Welcome to the August 14th Inside The Ropes Live blog, bringing you the latest news from WWE, AEW, NJPW, IMPACT Wrestling and more.
Today’s biggest stories:
Get involved and send us your thoughts to join in the conversation.
Sheamus describes his frustration with current booking and Roman Reigns going Over his match times at Madison Square Garden in New York!
Check out this never before seen interview clip below!
CM Punk reportedly “feels bad” about his recent criticism of Adam Page.
Earlier today we reported on Christopher Daniels and Ryan Nemeth being prevented from entering the venue at AEW Collision, seemingly due to heat with CM Punk.
Well thanks to a new report we know this is the case.
It’s now been reported by Nick Hausman that Daniels and Nemeth not being backstage is due to issues with Punk.
Hausman notes that Daniels’ involvement in the brawl following All Out, is why he’s not present at Collision. Punk reportedly sees parallels between the roles of Ace Steel and Daniels, and with Steel unable to attend Collision, Punk believes the same should be true of Daniels despite his role with management.
WWE has continued their trend of uploading historic matches in full to YouTube.
Today’s treat see’s two future WWE Hall of Famer and former WWE Champions clash as Sheamus and Kofi Kingston face off in an Extreme Rules match.
Check out the match in full below!
Following multiple reports stating if Brian Pillman Jr. has or has not signed with WWE, new information has come to light.
As reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it appears that Pillman Jr. is not actually a member of the roster yet. Those in the company have stated that currently the former Varsity Blond has not currently signed a contract, and there are no creative plans in place. However, Pillman Jr. is currently undergoing medicals and it is very likely that he will be signed unless something serious is discovered in the examinations.
Despite there being nothing official between either party yet, it is still widely believed that the debut will be a case of when and not if.
Mike Rotunda believes Bray Wyatt will be back in WWE soon.
On August 10th it was reported that Bray Wyatt is slowly moving closer to a return to WWE. Wyatt hasn’t been seen on television in person since the February 17th episode of SmackDown where he laid down a challenge to the winner of the match between Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley.
Following on from that report, Wyatt’s father, Mike Rotunda, has now said he expects his son to return to the company soon. Speaking to Bill Apter for Sportskeeda, said many of the reports online about the star have been inaccurate.
Kurt Angle has claimed it might soon be time for Finn Balor to leave WWE.
Reflecting on Finn Balor’s recent loss at SummerSlam on his podcast, The Kurt Angle Show, Angle said it might soon be time for the Irish star to leave WWE.
The WWE Hall of Famer said that while he doesn’t want to see it happen, he wouldn’t blame Balor if he is considering his future.
In and amongst all this AEW drama it is easy to forget that we are just weeks away from the biggest event in the company and possibly wrestling history.
Later this month AEW comes to London for All In and as of this morning the Wembley Stadium event has surpassed 80,000 tickets sold – putting it on track to become the biggest event in wrestling history.
AEW ALL IN
Sun, 27 Aug 2023, 18:00
Wembley Stadium, LondonAvailable Tickets => 3,992
Current Setup => 84,048
Tickets Distributed => 80,056 (+710 since last update)Resale => 1,893
80K crossed. The next record they are chasing is 80,709 set by WWE at WrestleMania 32 at AT&T… pic.twitter.com/up5NMTYsP2
— WrestleTix (@WrestleTix) August 14, 2023
With matches for the likes of CM Punk, MJF, Adam Cole and Sting already it announced it is going to take something special to help AEW hit their ultimate goal of selling out the stadium.
Do you think AEW can do it? Hit the thumbs below to let us know!
AEW has found themselves under fire from wrestling legend and Lucha Libre royalty Konnan for their use of former AAA star El Hijo Del Vikingo.
In a recent interview on K100 with Konnan & Disco Inferno, Konnan expressed his disappointment with AEW’s handling of Vikingo.
Despite Vikingo’s limited English-speaking skills, he believes that this should not hinder his push in the company. He suggests that Vikingo could have a manager speak on his behalf.
Konnan emphasised Vikingo’s status as one of the most phenomenal high flyers in the industry today and argued that his in-ring capabilities should speak for themselves. T
To truly captivate fans, he proposed placing Vikingo in a compelling storyline.
Corey Graves was joined by the sole WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Chelsea Green during the latest episode of After The Bell.
During the show they discuss the curse of the Women’s Tag Team Championships and Chelsea’s plans following the injury to Sonya Deville.
Check it out live below!
WWE Superstar Arianna Grace will be competing in the 2023 Miss Canada competition.
Grace, who is the daughter of former WWE Superstar Santino Marella, is set to embark on a new journey as she competes for the coveted title of Miss Universe Canada while simultaneously making her way back to the squared circle.
Grace previously showcased her beauty and grace in the 2013 Miss Ontario pageant, where she emerged victorious. Now, she has taken to the social media platform Threads to announce her participation in the highly anticipated Miss Universe Canada competition.
Miss Universe Canada 2023 is scheduled to take place on Saturday, August 19th.
NJPW has announced it’s return to the United Kingdom this October for Royal Quest III.
The event will be NJPW’s third foray into the British market following Royal Quest’s I and II in 2019 and 2022 respectively.
Prior to this NJPW had done a number of Global Wars collaborative events with RevPro, the companies sister promotion in the United Kingdom.
Check out the official announcement below!
🇬🇧LONDON!🇬🇧
ROYAL QUEST III sees us back in the Copper Box October 14!https://t.co/DHahzOqqqu
EXCLUSIVE PRESALE AUGUST 29! Sign up nowhttps://t.co/jXjFeoheXu#njpw #RoyalQuest pic.twitter.com/jpKjmnbAMO
— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) August 14, 2023
On an ITR Live tour, Rob Van Dam talked about initial plans for him to be World Heavyweight Champion instead of Triple H and his awkward relationship with Vince McMahon.
Check out this never before seen video clip below!
An independent wrestler has revealed that AEW star Daniel Garcia choked him out in a restaurant.
Indie wrestler Myung-Jae Lee recently shared a memorable incident from his early days in the wrestling industry during an appearance on the Indied – The Independent Wrestling Podcast on the Fightful Overbooked YouTube channel.
Lee, who began his in-ring career in 2021 after training at Grapplers Anonymous in Buffalo, New York, revealed that he had an unfortunate encounter with AEW star Daniel Garcia.
According to Lee, the incident took place at a CoreLife Eatery, where he, Garcia, and two others were having a meal. In an unexpected turn of events, Garcia playfully applied a chokehold on Lee.
Despite tapping out immediately, Garcia didn’t release the hold, causing Lee to pass out and collapse to the ground.
You can read Lee’s full recount of this bizarre story, here.
‘The Empress of Tomorrow’ Asuka had some firm words for the Japanese media and STARDOM during a recent social media rant.
Taking to Twitter, Asuka would blast the Japanese media for their treatment of her upon her decision to sign with the WWE.
Asuka would blast the “anti-Asuka’s” before commenting that she now fights alongside her comrades in arms such as Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair and Triple H.
“The media could not bring me down when I came to America.
They must have really wanted me to fail.
I am used to it because I have been fighting my critics alone since my days in Japan.
But now that I am here, I have comrades in arms. Charlotte, Becky, HHH and… I’ve walked alone in the wilderness all my life, and here I have an oasis.
To the Asuka antis, I say, beat me up on the Internet all you want. I grab everything.”
Asuka would also claim the STARDOM, the legendary Joshi wrestling promotion, was created to “defeat” her and that it has failed.
The Battle of Brothers at WrestleMania 10 is one of WWE’s most iconic matches of all-time… but it almost didn’t happen.
When Owen Hart & Bret Hart clashed at WrestleMania X, fans got exactly what they expected in the form of a pure technical and storytelling masterpiece between the ropes.
However, speaking in a new interview, current WWE Superstar Natalya has revealed that Vince McMahon almost scrapped the iconic bout and it was only after her Uncle Bret Hart protested that the match went ahead.
Speaking with “Minnesota Sports with Mackey & Judd, Natalya would comment:
“I remember Bret really fighting for Owen to have that match,” Natalya revealed.
“A lot of people don’t know that, but Bret, behind the scenes, fought very hard for Owen to be a part of that storyline … I think something different was suggested, and Bret said, ‘No, I want it to be Owen.’” [h/t WrestlingInc]
The match is widely considered one of the greatest in WrestleMania history and is still available to watch world wide via the WWE Network.
What is your favourite WrestleMania match of all time? Let us know by using the ‘get involved’ feature at the top of the page and we will share your responses throughout the day!
If most fans were to name the best wrestling match from a storytelling POV in recent years they are likely to suggest something like Roman Reigns vs Jey Uso, Sami Zayn vs Roman Reigns, Kenny Omega vs Adam Page or even Kazuchika Okada vs Will Ospreay.
But Dave Meltzer has other thoughts.
Writing in this morning’s Wrestling Observer Daily Newsletter, Dave Meltzer would comment on the G1 Climax 33 final between Tetsuya Naito and Kazuchika Okada.
Whilst commenting on how incredible he found the bout, Meltzer would reveal that he believes it is in fact the “best story telling match in a long time.”
“I haven’t seen the Mayu Iwatani vs. Utami Hayashishita match from today’s Stardom PPV show in Osaka but people have raved about it.
The other matches I have seen from the last two nights of G-1 and I felt Will Ospreay vs. Tetsuya Naito was incredible, Naito vs. Kazuchika Okada was one of the best storytelling matches in a long time and a legit classic final match”
Naito would overcome Okada in the final to win his 3rd G1 Climax and finally defeat The Rainmaker in the tournament finals.
What do you think is the best storytelling match in recent wrestling history? Let us know by writing in using the ‘get involved’ feature at the top of the page!
The Young Bucks and CM Punk are far from speaking terms but that doesn’t mean they can’t come together for the betterment of AEW… at least most of the time.
Following the news of CM Punk’s off air comments regarding Adam Page following Saturday’s episode of AEW Collision, it has been revealed that The Young Bucks and CM Punk have an unwritten agreement regarding one another.
Writing in this morning’s Wrestling Observer Daily Newsletter, Dave Meltzer would reveal that The Young Bucks and CM Punk have agreed not to say anything negative about each other publicaly.
However, the report also reveals that this agreement did not include ‘Hangman’ Adam Page, meaning that Punk was not in breach of the agreement following his comments on Saturday.
“As noted before, the Young Bucks and Punk do have an agreement to not say anything negative publicly about each other, but that does not include Page.”
If you were Adam Page what would you do regarding CM Punk’s derogatory comments? Let us know using the ‘get involved’ feature and we will share your responses throughout the day!
I did warn you it was going to be a CM Punk heavy morning!
Following the news that Adam Page, Matt Hardy and Christopher Daniels had been refused entry into AEW Collision, it would appear that the bizarre happenings in AEW don’t stop there.
It has been revealed in a new report from Sean Ross Sapp via Fightful Select that rising AEW star Ryan Nemeth was booked to appear on a recent episode of AEW Collision only to be given a plane ticket and turned around on his arrival.
The report goes on to reveal that Nemeth had recently being confronted by CM Punk following the rising stars comments on Punk being the “softest man alive” following ‘The Second City Saint’s’ return promo on the debut episode of AEW Collision.
Fightful Select reports that the confrontation did not turn physical but it is “unclear” how it all went down.
If you were Tony Khan how would you be handling this volatile CM Punk situation? Write in using the ‘get involved’ feature at the top of the page and we will share your responses with the blog throughout the day.
Continuing with our early morning dose of AEW drama.
Following the news that Adam Page had been refused entry to AEW Collision, it has also been revealed that WWE Hall of Famer Matt Hardy and wrestling veteran Christopher Daniels were also recently turned away from the show after being instructed to attend the event.
What makes this news all the more surprising is that Christopher Daniels currently serves as AEW’s Head of Talent Relations – a role that should, in principle, require him to be at most if not all of AEW’s TV tapings across Dynamite and Collision.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, both Daniels and Hardy had been turned away at the doors of the show in recent weeks due to “somethings happening” behind-the-scences.
“Matt Hardy was booked on a Saturday, went there and then was told not to go to the building after he got there. Christopher Daniels, who had been working with Matt Sydal’s tag team in Ring Of Honor, for whatever reason same thing happened with him, he’s not supposed to go on Saturday and he’s freaking head of talent relations. There may be others but those are the ones I know of.”
We are starting things off today with one of many CM Punk stories to come out of this weeks AEW Collision episode.
It has been revealed that ‘Hangman’ Adam Page was sent to this Saturday’s episode of AEW Collision to film a backstage segment for AEW only to be told to go elsewhere and not attend the event at all.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Page was initially scheduled to film at the Greensboro Coliseum in North Carolina, where Collision took place on August 12th. However, upon his arrival, Page was informed that the filming location had been changed, and he was advised not to attend the event altogether.
You can read Meltzer’s full breakdown of bizarre event, here.
Do you think CM Punk is causing more problems for AEW than he is worth? Let us know by hitting the thumbs below!
Good Afternoon!
Hope everyone is doing well and had an awesome weekend!
Apologies for the missing Friday live blog last week – I was under the weather but much like CM Punk in the news, I am well and truly back.
I will be with you this afternoon from 12:00 pm to 6 pm BST (8 am – 1 pm EST) with all the latest news and rumours from AEW, WWE and NJPW.
This afternoon we will be kicking things off with some of today’s biggest stories, including:
As always if you have anything you want to ask us or any stories you would like us to try to provide an update on, let us know by using the ‘get involved’ feature at the top of the page!
