Sat Roundup: Rikishi Denies WWE Rumors, Jey Uso “Leaves” WWE, IWGP US Title Gets New Design & Name, Impact Ratings, Indies

WWE

• Friday’s WWE Friday Night SmackDown drew a preliminary viewership of 2,650,000 viewers on FOX, according to Programming Insider. The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer reported that for the next several weeks, SmackDown’s preliminary ratings for their shows will be artificially inflated due to several FOX markets aired NFL Preaseason games and had some of their viewership counted towards SmackDown’s numbers. The final viewership numbers are expected to be much lower once viewership from NFL games are removed.
• Gunther recently surpassed Pedro Morales for the second longest ever title reign as Intercontinental Champion at 474 days and counting. Gunther only needs another 26 days to tie and 27 days to surpass The Honky Tonk Man for longest ever reign as Intercontinental Champion in WWE history.
• WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi recently denied rumors of him being planned to make an appearance at next month’s Payback 2023 event as a special guest referee for the rumored Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso match.
• Friday’s SmackDown show in Calgary, Alberta, Canada featured Jey Uso stating that he was out of the Bloodline, SmackDown, and WWE. Uso made his decision following his rejection of Jimmy Uso’s reason why he cost him the chance at defeating Roman Reigns at SummerSlam 2023 and his attack on the Bloodline.
• As noted before, WWE recently brought in former NWA and Impact Wrestling talent Nick Aldis for a producer tryout in the company. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that Aldis was seen backstage at Friday’s SmackDown show in Calgary continuing his tryout for a potential producer job in the company.
• PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that neither The Usos nor Solo Sikoa are currently expected to make an appearance at next week’s SmackDown show in Toronto, Canada. In regards to Roman Reigns, Johnson reported that he was never scheduled to be at next week’s show either.
• Dakota Kai’s appearance on Friday’s SmackDown show in Calgary alongside IYO SKY and Bayley reportedly was a last minute decision by WWE officials, according to PWInsider.
• WWE officials reportedly had considered plans at one point for a No DQ stipulation to be added to the Karrion Kross vs. AJ Styles match at Friday’s SmackDown show but those plans were dropped over the past week, according to PWInsider.
• As noted before, Carlito recently signed an official contract with WWE and is expected to make his official return soon. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his sources have not provided any new updates regarding WWE’s plans for Carlito’s official return to the company nor a potential date for his return.
• As noted before, WWE is currently considering potentially bringing back Nia Jax to the company. In a recent interview with Sportskeeda’s WrestleBinge podcast, Jax gave her thoughts about if she is currently training for a potential return to wrestling. Jax stated “I am, I am training. I’ll train over at D-Von Dudley’s ring. He’s great, and then I go over to Natty and TJ’s, so they run me through some drills and stuff like that. I have matches and that. I’ll get in the ring every now and then with some of my friends like Charlotte and her husband, Manny.” Jax also gave her thoughts about a potential return to WWE in the future. Jax stated “I don’t have the answer. Right now, I’m just hanging out. I’m enjoying being home with my family. I have a new nephew, and I’ve kind of started being obsessed with being in Pilates.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer reported that the person who handed Logan Paul the brass knuckles he used to defeat Ricochet at last Saturday’s SummerSlam 2023 event was Paul’s real life manager Jeff Levin.
• As noted before, Brian Pillman Jr. was expected to be at this past Tuesday’s NXT tapings at WWE’s Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that the reason why Pillman Jr. did not make his official debut at this past Tuesday’s NXT show is due to the belief that he is still yet to be signed to the company. Those same sources reportedly also stated that WWE officials also currently do not have any creative plans in place for Pillman Jr.’s debut in the company and he is currently undergoing tests as part of the process for a potential deal.
• As noted before, The Dyad’s Jagger Reid and Rip Fowler are expected to leave WWE once their current contracts expire this October. Reid recently provided an update on Twitter confirming that him and Fowler are still planning to leave WWE once their current contracts expire and asked fans who they would like to see them face off in matches in 2024.
• PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that a new lawsuit against WWE and WWE Executive Chairman Vince McMahon was filed on June 30th before the United States District Court of The Western District of Pennsylvania by a man named Dana W. Wiley based on recent court records. In the lawsuit, Wiley is claiming that WWE breached his contract and failed to reimburse a $5,500 “down payment hangout, what app email contract to personal fan meet World Wrestling Entertainment employee Alexia (sic) Bliss” Wiley is also claiming that McMahon breached an agreement with him for an employee-level contract with WWE with a $70,000 monthly salary. Wiley is also claiming that McMahon discriminated against him after “Plaintiff was arrested and charge (sic) for attempted homicide, aggravate (sic) assault against New Castle, Pennsylvania Law Enforcement on 10/22/22 order the United States Secret Service and Pennsylvania State Police Troop, D. major case team to possess a warrant to unlawful seized Search I, Plaintiff phone device and property in conspiracy theory plot to obstruct and destroy any evidence supporting these facts that World Wrestling Entertainment employee Alexia (sic) Bliss email text to I, Plaintiff hangout, what app email business accounts.” Wiley is currently seeking to be awarded $6 million in damages and reimbursement of all of his legal fess. Johnson reported that Wiley had filed a lawsuit in the past against McMahon and members of the nWo and DX over claims of him signing a fair use contract for the trademarks of those groups in 1995 at a courthouse in New Castle, Pennsylvania following him being sentenced “in an unrelated criminal case” but was ignored for over 20 years and not paid. Johnson reported that this lawsuit was later dismissed by the court.
• As noted before, Dakota Kai made her surprise return from injury at last week’s SummerSlam 2023 event in Detroit, Michigan. In a recent streaming session on Twitch, Kai gave her thoughts about her recent return to WWE and how it was a last minute decision by WWE officials. Kai stated “I literally found out they wanted me to be there at 1 PM on that day. I was still chilling. I was like, ‘it’s Saturday, my sleep in day. Not even going to set my alarm.’ My phone was on Do Not Disturb, I always have my phone on Do Not Disturb when I sleep in. I wake up, my phone is blowing up. My anxiety was through the roof. I saw all these missed calls, all these texts. Bayley is texting me, trying to call me. ‘Do you guys know what day it is, what time it is, where I am and where SummerSlam is?’ The math ain’t mathing. If I could teleport, that would be perfect. 1 PM, I shit you not. The rest of the day, my anxiety was at a ten. There was no time to be not anxious. Are there even flights? Sure, enough, there was a flight they wanted me to get on. It was around 5:15 PM, and I could not make it. I could not. There was literally only one flight left. This shows how desperate I was to get there because it was Spirit. I’ve never flown Spirit before. ‘Please don’t let anything happen.’ This flight was set for 6 PM. Boarding time passes. It’s 6 PM, we’re still standing around. We board at 6:30. It’s getting closer to 7. ‘SummerSlam starts in an hour, in what world am I going to make this?’ They were saying the plane had maintenance issues, which is why we were delayed. They’re waiting for papers. How, in today’s technology, do you have to wait for a paper? We have technology. Just text them, ‘we’re good.’ It’s 2023. Email them the papers, send a screenshot, text them, DM them. We wait for a stack of papers. We haven’t even pulled away from the gate. It’s after 7 PM. Everything that went wrong, could. We take off at 7:15. It’s a two-and-a-half-hour flight to Detroit. I forgot what city we were going to because I was that frantic. When I’m landing, it’s the middle of the show, I want to say it was after Shayna [Shayna Baszler] and Ronda [Ronda Rousey]. Gunther and Drew [Drew McIntyre]. Thank goodness they sent car service to come and get me. They also had a makeup lady in the car. It’s about a 20-minute drive from the airport to the venue. Luckily their match was semi-main. I wouldn’t have made it. We get to the venue, I got dressed in the locker room, and it was straight to be loaded for where I was meant to be. I didn’t even get to say hi to everyone, really.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)

AEW & ROH

• AEW CEO Tony Khan recently announced on Twitter that this year’s AEW Fyter Fest special will be taking place during the week of August 16th as part of recent schedule changes made for upcoming AEW television shows.
• As noted before, Jade Cargill has been on a break from AEW and wrestling since this past May. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that Cargill was in attendance backstage at this past Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite show in Columbus, Ohio but the exact reason for her visit is currently not known. Johnson speculated that Cargill might have met with AEW officials to discuss potential plans for her official return in the future.
• Friday’s AEW Rampage show in Columbus, Ohio featured the official announcement of a Texas Chainsaw Massacre Deathmatch between Jeff Jarrett and Jeff Hardy for next week’s Dynamite show in Nashville, Tennessee. This match was announced to be officially sponsored by the Texas Chainsaw Massacre video game.
• The August 2nd AEW Dynamite show in Tampa, Florida featured Hikrau Shida defeating Toni Storm to become the new AEW Women’s World Champion for the second time in her career. In a recent interview with Denise Salcedo, Shida gave her thoughts about her recent AEW Women’s World title victory. Shida stated “The night was the, I think that was the greatest moment in my life. For me, it’s more important is [it was] in front of fans because the last time I was champion [was] no fans. Actually, I got the title at the first pay-per-view without fans, and I lose the title at the pay-per-view the first week the fans come back. So yeah. When I was champion, all the time is without fans. So I’m so happy, I could hear the cheers of the fans. The moment, that was the best. I felt it was like a dream.” Shida also gave her thoughts about her first title reign taking place during the coronavirus pandemic in front of empty crowds for shows. Shida stated “During the pandemic, fans cheer us, and I can see that [online]. But I think I always felt like of unsteady because I couldn’t actually hear them. That feeling was so strange. I felt like it was a dream, but also felt, ‘Oh my god, it’s real.’ The fans are there, and I can hear that.” Shida also gave her thoughts on her reaction when she found out about winning the title for a second time in her career. Shida stated “To be honest, not really. Of course, I always wanted. But the first time I was champion, it was only six months since I moved here. There’s a lot of things I couldn’t do. For example, the interview, I [didn’t] feel comfortable with interviews because I worry about my English. I know I still need to do work. But now I’m feeling much, much better. I can relax and I can talk what I want to. So I’ve always felt there were a lot of things I couldn’t do as a champion. So I always wanted, but I really didn’t expect it happening, especially right before our biggest show, Wembley, so I was so surprised. But I did it.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• In a recent episode of the Grillin JR podcast, co-host Jim Ross gave his thoughts about the differences in backstage atmosphere between AEW’s Dynamite and Collision shows. Ross stated “The atmosphere at Collision, in my opinion, is entirely different than the mindset and the atmosphere at Dynamite. There’s less people, less crew, less talents, so it’s a lot calmer. I think the talents have more time to work their matches out. It’s just a different atmosphere, and it’s a good atmosphere. Always fun. Good seeing the talents. We got a good crew going. I think Punk and Tony Khan pretty much put that roster together, and I like it. That’s good talents. They’re motivated. They like the ownership of that show and the fact that they can make a difference, and I think that’s cool. All good, man. I’m looking to it. I enjoy being around the talent.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• In the same episode, Ross also gave his thoughts about his return from injury at last week’s AEW Collision show in Greenville, South Carolina. Ross stated “It was great. It was absolutely great. You always wonder if you can maintain your timing and how you’re gonna fit in with two new guys, Ian [Riccaboni] and Nigel [McGuinness]. I had fun working with those guys. They did a good job. They’re prepared, they’re unselfish, they listen. That’s one of the key things about announcing is listening to your partner or partners so that you can connect the dots and not leave someone hanging. So I had fun. I had a good time. The match that we had, CM Punk and Ricky Starks, with Steamboat, was excellent.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• In a recent interview with Inside The Ropes, ECW legend Rob Van Dam stated that he has been in recent talks with AEW CEO Tony Khan for a potential future appearance in AEW. RVD stated “Well, was it talked about between me and Tony [Khan] about me coming back? Yeah. The details of that conversation? We’ll have to wait and see.”
• In a recent interview with Cultaholic, AEW Director of Business Development Jeff Jarrett provided an update regarding the status of AEW’s House Rules house show events following the debut of AEW’s Collision series this past June. Jarrett stated “The brand continues to grow. Our non-televised live events, House Rules, I want that business to continue to grow. When I came on board, Collision wasn’t even thought of. That radically changed the strategy. Dynamite is on Wednesday and the weekends would be wide open for House Rules. Now, Collision is in the mix, which doubles our primetime coverage, so now we’re looking at Fridays and Sundays, and obviously Thursdays. The brand growing overall, that’s from video games to House Rules to marketing initiatives, content, promotions. The most simplistic is for the brand to continue to grow because we live in a really big world, and the US and UK market is just two markets. It’s a massive audience out there.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• The August 4th AEW Rampage show in Tampa, Florida featured a Parking Lot Brawl between the Blackpool Combat Club and Best Friends. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that AEW officials had taped the match on August 3rd at the parking lot of Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida shortly after midnight.
• As noted before, PAC recently suffered an unknown injury and is currently expected to be out of action for AEW for the foreseeable future. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the exact spot where PAC suffered his injury during his match with Gravity on the July 26th Dynamite show is currently not known.
• As noted before, this past June’s Forbidden Door II event is estimated to have generated a higher amount of pay-per-view buys than last year’s event, which generated around 141,000 buys. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the final cable television PPV buys for Forbidden Door II ended up being around 1% lower than the PPV buys for last year’s event. Meltzer reported that cable television PPV buys were down 7% but streaming buys were up 5% compared to last year’s event. Meltzer reported that Forbidden Door II is currently estimated to have generated 147,000 PPV buys, not including buys from New Japan World in Japan.
• In a recent interview with the Busted Open Radio podcast, Anna Jay gave her thoughts about her current goals in AEW. Jay stated “[The AEW Women’s World Championship] is definitely the goal. I think that’s kind of everyone’s goal is to one day hold a championship in wrestling because that’s a token of what you’ve worked for. But I think for me right now, especially with my experience and being so new, and I’m not that new anymore, but I am new as far as match numbers. I’ve not had as many matches as a lot of the girls. But I think right now, really, I just want to keep getting better and keep doing what I’m doing and keep getting reps and keep getting advice from all the people that we have in the back and keep going on this way. I do feel myself getting more comfortable, and I do feel myself trying new things here and there. I think, like I said, if I stay on this, that I’ll get better and hit my goal of being a great women’s wrestler and hit my goal of being the champion. But I think it’s just kind of a day-by-day process, for me at least, and I’m okay with that. I’m okay with taking it day by day, and I’m okay with just getting better and that being my goal right now.” Jay also gave her thoughts about Dean Malenko being among those who have given her valuable advice to help improve her career. Jay stated “Dean Malenko recently has been helping me some, and he is just incredible, and also just a very sweet, generous man, so it’s cool learning from him. Obviously, he’s just incredibly talented and incredibly knowledgeable. Jericho, of course. Being with him has really been helpful, and he’s helped me a lot I think talking-wise, even more than wrestling. So it’s cool to have different people for different aspects of the business. So those two right now I feel like have been super helpful. But there’s tons more. Jerry Lynn’s been helpful. I would say Madison Rayne, she’s super helpful and always helping the women week-to-week. But there’s tons of people in the back that are helping all the time.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)

Impact, NJPW, Indies, & Misc. Wrestling

• Saturday’s G1 Climax 2023 event for New Japan Pro Wrestling in Tokyo, Japan featured Kazuchika Okada and Tetsuya Naito advancing to the Finals of this year’s tournament.
• Following his match at Saturday’s NJPW G1 Climax 2023 event in Tokyo, Will Ospreay revealed during his post-match press conference that he recently redesigned and renamed the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship belt to a new name of IWGP United Kingdom Heavyweight Championship. Ospreay stated “The belt doesn’t make the man, the man makes the belt, and I am sick to death of carrying something I have no attachment to. I don’t want to carry this (US) flag. I’ve been to America and been the best in the world. Canada, Europe, Australia and Japan, I am the best in the world. The best in the world is from the United Kingdom. So to the IWGP committee, have this, I don’t want it. I want a championship that suits my needs. I was going to reveal this when I beat Naito, but sh*t happens. I am the best in the world, and I want this championship. This is my championship. This means I am the best in the world. I have beaten Kenny Omega, beaten Okada, I have beaten them all. So if anyone in the world thinks they are better than me, championship on the line, you beat Will Ospreay and you take this from me, you’re the best in the world. Naito, congratulations, but tomorrow is a new day, and I’m taking this bad boy with me.“
• Impact Wrestling drew 128,000 viewers and a 0.02 key demographic rating for their August 10th episode of AXS TV, according to Spoiler TV. Viewership and ratings for their August 3rd episode is currently not known.
• Impact recently announced that due to overwhelming demand for tickets, they have added a new second show for Coventry, England for their upcoming UK Invasion Tour of the United Kingdom this October. This newly added show will be taking place on October 29th in Coventry.
• Impact also recently announced a new match for the card of their co-promoted Impact x NJPW Multiverse United 2 event on August 20th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This is a 12-Man Tag Team match of Bullet Club (Ace Austin, Chris Bey, David Finlay, Alex Coughlin, KENTA, & Clark Connors) vs. PCO, Josh Alexander, Tanga Loa, Tama Tonga, The DKC, and El Phantsasmo.
• In a recent interview with the Wrestling Is Life is Wrestling with Cody Deaner podcast, Courtney Rush gave her thoughts on her decision to drop her Rosemary character and revert back to her current Rush character in Impact. Rush stated “I think if I look back retrospectively, the tickling (to bring back Courtney Rush) began when Su Yung started getting her alternate characters and I was like, ‘Hold on, I already have an alternate character.’ I was like, ‘Well, she was really good, still pretty f*cking funny,’ and I do love Rosemary, right? And then Havok turned to Jessicka and then Jessicka’s just having so much fun being Jessicka and so much more how she actually is in real life. That’s Jessicka on TV and she’s having so much fun and I’m like, man, A, I’m tired of being the zeppo. I always have to be the f*cking, disagree with everybody, ‘Yeah, you stupid human dude.’ Just out of sorts and stuff and I’m like, man, I just want a break. I wanna be the idiot for a little while and two, all the stars lined up. I’ve been Rosemary for seven years or seven deadly sins. It felt like a fun time to take a break there just for a bookmark and I also love her so much and she’s so dear to me and such one of my favorite characters I’ve ever created that I think the worst thing I could ever do is get sick of her and to bring it back around full circle in conversation, what we were talking about it being work rather than enjoyment because Rosemary is my job and my life, I think I do put a lot of pressure on her to be like, well, I need her, you know what I mean? I have to be Rosemary whether I want to or not because that’s what brings me money and I was like, I want to prove this to my myself that I am good enough to do this, not as Rosemary, not forever but just for a little bit and shake it up and remember how to have fun. I remember I talked to you (Deaner) and I was like, ‘I feel like I forgot how to work,’ because I was like, everything was just so… it wasn’t really so much a formula, that it was not fun. I wanted a challenge.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)
• Game Changer Wrestling recently announced a new match for the card of their GCW Homecoming 2023 Part 2 event on August 20th in Atlantic City, New Jersey. This is a GCW Ultraviolent Championship match of Violento Jack vs. Rina Yamashita (c).
• Starrcast recently announced that Jeff Hardy will be making an appearance for the company at their Starrcast VI convention on September 1-3 in Chicago, Illinois.
• Pro Wrestling Revolver recently announced that Alan Angels and Tommy Dreamer will be making an appearance for the company at their Redacted 4Ever event on September 2nd in Clive, Iowa.
• ESPN recently released an article about WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair’s influence on hip hop culture over the past 50 years of its existence.
• As noted before, former WWE developmental talent Kyle Rasmussen pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges against him this past July over his involvement in the death of his girlfriend from a car accident in October of 2022. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that Rasmussen was sentenced to 153 days in prison on August 9th as part of a plea bargain deal after he had pleaded not guilty to the charges against him based on recent court records. Besides a prison sentence, Rasmussen was also sentenced to two years of probation that will go into effect after his release from prison.
• This past Thursday’s West Coast Cup ’23 event for West Coast Pro Wrestling in South San Fransisco, California featured Takumi Iroha defeating Masha Slamovich to be crowned the new WCP Women’s Champion.
• Over The Top Wrestling recently announced that Jon Moxley is currently scheduled to make an appearance for the company at their Nine-Year Anniversary event on October 27th in Wolverhampton, England. This will be the third time that OTT has tried to book Moxley for his official debut for the company with the prior two times being cancelled first over COVID-19 pandemic-related issues and later over AEW scheduling-related issues.
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Sky Sports recently added a second hour to Major League Wrestling’s MLW Fusion show in the United Kingdom after six months of its official debut on the channel.
• Lucha Libre AAA’s Triplemania XXI: Mexico City event later tonight in Mexico City features a Vacant AAA Latin American Championship Four-way match of Pentagon Jr. vs. QT Marshall vs. Dralistico vs. Brian Cage. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that AAA officials currently have plans for this match to setup a potential Mask vs. Hair match between Pentagon Jr. (mask) and QT Marshall (hair) as the big payoff to their current feud in the company.