Wrestling

ROH CEO Joe Koff Says Door Is Open for CM Punk Return

While appearing on Wrestle Zone Radio, Ring of Honor CEO Joe Koff discussed the topic of CM Punk possibly returning to ROH and mentioned that the door is always open if he wanted to return.

“CM Punk would be an unbelievable addition for Ring of Honor. I don’t know where that would be or could be. It would be a dream. Wrestling talent knows this: once you are a part of Ring of Honor you are always a part of Ring of Honor. Our door is always open to people who want to come back and perform at our level, with our style and for our fans. That would be a dream. That would be unbelievable…CM Punk, if you’re listening or reading, I hope you are, you are always welcome in our house. You know that. He knows that. We’ve had conversations in the past through people. He knows that there is a welcome sign for him.”

When asked if he has spoken to Punk, Koff responded, “I haven’t spoken to him personally and I think it’s through intermediaries or whatever. I think his first goal was to be involved in his MMA stuff.”

Witness Comments on Braun Strowman & Karen Jarrett’s Bar Incident

It was reported via Wrestling Observer Newsletter that there was an incident between Braun Strowman and Karen Jarrett at a bar establishment in Nashville when Global Force Wrestling had meetings and RAW was in the same city.

PWInsider has picked up the story and was informed by a witness at the bar that the altercation was just “a drunken conversation between two drunk people in a bar that got loud, nothing more.”

For those who missed the original story, you can check it out here.

Alberto El Patron Remains Suspended

During today’s Global Force Wrestling conference Call with Dutch Mantell and Bruce Prichard, it was noted that Alberto El Patron’s suspension has not been lifted, despite him being cleared as a suspect in the Orlando airport incident with Paige from earlier this month.

It was noted during the call that the company is conducting their own internal investigation and once they come to a conclusion, a decision will be made.

“We’re doing an internal review of it because it’s something we don’t take lightly,” Mantel said. “When that’s completed, we will release our findings.”

Possible Match for Next Month’s SummerSlam Event

As seen on Monday’s episode of RAW, Big Cass destroyed The Big Show after he came down to make the save for Enzo Amore.

Dave Meltzer mentioned on today’s installment of Wrestling Observer Radio that Big Cass vs. The Big Show at this year’s SummerSlam event is the direction WWE is going with this feud. Meltzer indicated previously that this match may be going down at SummerSlam, but after Monday’s attack on The Big Show it is much more clearer now that this match will take place at the Summer blockbuster event.

WWE officials are very high on Big Cass, mainly because of his look and his size. He is expected to receive a push coming out of his split from Enzo Amore.

Jinder Mahal Possibly Not Defending the WWE Title at SummerSlam

As seen at Sunday’s WWE Battleground event, The Great Khali returned to the company and helped assist Jinder Mahal retain his WWE Championship Title against Randy Orton in a Punjabi Prison match.

Bryan Alvarez mentioned on today’s installment of Wrestling Observer Live that the company could be moving towards a tag match between The Great Khali and Randy Orton at this year’s SummerSlam. It was noted earlier today that Khali was brought back to the company to help get Jinder over. If a tag match at SummerSlam is the plan, that would mean that Jinder would be teaming with Khali at the event. This would also mean that the WWE Championship title will not be defended on the card.

We should have a clearer understand after Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown Live in the direction the company is going. The original plan was for Mahal to defend the WWE Championship against John Cena but those plans could now be off the table.

Sasha Banks Says She Could Beat Ronda Rousey

While speaking to Ringside Collectibles, Sasha Banks was asked about possibly facing Ronda Rousey and mentioned that she believes that she could beat her in a wrestling match.

“She would go down! We’re talking about a wrestling match, right? Not MMA, because I would go down. Wrestling? No, that’s my ring honey bunny and you can’t step in my ring, okay? I’m the ‘Legit Boss’ of the WWE and you are? [Puts hand to her ear] Oh, that’s what I thought, sorry.”

When asked about who her dream match would be against at WrestleMania, she mentioned Bayley as the perfect opponent for her on the the grandest stage of them all.

“I’d choose Bayley one-on-one, but I would love to have the Four Horsewomen [in a] Fatal 4-Way [Match] at WrestleMania. I think that would be amazing.”

You can check out the full interview embedded below:

Favorites to Win at Sunday’s WWE Battleground Event

Here are the current bedding odds for Sunday’s WWE Battleground event, courtesy of Bet Wrestling. These betting outcomes will most-likely changed several times between now and Sunday.

(Note: The lower the number, the more favorable they are in winning the bout)

WWE Championship – Punjabi Prison Match
Jinder Mahal (c) -333 vs. Randy Orton +220

WWE United States Championship
AJ Styles (c) -300 vs. Kevin Owens +188

Smackdown Tag Team Championship
The Usos (c) +163 vs. The New Day -227

Flag Match
John Cena -1000 vs. Rusev +500

Fatal 5 Way for the Smackdown Women’s Championship #1 Contendership
Charlotte +120 vs. Lana +200 vs. Becky Lynch +230 vs. Tamina +350 vs. Natalya +1000

Shinsuke Nakamura -250 vs. Baron Corbin +175

Aiden English +150 vs. Tye Dillenger -200

Gail Kim’s New Role with Global Force Wrestling

Jeremy Borash revealed during a media called on today that Gail Kim will be an agent for Global Force Wrestling following her in-ring retirement.

“This may be known but we are happy to have on board as an agent for Impact Wrestling, who will be helping with our Knockouts, Gail Kim, who announced that she would be retiring at the end of this year,” said Borash. “So she’s going to be taking on a more behind-the-scenes role. Everybody may not know but Gail and I had a very strong friendship for the last decade. I obviously do stuff with her husband Robert Irvine, the chef. And she has an incredible mind and really somebody that’s going to take the Knockouts to the next level. So she’s in Orlando and Tampa training gals that you’re seeing.”

Borash also mentioned that GFW has signed two new established female names but didn’t reveal any information on who exactly they are. We will have to wait and find out.

Match Announced for Tuesday’s SmackDown Live

Steve is the Founder of RingsideNews, AllWrestlingNews, and Wrestling dot News. He has been writing about professional wrestling since 1996. He first got into website development at the time and has been focusing on bringing his readers the best professional wrestling news at it’s highest quality.