Ace steel
CM Punk was fired by AEW last weekend after an investigation into a backstage incident at All In with Jack Perry. Five days later, Punk’s close friend and trainer Ace Steel is now also gone from AEW.
The news of Steel’s termination today was reported by PW Insider and confirmed by F4WOnline’s Dave Meltzer.
Steel was a key player in last year’s backstage fight at All Out 2022 between Punk and The Elite, where some accounts say he bit Kenny Omega and threw a chair at Nick Jackson. Ace was fired by AEW in the aftermath of that brawl. It sounds like he was secretly rehired at some point and then worked as a coach / producer for the launch of the new Collision show in June.
MJF and Samoa Joe
On Wednesday, Joe asked MJF what his problem was. MJF initially poked fun at Joe’s weight before he delivered a heated message. He recalled the time Joe shoved him into a wall when he was an extra in NXT. MJF threatened to send Joe back to NXT. He also told Joe that he would not cut the line, as the Grand Slam World Title Eliminator tournament would determine his next challenger.
Joe fired back by saying he would run through the tournament and get a title shot. He proceeded to attack MJF from behind. MJF fought back, as he hit Joe below the belt. Joe overpowered him and went for a Musclebuster, but Adam Cole made the save.
la Knight
LA Knight is reportedly close to a contract extension with WWE, and a new report has some additional details on the matter. Following an initial report by PWInsider that Knight was close to a deal on an extension, Fightful Select has some more on the situation.
According to the outlet, Knight’s deal was nowhere near done around SummerSlam and it could take a while for such a situation to happen. WWE has generally waited until deals are much closer as of late before starting new talks.
The report notes that some of the initial offers given were countered in the negotiations. There were reports that WWE was waiting for the deal to complete before pulling the trigger on his push.
Neither WWE nor Knight have commented on the status of his deal as of yet.
(pw Torch) The contract is reportedly either being finalized or has already been signed, with PWInsider writing that some sources believe that the new deal is up to five years.
THe Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley) have reportedly signed new deals with WWE.
Per Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Bubba (also known as Bully Ray) and D-Von recently signed Legends contracts with the company. Bully Ray has been featured on IMPACT Wrestling programming in recent months. He and D-Von will reunite at IMPACT 1000 on September 9. It’s unclear whether the Legends contract will have any impact on Bully’s work in IMPACT.
Von Wagner was the victim of a brutal assault on NXT last night. Bron Breakker attacked the 29-year-old WWE star after their No Disqualification main event. The latter split open Wagner’s head with the ringside steel steps. Fans might be worrying about his health in the aftermath of the assault.
The injury angle could be used to write him off permanently from NXT for Wagner to exercise his free agency status on either RAW or SmackDown. The big man was declared a free agent in WWE Draft 2023.
As for Bron Breakker, his future seems uncertain following the shocking events this week. The former NXT Champion has been heavily rumored to move to the main roster for months. It remains to be seen how the officials will retaliate after the controversial actions.
Gunther is now officially recognized as the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion in WWE history.
Gunther became Intercontinental Champion by defeating Ricochet on the June 10, 2022 episode of SmackDown. To ensure that his reign would be record-breaking, Gunther defeated Chad Gabl
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