Rey Mysterio Reveals When He Plans To Retire From WWE; October 18th Live Wrestling News Round-Up

Bryan Danielson has downplayed reports that he is involved in AEW creative, calling them “overstated.”

Earlier this year, reports emerged that Bryan Danielson was heavily involved in the overall creative direction of AEW and specifically, played a big hand in the creative of the early episodes of AEW Collision.

Now, The American Dragon has tackled those reports directly. In an interview with Sports Nightly, Danielson downplayed his creative role in the company and claimed Tony Khan simply asks him about particular ideas from time to time.

“I think it’s probably a little overstated. People ask me about it all the time, and I really don’t do that much extra. Sometimes Tony asks me about certain ideas — or whatever — for ‘Collision’, and sometimes he doesn’t. He’s a very busy man. Football season has started […] I hear a lot less from him during football season.”

“It’s one of those things where these shows are still Tony Khan-produced shows, most of these ideas are Tony Khan’s ideas.”

h/t to WrestlingInc

Jon Moxley is officially set to compete in New Japan Pro-Wrestling for the first time since July.

At NJPW Royal Quest III this past weekend, Moxley’s return was seemingly set. After retaining the IWGP United Kingdom Championship against Zack Sabre Jr in the main event, Will Ospreay laid down an open challenge to a “Japanese sexy b***h.”

The challenge was answered by Shota Umino who accepted the gauntlet from Ospreay on the condition that both the IWGP United Kingdom and United States title belts would be on the line at NJPW Power Struggle next month.

Ospreay wasn’t prepared to accept without a stipulation of his own, however. In exchange for both belts being on the line, Ospreay wanted a match at Power Struggle for his stablemate Great O-Khan against Umino’s mentor Jon Moxley.

The two shook hands on the agreement and now both matches have been made official for the November 4th event via NJPW’s website. This marks Moxley’s first NJPW bout since defeating El Despardo on July 5th in a Final Death match.

Tyson Fury has hinted that his time in WWE isn’t over yet and that there’s still plenty for him to do in the wrestling world!

Fury has not appeared in WWE since Clash At The Castle in Cardiff, Wales last year but it seems as if his time with the wrestling conglomerate isn’t over yet.

In a new interview with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Fury praised the “amazing experience” WWE provides and the wealth of opportunities available to him there. However, his boxing career is currently his top priority.

“I’ve been doing this for 15 years, which is a long time,” said Fury. “I know it won’t last forever. And it’s true, I’ve had a few good stints in WWE. There is still a lot of opportunity there.”

“It’s an amazing experience there,” said Fury. “At the moment, I’m very busy with boxing. I’m still active and on top of my chosen profession, so this is where my focus will be. After that, we’ll see.”

A WWE Raw star has branded Piper Niven as a knock-off of Kharma, calling her “the Wish version” of the former WWE star!

On Raw this past Monday, Niven defeated Natalya in a singles match. She, alongside her fellow WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Chelsea Green, attempted a post-match beatdown on Natalya only to be thwarted by Tegan Nox.

Following the show, Niven and Nox continued their battle on X with a series of back-and-forth verbal barbs. Nox commented on her speed at making the save, leading Niven to take a shot at Nox’s history of knee injuries.

Nox got the last laugh though, firing back at Niven by comparing her to Kharma – better known as former IMPACT and AEW star Awesome Kong: “Says the Wish version of Kharma.”

Says the Wish version of Kharma. https://t.co/fjP0yNUl2d

— Nixon Newell (@TeganNoxWWE) October 18, 2023

Rey Mysterio has admitted he did not expect Adam Copeland to sign with AEW and was shocked to hear the news!

During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, WWE United States Champion Rey Mysterio shared his thoughts on the former Edge’s debut at AEW WrestleDream and his subsequent signing with the promotion.

Mysterio admitted that the move shocked him as he expected Copeland to re-sign with WWE or transition into a full-time acting career.

“I was shocked. We had just spoken a week before that. Not that I expected him to tell me anything. We never had the time to even talk about what was next. I saw him in his last match, ‘we’ll be in touch.’ We call each other every now and then. Next thing you know, I didn’t even see, it was on social media the following day. ‘Did you see?’ ‘No, what happened.’ They showed me (his debut). ‘Wow, I didn’t see that coming.’

I imagine he has his reasons on why and I can’t wait to sit down and chop it up with him. It’s always good to have an option. At the end of the day, that was his decision. That’s what made him feel good, take it. I would say that about anyone who would have done it. The fact that we have a great connection doesn’t mean we can dictate what he should want or doesn’t want. Overall, it was shocking because I thought he was going to re-sign with the company or figure out what he wanted to do, whether movies, or stick around for some more time.”

h/t to Fightful

WWE have unveiled a huge statue of a WWE Championship to celebrate their headquarters moving location.

Photos of the statue have emerged on social media in recent days since its apparent appearance on Monday. The statue features the same design as the WWE and Universal titles with the text near the bottom of the statue reading “WWE WORLD HEADQUARTERS”.

PWInsider noted earlier today that many fans have already shown up to the new headquarters in order to pose and take photos with the statue and that most of the company’s employees have now moved to the new location from Titan Towers.

You can see a photo of the giant statue in the X post below:

There is now a giant #WWE Championship statue outside of WWE's new HQ pic.twitter.com/wgKlOBkKac

— LF$ (@wwelavonte) October 16, 2023

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite will emanate from the Fort Bend Epicenter in Rosenberg, Texas. The next major AEW event is AEW Full Gear, which will take place in four weeks.

Matches and segments announced for the show include:

• Jim Ross speaks to Nick Wayne and Nick Wayne’s Mother
• ‘Timeless’ Toni Storm debuts her latest film
• Adam Copeland responds to Christian Cage
• Sting addresses the fans
• Kenny Omega vs Kyle Fletcher
• Jay White vs Penta El Zero Miedo
• The Dynamite Dozen Battle Royal for #1 Contendership to MJF’s Dynamite Diamond Ring

What are you most excited to see on tonight’s episode of Dynamite? Let us know your thoughts here!

WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry has claimed that CM Punk being “stuck in his ways” isn’t necessarily a bad thing…

The occasional AEW commentator recently appeared on Booker T’s Hall of Fame podcast and the two discussed CM Punk’s departure from the promotion last month.

At one point, Henry admitted that Punk had an old-school mindset which he believes gave the wrong impression to younger talents. Henry went on to say that this mindset isn’t a bad thing as he saw it as a conviction for Punk’s passion.

“I feel like Punk is a lot like some of the people in sports that I know. The people in sports hate the fact that college football and college students are getting paid money now. It’s an old school mentality and the old school mentality rubs young people the wrong way.

Some people are stuck in their ways, Book, and Punk is stuck in his ways and that’s not a knock. I like conviction, I like somebody that can stand to their guns and they can debate with you on the fact that, ‘You know what, this is why sometimes being old will save your life because I know better. I experienced it, I went through the fire.’ I feel like Punk’s delivery of some of that conviction fell on deaf ears.”

h/t to WrestlingInc

Was CM Punk “stuck in his ways” or did he have the wrong attitude for AEW? Let us know your thoughts using the buttons down below!!

Just days after becoming a free agent, former NXT star Zack Gibson has announced the birth of his first child.

Gibson and his long-time tag team partner James Drake, also known as Rip Fowler and Jagger Reid of NXT tag team The Dyad, officially departed WWE a few days ago following the expiration of their contracts. The two have already made their first post-WWE appearance on DPW where they successfully defeated The WorkHorsemen.

The former NXT UK Tag Team Champion took to social media yesterday to announce that on the second day of his free agency, his first child Robyn was born. The post was accompanied by a picture showing him holding his newborn child.

Inside The Ropes send our congratulations to Zack and his family!

Day 2 (and 3 over 30 HOURS!) of being a free agent …

Welcome to the world Robyn 😍 pic.twitter.com/o3F9Ju9dU9

— Zack Gibson (@ZackGibsonGYV) October 18, 2023

Bianca Belair has seemingly been confirmed to appear at WWE Crown Jewel next month.

Belair has not been seen in WWE since the August 18th edition of SmackDown where she and Charlotte Flair defeated Bayley and IYO SKY. Bayley, SKY and Dakota Kai attacked Belair during the episode, leaving her out of action in kayfabe ever since. In reality, she has simply taken time off from the company.

However, it seems The EST will be returning in the next few weeks as she is one of the featured stars on the poster for WWE Crown Jewel on November 4th. Interestingly, John Cena and Logan Paul can also be seen on the poster – seemingly confirming them for the Saudi Arabia Premium Live Event as well.

The official poster for #WWECrownJewel 2023 live on Saturday November 4th. pic.twitter.com/bW5zECjKNR

— Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) October 17, 2023

Paul Wight is set to return to Ohio Valley Wrestling for the first time in over 17 years later this week!

OVW made the announcement earlier today via X, revealing that Wight will make his return to the promotion this Thursday. It is currently unknown if he will be purely appearing on OVW TV or if he’ll compete for the promotion as well.

Wight made his last OVW appearance all the way back on June 16th 2006 where he defeated The Miz on a Six Flags Summer Sizzler Series live event In Louisville, Kentucky. His last match on OVW TV, however, was almost 23 years ago on November 29th 2000.

THURSDAY! For the first time in almost 20 years @AEW star PAUL WIGHT will return to Davis Arena and OVW TV!

VERY FEW SEATS REMAINING!https://t.co/DslgORoANj pic.twitter.com/i7m4QWnjWo

— OVW Wrestling (@ovwrestling) October 17, 2023

Sammy Guevara has provided an update on his recovery after suffering a concussion at AEW WrestleDream.

Guevara hasn’t competed since the six-man tag match at WrestleDream where he picked up the win for himself, Will Ospreay and Konosuke Takeshita. Reports emerged shortly after the bout that he was not medically cleared due to suffering a concussion during the bout.

Now the 30-year-old has provided an update on his condition via his X account. Despite original plans to have him return on tonight’s Dynamite, Guevara revealed he has still not been cleared and will not compete on the show after all.

However, he noted he is slowly starting to feel better and is hoping to make his return to the ring as soon as possible.

Good news, bad news.
Bad news I’m not cleared yet.
Good news everyday I’m feeling better.

Sorry Houston I really wanted to put on a show for y’all. Hopefully next time.

Also Fuck Chris Jericho. pic.twitter.com/E234qTQ17W

— Samuel Guevara (@sammyguevara) October 17, 2023

Rey Mysterio has opened up about when he plans to end his legendary 34-year wrestling career in WWE.

The iconic luchador appeared as a guest on The MMA Hour yesterday and was asked by host Ariel Helwani if he has any plans to retire now that he is nearing 50 years old.

Mysterio admitted that the thought has been on his mind and even has a rough timeline for when he’ll finally hang up his wrestling boots.

“I’m hoping that it can be within the next year and a half or two, maybe.”

During the interview, Rey also discussed the potential of a hair vs hair match with his son Dominik, Triple H now being in charge of WWE creative, Logan Paul calling him out, and more.

h/t to WrestlingNews

Who should Rey face in his retirement match? Let us know your thoughts here!

Good morning everyone, hope you’ve had a good week so far!

Welcome back to the ITRWrestling live blog! I’ll be with you from 12pm to 6pm BST (7am – 1pm ET) covering all the biggest stories from WWE, AEW, NJPW, IMPACT and more.

Today’s top stories are:

• Rey Mysterio Reveals When He Plans To Retire From WWE
• Sammy Guevara Provides Update On Concussion Recovery
• Paul Wight Set For First OVW Appearance In 17 Years