media

Dynamite
Date: September 21, 2022
Location: Arthur Ashe Stadium, New York City, New York
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Taz
It’s probably the biggest Dynamite of the year as we are in a stadium for Grand Slam. As expected, the show is going to be a huge one with a World Title match between Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley for the vacant championship. Other than that, Swerve In Our Glory is defending the Tag Team Titles against the Acclaimed in an All Out rematch. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Ring Of Honor World Title: Chris Jericho vs. Claudio Castagnoli Castagnoli is defending and starts fast by gorilla pressing Jericho onto the top rope. A big boot knocks Jericho outside and Castagnoli follows him, only to have Jericho hide behind former Ring Of Honor owner Cary Silkin. That’s enough for Jericho to get in some cheap shots to stagger Castagnoli but he’s right back with the uppercuts back inside. They fight to the apron and fight over a suplex before forearming it out ..

That’s how the big shows go. Titles are what matter the most in wrestling and that has been the case for a very long time now. Fans understand that the wrestlers who hold championships are some of the most important stars in the promotion and a title change means a lot. That was the case this week, as multiple titles changed hands on one of the biggest nights of the year.
AEW held its annual Grand Slam episode of Dynamite this week, where three titles changed hands. First up, Chris Jericho used a low blow to defeat Claudio Castagnoli for the Ring Of Honor World Title. Next, the Acclaimed defeated Swerve In Our Glory to win the Tag Team Titles. Finally, Jon Moxley defeated Bryan Danielson to win the vacant AEW World Title. All-Atlantic Champion Pac successfully defended his title against Orange Cassidy and Toni Storm retained the Interim Women’s Title over Britt Baker, Athena and Serena Deeb.
Opinion: That is the kind of pay per view level amount of title changes that you almost never..

There’s a big one. There are multiple ways to change things up in wrestling and one of the best ways is to have someone make a surprise debut. Having someone show up out of nowhere can make for a great moment. It can be difficult to figure out a way to bring in someone for such a moment but AEW has managed to pull it off with a former major WWE star.
Saraya, formerly known as Paige, made her AEW debut this week at AEW Grand Slam. Following Toni Storm retaining her Interim AEW Women’s Title, Britt Baker, Jamie Hayter and Serena Deeb attacked her. Saraya made the save and invited all of them for a fight but no one accepted. Saraya did not get physical and it is not clear if she will have a match, as she was forced to retire from the ring due to neck injuries.
Opinion: That’s a major surprise and it worked as the kind of moment AEW was hoping to have. Saraya is a name that had been rumored for AEW for a long time but it was hard to imagine it actually happening. I’d like to believe she ..

She’s a fan. There are certain people in WWE who are just bigger stars than others. They are some of the bigger names who can do things that others can’t and as a result, those people have more influence. It can help a lot to see what they might want to do and in some situations, WWE will even listen. That might be what is happening again with a current top name.
WWE’s Ronda Rousey recently appeared on the Baddest Stream On The Planet, where she was asked which WWE star should get a bigger push. Rousey said that Shayna Baszler should get a bigger chance, saying she was one of the best people on the show and that she needs “them to get their s*** together and realize it”. Rousey and Baszler are part of the Four Horsewomen and have trained together in WWE.
Opinion: This isn’t the biggest surprise as Rousey and Baszler have been friends for a very long time now. The two of them are from a similar background and it would make sense for Rousey to want someone like Baszler to receive a pus..

This one was different. To say that AEW has been going through some things in recent weeks would be an understatement. The company has been dealing with some major issues, with the biggest being the backstage issues. Such a problem needs to be dealt with and now AEW seems to be coming out the other side with the situation, as might have been demonstrated this week.
According to Fightful Select, AEW held another talent meeting before this week’s Dynamite Grand Slam special. AEW has held similar meetings in recent weeks but this one was said to be much more laid back and more of a pep talk before a major show. A veteran said that the locker room has been better over the last three weeks than it has been in a long time, with a source saying that it was “addition by subtraction”.
Opinion: This has been one of the weirdest and most tumultuous times that AEW has ever seen and it is good to see that things are finally starting to calm down. AEW is in a weird place at the moment and thankful..

They were talking. WWE has long since been the biggest and most powerful wrestling promotion in the world and that is not likely to change anytime soon. However, for the first time in decades, a well funded promotion has risen up to be the second biggest company and shares some of that big stage. AEW has taken the secondary spot along with some former WWE stars. It seems that they had even tried to pick up another.
According to Fightful Select, AEW and former WWE star Paige had some conversations about potentially working together in some capacity. There is nothing to suggest that they reached an agreement, though it is possible that something could change in the future. Paige has retired from the ring due to a series of neck injuries, though she has said that she could wrestle again in a special moment.
Opinion: This is the kind of thing that gets a few eyebrows going up but I would be surprised to see Paige getting back in the ring. Paige is a very talented star and was a big bridg..

Welcome to the family. There have been a lot of changes throughout WWE in recent weeks and one of the more interesting has been the closure of NXT UK with NXT Europe on the way next year. Several of the NXT UK stars have been brought over to the main NXT roster and that has shaken things up quite a bit. Now it has happened again, with one of the top names coming over.
The main event of this week’s NXT saw JD McDonagh defeat Tyler Bate to become the new #1 contender to the NXT Title. Following the win, McDonagh and NXT Champion Bron Breakker had a staredown but former NXT United Kingdom Champion Ilja Dragunov debuted and stared both of them down. Dragunov was forced to vacate the title due to a knee injury and has not wrestled since June.
Opinion: That is the kind of addition that could be a game changer in NXT. Dragunov brings so much intensity and energy with him that it could be a huge deal. I could go for seeing a lot more of Dragunov around, as you do not see many stars like him…

It’s an idea. Wrestlers have a weird connection with acting, as they often act in their roles as wrestlers but they are rarely seen as anything more than a wrestler in mainstream acting roles. That gives them a very niche role to fill but occasionally someone will break out with a different kind of appearance. One WWE legend has an idea about how another legend should be used.
September 17 was the annual Batman Day, which prompted several discussions related to the franchise. WWE got involved by sending out a tweet asking which WWE Superstar should play Batman. Hall Of Famer Kevin Nash responded with Randy Orton, who has dabbled in acting over the years. Nash has also acted, including in the comic book movies Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 and The Punisher.
Pick a WWE Superstar to play Batman.#BatmanDay
— WWE (@WWE) September 17, 2022
@RandyOrton
— Kevin Nash (@RealKevinNash) September 18, 2022
Opinion: This is one of those things that is little more than some fun and that is nev..

NXT
Date: September 20, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett
We’re officially into the second year of NXT 2.0 which now seems to be minus the 2.0. Things seem to be moving forward into a new era around here and that should be good for NXT as a whole. I’m not sure what that is going to mean but we do have a #1 contenders match this week between Tyler Bate and JD McDonagh. Let’s get to it.
Opening recap.
Earlier today, Carmelo Hayes and Solo Sikoa came in to see Shawn Michaels and the results of the match last week cannot stand. Sikoa was not the sanctioned challenger and therefore cannot be the North American Champion. The title is handed over and Sikoa hands over the title, with Shawn wishing him luck anywhere he goes. Hayes is ready to have the title handed back to him but Shawn says not so fast. In six weeks at Halloween Havoc, there is a six man ladder match for the title.
Axiom vs. Nathan Frazer Match #2 in a best of t..

Little more warning next time please. With so many wrestlers on the WWE roster, it can be difficult to keep track of what all of them are doing. There are a lot of different ways to present WWE’s collection of stars, but sometimes they go away for a bit before getting to come back and showcase themselves again. That is the case with a certain WWE legend, but now we know when he will be back.
Last week on Monday Night Raw, Edge was taken out at the hands of Judgment Day, with the team injuring Edge’s knee in the process. As a result, Edge was put out of action indefinitely. Now though, WWE is advertising Edge for Extreme Rules on October 8, with no match announced so far. Edge last wrestled at Clash At The Castle, teaming with Rey Mysterio to defeat Judgment Day.
Opinion: I don’t think there is any surprise that Edge will be back at Extreme Rules but it might not have been the best idea to flat out say that he is going to be there so soon. It isn’t like it is some horrible storyline b..

There it goes. Titles are some of the most important parts of any wrestling show. A title makes it clear that a wrestler is one of the prominent stars, which tells fans who they need to focus on. It means something when someone wins a title but it can mean just as much when someone loses one. Now we are seeing the same thing again, as a title has changed hands through different circumstances.
This week’s edition of NXT started with Shawn Michaels calling Carmelo Hayes and NXT North American Champion Solo Sikoa into his office. Michaels said that due to Sikoa not being the designated challenger last week, Sikoa could not be the champion as he was leaving NXT. Hayes believed this meant he would be the champion again, but Michaels made a six person ladder match for Halloween Havoc on November 1.
Opinion: I can go for Michaels as the boss and I can go for Sikoa not being pinned for the title, but another ladder match isn’t doing much for me. That is such a recurring theme for NXT (and wr..

Tone it down. AEW has shaken up the wrestling world and that has mainly been a good thing. The company has opened several doors for the industry, including allowing a lot of wrestlers a new place to go. One of the ways AEW has made its mark is through some unique ideas, but now they appear to be shifting away from one of the things they have used since their inception.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, AEW is toning down its use of the ranking system. Since the titles were established, it has used a ranking system to determine the top five challengers to the World, Tag Team and Women’s Titles. However, the rankings have not been updated since before All Out and have not been emphasized as much on television in recent weeks. There is a chance that they could be brought back, but it does not seem that they will be used as much at the moment.
Opinion: This is quite the good news as I’m not sure how much good the rankings have been doing in recent months. Case in point, FTR..