

The report, from BWE, went on to claim that CM Punk was expected to return to the WWE by those close to the situation.

However, just hours later and this report appears to have been proven untrue.

WrestlePurist’s Ibou has publicly dismissed this report claiming that sources close to the situation on CM Punk’s side have categorically denied the original report.

Ibou goes on to state that as of this moment CM Punk is NOT set to return at Survivor Series in Chicago later this month.

“I really hate to burst people’s bubbles, but I reached out to sources that would know on CM Punk’s side, and they deny that this situation has taken place.

As of today, CM Punk returning to WWE at Survivor Series specifically is not set to happen.”

The report has since been supported by Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful who notes that Ibou is ‘well connected’ to this situation.

Sapp also notes that he is confident that BWE, the source of the original report, are not better connected to this situation that himself of Ibou.

“Yes, I 100 percent guarantee he isn’t better connected to this than myself or Ibou”

Do you believe CM Punk will return to WWE later this year? Let us know by hitting the thumbs below!

Good Afternoon!

I hope everyone is doing well and had an amazing weekend!

I will be with you from 12pm to 6pm BST (7am – 1pm ET) covering all the biggest stories from WWE, AEW, NJPW, IMPACT and more.

We will be kicking things off today with the biggest stories from the last 24 hours including:

• A major report regarding CM Punk‘s WWE return plans reportedly untrue.
• WWE are heavily interested in signing Will Ospreay, have made contact with the NJPW star.
• Vince McMahon responsible for major UFC deal.
• Former WWE star claims Logan Paul should have dethroned Roman Reigns, praise Paul for saving Rey Mysterio at Crown Jewel 2023.
• Update on the status of women’s WarGames match at Survivor Series 2023.
• Ric Flair doesn’t agree with the “philosophy” of WWE contracts.