In this WrestleTalk News, a potential rumour killer on CM Punk’s backstage unhappiness
in AEW, a notable name is gone from WWE, a rumour killer on Warner Brothers Discovery
being unhappy with All Elite Wrestling and more.
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Last week on AEW Dynamite, CM Punk cut his first promo since coming back from injury
to set up his match with Jon Moxley at September's All Out - which was later revealed to be taking
place this Wednesday instead.
However, that wasn’t all Punk did in that promo segment - kicking things off by calling
out Hangman Adam Page following their title match at Double or Nothing back in May.
Page didn’t answer the call, and Punk said that wasn’t cowboy shirt, it was coward
shirt.
He also said that Page’s, “apology must be as loud and as public as the disrespect.”
It came out shortly after the show from Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio that this
was an off-script remark, and Punk was not supposed to call out Page and instead just
cut a promo on Moxley.
Fightful Select confirmed Meltzer’s report, saying that Punk was unhappy with some of
the comments Page made in the build up to their Double or Nothing match by alluding
to his real-life heat with former best friend Colt Cabana.
The situation with Cabana got so heated backstage that he wasn’t going to be re-signed by
AEW, until several names spoke up for him in the locker room and Tony Khan instead signed
him to his ROH brand instead.
Dave Meltzer added in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that some in the AEW locker room
are at “breaking point” if this situation doesn’t get sorted out.
Fightful Select also added that Punk has “verbally expressed” his displeasure with the situation,
with one source thinking he might end up quitting AEW, or at the very least could have not shown
up for the August 17th edition of Dynamite.
One veteran told SRS that they’d heard “threats being levied” of Punk leaving the promotion.
However, going by Dax Harwood’s Twitter, perhaps we’re all just marks being worked
and this is nothing but a work don’t work yourself into a shoot jabroni marks much love
HH.
As he tweeted a photo of him and Punk with a big ol’ smile backstage saying, “He
gave me the ‘jobber jaw punch’ pose.
And if you can’t tell, he’s VERY unhappy.”
Now this could also just be Dax The Axe having fun with us all, adding fuel to the speculation
fire about the reports that have been circling all weekend.
But it should also be noted that Bryan Alverez on Wrestling Observer Live noted that this
situation has “divided the AEW locker room”, with some siding with Page and others siding
with Punk.
And it’s been made very clear in interviews and even on TV, that Dax and Cash Wheeler
are friends with CM Punk in All Elite Wrestling.
So if they were going to be part of this divided locker room, we can likely guess which side
they’d fall on.
As for all of this being a work, Alvarez noted that, “This has nothing to do with storyline.”
That’s not to say that it won’t become one down the line - like the MJF situation
- but we won’t know that until it either gets resolved or it becomes an on-screen storyline.
What do you think is going on, let me know in the comments.
But speaking of internet rumours that are getting killed, we’ve got another one for
you.
The internet is a funny ol’ place, isn’t it?
To peel back the curtain somewhat, when I write the WrestleTalk News I scour through
websites to find the most interesting stories to bring to your attention.
One of the stories that really caught my eye this morning was a rumour that WarnerMedia
- since their merger with Discovery - were unhappy with the ratings for AEW Dynamite
and were considering cutting the show down from two hours to one.
Now, a quick think about this would immediately raise some eyebrows.
When AEW first signed their deal to get Dynamite on WarnerMedia channels, it was reported that
the expectation for the show was to get around 500,000 viewers a week to be considered a
success.
While Dynamite doesn’t get the same numbers as Raw or Smackdown, it consistently averages
around the 1 million viewer mark - either slightly above but more often slightly below.
It’s also often number one on cable, with an 18-49 demo rating - the most important
metric for advertisers which has always been the case, it’s not just a new thing invented
by Dave Meltzer - that is so good that WarnerMedia send out press releases to websites touting
the success of Dynamite.
But yet a rumour started to circle round the internet drain last night that AEW Dynamite
was in trouble of losing its second hour - to the point where a Twitter user reached out
to Dave Meltzer to ask if this was true, to which Daddy Meltz said: “I've been told
untrue.
It makes no sense.
Why would you cut back on one of the highest rated shows on cable?”
Andrew Zarian also added that it was “not happening” on Twitter, and WrestlingNews.co
added that Warner Bros Discovery, “is said to be happy with AEW”.
The funny thing is, I couldn’t find the original source of the news.
Everyone putting this on news aggregator websites just says it's an Internet Rumour.
After some digging, it turns out it came from Xeronews, a known troll on Twitter who supports
the likes of Billi Bhatti.
So, yeah, this one is a load of old bunk.
The moral of this tale is to always check your sources, folks.
Someone with some actual credibility about them is Mike Johnson of PWInsider, who is
reporting that Jeff Jarrett is once again gone from WWE.
Sorry, I should probably do this in the classic Vince McMahon fashion.
Jeff Jarrett is Capital G-Double O-Double N-Double-E GONE from WWE.
Jarrett was brought back in WWE in 2019 after going into the Hall of Fame, and joined the
company as a backstage producer.
He quietly left the company in 2021, however this past May it was reported that he was
brought back in again as the Senior Vice President of Live Events.
Just a few months later, and Jarrett is gone.
While someone losing their job is no laughing matter, this is hilariously similar to his
time as a wrestler in the 90s, working for WWF until 1996 then leaving them to work for
WCW until 1997 when he returned to the WWF until 1999 when he left them to work for WCW
until the company closed down in 2001.
No reason has been given yet as to why Jarrett is out of the company again, as reports suggest
that he was on good terms with them, even thanking WWE for letting him be apart of Ric
Flair’s final match where he teamed with AEW’s Jay Lethal to take on Flair and his
son-in-law Andrade El Idolo.
He was also the special guest referee at Summerslam in the tag match between The Usos and Street
Profits.
Bu at least now Effy has a chance to get his win back [SIDE SCREEN].
But Jarrett isn’t the only person done with their promotion.
It was revealed over the weekend that Tenille Dashwood - the former Emma in WWE - has finished
up her time in Impact Wrestling.
Fans spotted that she’d been removed from Impact’s roster page on their website, and
Mike Johnson of PWInsider confirmed the news that Dashwood’s contract had expired and
she was now leaving the promotion, putting over Masha Slamovich on the way out.
Shortly after the news came out, Dashwood tweeted out a photo of the definition of Free
Agent, as a sports player who is not bound by contract and so is eligible to join any
team.
Tenille Dashwood to WWE return confirmed, etc.
Though I am of course making the easy joke we always make on this show, Triple H has
shown in his first few weeks in charge of creative that he’s looking to bring back
some of his NXT favourites for surprise appearances on Raw and SmackDown, and Dashwood’s IRL
boyfriend Madcop Moss works for WWE.
So, you know…
Tenille Dashwood WWE return confirmed etc.
A couple of names Daddy Trips might not be able to get hold of, however, are the former
No Way Jose and Wesley Blake, as they debuted for All Elite Wrestling at the AEW Dark tapings
in Orlando, Florida last night.
Westin Blake was released from WWE last April and since then has wrestled for Control Your
Narrative and Pro Wrestling Revolver, and wrestled in a losing effort to Daniel Garcia
in the AEW Dark taping sessions.
The former No Way Jose - now going by Levy Valenz - teamed with Vary Morales in a losing
tag effort to Bear Country, who have also been given the new name The Iron Savages.
He was released by WWE in May of 2020, and since has wrestled a few times for Impact
Wrestling and DEFY, and once no-showed QuizzleMania.
It should be noted that neither Blake or Valenz have been signed by AEW, as their Dark tapings
have often seen names come in for one or two matches as tryouts.
It has worked out well for a few names in the past, though, with Marina Shafir and Ariya
Daivari making their debuts at AEW Dark before signing with the company to work Dynamite
and Rampage shows.
But it looks like Bear Country aren’t the only team getting a new coat of paint, as
former NXT UK stars Gallus made their NXT 2.0 debuts this past Wednesday by attacking
Diamond Mine.
And it looks like they’re also getting a new name.
A WWE.com preview of this week’s episode of NXT 2.0 refers to the trio as The Gallus
Boys instead of just Gallus.
While this has been used in their catchphrase in the past, the wording of the article suggests
this is the new stable name.
And speaking of NXT UK, it was announced last week that the brand would be going on hiatus
until next year where it will be rebranded to NXT Europe.
They’ve rebadged it, you fools The writing had been on the wall for some
time for NXT UK, as their next set of tapings at the BT Sport studios had been canceled
with no word on when they’d be rescheduled for.
To that end, over 20 names were released from WWE last Thursday including notable names
like Trent Seven, Mark Andrews, Millie McKenzie and Sha Samuels.
While this may look like a bad first step for the NXT Europe brand that launches next
year, PWInsider are reporting that the “door is open” for some of these names to return
in the new year.
Johnson adds that, “with the long hiatus ahead until the relaunch, it didn't make sense
to keep everyone under contract.”
Perhaps one of those names is Flash Morgan Webster, as Fightful Select are reporting
that prior to him being released from WWE, he’d signed a new contract extension as
the company “wanted to retain him.”
While it was originally reported as just a short term extension, SRS is now saying it
was more of a long-term basis before his release.