Details Surrounding CM Punk’s AEW Locker Room Meeting Leaked; July 20th Live Wrestling News Round-Up

Dave Meltzer has once again come to the defence of Tony Khan & AEW.

Previously, Meltzer has defended Khan from the frequent criticism that AEW is only successful because of, his father, Shahid Khan’s money.

Now, Dave Meltzer has hit back at fans who claim that AEW has never been as successful as TNA, even going as far as to claim that this opinion is laughable.

Taking to Twitter, the noted historian would write:

“It’s really just the people who were sure Khan would have failed, were proven wrong, and now cling to TNA saying they were just as successful when clearly that’s laughable.”

You can read more on this exchange, here.

Kurt Angle talks exclusively to Inside The Ropes about the insane threats he sent to Vince McMahon when he quit WWE, feeling like he was demoted by going to ECW and the true extent of his health issues!

Check out this exclusive video clip below!

Vince McMahon was determined to put one WWE star in the main event despite reservations from the writing team.

According to Road Dogg on the latest episode of ‘Oh, you didn’t know…’, despite writers being unsure of the idea, Vince McMahon was determined to put James Ellsworth in the main event.

The idea to keep Ellsworth and Styles’ rivalry going and to begin pairing the two in the main event of SmackDown, on multiple occasions, was all down to the insistence of Vince McMahon, who saw that fans were invested in the star.

You can read Road Dogg’s full comments on the secrets of the storylines success, here.

Ahead of ‘The Biggest Part of the Summer’ WWE’s SummerSlam PLE, Inside The Ropes has taken a look at our top five picks for the greatest World Title matches in the event’s history!

You can check out this brand new feature, here,

Former WWE United States Champion Matt Riddle has revealed that he would have loved to form a new WWE faction prior to Randy Orton’s near career ending injury.

Speaking on WWE’s The Bump, ‘The Stallion’ was asked if he had ever considered forming his own faction to take on Gunther’s Imperium.

Riddle would reveal that he wanted to (and would still like to if possible) team with Randy Orton and WWE Hall of Famer Edge in a new faction named Rated RK-Bro.

Riddle would comment:

“You got Cody, he’s a stallion. You know, if Randy ever comes back. That would be awesome. Edge — you know, for a minute there, I wanted to do Rated RK-Bro, you know. It’s a whole thing. I would love to be in a group,” [h/t WrestlingInc]

You can check our Riddle’s full interview below.

Would you like to see Edge, Randy Orton and Riddle take on Gunther, Vinci and Kaiser? Let us know by hitting those thumbs below!

The situation around Bayley remains unclear, and there’s no word on when she’ll be back in the ring.

At a WWE live event on July 16th in Maryland, Bayley took on Asuka and Charlotte Flair, however, things didn’t go quite to plan. The star appeared to stumble awkwardly over Asuka and immediately began clutching her knee.

A new report from Mike Johnson of PWInsider has revealed that WWE is still waiting for the results of tests to come back and the details of the injury are still uncertain.

You can read full details of the report, here.

Ahead of last night’s episode of AEW Dynamite featuring the much anticipated debut of Kota Ibushi, Jim Cornette had his piece to say on the former NJPW IWGP Heavyweight Champion…and did not leave much to the imagination.

Speaking on his podcast, The Jim Cornette Experience, Cornette would blast Kota Ibushi for his previous involvement wrestling children and inflatable dolls, something the legendary manager doesn’t take too kindly to.

“For most of you going, ‘Who the f*ck is that?’ Kota Idouchi is a fellow sex toy and child wrestler from the Orient, who is now a former best friend and tag team partner and member of the Golden Lovers pairing with Kenny,” Cornette said.

“He’s another guy that a bunch of these mentally challenged individuals that think that this kind of wrestling gets over, just think is just swell.

Ol’ Kota, Idouchi himself. He’s one of the great ones. You can watch him on video on the Internet wrestling sex dolls, six-year-old children, while they have matches where they all dress up as I Dream of Jeannie, and bunches of them just stand around and stick their fingers up other guys asses over and over in a circle. It’s amazing the talent that this nitwit piece of sh*t possesses.”

You can check out the impassioned rant in full below.

What did you make of Ibushi’s AEW debut last night? Let us know by hitting the thumbs below!

AEW has released full highlights from last night’s BRUTAL Blood & Guts match which featured a bloodied Jon Moxley, a debuting Kota Ibushi and a bed of nails.

Check out the highlights below!

Bully Ray believes that The Usos are the best to ever do it in WWE, and it isn’t even close.

Jimmy and Jey currently hold the record for the longest World Tag Team Title reign in WWE history and have seen their stock soar as the storyline around The Bloodline has developed.

Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Bully Ray explained that this run has taken them well beyond the likes of The Dudleyz and The Hardyz.

“It’s not even a thought for me anymore,” Bully explained, “to me [the best tag team in WWE history is] The Usos and the reason is because when you look at the numbers of what The Usos have accomplished, I don’t think any other team can stake their claim.

The most decorated teams of all time in the WWE, Hardys, New Day, Dudleys … we can look at the amount of times a team has won a championship and that’s kinda apples to apples.”

WWE’s plans for Raw and SmackDown after The Bloodline were recently leaked, you can read more on this, here.

Britt Baker has laid out her intentions for an exciting rematch at AEW All In.

As the wrestling world eagerly awaits the All In PPV event at Wembley Stadium, AEW star Britt Baker has revealed her ideal opponent for the show.

In a recent interview on the Mark Andrews: My Love Letter To Wrestling podcast, Baker expressed her desire to face a homegrown talent from the UK.

Specifically, she mentioned her interest in a rematch with Saraya, whom she had lost to in her first match back after a long absence. Baker expressed her eagerness to avenge that loss and defeat Saraya in front of her home crowd, considering it the ultimate sweet revenge.

You can read Baker’s full comments on Saraya and other potential opponents at All In, here.

Paul Heyman talks exclusively to Kenny McIntosh on tour with Inside The Ropes back in 2016 about the true legacy of ECW.

Heyman explains how he overcame ECW’s financial issues and how the product inspired the loyalty of its locker room and the fans

Check out this incredible interview clip below!

Booker T has given his insight on a free agent he believes would be an asset to WWE.

Booker T has stated that he believes that Nick Aldis, who is now a free agent, would be a valuable asset to the WWE roster.

Speaking on his Hall of Fame show with Brad Gilmore, Booker T would address Aldis’ departure from IMPACT wrestling before revealing why he believes the former NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion could bring value to the WWE in a role similar to that of rising star LA Knight.

Booker T would state:

“I think a guy like Nick Aldis would definitely be an addition to that WWE roster, perhaps in some way, in some form.

I don’t know exactly how, but I do think Nick Aldis is a name, his name has some value to it around the world, not just in Impact Wrestling.

I think you say the name, ‘Nick Aldis,’ pretty much if you’re in the wrestling world, you’re going to know who he is.” [h/t WrestlingInc]

You can read the WWE Hall of Famers’ full comments, here.

Would you like to see Aldis sign with the WWE? Let us know using the thumbs below!

Eric Bischoff, former Raw general manager, spoke about a potential physical WWE Hall of Fame.

Speaking on Strictly Business, Eric Bischoff was asked to give his thoughts on WWE establishing a physical Hall of Fame.

Bischoff postulated that a potential venue for this could be in Orlando, Florida. Bischoff said:

“It probably will at some point. It’s just a question of priorities — what makes the most sense when. I’m sure it will happen at some point in time. Like I said, it’s just a matter of when.”

You can read his full comments and breakdown of a physical Hall of Fame, here.

Would you visit a real life WWE Hall of Fame? Let us know by hitting the thumbs below!

Following last night’s Blood & Guts defeat to The Elite, PAC responded to a challenge from temporary teammate Claudio Castagnoli, and did so in a manner fitting of a b*stard.

As AEW Dynamite went off air, the former Cesaro would storm backstage demanding to know where was PAC was before challenging him to step up and take him on at ROH’s blockbuster PPV event.

PAC would respond saying he would love nothing more than to “step up” and teach Castagnoli what it really means to be “The B*stard”.

You can check out PAC’s full comments, below.

The @BASTARDPAC responds to #ROH World Champion @ClaudioCSRO's challenge with a VERY straightforward answer. https://t.co/rzfBd6Tqah pic.twitter.com/XuprU66v1V

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) July 20, 2023

The two men are now set to face off this Friday at ROH’s Death Before Dishonor PPV live from Trenton, New Jersey, for the ROH World Championship.

Elsewhere on the show:

• Samoa Joe defends his World TV Championship against Dalton Castle.
• Katsuyori Shibata defends his ROH Pure Championship against Daniel Garcia.
• Athena defends her ROH Women’s Championship against Willow Nightingale, and
• The Lucha Bros take on The Kingdom, Aussie Open and the Best Friends in a four-way for the ROH Tag Team Championships.

Will you be checking out the latest ROH PPV? Let us know by hitting the thumbs below!

It is well documented the negative toll wrestling takes on a performers body and it doesn’t matter if you are ‘The Beast’, a ‘Deadman’ or even ‘The Messiah’.

Speaking during an appearance on Logan Paul’s Impaulsive podcast, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins has opened up on the toll wrestling has had on his body, revealing that he knows he should “probably” get surgery.

Rollins revealed he’s struggling with knee and back issues, including “a couple of stress fractures” and that he has tried stem cell treatment to resolve the issue but he knows that in reality he should “probably should get some surgery” on his back.

You can read ‘The Messiah’s’ full comments, here.

Is Seth Rollins WWE’s most consistent performer of the past few years? Let us know by hitting the thumbs below!

AEW rolled into Boston for the latest episodes of Dynamite and Rampage. Here’s how the action went down.

AEW Rampage Results:

• Darby Allin won the 20-man Royal Rampage match to earn a TNT title shot at All Out
  The match featured a surprise appearance from Minoru Suzuki, and Darby Allin entered at number one. The daredevil spent much of the match being beaten down and he was joined in the final two by Swerve Strickland. Allin won after hitting a flying Spear on Strickland through the ropes, but Strickland’s feet hit the floor first.
• TBS Champion Kris Statlander def Marina Shafir to retain
• The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn def QTV (QT Marshall, Aaron Solo & Johnny TV)

All spoilers come courtesy of F4Wonline

WWE has taken to YouTube to name their top ten moments in SummerSlam history that went “too far.”

The list features the likes of Bobby Lashley’s assault on Goldberg’s son, Paul Bearer’s brutal betrayal of The Undertaker and more.

Check out the full list below!

Dwayne Johnson is set to make Hollywood history following an eye-watering $50,000,000 payment for his role in Amazon Studios’ blockbuster ‘Red One’.

According to a new report from Puck, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is set to receive a mammoth $50,000,000 payment for his role in ‘Red One’, a sum that will see ‘The Great One’ break the record set by Robert Downey Jr. in Captain America: Civil War and Will Smith in King Richard for the highest fee received by an actor for a single film.

Red One is currently in post production and expected to be released later this year, Johnson stars alongside Chris Evans, J.K. Simmons and Lucy Liu in the film.

Not much is currently known about the film other than it is set to feature J.K. Simmons as a ripped Santa Claus…yes, you read that right.

When The Judgment Day comes to town, ratings are sure to follow. Something that NXT found out this week when Dominik Mysterio dethroned the undefeated Wes Lee to capture the WWE North American Championship.

Viewership numbers were released courtesy of Wrestlenomics for Tuesday evening and it’s good news for the black and gold brand.

The July 18 episode of NXT garnered an average of 746,000 total viewers, handily beating out last week’s impressive number of 671,000, totalling for a 11% increase. This is the second-highest number the show has gotten since 2021, only being beaten out earlier this year otherwise.

You can read a full report on these numbers and what it means for the WWE, here.

Will you be checking out NXT now Dominik Mysterio has come to town? Let us know by hitting the thumbs below!

Bret Hart‘s hatred for Shawn Michaels is no secret in wrestling, if anything it’s quite the opposite with countless books, documentaries and podcasts produced on the rivalry between ‘The Excellence of Execution’ and ‘The Heartbreak Kid’.

Tensions between Hart and Michaels reached a boiling point in 1997 after the latter made comments about Hart that landed him in ‘heat’ with his wife and family back home.

The comments made by Michaels would lead to a now infamous brawl between the two WWE Hall of Famers with Hart allegedly “snatching Michaels bald.”

Al Snow, who was working in the WWE as part of ‘The New Rockers’ at the time, has recalled the backstage brawl between the two men revealing that it was Hart that came out on top.

Speaking during an interview with Wrestling Shoot Interviews, Snow would state:

“Bret like snatched Shawn bald, like there was literally, not bald like [he is] now, where he has lost his hair, but years later there was a bald spot on the side of Shawn’s head where Bret had snatched the hair out of his head.”

You can check out the full clip and Snow’s full breakdown of the fight, below ⬇️

Who do you prefer, Shawn Michaels or Bret Hart? Hit the thumbs up below for ‘HBK’ or the thumbs down for ‘The Hitman’.

Back in March 2023, the wrestling world mourned the passing of WWE Hall of Famer and wrestling legend, Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri better known as, The Iron Sheik.

On March 15th 2023 it was announced that The Iron Sheik had tragically passed away and that more information would be made available in due course.

It has now been confirmed by TMZ, that Sheik’s death certificate officially lists his cause of death as ‘cardiac arrest.’

You can read more on this report, here.

When it comes to wrestling there are a plethora of ‘what if’ moments.

‘What if’ Dwayne Johnson never joined the Nation of Domination, ‘what if’ Sting was the third man rather than Hulk Hogan and ‘what if’ Vince McMahon never screwed Bret Hart, to name just a few.

But according to, WWE Hall of Famer, Eric Bischoff the biggest ‘what if’ moment in wrestling history is when he attempted to purchase WCW from AOL Time Warner back in January of 2001.

Eric Bischoff spoke with presenter Conrad Thompson on the July 17th edition of the 83 Weeks podcast and during the show Bischoff would discuss his attempted purchase of WCW and why it is the biggest ‘what if’ moment in wrestling.

“Who knows? It could’ve been a disaster. It also could’ve been one of the greatest things that happened to me and my family, and to WCW fans.

So, we’ll never know and I guess because of that I honestly don’t think about it that much.”

You can read more about Bischoff’s comments, here.

Ahead of last night’s episode of AEW Dynamite, Bryan Danielson would take to social media to provide fans with an injury update after suffering a broken arm during his match against NJPW star Kazuchika Okada at AEW’s Forbidden Door PPV.

Taking to Twitter, Danielson would provide fans with an update, revealing that he has undergone surgery and is now on the road to recovery.

““Also, to give everyone an update before #AEWDynamite, I got surgery on my arm about two weeks ago, where they put in a steel rod and 9 screws. Surgery went well and I’m on the road to recovery. Thank you all for the support, and check out #BloodAndGuts tonight!”

Danielson would also share before and after X-rays of his injury, showing just how tough ‘The American Dragon’ is when you consider he finished the full match with Okada despite his Radius being snapped in two.

You can check out those images, here.

Good Afternoon!

Hope everyone is doing well and had an awesome week so far!

I will be with you this afternoon from 12 pm to 6 pm BST (7 am -12 pm EST) with all the latest news and rumours from AEW, WWE and NJPW.

This afternoon we will be kicking things off with some of today’s biggest stories, including:

• Details of CM Punk‘s AEW Collision locker room meeting have been leaked.
• Bryan Danielson provides fans with an injury update following surgery.
• Eric Bischoff names the biggest ‘what if’ in wrestling history.
• The Iron Sheik’s cause of death has been confirmed.
• Britt Baker sets her sights on a huge AEW rematch at All In.
• NXT ratings skyrocket with a helping hand from The Judgment Day,

As always if you have anything you want to ask us or any stories you would like us to try to provide an update on, let us know by using the ‘get involved’ feature at the top of the page!