Welcome to the July 27th Inside The Ropes Live blog, bringing you the latest news from WWE, AEW, NJPW, IMPACT Wrestling and more.
Today’s biggest stories:
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Chris Hero is All Elite!
According to a new report from Mike Johnston of PWInsider Chris Hero has officially been hired by AEW as a backstage producer/agent.
Hero has been backstage in AEW in recent weeks with some speculating that he could be Blackpool Combat Clubs mystery entrant into the Blood and Guts match that was eventually filled by PAC.
WWE continues their celebration of all things SummerSlam by sharing a full match for free from the 2008 rendition of the PPV featuring WWE Hall of Famer Triple H taking on the greatest giant in Indian wrestling history The Great Khali.
You can check out the full match below!
AEW Superstar Taya Valkyrie has hit back at trolls following a “botch” during the July 26th episode of AEW Dynamite.
During the show Valkyrie took on Britt Baker as looked to get back into the Women’s World Title picture. As the match got going everything went as planned, but when Valkyrie went to hit the Road To Valhalla, things fell apart.
With Baker almost in position to take the move, both women kind of fell to the floor, Baker almost taking the move in a very awkward sequence. This led to loud boos from the crowd and many were even more unforgiven on social media.
In the hours after the show, the star hit back on social media, telling the trolls to grow up.
You can read Taya’s full comments, here.
What is the worst botch of all time? Let us know by using the ‘get involved’ feature at the top of the page and we will share your responses throughout the day!
Wrestling legend Konnan had some harsh words for AEW over their use of former NJPW star Jay White.
During a recent episode of his K100 podcast, Konnan suggested that AEW could be doing more with White, but he’s got lost in the shuffle.
The veteran explained that he saw first-hand a similar issue in WCW back in the 1990s.
“How many wrestlers are not used correctly on that show?
It almost reminds me of WCW, look at all the mid-card talent we had from Disco to Rey Mysterio to Chris Jericho to everybody in between and you could only get to a certain level and it wasn’t our fault,” Konnan said.
“I can’t put this totally on Jay because I think what they’ve asked him to do he’s done a good job.”
AR Fox may not have captured the AEW International Championship during last nights episode of Dynamite, however, he did capture a new personality and a new band of brothers.
AR Fox vs Orange Cassidy for the AEW International Championship kicked off the July 26th episode of AEW Dynamite.
Cassidy would successfully retaining his title, smashing an incredible AEW record in the process, something that Fox didn’t take to kindly to.
After the bell Fox would attack Cassidy and head to back, only to reemerge later in the show dawning a new mask and helping Swerve Scott to defeat Darby Allin and aligning with Mogul Embassy in the process.
IMPACT Wrestling is returning to the UK in October!
The legendary wrestling promotion has announced that they will be returning to the UK this October with a fantastic three show tour.
The three-date tour will see the promotion head to Glasgow, Newcastle, and then Coventry and will feature “exclusive championship matches.”
Tickets for all three shows go on sale on Friday, August 4th at www.impactwrestling.com with prices starting at £35.
Booker T has revealed that he has “come around” on WWE Superstar Wes Lee after initially believing the NXT star was a “one dimensional” performer.
Speaking during a recent episode of his “Hall of Fame” podcast, Booker T would state:
“Wes Lee didn’t have my vote when I first came to ‘NXT,’” Booker T admitted.
“He just wasn’t a guy on my radar or anything like that.
I just thought he was a one-dimensional guy that was going to go out there and do flips and pretty much that was it.”
Booker T would go on to discuss how much he has come around to Lee after his run as NXT North American Champion.
I don’t think Wes Lee has outgrown the North American Championship at all,” Booker T said.
“He’s a young guy. There’s a lot of growth … Wes Lee could possibly be the greatest North American Champion in ‘NXT’s’ history, and to win it again, to win it one more time on top of that … [would] solidify himself before he actually makes it to the main roster by having some notches on his belt.” [h/t WrestlingInc]
Do you think Wes Lee has what it takes to be a major player in the WWE? Let us know by hitting the thumbs below!
WWE’s Brawl For All may have ended on August 24th 1998 but its impact on wrestling is still being felt today…just not for the reasons Vince McMahon originally intended.
The “shoot” boxing tournament pitted rising WWE stars against each other to offer an aspect to the WWE product like nothing else before and nothing else after…for good reason.
It is now noted as one of the biggest disasters in WWE’s history and has become thing of legend within the online wrestling community.
Although Bart Gunn went on to win the tournament, his punishment was getting knocked out at WrestleMania by legit boxer Butterbean in under a minute.
It has been speculated by many, including legendary manager Jim Cornette, that Gunn was punished by the WWE for beating their desired winner Dr. Death” Steve Williams.
Speaking on his podcast, Grilling JR, WWE Hall of Famer has hit back at “bullsh*t” claims he rigged the bracket to try ensure success for Willams.
Ross states:
“Little did I know it would be such a disaster,” Ross said.
“There was so many injuries, medical bills, talents getting embarassed.
It didn’t have an upside. I think it was a very poorly kept secret that Bart Gunn was the cream of the crop, even though many of my detractors thought that I had loaded the tournament so ‘Doctor Death’ Steve Williams could win it.
That’s total bullsh*t. I had nothing to do with the bracketing or who fought who or whatever. It’s a good story, but it’s just not accurate.”
Is the Brawl For All the biggest flop in WWE history? Let us know by hitting the thumbs below!
Spoilers for the July 28th 2023 edition of AEW Rampage have circulated online.
PWInsider has published the full match results from this week show, which are displayed below:
Do you still watch AEW Rampage? Let us know by hitting the thumbs below!
WWE has continued their countdown to the ‘biggest party of the summer’ by celebrating the greatest entrances in the PLE’s history.
In a over two over compilation WWE takes a look at the greatest entrances to ever grace our screens at SummerSlam.
Check out the full video below!
Former AEW Champion Chris Jericho hit back at ‘outdated’ criticism of AEW & Orange Cassidy during his 2021 tour with Inside The Ropes.
Check out the full video below!
Beloved former WWE Superstar Scotty 2 Hotty is looking to secure himself a new role in wrestling after it was revealed that he took part in a producers try out during the July 26th edition of AEW Dynamite.
It’s been reported by Mike Johnson of PWInsider, that the former WWE Superstar – real name Scott Garland — was present in Albany, New York for the July 26th episode of Dynamite.
The Attitude Era star is said to be having a try-out for a role as a coach/producer. He’s expected to be present at tapings for the next “several weeks.”
Garland is best known for his iconic Worm and incredible run with Rikishi and Grandmaster Sexay as ‘Too Cool’, previously worked for the WWE as a coach between 2016 and 2021 when was granted his release.
It was also recently reported that AEW had rejected the opportunity to hire Bret Hart to work in the company as an agent/producer and that Orange Cassidy had been promoted behind-the-scenes to a producer also.
Do you think Scotty 2 Hotty will be a good addition to the AEW coaching team? Let us know by hitting the thumbs below.
Orange Cassidy may be one of AEW’s most divisive stars but now he is also their most successful champion in the companies short history.
During the July 26th 2023 episode of AEW Dynamite Orange Cassidy would successfully defend his AEW International Championship against AR Fox.
The match would signify Cassidy’s 27th successful championship defense, a feat managed by no one else in AEW’s four year history.
Previously, TNT Women’s Champion Jade Cargill had managed 26 championship defenses but would lose to Kris Statlander at Double or Nothing 2023 to fail on her 27th defense.
What do you think of AEW Superstar Orange Cassidy? Let us know by hitting the thumbs below!
Former WWE & WCW Superstar Buff Bagwell has hit back at reports that he was arrested earlier this month on drug charges.
News broke on July 26th that, former WCW star and nWo member, Buff Bagwell had been arrested for speeding and driving under the influence of drugs on July 13th 2023.
Despite this, Bagwell has claimed the reports are false. Posting on social media he claimed he wasn’t arrested and only had a “sanction” for not properly documenting a tip out of state.
“Just wanted to clarify to everyone that I am 11 months sober (tomorrow). I see there is news out that I had to spend time in jail for a DUI but this was from the original offense years ago. I did get a recent sanction because I didn’t document a recent trip out of state properly.”
Buff Bagwell, also known as Marcus Alexander, is a 53-year-old former WWE and WCW wrestler best known for his time in WCW where he is a 5-time World Tag Team Champion.
He notably won (in the loosest term) Wrestling Observer’s most embarrassing wrestling in 2001.
Bagwell was also a member of the nWo between 1996 and 1999.
Hulk Hogan is one of wrestling’s most iconic names alongside the likes of John Cena & Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and despite it being over a decade since his final match it appear he is just as relevant as ever.
‘The Hulkster’ has revealed that he has received multiple offers to take part in various reality TV shows all focused on different parts of his life including being a father and grandfather, a bar owner, restaurant owner and a retail worker.
Speaking in a new interview with viral sensation Theo Von, Hogan would reveal why he turned down these opportunities despite the likely promise of a healthy paycheck.
“I’ve turned down a bunch of movies and a whole bunch of TV shows.
I get calls all the time.
With the content I have now with the bar, the restaurant, the retail store, my son is here, my daughter is here, my new baby [his fiance Sky Daily] has three kids.
There is all kinds of content.
Everyone is banging me all the time to do reality shows. I just shut it all down.
Even with appearances and autograph sessions, I use Prince Marketing when I do stuff. Sometimes, the WWE will call me to do stuff.
I still work for them, but I’ll kind of pass on that, or I’ll do it. It depends on what the weather is like,” [h/t Fightful]
Hulk Hogan’s final in-ring appearance came back in 2012 when he teamed with James Storm and Sting to take on the trio of Bobby Roode, Bully Ray and Kurt Angle at a TNA global house show in Manchester, England.
Good Afternoon!
Hope everyone is doing well and had an awesome week so far!
I will be with you this afternoon from 12:30 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:
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!
