Welcome to the August 13th ITRWrestling live blog, bringing you the latest news from WWE, AEW, NJPW, IMPACT Wrestling, and more!
Today’s top stories are:
WWE recently hosted a livestream featuring more than five hours of Finn Balor’s best matches in WWE!
Matches featured include Balor’s Universal Championship win over Seth Rollins at SummerSlam 2016, his NXT TakeOver Brooklyn clash with Kevin Owens for the NXT Championship, his revival of The Demon against Bobby Lashley at WrestleMania 35 and more!
What’s your favourite Finn Balor WWE match? Let us know here and join in on the conversation!
An AEW original could be headed to the WWE Performance Center this week, according to a new report!
Ibou of WrestlePurists reports that former AEW World Tag Team Champion Penta El Zero Miedo will be in Orlando, Florida at some point this week per multiple WWE sources. This is notable as Orlando is the long-time home of the WWE Performance Center.
Both Penta and his Lucha Brothers partner Fenix are expected to join WWE when their AEW contracts expire – a move which some sources believe to be a “formality” at this point. Both men last competed together in AEW last month where they picked up a win over Private Party on Rampage.
Multiple sources within WWE are of the belief that Pentagon Jr will be in Orlando at some point this week.
– @BackupHangman
(WrestlePurists Worldwide) pic.twitter.com/ElRzdJvkLQ— WrestlePurists (@WrestlePurists) August 12, 2024
This week’s WWE NXT will emanate from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. The next NXT special is NXT No Mercy in two weeks!
Matches and segments announced for the show include:
What are you most excited to see on tonight’s episode of NXT? Let us know your thoughts here!
Last night’s WWE Raw emanated from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. The next WWE Premium Live Event is WWE Bash In Berlin in two weeks!
The full results from Raw were as follows:
What was your favourite moment of last night’s show? Let us know your thoughts here!
Dakota Kai has suffered yet another injury setback, this time with a torn meniscus.
As announced by Michael Cole on last night’s episode of Raw, Kai is set to undergo surgery after suffering a torn meniscus. Her recovery is expected to keep her out of action for 8 to 10 weeks. This follows reports from last week that Kai was legitimately injured.
Kai last competed on the final night of WWE’s recent live event tour of Japan where she and fellow Damage CTRL member IYO Sky defeated Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill. Kai only returned to the ring back in March after 10 months on the shelf with a torn ACL.
A former AEW star made a surprise return to WWE during the latest edition of Raw!
During last night’s episode of WWE Raw in Austin, Texas, home state hero Mark Henry was shown in the crowd alongside his son Jacob who recently signed an NIL deal with WWE. This marked Henry’s first WWE appearance since leaving AEW earlier this year.
The WWE Hall of Famer last appeared on the company’s programming on the Raw Legends Night special back in January 2021. There, Henry was confronted and verbally eviscerated by Randy Orton, partly due to the former riding on a scooter throughout the night due to an injury to his leg.
MARK & JACOB HENRY AT RAW 🔥#WWERAW
— WrestlePurists (@WrestlePurists) August 13, 2024
John Cena has addressed the possibility of him returning to the ring following his planned WWE retirement in 2025.
Speaking to Comicbook at a recent media junket, Cena was asked about his upcoming retirement tour and what it would take for him to return to the ring afterwards.
The 16-time world champion gave a definitive response, stating that he plans to never wrestle again when he competes in the final match of his retirement tour in December 2025.
“There isn’t a check writer with enough money to change my mind when I hang it up in December. I don’t want to continue for ego or financial gain. I built a relationship of trust and authenticity over the years with the WWE, and that’s people who think I suck and people who believe in me, they know that I shoot them straight and I’m trustworthy. I mean what I say: when I’m done in December, I am done. It is the last time I will perform in a ring.”
Cena went on to add that he would continue to appear in WWE after that point but purely in an ambassadorial role.
Welcome back to the ITRWrestling live blog! I’ll be with you from 12pm to 6pm BST (7am – 1pm ET) covering all the biggest stories from WWE, AEW, NJPW, IMPACT, and more.
Today’s top stories are:
