Photo: New WWE Night Of Champions Poster Revealed
In an interesting turn of events, wWE has officially unveiled that Night of Champions 2026 will take place on Saturday, June 27, at the Kingdom Facility in Riya...
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Photo: New WWE Night Of Champions Poster Shared
WWE has officially declared that Night of Champions 2026 will take place on Saturday, June 27, at the Kingdom Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. While the showdo...
NEWS
A Long Time: Gunther Breaks 18 Year Old Record As Intercontinental Champion
That’s a long time. Title reigns can be some of the most important things in a wrestler’s career. If someone holds a championship for a long time, it can make them feel like that much bigger of a star. A wrestler being able to hold onto a championship for several months, if not longer, can be a game changer for them and now someone is doing it for the second time. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: One More: 51 Year Old Former World Champion Announces Planned Return To The Ring WWE has released a video on their YouTube page, announcing that Gunther is now the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion of the century. Gunther has held the title for 245 days, breaking Shelton Benjamin’s mark from 2004/5. If Gunther holds the title for three more weeks, he will pass the Rock for the longest title reign since Mr. Perfect in 1990/1. Gunther previously held the record for longest title reign of any kind in WWE this century with an 870 day reign as United Kingdom Champion, which was broken by Roman Rei..
NEWS
Another Happy Return? Controversial WWE Star Discussed For Possible Royal Rumble Return
That would be a return. There have been all kinds of roster changes in WWE in recent months and there is nothing to suggest that they are finishing up. This very well may include the Royal Rumble, where several surprise names are known to show up again after lengthy absences. Now there is a rumor that a former WWE Women’s Champion may be making an appearance. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: He’s In For Now: Former WWE Star Set For AEW Debut According to PWInsider Elite, Nia Jax has been rumored for a possible Royal Rumble return. This has NOT been confirmed and is currently seen as just a possibility being discussed. Jax, a former Raw Women’s Champion, was released from the company on November 4, 2021. She has not wrestled since, though she was announced for an independent event in the United Kingdom which never took place. In case you forgot. Check out Jax’s time in WWE: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click..
NEWS
It’s A Start: Possible Backstage Heat On Mercedes Mone (Sasha Banks) In New Japan
Already? Earlier this month, one of the longer running wrestling questions in recent months was answered, as Mercedes Mone, formerly known as Sasha Banks, made her debut with New Japan Pro Wrestling at Wrestle Kingdom 17. That seemed to be the end of things but also a new beginning. As it turns out, there might already be some issues with Mone and her new boss. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: WATCH: Steve Austin Works Does The Weather And Works The Drive Thru At Restaurant According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there might be some heat on Mone in New Japan and Stardom (New Japan’s sister promotion). Mone had been talking about how she wanted to face wrestlers from the Sendai Girls and Tokyo Joshi Pro promotions, both of which are seen as competition to Bushiroad (the parent company of New Japan and Stardom). While in Japan, Mone went to the Sendai Girls dojo but not the Stardom dojo. There is no word on what this could mean for Mone, or if she will be in any actual trouble. It has b..
NEWS
UPDATE: New Reports Deny Rumor Of WWE Being Sold To Saudi Arabia
So maybe not? We are in a very strange time for WWE as things are moving so fast that it is hard to keep track of everything. The difference this time is that it is at the very top of the promotion, with the future ownership being questioned. That has opened up a variety of options, but now it seems that one of the leading candidates may not be as close to control as expected. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: WRESTLING RUMORS: When Vince McMahon Could Appear On WWE TV Again Earlier this week, a rumor circulated that WWE had been sold to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which planned to take the company private again. However, new reports from Ariel Helwani of BT Sports, Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics and Jon Alba of Fite TV say that they have heard nothing of such a sale. At the moment, WWE has yet to comment on the story, though the company has been rumored to look at a sale in recent days. Contrary to reports stating otherwise last night, there is no deal in place at this precise moment for ..
NEWS
Next Target: WWE Reportedly Interested In 40 Year Old Second Generation Star
On the radar. There are a lot of talented wrestlers in the world who have nothing to do with WE. Those wrestlers often grow a following and reputation of their own and that can be enough to get WWE’s attention. WWE will often go after wrestlers from other promotions and that seems to be what they are trying to do now with a pair of second generation international stars. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Farewell? Weekly Wrestling Series Seems To Be Coming To An End Earlier this week, New Japan Pro Wrestling held its annual Wrestle Kingdom event. During the show, Tama Tonga defeated Karl Anderson to become the new Never Openweight Champion. According to Fightful Select, WWE is interested in Tonga and has been for quite some time. There is no word on if Tonga is interested in leaving New Japan or when his current contract expires. Tonga is quite the star. Check out his work around the world on his own and as part of the Guerrillas of Destiny team: [This post contains video, click to play] [Th..
NEWS
REVIEW: New Japan Wrestle Kingdom 17: That Feels Right
Welcome to KB’s Old School (and New School) Reviews. I’ve been reviewing wrestling shows for over twelve years now and have reviewed over 6,000 shows. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I’ll be posting a new review here on Wrestlingrumors.net. It could be anything from modern WWE to old school to indies to anything in between. Note that I rate using letters instead of stars and I don’t rate matches under three minutes as really, how good or bad can something that short be? Wrestle Kingdom XVII Date: January 4, 2023 Location: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Chris Charlton, Gino Gambino It’s time to go back to New Japan for a promotion that I have not looked at since last year’s Wrestle Kingdom. As tends to be the case with this show, I’m coming in mostly blind, save for knowing the wrestlers involved. The main event is Jay White defending the IWGP World Title against Kazuchika Okada, who he took the title from back in June. Let’s get to it. Pre-Show: Boltin Oleg ..
NEWS
LOOK: WWE, AEW And New Japan Stars Recreate Classic Photo This Week
The best of several worlds. There are all kinds of wrestling promotions throughout the world, from the biggest companies around to some rather small independents and all points in between. Every now and then you get to see these promotions doing something together and now that is the case again, albeit this time there were three major companies recreating something from the past. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: WRESTLING RUMORS: More Evidence WWE Is Teasing A Hurt Business Reunion Earlier this week, New Japan Pro Wrestling held its annual Wrestle Kingdom event, featuring wrestlers from AEW. The event also included the debut of former WWE star Sasha Banks, now known as Mercedes Mone. Current WWE star Bayley accompanied her for the debut, though she did not appear on television. Dax Harwood posted a photo of the four together this week, as compared to the four together at some point in their WWE/NXT career. Harwood captioned the two photos with the phrase “What a life.” What a life. pic.twitte..
NEWS
International Incident: WWE Star Loses Title At Major International Event
It had to happen eventually. There are all kinds of titles in wrestling and some of the most well known are in WWE. Those are not all of the titles around the world though as other promotions have championships and honors of their own. You will occasionally see those paths cross though, and now one of the crossings that led to some interesting questions have been closed. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: He’s Back: Former Champion Officially Returns To WWE After Leaving AEW New Japan Pro Wrestling held its annual Wrestle Kingdom show earlier this week, featuring several title matches. One such match saw Tama Tonga defeat Karl Anderson to win the NEVER Openweight Title. Anderson currently works for WWE as part of the Monday Night Raw roster and was the reigning champion when he returned to WWE in November. The title reign was referenced on WWE programming but the title never appeared. He has some better times. Check out what Anderson has done since returning to WWE: [This post contains video, ..
NEWS
WATCH: Sasha Banks Makes New Japan Debut, First Match Set
New home. There have been a lot of comings and goings with the WWE roster in recent months and those changes are likely to continue. One of the interesting things about the departures winds up being where someone winds up next. That can make for a great moment, even if you know someone is going to wind up. Now one of the arrivals has actually taken place. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: WRESTLING RUMORS: Major Title Change Planned Before WrestleMania 39 This week at New Japan Wrestle Kingdom 17, Mercedes Mone, formerly known as Sasha Banks in WWE, made her debut for the promotion. Mone, referring to herself as the CEO, debuted after IWGP Women’s Champion Kairi (formerly known as Kairi Sane in WWE) defeated Tam Nakano to retain her title. Mone went on to attack Kairi’s arm before announcing that the two will face each other in San Jose, California on February 18. There is no word on if Mone will wrestle before then. Here she is. Check out Mone’s New Japan debut: [This post contains video, cl..
NEWS
And Done: Former WWE Champion Reportedly Now Free Agent, Can Wrestle Elsewhere
It’s official. 2022 was one of the busiest wrestling years in recent history, with all kinds of changes taking place over the course of the year. That made for some very interesting moments as fans tried to figure out what was going on and where things were heading next. Now we have a major step forward, as well as what what seems to be the conclusion, of one of the stories. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Back In A Bit: Another AEW Star Confirms Injury, Promises To Return Soon Back in May 2022, Sasha Banks and Naomi both walked out on WWE, vacating the Women’s Tag Teak Titles at the same time. While there were negotiations for both to return to WWE, neither ever appeared again. According to Sean Ross Sapp, Banks is now available for wrestling bookings, meaning she is officially a free agent. Neither Banks nor Naomi have wrestled or appeared on a wrestling show since walking out on WWE, though Banks is expected to be at New Japan’s Wrestle Kingdom event later this week. Good morning. Mercede..
NEWS
Mark It: Important Detail On Next WWE Event In Saudi Arabia
They have a plan for that. WWE is a company that makes a lot of money in a lot of ways, but there are a few revenue streams that crush just about anything else. One of the most important is the company’s deal with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which brings a fortune in to WWE for a pair of annual shows. WWE occasionally does more than this, and now we know a bit more about the next show. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: WATCH: Clip From Attitude Era WWF Live Event Featuring All-Star Lineup According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE’s next Saudi Arabian show will take place in May. There are currently no details on known regarding a show name or theme. This would be WWE’s first event in the Kingdom in May, as the events have recently been run in February and then again in the fall. WWE’s most recent event, Crown Jewel 2022, took place on November 5. WWE has done a lot in Saudi Arabia. Check out some of what they have done in the country over the years: [This post contains video, click..
NEWS
Shorthanded: AEW To Be Missing Some Top Stars In Coming Weeks
It might be a bit. There are all kinds of talented wrestlers on the AEW roster, who have come together to help make the company as popular as it is. The company has been built around several different styles of wrestling, some of which have been around the promotion since the beginning. There is not room for everyone on the roster though, and now some of them will be missing in action for a bit. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Big Fans: Wendy’s Has A Prediction For AEW Best Of Seven Series According to PWInsider.com, some AEW stars will be missing from upcoming editions of Dynamite due to international commitments. First, Sammy Guevara, Tay Melo and FTR will all be missing from the December 28 edition of Dynamite as they will be competing for AAA in Mexico that night. Second, Kenny Omega and FTR will not be at the January 4 Dynamite as they will be in Japan for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17. Everyone should be back as usual following these dates. That is some talent to have missing. Check out the ..
NEWS
Homecoming: More Details On Surprise WWE Return
It’s all about the details. There have been several surprise returns to WWE this year, some of which have been almost shocking. It means a lot when a former star makes a return to WWE, and another one happened this week. Another former NXT champion made a surprise return, albeit this time on the main roster, and now we know a bit more about how everything went down. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: WRESTLING RUMORS: Former WWE Star Teases Third Run With Company This week on Monday Night Raw, Bronson Reed made a surprise return to Wwe, helping Miz defeat Dexter Lumis in a ladder match. According to Fightful Select, Reed was a “priority hire” for WWE under the Triple H regime, with Reed leaving New Japan, where he had been working as Jonah, to return. While Reed has not wrestled since October, he has been talking about New Japan’s January 4 Wrestle Kingdom event to hide a potential WWE return. Reed is a former NXT North American Champion but was released from WWE in August 2021. Reed is a force..
NEWS
Her Too: Here Is Naomi’s Current Situation With WWE
What about her? Back in May, Sasha Banks walked out on WWE over issues with her creative direction and never returned to the company. While there were rumors of a return for several months, Banks ultimately went on to be announced for an appearance at New Japan’s Wrestle Kingdom. That is a big story, but Banks did not leave WWE alone. What about the woman who left with her? IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Import: WWE Considers Bringing In Other Company’s Champion For Royal Rumble When Banks left, she and Naomi vacated the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles in the process. Naomi left with Banks and has not been seen in WWE since either. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there is nothing new about Naomi in WWE, other than she has a decision to make. While Naomi wanted to return to WWE with Banks as a team, her options are now to go elsewhere or return alone. When Naomi walked out, her contract was about to expire, though there is no word on how long WWE may have frozen her contract. It i..
NEWS
RUMOR KILLER On Chris Jericho And Sasha Banks’ New Japan Payoffs
He would know. There are a lot of wrestlers in the professional wrestling industry, but one of the most important parts of the industry is the first word: professional. These wrestlers are out there competing for money and the more successful they have been in their careers, the more money they are going to make. Now one wrestler is setting the record straight, or at least straighter, on some of his pay issues. Sasha Banks is currently set to debut with New Japan Pro Wrestling at the January 4 Wrestle Kingdom 17 event. A report earlier this week said that she would be making $100,000 per appearance, which was said to be more than Chris Jericho made for his appearances with the company. Jericho has since responded to the rumor, saying that he never had a flat appearance deal and was paid according to the event. In addition, Jericho said that he made more per event than he made for “MOST of my Wrestlemania matches”. Jericho wrestled six matches with New Japan from 2018-2020. For the re..
NEWS
No More: Sasha Banks Reportedly “Done” With WWE, What Caused The Split
That’s a game changer. There have been all kinds of wrestling stories this year and one of the most intriguing has been that of Sasha Banks and Naomi walking out on WWE. The two have not appeared on WWE TV since May and there is no word on when the two might be returning. Now though, we have an update on one of them that suggests that she will not be back at all. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Pair Em Up: 74 Year Old WWE Legend Offers To Mentor SmackDown Star Earlier this week, a report emerged that Banks would be appearing at New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 17 next month. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, outside of a last minute change, Banks is considered “done” with WWE. The two sides are said to be very far apart on money and Banks’ current contract is expected to expire at the end of the year. Banks is not expected to wrestle at Wrestle Kingdom but she does have more dates set with the company for after the show. Banks is a star when she is in the ring. Check out what s..
NEWS
Bring Her Over: AEW Stars Thrilled Over Possibility Of Sasha Banks Joining Company
She would be a big deal. The rise of AEW has led to a variety of stars getting a fresh chance on a new show. It can make a lot of difference to those stars as they might not have had the chance to shine before. That is not always the case though, as some big stars have moved from one promotion to another. Now some people are excited about another possible jump. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Gillberg Talks Possible Match With Goldberg: “I’ll Bust Him Up” Earlier this week, news broke that Mercedes Kaestner-Varnado, better known as Sasha Banks, would be appearing at New Japan Wrestle Kingdom 17 on January 4. According to Fightful Select, some AEW stars believe that this could lead to her signing with AEW. One AEW source said they believed Kaestner-Varnado could be an “anchor” for the women’s division and a likely viewership draw. There is currently nothing to suggest that Kaestner-Varnado will be signing with AEW, leaving this as speculation at the moment. The star power is there. Check out ..
NEWS
Sasha Banks Appearing At Wrestle Kingdom 17
The Boss is heading overseas. According to a report from PWInsider, Sasha Banks is expected to appear at New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 17 event next month. It is unknown in what capacity she will be used, if at all, during the show. Banks has not wrestled since she and Naomi walked out on WWE before the May 16 episode of Raw. Both women were upset about the creative direction of their characters, and were subsequently stripped of the Women’s Tag Team Championships. From the report: Back in October, Varnado teased the idea of wrestling former WWE star KAIRI in STARDOM, which shares the same corporate owner as NJPW and recently did a crossover event with NJPW. Banks has been training at a number of places in recent months in the United States and Mexico. Banks recently made a number of trademark filings related to her given name as well as the terms Mercedes Mone’, Mone’ Talks, Bank Mone’, and Statement Maker under company name Soulnado, obviously preparing for her next m..