WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins has been on the cutting edge of fashion on WWE TV week after week. That included an episode of Monday Night Raw back in February when he arrived in MSCHF's Big Red Boots and manage to deliver a Curb Stomp to The Miz while wearing them. Rollins arrived on the opening segment of Raw this week wearing MSCHF's new Big Yellow Boots, which are also a collaboration with Crocs. "The Visionary" managed to nail Finn Balor with a Big Boot attack while still wearing the shoes after a brawl broke out.

The shoes initially sold for $450 but can cost as much as $2,000 depending on your size if you try to buy them on secondary markets like StockX. Rollins was asked about wearing the Red Boots out to the ring during a recent interview with Complex while appearing on Sneaker Shopping.

Seth Rollins kicking another man in the head with comically large bright yellow boots made my night ? pic.twitter.com/2rs6ecZsXC

-- Ryan Satin (@ryansatin) August 8, 2023

Seth Rollins Teases Wrestling a Full Match in His Big Red Boots

"I remember the first time I saw them. I had not seen them, but I knew that they were kind of getting hot," Rollins said. I'm sitting in my hotel and [personal stylist] (King) Troi brings in this suitcase, opens it up and pops out these Super Mario-looking things. I couldn't believe what was happening. I couldn't believe that he wanted me to wear these things. Big red boots man. MSCHF. They're fantastic. They made for a hell of a viral moment in Brooklyn."

"I was actually shocked at how functional they were. I had intended to do no physicality initially because they're so obnoxious and big and clunky, so I thought," Rollins continued. "I put them on and they're really just like a boot lining inside of that big old thing. Your foot's not flopping around in that big space. It's lined up. Because it's got the extra support on the sides, you almost get more stability. Don't judge a book by its cover, or a shoe by its sole."

"I might be able to wrestle an entire match in that shoe," Rollins jokingly noted "Don't hold me to it, but it's possible."

WWE SummerSlam 2023 Results

• Logan Paul def. Ricochet
• Cody Rhodes def. Brock Lesnar
• LA Knight wins the SummerSlam Battle Royal
• Shayna Baszler def. Ronda Rousey (MMA Rules)
• Intercontinental Championship: Gunther def. Drew McIntyre
• World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins def. Finn Balor
• WWE Women's Championship: Bianca Belair def. Asuka & Charlotte Flair
• WWE Women's Championship: Iyo Sky def. Bianca Belair
• Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns def. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat Rules)

Cody Rhodes made it clear he wants another shot at Roman Reigns and the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. "The American Nightmare" was successful in defeating Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam this past Saturday in Detroit, then discussed what he wants to do next during the post-show press conference. Rhodes' first attempt at beating Reigns back at WrestleMania 39 fell short thanks to outside interference, which Reigns used yet again to keep his title reign and position as "Tribal Chief" alive in the SummerSlam main event against Jey Uso.

"I think everybody in the room probably knows what my plans are," Rhodes said, refraining from saying Reigns' name outright (h/t Fightful). "We were talking about finishing the story. Now, the thing that I've been saying to myself, saying out loud, saying while laying there on the mat is 'get back.' I want to get back to the situation that I was in, to the same scenario I was in, and fix that outcome. I'm not going to say specifically what that is, but I think we can all read between the lines, and the journey to get there is dang near next to impossible, it really is, including three (matches) with Brock Lesnar. That would be what I would hope, but consistently surprised, you never know. I don't mean that as a tagline. With me, on Monday nights, you never know. It's been a great surprise so far."

Do you think WWE will pair Rhodes and Reigns up again before the end of the year? What will "The American Nightmare" be up to in the meantime? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!

Cody Rhodes Reaching His "Final Form"

Elsewhere during the press conference, Rhodes discussed the evolution of his "American Nightmare" persona and how he feels it has reached its "final form" since returning to WWE. Rhodes previously used the moniker in companies like AEW, Impact Wrestling and New Japan prior to returning to WWE in April 2022.

"I feel like I just stepped into the role right now the American Nightmare," Rhodes said. "And I mentioned this in the documentary. It's this collection of all these things that I've been and was. But here (in WWE) it has caught on in a way that I want to just continue what we're doing. I've never seen so many signs with this (points to his neck tattoo). You know, this went from being what wrestling and sports entertainment fans thought was the worst tattoo in the history of the industry. And now this, it's on every sign out there and you've got these wonderful young fans and just jumping on board. I just want to continue to go down that road.

"I think I've found my final form. And it took me a while," he continued. "Some folks get it right out the gate, they know who they're supposed to be and that's special. I don't begrudge them. Me, (I'm a) slow learner and I think I found my final form. So it's really just polishing up the best of the American Nightmare."

WWE SummerSlam 2023 Results

• Logan Paul def. Ricochet
• Cody Rhodes def. Brock Lesnar
• LA Knight wins the SummerSlam Battle Royal
• Shayna Baszler def. Ronda Rousey (MMA Rules)
• Intercontinental Championship: Gunther def. Drew McIntyre
• World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins def. Finn Balor
• WWE Women's Championship: Bianca Belair def. Asuka & Charlotte Flair
• WWE Women's Championship: Iyo Sky def. Bianca Belair
• Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns def. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat Rules)

SummerSlam's main event between Roman Reigns and Jey Uso was competed under "Tribal Combat" rules with both the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship and Reigns' status as "The Tribal Chief" on the line. Like most of Reigns' matches, the ending was heavily influenced by outside interference as both Solo Sikoa and a returning Jimmy Uso got involved and helped Reigns retain. However, fans have since taken online to point out a noticeable oversight by someone within WWE. When the match was first announced, the rules were explained on WWE.com that there would be no disqualifications and no count outs. But there was also a note that no one was allowed to interfere, something that was clearly ignored.

It's unclear what happened here. Were there wires crossed when the WWE.com preview article was written? Did WWE forget they had added this to the stipulation when setting up the match? Or was there originally supposed to be no interference, but plans were changed and the company's higher-ups hoped that nobody noticed? Tell us what you think in the comments!

So wtf happened to the supposed rules of Tribal Combat?
by u/dalekofchaos in SquaredCircle

Paul Heyman on Roman Reigns' Run Not Hitting the Halfway Point

Reigns' "Wise Man" Paul Heyman spoke at the post-show press conference and once again claimed Reigns is in the "third inning" of his dominant run. The same line was used after Reigns retained at WrestleMania 39.

"We are just figuring this stuff out," Heyman said (h/t WrestleZone). "We haven't even hit our stride yet. If you want to take the arrogant approach, I'm sure Paul Levesque will tell you all the box office records that have been smashed. Every Friday night when we show up at SmackDown, we're always told, 'This is the largest gate of this and the largest gate of that.' 'This is the largest premium live event.' 'This is the largest WrestleMania.' Okay, we can sit there and point to what clearly drove all this, and it's the Bloodline, and when I say the Bloodline, I mean the Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns.

"There is so much more for us to master. It's a craft, and it's an evolving craft. It's an ever-evolving form of entertainment," he continued. "If you sit there and you think, 'We got this, this is it, we're cruising to WrestleMania,' we're going to be replaced, and we should be. If you don't come at this with the greatest ambitions to be much better tomorrow than you are today and much better two days from now, then you're not here to be the greatest of all time."

WWE SummerSlam 2023 Results

• Logan Paul def. Ricochet
• Cody Rhodes def. Brock Lesnar
• LA Knight wins the SummerSlam Battle Royal
• Shayna Baszler def. Ronda Rousey (MMA Rules)
• Intercontinental Championship: Gunther def. Drew McIntyre
• World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins def. Finn Balor
• WWE Women's Championship: Bianca Belair def. Asuka & Charlotte Flair
• WWE Women's Championship: Iyo Sky def. Bianca Belair
• Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns def. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat Rules)

The WWE Women's Tag Team Championships have never truly found their footing. The titles and accompanying division was introduced in early 2019 when Sasha Banks and Bayley were crowned as the inaugural titleholders. Banks and Bayley's reign was cut significantly short when they were dethroned by The IIconics at WWE WrestleMania 35 just weeks later. The titles would continue to hot potato across the women's tag division for months to come until Banks and Bayley regained them in May 2020. With both of those women at the top of Monday Night Raw and WWE SmackDown at the time, it looked like the titles were primed for a big run.

Outside of that second reign from Banks and Bayley, the WWE Women's Tag Titles have resorted back to quick changes. Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler seemed primed to get a long reign but lost the titles before they could gain any steam. The women to dethrone them, Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez, lost the titles themselves just weeks after winning them. Many have looked to current fan-favorite champions Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green as the women to finally bring legitimacy to the WWE Women's Tag Team Titles, but they have hit a significant road bump.

Sonya Deville Suffers Torn ACL

According to TMZ, WWE Women's Tag Team Champion tore her ACL on the July 28th WWE SmackDown during a championship defense against Bianca Belair and Charlotte Flair. She is set to undergo a procedure on Tuesday.

While there is no timetable for Deville's return to the ring, torn ACLs usually leave athletes out of action for 6-9 months.

It's unclear as to how WWE will move forward with the WWE Women's Tag Titles from here. While Deville will most likely be forced to vacate her title, there is no word on if that means Green will have to do the same. The most probable outcomes point towards Deville and Green relinquishing the titles together or Green replacing Deville with a new partner.

Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for live coverage of Monday Night Raw tonight and updates on the WWE Women's Tag Team Titles.

WWE SummerSlam Results

• Logan Paul def. Ricochet
• Cody Rhodes def. Brock Lesnar
• SummerSlam Battle Royal: LA Knight def. field
• MMA Rules Match: Shayna Baszler def. Ronda Rousey
• Intercontinental Championship: Gunther def. Drew McIntyre
  
• World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins def. Finn Balor
• WWE Women's Championship: Bianca Belair def. Asuka and Charlotte Flair
• Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns def. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat Rules)

Ronda Rousey was on the losing end of her "MMA Rules" match with Shayna Baszler at the SummerSlam premium live event this past weekend in Detroit. It was then reported that the match would be Rousey's last in WWE, at least for the foreseeable future. The UFC Hall of Famer took to Instagram after the bout with photos from the match, writing, "[Shayna Baszler] you were the reason I got into this business... Now I got no reason to stay."

While she famously appeared in a segment at WrestleMania 31 involving Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, she wouldn't make her in-ring debut until WrestleMania 34 three years later. While she'd have a notable break in-ring action from WrestleMania 35 in 2019 to the 2022 Royal Rumble, she'd still compete in 142 WWE matches. Her list of accomplishments includes two reigns as SmackDown Women's Champion, one reign as Raw Women's Champion (which held the record for longest reign for a time), a brief run as WWE Women's Tag Team Champion with Baszler, a Women's Royal Rumble win and the honor of being in the first WrestleMania main event to only feature women.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ronda Rousey (@rondarousey)

WWE SummerSlam 2023 Results

• Logan Paul def. Ricochet
• Cody Rhodes def. Brock Lesnar
• LA Knight wins the SummerSlam Battle Royal
• Shayna Baszler def. Ronda Rousey (MMA Rules)
• Intercontinental Championship: Gunther def. Drew McIntyre
• World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins def. Finn Balor
• WWE Women's Championship: Bianca Belair def. Asuka & Charlotte Flair
• WWE Women's Championship: Iyo Sky def. Bianca Belair
• Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns def. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat Rules)

Shayna Baszler on Her Personal Issues With Rousey

While Baszler and Rousey are close friends in real life, the former NXT Women's Champion claimed in a recent appearance on The Bump that their onscreen feud was rooted in real issues. She'd then go on to mention their time together in MMA during emotional pre-match promos.

"One thing I've always said about wrestling fans, I guess sports fans in general, is they can smell when you're faking the funk. All this is like legit and real talk. I think they connect to stuff that's real," Baszler explained. "I have seen some stuff from people like, 'Who am I supposed to be cheering for? Who's the bad guy?' ...You just cheer for who you like. And it just happens to be me, because the stuff I'm saying is real. And if we're being honest, the stuff I'm saying is the stuff fans have been saying ever since Ronda got signed [by WWE]. So, I'm done being quiet about it."

Cody Rhodes managed to defeat Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam this past weekend inside Detroit's Ford Field stadium. "The American Nightmare" brought down "The Beast Incarnate" after hitting his Cross Rhodes finisher three consecutive times. But Lesnar quickly made his way back to his feet after the match and dropped his MMA gloves, eventually embracing Rhodes and raising his hand in victory for the fans in attendance. But while this wound up being a touching moment, Rhodes thought for a second that he was about to be in a real fight with the former UFC Heavyweight Champion.

"As I saw him taking his gloves off, I sincerely thought he was going to start swinging," Rhodes said in an interview with Sports Illustrated. "Then we went head-to-head, and it felt like we were a millisecond away from starting up again. So I didn't anticipate that handshake coming. When I saw his hand, I was grateful. That's not something he does. Again, this run has consistently surprised me. The torch isn't passed. You have to take it,"

"I came to the back, there was a nice ovation in the Gorilla Position, but Brock was nowhere to be found," he later added. "I didn't see him the rest of the night. The way I see it, we didn't need to speak. Brock left it all in the ring."

Paul "Triple H" Levesque on the Brock Lesnar/Cody Rhodes Moment

Levesque revealed in the post-show press conference that the moment between Lesnar and Rhodes was completely unplanned. "The Game" admitted Lesnar's display of sportsmanship even shocked him.

"Name the amount of people that Brock Lesnar has gotten up after going through a match like that, shook their hand pulled them in to hug them before walking out. I know Brock, I work with him all the time. That was a holy s-- moment for me," Levesque said.

"That's a moment. And if that doesn't state to you where Cody is at, where this journey has taken him from what many people questioned at WrestleMania to where he is right now, that rise just continues to be phenomenal. And he delivers at all turns, so it's awesome" he continued.

WWE SummerSlam 2023 Results

• Logan Paul def. Ricochet
• Cody Rhodes def. Brock Lesnar
• LA Knight wins the SummerSlam Battle Royal
• Shayna Baszler def. Ronda Rousey (MMA Rules)
• Intercontinental Championship: Gunther def. Drew McIntyre
• World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins def. Finn Balor
• WWE Women's Championship: Bianca Belair def. Asuka & Charlotte Flair
• WWE Women's Championship: Iyo Sky def. Bianca Belair
• Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns def. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat Rules)

WWE reportedly wants former NWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis, but not as a wrestler. After a tumultuous departure from the National Wrestling Alliance, Aldis recently had a stint in Impact Wrestling where he challenged Alex Shelley for the Impact World Championship, only to come up short at the Slammiversary pay-per-view in mid-July. It was then reported that Aldis was done with the promotion and that WWE had an interest in signing him.

However, PWInsider's latest report states Aldis will be at this week's Monday Night Raw in Minneapolis but that he's getting looked at for a backstage producer role. Why WWE doesn't want Aldis working onscreen as a full-time wrestler is unknown.

Nick Aldis on His Interest in Signing With WWE

Aldis hinted at the idea of joining WWE in an interview with ComicBook back in August 2022 while he was still under contract with the NWA -- "When I choose to sign a contract somewhere, that's me making my full commitment to that organization for the time that I'm under contract. To me, that's what being a professional is. So having said that, it's always difficult to talk about having aspirations to move on and to conquer the last big [thing]. For me, there's one major level that I haven't accomplished in the game and everyone knows what that is. I'm not going to deny that that's still something that I think about all the time. I think the difference is that I sort made peace with the idea that it'll happen or it won't."

Were Aldis being brought in to wrestle on Raw, he'd have an immediate story lined up with Cody Rhodes as the pair traded the NWA world title at Rhodes' All In show and the NWA 70th Anniversary event in 2018. Rhodes is fresh off beating Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam and is in need of a new program if WWE isn't putting him back on the path for Roman Reigns' Undisputed WWE Universal Championship right away.

Do you think WWE is making a mistake by not bringing in Aldis as an active competitor? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!

WWE SummerSlam 2023 Results

• Logan Paul def. Ricochet
• Cody Rhodes def. Brock Lesnar
• LA Knight wins the SummerSlam Battle Royal
• Shayna Baszler def. Ronda Rousey (MMA Rules)
• Intercontinental Championship: Gunther def. Drew McIntyre
• World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins def. Finn Balor
• WWE Women's Championship: Bianca Belair def. Asuka & Charlotte Flair
• WWE Women's Championship: Iyo Sky def. Bianca Belair
• Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns def. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat Rules)

A new Fortnite crossover will see WWE stars Becky Lynch and Bianca Belair joining the game in the near future. As of this writing, an official announcement from Epic Games has not been made, but information first started to circulate among some of Fortnite's most reliable leakers, including @HYPEX and @ShiinaBR. The collaboration will reportedly be arriving in the game on August 8th or the 9th, so it's possible WWE fans will have something to celebrate early this week. On Instagram, the official WWE account has also started to hype the collaboration, releasing photos of the two stars with some Fortnite themed accessories, stating that Lynch and Belair "are gearing up for something." It's not difficult to figure out what that is!

A Tweet about the collaboration from @HYPEX can be found embedded below.

Fortnite x WWE will feature Bianca Belair & Becky Lynch.

They will also have a Victory Royale emote where you hold the WWE Belt (via Barbieharp) pic.twitter.com/sgLt0macBI

-- HYPEX (@HYPEX) August 7, 2023

As @HYPEX mentions in the Tweet, the two WWE skins will apparently be accompanied by a new Victory Royale emote. When the emote is used, the player will hold the WWE Belt. Unfortunately, actual images of the skins have not leaked yet, so there's no way of knowing how closely Lynch and Belair will look to their real-life counterparts. At this point, Epic Games has this type of thing down to a science, but some WWE fans might want to see the finalized designs before making a decision to purchase.

So far, the collaboration seems to be generating lot of excitement. The teasers on Instagram have gotten a lot of positive attention, most notably from Becky Lynch fans. In fact, some even pledged to purchase the skins, despite never having played the game! Of course, that speaks to the way that Fortnite continues to use these types of crossovers to pull in new users that might not have played otherwise. Hopefully the skin designs will live up to the hype when they do release, and we'll see even more WWE content in the coming months.

Are you looking forward to this collaboration between Fortnite and the WWE? What do you think of Becky Lynch and Bianca Belair joining the game? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!

Ricochet and Will Ospreay are forever linked. The two innovative high-flyers set the professional wrestling industry on fire with their one-on-one contests in 2016 and 2017, taking standards maneuvers like DDTs and clotheslines and putting their acrobatic spin on it to create bouts that had to be seen to be believed. Ricochet would take his talents to WWE in 2018 while Ospreay set his sights on New Japan Pro Wrestling. These two have not shared a ring together in well over six years, but their classic clashes and similar in-ring styles have made them forever linked.

Speaking to ComicBook.com at the WWE SummerSlam press junket, Ricochet noted that he's still close with Ospreay as the two regularly keep in touch.

"I think I talked to him [on Thursday] actually," Ricochet said. "He's doing great. He just beat [Kazuchika] Okada."

Ricochet is pointing to Ospreay's big victory in New Japan's G1 Climax tournament over Okada, someone he has struggled to get the 1-2-3 on for years.

While they're no longer in the same company, Ricochet emphasized that he still follows the careers of many of his friends in the greater wrestling world.

"I keep up with [Will] and all of his stuff because a lot of his matches are against my other friends as well like Takagi Shingo. All those guys that he's been wrestling even in Japan and overseas and Europe, those are my friends as well," Ricochet continued. "I got to keep up with those guys and got to watch what they're doing. As much as I influence them, they influence me. They push me to do better."

Ricochet competes on Monday Night Raw which returns to television tonight at 8 PM ET on the USA Network. Ospreay is deep in the G1 Climax which culminates later this month.

WWE SummerSlam Results

• Logan Paul def. Ricochet
• Cody Rhodes def. Brock Lesnar
• SummerSlam Battle Royal: LA Knight def. field
• MMA Rules Match: Shayna Baszler def. Ronda Rousey
• Intercontinental Championship: Gunther def. Drew McIntyre
  
• World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins def. Finn Balor
• WWE Women's Championship: Bianca Belair def. Asuka and Charlotte Flair
• Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns def. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat Rules)

WWE SummerSlam is available for replay on Peacock. WWE returns to television with Monday Night Raw tonight at 8 PM ET on the USA Network.

Ronda Rousey suffered her first submission loss in her WWE career this past weekend at WWE SummerSlam. The baddest woman on the planet squared off against longtime friend Shayna Baszler in an "MMA Rules Match," a call back to both women's history inside the octagon. While the bout did not go over well with the live crowd at Ford Field or those watching at home, as many criticized how scripted mixed martial arts comes off on screen, it still represented a career-defining victory for Baszler. The former NXT Women's Champion has had start-stop momentum on the main roster since being called up in early 2020, and this W puts her in a strong position moving forward.

Ronda Rousey Retires From WWE?

According to the Wrestling Observer, Ronda Rousey's WWE SummerSlam match was her final bout for the foreseeable future, being specifically described as her "farewell for now." It sounds like Rousey is leaving the door open for a WWE return sometime down the line but is in no rush to get back in the ring anytime soon.

Rousey and Baszler became WWE Women's Tag Team Champions shortly after WWE WrestleMania 39 but held them for just over one month. This surprised many as reports leading into their reign indicated that Rousey and Baszler would have a championship-defining run with the belts, but it ultimately ended far before it could pick up steam. This consequently accelerated Rousey and Baszler's feud with one another as Rousey was said to have a "hard out" from WWE after WWE SummerSlam.

Rousey's current WWE run began in January 2022 and is her longest to date. Her in-ring debut came in April 2018 and began a stretch that ended just one year later compared to this second stint that has lasted roughly 20 months. If this is the end of her WWE career, Rousey leaves with four championship reigns to her name.

WWE SummerSlam Results

• Logan Paul def. Ricochet
• Cody Rhodes def. Brock Lesnar
• SummerSlam Battle Royal: LA Knight def. field
• MMA Rules Match: Shayna Baszler def. Ronda Rousey
• Intercontinental Championship: Gunther def. Drew McIntyre
  
• World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins def. Finn Balor
• WWE Women's Championship: Bianca Belair def. Asuka and Charlotte Flair
• Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns def. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat Rules)

WWE SummerSlam is available for replay on Peacock. WWE returns to television with Monday Night Raw tonight at 8 PM ET on the USA Network.

LA Knight picked up his first big pay-per-view win as a member of WWE's main roster on Saturday night, defeating 24 other men in the Slim Jim SummerSlam Battle Royal. Knight's popularity has increased exponentially since the start of the year, but he has spent most of that time without being involved in any major storyline or noteworthy feud. And given WWE's long history of refusing to push certain wrestlers when they find an unexpected connection with fans, there's been concern that the company might wait for too long to strike while the iron is hot with Knight.

However, while appearing at the SummerSlam post-show press conference late Saturday night, Knight said fans shouldn't worry about whether or not he'll get a push.

"I definitely look at it that way (like his SummerSlam win was a long time coming) in the grand scheme of things," Knight said. "But if you're also looking at the fact that what LA Knight only appeared on the Smackdown roster, what back in October? So in a weird way, this has been an amazingly fast climb and it's been really crazy how it's happened kind of unexpectedly.

"I've said this before. I'll say it again, I always knew that I had something to give," he continued. "Did I know that it was going to go to this level this quickly? Not necessarily. But damn, here we are. And for me, everybody is talking about, 'Oh, well, he, you know, he needs the rocket strapped to him.' Look, I'll strap the rocket to myself and that's exactly what I got."

LA Knight says don't worry about #WWE strapping the rocket to him. He'll do it himself #SummerSlam pic.twitter.com/WCTWO0u5NE

-- Connor Casey (@ConnorCaseyCB) August 6, 2023

LA Knight on Not Getting Booked on WWE Pay-Per-Views Consistently

Knight's post-show comments were just the latest in a long line of interviews where the former Million Dollar Champion remains confident that his raw charisma and in-ring ability will shine through even if opportunities aren't always sent his way.

"The roster is so stacked and full. You want the premium live event to stand out as something different than what you see on TV, so you don't want the exact same formula," Knight told Good Karma Wrestling recently. "Those spots on the premium live events are limited. I'm getting the big reactions, you can't deny that. But at the same time, I guess some people would say, 'Well, he's only been here nine or ten months or whatever.'"

"Some of that's also just figuring out that a lot of this was unexpected. A lot of this came out of the blue, so sometimes plans have to change, and that's the way it goes," he added.

WWE SummerSlam 2023 Results

• Logan Paul def. Ricochet
• Cody Rhodes def. Brock Lesnar
• LA Knight wins the SummerSlam Battle Royal
• Shayna Baszler def. Ronda Rousey (MMA Rules)
• Intercontinental Championship: Gunther def. Drew McIntyre
• World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins def. Finn Balor
• WWE Women's Championship: Bianca Belair def. Asuka & Charlotte Flair
• WWE Women's Championship: Iyo Sky def. Bianca Belair
• Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns def. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat Rules)

Vince McMahon's increased involvement in WWE's booking has been a weekly point of discussion since the start of the year. While McMahon declared he had retired from all positions within the WWE back in July 2022, he eventually forced his way back into being named the WWE's Executive Chairman at the start of the year. Then when WWE and Endeavor announced that a merger between the pro wrestling promotion and the UFC would take place in April, McMahon stated on the record that he was returning to WWE's Creative team but only for "big picture" ideas. Within that same day, he was reportedly back at Monday Night Raw making last-minute script changes.

Since then, McMahon's direct involvement in WWE's booking has been done remotely and reports of McMahon overhauling booking plans have been few and far between. Meanwhile, Paul "Triple H" Levesque has kept the title of Chief Content Officer since McMahon's "retirement," and officially holds the position of Head of Creative within the company.

Is Vince McMahon Still Helping With WWE's Day-to-Day Booking?

News broke this past week that McMahon had been served a subpoena by a federal grand jury and, days later, had taken an indefinite medical leave after undergoing spinal surgery. As a result, news that McMahon wouldn't be present at Saturday's SummerSlam event popped up well before the show began. Levesque was then asked about McMahon's involvement in the post-show press conference.

"At this point in time, if all of us, didn't look in moments of time for counsel from him on thoughts or ideas or if we have a question, to go to him and ask, we'd be silly not to. It's sitting next to someone that has forgotten more about this than you'll ever know. ...Is he day-to-day? No. Is he in it all the time? No. If anybody has, he's earned that right to be able to do that," Levesque said.

WWE SummerSlam 2023 Results

• Logan Paul def. Ricochet
• Cody Rhodes def. Brock Lesnar
• LA Knight wins the SummerSlam Battle Royal
• Shayna Baszler def. Ronda Rousey (MMA Rules)
• Intercontinental Championship: Gunther def. Drew McIntyre
• World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins def. Finn Balor
• WWE Women's Championship: Bianca Belair def. Asuka & Charlotte Flair
• WWE Women's Championship: Iyo Sky def. Bianca Belair
• Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns def. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat Rules)

WWE's SummerSlam premium live event wound up having nine matches across roughly four hours on Saturday night, culminating in Roman Reigns retaining his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Jey Uso. But while the show had a handful of noteworthy title matches champions like Austin Theory and Rhea Ripley weren't booked to defend their championships and storylines like Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus were left off the card. Fans were incredibly vocal in the week leading up to the show about what did and didn't make the show -- particularly Ripley not getting to defend her Women's World Championship and Lynch vs. Stratus III instead getting booked for an episode of Raw later this month. Paul "Triple H" Levesque addressed those conversations during the post-show press conference.

"There was a lot of banter I saw this week about matches being cut, which is the word that was used. But nothing was cut. There was no card announced. If we don't have more things in the pocket ready to go for a PLE than can fit in the PLE, I've done a terrible job," Levesque said. "Because there's always an injury waiting around the corner. There's always a moment that changes everything. And when one creative thing changes, it changes the trajectory of everything. So if you don't have more stuff than you need ready to go, you've failed. Then you get to the unfortunate place where, 'I've got too much stuff.' I don't know about any of you, that show as plenty long tonight. If it would've been longer, it would've been bad.

"So there comes a time when you say, 'Well does everything get shorter time? Does everything get rushed? Or do we move things around and shift it and give it a bigger spotlight?' As a performer, for me, I'd rather have the bigger spotlight," he added.

Rhea Ripley Talks Fan Support After Being Left Off SummerSlam Card

Ripley addressed fans rallying around her heading into SummerSlam weekend during an interview with ComicBook on Friday -- "I appreciate it, I do. All us women appreciate it. Because at the end of the day, we work all year round for opportunities like this. SummerSlam, it's a massive, massive show for the WWE. It's our second biggest (premium live event) of the year. So to not be on it, it's a little bit heartbreaking, but at the end of the day I know that we're all still going to be fighting for the next spot and the next PLE will come up. There's PLEs all the time now. So we will get our shot as well. But yeah, SummerSlam, it's cool to say that you're on it, and I appreciate everyone for backing us girls up."

Now that the show is over, did WWE make a mistake by not giving Ripley a match? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!

WWE SummerSlam 2023 Results

• Logan Paul def. Ricochet
• Cody Rhodes def. Brock Lesnar
• LA Knight wins the SummerSlam Battle Royal
• Shayna Baszler def. Ronda Rousey (MMA Rules)
• Intercontinental Championship: Gunther def. Drew McIntyre
• World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins def. Finn Balor
• WWE Women's Championship: Bianca Belair def. Asuka & Charlotte Flair
• WWE Women's Championship: Iyo Sky def. Bianca Belair
• Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns def. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat Rules)

Brock Lesnar was on the losing end of his rubber match with Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam on Saturday night but decided to do something quite unexpected once the bout was over. Instead of attacking Rhodes again like he had week after week over the past few months, Lesnar instead embraced Rhodes before raising his hand in victory for the fans inside Detroit's Ford Field stadium. Paul "Triple H" Levesque then revealed in the post-show press conference that Lesnar's graciousness in defeat was completely unplanned and even took him by surprise.

"Name the amount of people that Brock Lesnar has gotten up after going through a match like that, shook their hand pulled them in to hug them before walking out. I know Brock, I work with him all the time. That was a holy s-- moment for me," Levesque said.

"That's a moment. And if that doesn't state to you where Cody is at, where this journey has taken him from what many people questioned at WrestleMania to where he is right now, that rise just continues to be phenomenal. And he delivers at all turns, so it's awesome" he continued.

RESPECT.@BrockLesnar and @CodyRhodes shake hands following an incredible third encounter at #SummerSlam! pic.twitter.com/7stf0mjyEC

-- WWE (@WWE) August 6, 2023

Cody Rhodes on Reaching His "Final Form"

Rhodes discussed his character during the SummerSlam post-show press conference, believing his American Nightmare persona has reached its "final form" after being crafted for years in multiple companies before his return to WWE in April 2022.

"I feel like I just stepped into the role right now the American Nightmare," Rhodes said. "And I mentioned this in the documentary. It's this collection of all these things that I've been and was. But here (in WWE) it has caught on in a way that I want to just continue what we're doing. I've never seen so many signs with this (points to his neck tattoo). You know, this went from being what wrestling and sports entertainment fans thought was the worst tattoo in the history of the industry. And now this, it's on every sign out there and you've got these wonderful young fans and just jumping on board. I just want to continue to go down that road.

"I think I've found my final form. And it took me a while," he continued. "Some folks get it right out the gate, they know who they're supposed to be and that's special. I don't begrudge them. Me, (I'm a) slow learner and I think I found my final form. So it's really just polishing up the best of the American Nightmare."

WWE SummerSlam 2023 Results

• Logan Paul def. Ricochet
• Cody Rhodes def. Brock Lesnar
• LA Knight wins the SummerSlam Battle Royal
• Shayna Baszler def. Ronda Rousey (MMA Rules)
• Intercontinental Championship: Gunther def. Drew McIntyre
• World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins def. Finn Balor
• WWE Women's Championship: Bianca Belair def. Asuka & Charlotte Flair
• WWE Women's Championship: Iyo Sky def. Bianca Belair
• Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns def. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat Rules)

Cody Rhodes went into detail about his "American Nightmare" persona during his recent documentary, American Nightmare: Becoming Cody Rhodes. The moniker and most of Rhodes' current presentation first started being built after he first left WWE in 2016. By the time he returned in April 2022 at WrestleMania 38, his presentation was virtually identical to what he had created in his years with All Elite Wrestling. And after picking up another victory over Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam on Saturday night in Detroit, Rhodes stated with confidence during the post-show press conference that he has now reached the "final form" of the American Nightmare.

"I feel like I just stepped into the role right now the American Nightmare," Rhodes said. "And I mentioned this in the documentary. It's this collection of all these things that I've been and was. But here (in WWE) it has caught on in a way that I want to just continue what we're doing. I've never seen so many signs with this (points to his neck tattoo). You know, this went from being what wrestling and sports entertainment fans thought was the worst tattoo in the history of the industry. And now this, it's on every sign out there and you've got these wonderful young fans and just jumping on board. I just want to continue to go down that road.

"I think I've found my final form. And it took me a while," he continued. "Some folks get it right out the gate, they know who they're supposed to be and that's special. I don't begrudge them. Me, (I'm a) slow learner and I think I found my final form. So it's really just polishing up the best of the American Nightmare."

Cody Rhodes on What's Next After SummerSlam

Rhodes managed to beat Lesnar by hitting three consecutive Cross Rhodes finishers after enduring more than 15 minutes of punishment from "The Beast Incarnate." Shockingly, Lesnar would go on to embrace Rhodes and raise his hand in victory after the fact.

During the press conference, Rhodes made some not-so-subtle hints about wanting to get back to challenging Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. He never specifically named Reigns, which leaves the door open for him to get distracted by somebody else on the Monday Night Raw roster for a while.

WWE SummerSlam 2023 Results

• Logan Paul def. Ricochet
• Cody Rhodes def. Brock Lesnar
• LA Knight wins the SummerSlam Battle Royal
• Shayna Baszler def. Ronda Rousey (MMA Rules)
• Intercontinental Championship: Gunther def. Drew McIntyre
• World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins def. Finn Balor
• WWE Women's Championship: Bianca Belair def. Asuka & Charlotte Flair
• WWE Women's Championship: Iyo Sky def. Bianca Belair
• Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns def. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat Rules)

Logan Paul quickly made the trip from his match during WWE SummerSlam 2023 in Detroit, IL to Dallas, TX to support his brother Jake Paul in his fight against Nate Diaz, but didn't change out of his ring gear during the trip! Logan Paul notably kicked off the WWE SummerSlam 2023 premium live event earlier this evening with the opening match against Ricochet. It was a high flying match that paid off the burning feud between the two of them that had been brewing since Money in the Bank 2023 earlier this year, and one that ended with Logan Paul actually getting the win (but needing to cheat to do so).

Hoping to support his brother Jake in what would be a potentially second win for the Paul brothers in this big match weekend, Logan Paul headed to Dallas, TX just in time for his brother's main event match against Nate Diaz. Notably keeping on his WWE in-ring gear for the occasion, Logan Paul can be seen in the backstage area ahead of the match still in his full in-ring gear to watch his brother. Check it out below as highlighted by DAZN Boxing on Twitter:

THE BROTHERS ARE HERE!!@LoganPaul ? @jakepaul

Watch #PaulDiaz LIVE NOW on DAZN PPV on https://t.co/FoiaUucafv

@jakepaul | @natediaz209 | @mostvpromotions | @realfightinc | @celsiusofficial | #CELSIUSLiveFit | #CELSIUSBrandPartner pic.twitter.com/zepU9y05X6

-- DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) August 6, 2023

WWE SummerSlam 2023 Card and Results

Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz is now taking place at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX with brother Logan Paul in attendance. As for WWE SummerSlam 2023, it just recently wrapped up its live broadcast but later released replay video can be streamed with Peacock. Logan Paul did cheat to win his match against Ricochet, but it was only one of the many big endings and matches that WWE fans saw over the course of the evening.

The card and results for the premium live event break down as such:

• Logan Paul def. Ricochet
• Cody Rhodes def. Brock Lesnar
• SummerSlam Battle Royal: LA Knight Wins
• Shayna Baszler def. Ronda Rousey (MMA Rules)
• Intercontinental Championship Match: Gunther def. Drew McIntyre
• World Heavyweight Championship Match: Seth Rollins def. Finn Balor
• WWE Women's Championship Match: Bianca Belair def. Asuka and Charlotte, Io Sky cashes in
• Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Match: Roman Reigns def. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat)

What did you think of Logan Paul's match against Ricochet during WWE SummerSlam 2023? What did you think of the WWE premium live event overall? Let us know all of your thoughts about it and everything SummerSlam in the comments!

It's only fitting that The Bloodline closed out WWE SummerSlam, and Tribal Combat was on the menu. In accordance with the Elders of the family, Roman Reigns would defend his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against his own family in Jey Uso. This wasn't a match for just the Title though, as the winner would become the new Tribal Chief of the family. The stakes were incredibly high and there has been no shortage of bad blood between Roman and Jey, and you could tell throughout the match. Both stars took control of the match at times, but at one point it really looked like Jey had it sewn up. Unfortunately, a mysterious figure pulled him out of the ring right before this win, and it would be none other than Jimmy Uso. Jimmy would complete his heartbreaking betrayal and help Roman win the match, and now we'll have to wait and see what happens next.

The Uso chants started immediately, and Reigns held the Ula Fala in front of Jey. Reigns said that if Jey beat him, he would give it to him and not the referees. The bell rang and they both locked up, with Roman pushing Jey into the corner. Jey would shove him off and get back some space, and then the crowd started to get under Roman's skin with their Roman sucks chants.

SPEAR! SPEAR! SPEAR!#TribalCombat #SummerSlam pic.twitter.com/xL2rRZXgEo

-- WWE (@WWE) August 6, 2023

Roman knocked Jey down with a back elbow and then taunted the crowd, responding to their chants. Roman stomped on Jey in the corner and then put his foot on the back of Jey's head against the mat. Roman knocked Jey back down to the mat with a hard knee to the chin, and then lifted Jey, but Jey landed on his feet.

Jey hit several big strikes to Roman and then connected with a superkick to the stomach and a slap to the face before knocking Roman to the floor. Jey then capped it all off with a dive through the ropes, slamming into Roman's back. Jey then threw Roman into the steel steps and soon walked Paul Heyman's way.

The crowd started chanting for tables and Jey obliged, dragging a table out from under the ring. Heyman started pleading Roman's case, and then Roman was back to his feet. Roman slammed Jey's face into the steel steps and then rolled him into the ring, but Jey was able to set up a table. Roman head-butted Jey and then threw him into the turnbuckle, but Jey caught the Champion with a kick. Unfortunately, Roman caught him after his next move and threw him right back into the turnbuckle.

NO WAY!!!! ?????#TribalCombat #SummerSlam pic.twitter.com/7QtfyEchG9

-- WWE (@WWE) August 6, 2023

More Uso chants broke out and Roman clearly had a problem. Roman then connected with the drive by dropkick on Jey, knocking him back into the ring. Jey got to his feet and connected with some strikes before hitting an enzirguri on Roman's ear. Roman was on the outside and fell to the ground, and Jey went for a dive only to get hit in the head with a Kendo Stick. Roman then went on a rampage, striking Jey with the Kendo Stick several times on his back. Reigns hit Jey again with the Kendo Stick and then taunted Jey in the ring.

Roman lifted Jey and went to hit Jey again, but Jey beat him to the punch and struck him multiple times in the face. Reigns then countered and hit several clotheslines in the corner. Roman took a second to regroup and jaw back at the crowd. Then Roman locked in for the Superman Punch, but Jey broke it up by hitting Roman with a Kendo Stick to the stomach. Then Jey broke the Kendo Stick after hitting Roman so many times with it, and followed it all up with a big attack.

Roman was slow to get back on his feet, and Jey rolled the Champ into the ring. Jey went for a move but got hit with a Superman Punch, and Roman set up for a spear next. Jey dodged it though and reversed it, and then hit a superkick to the head. Jey went up top and hit the Uso Splash on Reigns, but Reigns kicked out of the pin. Jey then grabbed a chair and brought it into the ring. Heyman kept pleading Roman's case but Jey continued anyway, hitting Roman with it several times in the back.

Then Jey put a host of chairs in the ring and put Roman up top, but Roman blocked the move. Roman head-butted Jey and knocked him off the top rope, but then Jey hit an enziguri on Roman. Jey got back up on the ropes but Roman slid underneath and lifted Jey, and then hit a power bomb on the chairs. Roman went for the cover, but Jey kicked out. Roman then set up a table in the corner, and he caught key charging. Jey brought Roman down on the top rope and then Roman knocked Jey to the other side. They exchanged punches but then Jey got hit and knocked back inside the ring.

Roman went to charge but Jey caught him with a kick to the face. Jey then went to lift Roman but the attempt was soon prevented by strikes from Roman. Jey then lifted Roman and they both slammed down onto the table and shattered it. Then Jey grabbed a strap but Roman started walking away through the crowd. Jey caught up with him and connected with some strikes. Jey then picked up Roman but Solo Sikoa came out of nowhere and punched Jey, causing both men to fall to the floor. Solo cleared off a nearby table and picked up Jey and slammed him down through the table, breaking it in half.

Sikoa then started dragging Jey back to the ring and Roman was back on his feet alongside him. Sikoa threw Jey over the barricade and got Jey back into the ring. Sikoa then hit the Spinning Solo on Jey in the middle of the ring. Sikoa then set Jey up for the Spear Spike, but Jey got out of the way and Roman hit Sikoa with the spear. Jey then hit a spear on Roman and he went for the pin, but Roman kicked out. Jey grabbed chairs and hit Sikoa and then moved over to Roman. Jey hit Solo with a chair again before hitting Roman with several more chair shots.

Jey had the chair and went for Reigns, but Sikoa caught him with a shot that knocked him down. Roman and Sikoa started having an exchange and arguing about something, and that allowed Jey to knock Roman through the barricade. Sikoa picked up Jey and went for the Spinning Solo again, but Jey kicked him in the face and knocked him to the announce table. Then Jey got up on the barricade and jumped off, landing on Sikoa and shattering a few boxes.

Jey then hit a spear on Roman in the corner and then hit the Uso Splash on Reigns in the middle of the ring. Jey went for the pin but then he was pulled out of the ring by a hooded figure. That figure ended up being Jimmy Uso, and he hit Jey with a superkick to the face. Then once back in the ring, Roman speared Jey through the table in the corner and got the pin and the win, retaining his Title and his role as Tribal Chief. Jey was heartbroken in the ring, and Sikoa also looked upset at how things went down. The Bloodline saga continues.

Up next for WWE is SummerSlam, and you can find the official card below.

Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Tribal Combat Match: Roman Reigns (C) def. Jey Uso

Cody Rhodes def. Brock Lesnar

World Heavyweight Championship Match: Seth "Freakin" Rollins (C) def. Finn B?lor

WWE Women's Championship Triple Threat Match: Bianca Belair def. Charlotte Flair and Asuka, IYO SKY Cashes in MITB to become new WWE Women's Champion

Intercontinental Championship Match: Gunther def. Drew McIntyre

Logan Paul def. Ricochet

Shayna Baszler def. Ronda Rousey

SummerSlam is streaming now live on Peacock.

What have you thought of SummerSlam so far? Let us know in the comments and as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!

One of the biggest women's division stories on WWE SmackDown has led to a triple threat for the WWE Women's Championship at WWE SummerSlam 2023 with Io Sky ultimately walking out the winner with a surprise cash in! Things had gotten complicated for the women's division on WWE Friday Night SmackDown after the former WWE Raw Women's Championship title was exchanged for the WWE Women's Championship. Bianca Belair was absent of her promised rematch after her loss to Asuka and Charlotte Flair returned to declare that she was also interesting in taking the title.

This resulted in the triple threat match at WWE SummerSlam as all three competitors had equal opportunity to the championship title. It was a elaborate affair as all three of the women hit each other with notable offenses, but at the same time, all three of them have been involved in much more hard hitting matches than this one. That meant that no one was willing to give an inch with each of their moves connecting to devastating results. This eventually gets to the point where Bianca is hurt and attended to outside of the ring, but it's far from the end.

SHE'S CASHING IN!!!#SummerSlam pic.twitter.com/aIOhDp11rn

-- WWE (@WWE) August 6, 2023

WWE SummerSlam 2023 Card and Results

Bianca had been favoring her knee throughout the match and had been steadily taking damage, and it got to the point where she hurt it further hitting the steel steps on the outside. Being escorted away from the ring, Asuka and Charlotte continued the match until it had looked like Charlotte was going to make Asuka tap out with a Figure 8. It was here that Bianca ran back into the ring, and delivered a 450 from the top rope. When Charlotte was going to get Belair to tap out with a Figure 8 on that bad knee, Asuka hit her in the face with blue mist.

Trying to attack Bianca shortly after, Bianca instead nabs Asuka fast enough for the pin and wins the title before Io Sky quickly uses the Money in the Bank briefcase to cash in. With Bianca as damaged as she was after the match, Io was able to quickly defeat Bianca and earn the WWE Women's Championship with a successful cash-in. Making it a full circle moment for Damage Control since last year's SummerSlam.

WWE SummerSlam 2023 is now live and streaming with Peacock. The card and results for the premium live event so far are as follows:

• Logan Paul def. Ricochet
• Cody Rhodes def. Brock Lesnar
• SummerSlam Battle Royal: LA Knight Wins
• Shayna Baszler def. Ronda Rousey (MMA Rules)
• Intercontinental Championship Match: Gunther def. Drew McIntyre
• World Heavyweight Championship Match: Seth Rollins def. Finn Balor
• WWE Women's Championship Match: Asuka (c) vs. Charlotte vs. Bianca Belair
• Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Match: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat)

How did you like the Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Bianca Belair triple threat match for the WWE Women's Championship at WWE SummerSlam 2023? Let us know all of your thoughts about it and everything WWE SummerSlam in the comments!

Seth Rollins managed to keep his World Heavyweight Championship reign alive at SummerSlam on Saturday night against Finn Balor, despite heavy interference from the rest of The Judgement Day. After both men managed to kick out of the other's finishers, Balor ordered Damian Priest to slide him the Money in the Bank briefcase and distract the referee on the opposite end of the ring. But the plan backfired as Rollins nailed Balor with another Curb Stomp just as "The Prince" crawled his way over to the briefcase. Rollins then stared down a visibly frustrated Priest and walked out with his title.

Rollins' win marked his 20th successful championship defense since becoming the inaugural World Heavyweight Champion back in May. Who should get the next shot at "The Visionary?" Tell us your pick in the comments!

SETH ROLLINS RETAINSSSSSSSSS WHAT A MATCHHH pic.twitter.com/2OWrV6Xw3O

-- iBeast (@ibeastIess) August 6, 2023

Finn Balor Claimed He Didn't See His SummerSlam Match With Seth as "Full Circle"

The callbacks to Rollins and Balor's SummerSlam 2016 match were obvious from the start, as Balor had the words "Seven" written in tape on the injured shoulder he suffered in the original match, while Rollins arrived wearing the same vest he wore to the ring for that match. However, Balor claimed during an interview with ComicBook on Friday that he didn't buy the narrative that their latest match would bring his story "full circle."

"I feel like the media are turning this into a very full circle moment for myself and Seth," Balor said in an interview with ComicBook at a media junket on Friday. "But really, for me, I'm just treating this as another day at the office and I've been doing this for a long time. I approach every match in the same, the same way with the same amount of attention and focus and that will be the same thing going at SummerSlam tomorrow."

Midway thorugh the match, Balor would go so far as to hit Rollins with the same Buckle Bomb on the outside apron that forced him to relinquish the Universal Championship in 2016 due to a surgery-requiring shoulder injury. Thankfully, Rollins did not suffer the same injury when he took the move.

WWE SummerSlam 2023 Results

• Logan Paul def. Ricochet
• Cody Rhodes def. Brock Lesnar
• LA Knight wins the SummerSlam Battle Royal
• Shayna Baszler def. Ronda Rousey (MMA Rules)
• Intercontinental Championship: Gunther def Drew McIntyre
• World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins def. Finn Balor
• WWE Women's Championship: Asuka vs. Bianca Belair vs. Charlotte Flair
• Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat Rules)

Seth Rollins has always attempted to get inside the heads of his opponents over his long professional wrestling career, and this year's WWE SummerSlam is no exception. Rollins and his opponent, Finn Balor, have faced one another down more times than we can count, but despite this fact, Seth remembers a specific match at a previous Pay-Per-View. Sporting the same gear he wore against Balor at 2016's SummerSlam, Rollins took a new approach to getting inside Balor's head.

Ironically enough, the previous match between Rollins and Balor saw the latter claiming victory, which didn't stop Seth from making the decision to bring up the past. The results of this match didn't just net Finn a victory against Seth, but also saw The Demon becoming the inaugural WWE Universal Champion at the same time.

Rollins' Gear Returns: 2016 to 2023

If you didn't have the opportunity to see Rollins show off his new gear, WWE shared a video from the moment on their social media account. With Balor and Rollins remaining fan favorites in the WWE's line-up thanks to their styles and years of experience, this was definitely one of the best matches of the night.

World Heavyweight Champion @WWERollins is already playing mind games with @FinnBalor and the match hasn't even begun!#SummerSlam pic.twitter.com/WW7Nl1YiPj

-- WWE (@WWE) August 6, 2023

Rollins is set to have a "super" role in the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe film, Captain America 4: New World Order, in which set pictures have shown the WWE Superstar wearing a colorful costume. Despite ComicBook.com asking the question regarding who his character would be, Seth didn't crack when it came to spilling the beans, "I am sworn to secrecy. Pretty tight lipped on anything related to this project. Obviously, the photographs have made their way online, nothing to be done about that, but it was a very good experience for me. I'm looking forward to seeing what the reaction is from everybody else who gets to get eyes on the project.

If you need a refresher on the matches to come during WWE SummerSlam 2023, you can see the line-up below alongside the results of the matches that have already wrapped:

Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat)

Cody Rhodes def. Brock Lesnar

World Heavyweight Champion Seth "Freakin" Rollins vs. Finn B?lor

WWE Women's Champion Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Bianca Belair (Triple Threat Match)

Intercontinental Champion Gunther def. Drew McIntyre

Logan Paul def. Ricochet

Shayna Baszler def. Ronda Rousey

SummerSlam is streaming now live on Peacock.

The Intercontinental Championship was on the line at WWE SummerSlam, and as expected, the match was a physical beatdown. WWE Intercontinental Champion Gunther put his Title on the line against Drew McIntyre, and what followed was a mix of vicious chops, big suplexes, and hard-hitting clotheslines. With the two powerhouses more evenly matched, this was also a match that put both stars outside of their normal comfort zones, and that led to some spots on the top rope. That would ultimately spell McIntyre's downfall, as Gunther knocked him off the top rope and onto the ropes in a painful-looking spot, and then hit the splash and a powerbomb to finish off his latest challenger.

Gunther delivered a massive chop to McIntyre and then did it again, knocking McIntyre to the mat. Then Gunther hit a suplex and further grounded McIntyre, and followed it up with a clothesline. Forearm shots came next but McIntyre had enough, returning with some clotheslines of his own, and after a suplex from Gunther, McIntyre hit another clothesline to knock the Champion down.

THIS IS AWE-SOME!!! ?? ???@DMcIntyreWWE & @Gunther_AUT are destroying each other in Detroit at #SummerSlam with the #ICTitle on the line! pic.twitter.com/HWtPTBEKi4

-- WWE (@WWE) August 6, 2023

McIntyre started throwing Gunther around a bit, which no doubt surprised the Champion. Gunther came back with some offense of his own but McIntyre slammed the Champ down and went for the cover, only for Gunther to kick out. McIntyre flew over the top rope and hit the Champion with a dropkick, and then rolled him back in to set up a claymore, only to get hit with a big boot from Gunther. Gunther went for the cover but McIntyre kicked out.

Gunther hit a splash into another cover, but McIntyre kicked out. Gunther started to taunt McIntyre and then went for a chop, but McIntyre caught his hand. McIntyre hit a chop and Gunther returned the favor, and the two exchanged more chops. McIntyre gained the upper hand and then hit a Claymore, but Gunther kicked out of the pin attempt by the challenger.

McIntyre got Gunther up top, but Gunther kept blocking the move. The two superstars traded punches to the head and face, but Gunther kicked the ropes and sent McIntyre onto the ropes in a vulnerable position. Then Gunther hit a splash onto McIntyre, but that wasn't enough. Gunther hit a powerbomb and then went for the pin, and that got him the win. You can find the updated results and card below.

Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat)

Cody Rhodes def. Brock Lesnar

World Heavyweight Champion Seth "Freakin" Rollins vs. Finn B?lor

WWE Women's Champion Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Bianca Belair (Triple Threat Match)

Intercontinental Champion Gunther def. Drew McIntyre

Logan Paul def. Ricochet

Shayna Baszler def. Ronda Rousey

SummerSlam is streaming now live on Peacock.

What have you thought of SummerSlam so far? Let us know in the comments and as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!

LA Knight picked up his first big pay-per-view win on WWE's SummerSlam on Saturday night, defeating 24 other men in the Slim Jim Battle Royal. Knight assisted in some of the biggest eliminations of the match, culminating in him tossing Sheamus out of the ring after nailing a top-rope belly-to-belly suplex. WWE then aired a new Slim Jim commercial featuring both Knight and Bianca Belair, with a few nods to "Macho Man" Randy Savage's classic commercials.

Knight has seen a massive rise in popularity since the start of 2023, fueled almost exclusively by his raw charisma in promos. Prior to his SummerSlam victory, his last big pay-per-view match was the infamous MTN Dew Pitch Black match with Bray Wyatt at the Royal Rumble in January.

La Knight with the Slim Jim commercial after his biggest W of his career! YEAH! #SummerSlam pic.twitter.com/Pfbr9WqNrV

-- Clint ? (@ClintWulf) August 6, 2023

LA Knight on Not Getting Booked on WWE Pay-Per-Views Consistently

"The roster is so stacked and full. You want the premium live event to stand out as something different than what you see on TV, so you don't want the exact same formula," Knight told Good Karma Wrestling recently. "Those spots on the premium live events are limited. I'm getting the big reactions, you can't deny that. But at the same time, I guess some people would say, 'Well, he's only been here nine or ten months or whatever.'"

"Some of that's also just figuring out that a lot of this was unexpected. A lot of this came out of the blue, so sometimes plans have to change, and that's the way it goes," he added.

But at the same time, Knight is well aware that promos alone won't help him reach stardom in WWE. He told My Love Letter to Wrestling earlier this Summer, "Whenever I hear guys, in the act of talking, say they are the best at talking, I'm like, 'What does that matter in the grand scheme of things?' It matters in the form of entertainment, but in the scheme of what we're actually doing, I'm trying to fight this guy, beat this guy, win his championship, what the hell does me being good at talking matter in the scheme of that? Even outside of the universe of wrestling, just because it feels weird and self-serving. The guys who brag about that, it seems like a strange thing. Do you think Muhammad Ali was ever like, 'I'm the best on the mic.' No, he was, 'I'm the best in the ring. I'm the best boxer.'"

WWE SummerSlam 2023 Results

• Logan Paul def. Ricochet
• Cody Rhodes def. Brock Lesnar
• LA Knight wins the SummerSlam Battle Royal
• Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler (MMA Rules)
• Intercontinental Championship: Gunther vs. Drew McIntyre
• World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor
• WWE Women's Championship: Asuka vs. Bianca Belair vs. Charlotte Flair
• Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat Rules)

WWE SummerSlam has seen the American Nightmare taking down The Beast, LA Knight winning the battle royale, and Logan Paul defeating Ricochet with some underhanded tricks. Perhaps no match of the night was more personal than the bout between Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler, as there was some serious bad blood to be worked out. With the match being billed as an "MMA Rules" bout, meaning that victory could only be claimed by knockout or submission, Baszler claimed victory against her former friend in a surprising win.

The match itself started fast and furious, taking on a look that seemed far more like a Mixed Martial Arts match than a typical World Wrestling Entertainment match. At one point in the match, Rousey even started throwing officials around the ring who were attempting to check on Baszler's status. Ultimately, Shayna was able to definitively defeat Rousey with a chokehold that knocked Ronda out, with Baszler having delivered some rough hits in the match's runtime.

Was The Feud For Real Between Rousey And Baszler?

Baszler recently discussed how the bad blood between herself and Ronda Rousey was very real, "One thing I've always said about wrestling fans, I guess sports fans in general, is they can smell when you're faking the funk. All this is like legit and real talk. I think they connect to stuff that's real," Baszler explained (h/t Cageside Seats). "I have seen some stuff from people like, 'Who am I supposed to be cheering for? Who's the bad guy?' ...You just cheer for who you like. And it just happens to be me, because the stuff I'm saying is real. And if we're being honest, the stuff I'm saying is the stuff fans have been saying ever since Ronda got signed [by WWE]. So, I'm done being quiet about it."

If you want a refresher on the matches for WWE SummerSlam 2023, you can see them below:

• Logan Paul vs. Ricochet
• Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
• SummerSlam Battle Royal
• Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler (MMA Rules)
• Intercontinental Championship: Gunther vs. Drew McIntyre
• World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor
• WWE Women's Championship: Asuka vs. Bianca Belair vs. Charlotte Flair
• Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat Rules)

At this year's SummerSlam, one of the biggest matches of the event was the American Nightmare taking on The Beast. Luckily for Cody Rhodes, he was able to bring the rivalry with Brock Lesnar to a close with a victory. Despite a wardrobe malfunction on Brock's part, the two ended their feud amicably, but one action Lesnar performed might be a hint that the Beast is aiming to leave the WWE. Could now be the perfect time for Brock Lesnar to retire from the WWE after such a successful run?

The big moment that had many WWE fans thinking that the end might be nigh for Lesnar was when he removed his gloves and threw them to the side before embracing his opponent and raising Cody's hand in victory. Lesnar has had a long career at World Wrestling Entertainment, debuting for the first time in 2002. Since this start date, Brock has become a force of nature in the professional wrestling organization, eliminating countless opponents and creating some of the best rivalries in the WWE.

Will Brock Lesnar Bid Adieu to The WWE?

During an interview earlier this year with ESPN MMA, Lesnar directly addressed the rumors while stating that he wasn't sure "how much more" he's going to be around, "Every time that I think I want to be done and I am looking to then I get in the ring I get to the building and that's the part of the business and that I really love. I left the business early because I just didn't like to travel I didn't like I need to feel I'm just too much for me at the time and uh but I don't know I don't know how much more I'm gonna be around, I don't know that."

Do you think Brock Lesnar is looking to retire from the WWE following his dynamic performance at this year's SummerSlam? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of professional wrestling.

If you want a refresher on the matches for WWE SummerSlam 2023, you can see them below:

• Logan Paul vs. Ricochet
• Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
• SummerSlam Battle Royal
• Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler (MMA Rules)
• Intercontinental Championship: Gunther vs. Drew McIntyre
• World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor
• WWE Women's Championship: Asuka vs. Bianca Belair vs. Charlotte Flair
• Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat Rules)

Tonight's AEW Collision was loaded with big developments for All In, including two huge match announcements with Championship gold on the line. After several weeks of putting on match-of-the-year candidates, FTR put another possible contender on the calendar. FTR started things off by hitting the ring and issuing a challenge to the Young Bucks so they could take care of some unfinished business, and the AEW World Tag Team Championships will be on the line at Wembley. "One thing left for FTR to do," Harwood said. Wheeler then said "Young...Bucks. I said, we had unfinished business, so how's about we finish it in Wembley Stadium." That led to ROH World TV Champion Samoa Joe issuing a challenge of his own, resulting in what will likely be one of the biggest matches on the card.

Joe talked about the legacy of matches between himself and CM Punk, and the latest in that legacy involved Punk beating Joe thanks to a roll-up. Joe took issue not with the loss, but how it happened, and Joe would challenge Punk to a match at All In to give the fans what they want and to give him a chance to right that last wrong.

"A roll-up is not good enough for our legacy!'

ROH World TV Champion Samoa Joe just challenged the #RealWorldChampion CM Punk to a match at #AEWAllIn!

Watch #AEWCollision LIVE on TNT!@SamoaJoe | @CMPunk pic.twitter.com/xodpAtN9zE

-- All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) August 6, 2023

"Greenville, my name is Samoa Joe, your one true king of television. And it seems that your benevolent king has a problem," Joe said. "In fact, he's got a few. First one being, soon, at a sold-out Wembley Arena, we go All In. And your King has nobody to dance with. And that leads to our second problem. You see, I enjoy a very exclusive luxury in my career. You see, while a certain real World Champ was traveling around the world, teaching all you simple people he was the best in the world, I knew in my heart he was never better than me a day in his life."

"But recently, I lost that luxury at the Owen Hart Invitational. You know what, it wasn't the fact that I lost it, it's how I lost it," Joe said. "You see, me and this so-called real World Champion had battled for over 3 hours in this ring. Our legacies were built on the blood, sweat, and tears of each other, and the pain we put each other through. And dammit, a roll-up is not good enough for our legacy."

"So I come here, Champ, and I come here as a courtesy to ask you. To ask you to give me what I want. To ask you to give these people what they want. To ask you to give our legacy what it deserves. You and me with the eyes of the world upon us, giving these people everything that we have," Joe said.

"But know this Champ. My courtesy only extends to this week. And if you make me wait till next week , you best believe I'll convince your ass...Punk," Joe said as he threw down the microphone and left the ring.

Here's the full card for AEW All In so far, but there are going to be even more matches announced in the coming weeks.

AEW World Championship Match: MJF (C) vs. Adam Cole
AEW World Tag Team Championship Match: FTR (C) vs. The Young Bucks
CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe

AEW All In takes place in London's Wembley Stadium on August 27th.

Are you excited for All In? Let us know in the comments and as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!

Cody Rhodes finally "finished the story" in his months-long rivalry with Brock Lesnar, defeating "The Beast Incarnate" at SummerSlam on Saturday at Detroit's Ford Field. Lesnar spent a good chunk of the match tossing Rhodes in and out of the ring, nailing him with F-5's outside the ring in order to get a countout win. Rhodes never stayed down for a full 10-count and would eventually nail Lesnar with three consecutive Cross Rhodes finishers to pick up the win. Lesnar then decided to shake and even raise Rhodes' hand after the fact as a sign of respect. Rhodes then embraced his mother outside the ring.

Will Rhodes now pivot back to the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship picture? Is there another star on the Monday Night Raw roster he could feud with? Tell us your idea in the comments!

RESPECT.@BrockLesnar and @CodyRhodes shake hands following an incredible third encounter at #SummerSlam! pic.twitter.com/7stf0mjyEC

-- WWE (@WWE) August 6, 2023

Cody Rhodes on Bouncing Back From Losing to Roman Reigns

Rhodes gave an interview with The New York Post ahead of SummerSlam where he described bouncing back from his loss against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39 as the greatest challenge of his career. Rhodes has also made it clear in various interviews that he doesn't want the World Heavyweight Championship currently held by Seth Rollins, even though they're on the same roster.

"It's the biggest challenge that's ever been presented to me," Rhodes said. "Bigger than doing All In, bigger than doing AEW, the biggest challenge ever is can this get hotter?"

"We left a sold-out SoFi Stadium with 80-something-thousand super pissed-off people. There are Roman fans too, don't get me wrong. But that was, to this day, when I think about the loss, when I think about how things went down, that to me is still jarring," he later added."...If it was a moment missed, it's my job to find the moment again."

WWE SummerSlam 2023 Results

• Logan Paul def. Ricochet
• Cody Rhodes def. Brock Lesnar
• SummerSlam Battle Royal
• Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler (MMA Rules)
• Intercontinental Championship: Gunther vs. Drew McIntyre
• World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor
• WWE Women's Championship: Asuka vs. Bianca Belair vs. Charlotte Flair
• Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat Rules)

Logan Paul vs. Ricochet served as the explosive opening match for WWE SummerSlam 2023, and it was just as fast moving and heavy hitting as you would expect from the two stars. Paul has had a lot to prove since his showing at Money in the Bank 2023 earlier this year, and it sparked a new feud with Ricochet that got more personal leading into their premium live event match this Summer. But as fans were hoping to see from the two of them, there were quite a few athletic moves that only the two of them could pull of. Meaning that whoever ultimately won, both of them would start off the show with a bang.

The two of them showed off quite a few high flying moves and counters that had Ricochet constantly fighting with a pair of harmed ribs. There were plenty of near falls as both stars took increasingly risky high flying moves off the top rope, but Logan eventually got some help from one of his friends that gave him a pair of brass knuckles while the ref wasn't looking. With a final cheap shot to Ricochet and his enhanced brass knuckled punch, Logan Paul stole the win to start WWE SummerSlam 2023:

It happened at #SummerSlam.@SamanthaTheBomb had to announce @LoganPaul as the winner of the match! pic.twitter.com/bmP3alLe9d

-- WWE (@WWE) August 6, 2023

WWE SummerSlam 2023 Card and Results

Speaking with ComicBook.com ahead of WWE SummerSlam 2023, Ricochet talked a bit of how it has been working with Logan Paul in ring, "I got to understand that he's someone that's new, someone that's kind of a wild card," Ricochet began. "Someone that, although he doesn't know as much as a lot of the people that I'm around, he's still an athlete. He's still crazy. He's still a stunt man. He's still on his own wavelength of stuff that he does. Plus he's a trained boxer."

Ricochet continued, "Going in there with him, you don't really know what you're going to get. You don't know what you're going to have planned. You don't know until you get to cooking and then it all kind of molds together and it all kind of just comes naturally as it just starts flowing kind of thing. It definitely is a different process."

WWE SummerSlam 2023 is now live and streaming with Peacock. The card and results for the premium live event so far are as follows:

• Logan Paul vs. Ricochet
• Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
• SummerSlam Battle Royal
• Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler (MMA Rules)
• Intercontinental Championship Match: Gunther (c) vs. Drew McIntyre
• World Heavyweight Championship Match: Seth Rollins (c) vs. Finn Balor
• WWE Women's Championship Match: Asuka (c) vs. Charlotte vs. Bianca Belair
• Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Match: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat)

What did you think of the match between Logan Paul and Ricochet? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments!

WWE SummerSlam started off with the sure-to-be thrilling match between Ricochet and Logan Paul, and while Paul had some nice black and yellow gear, Ricochet had something truly special gear for the occasion. Ricochet came out to the ring with gear that any Transformers fan would love, as the WWE Superstar was rocking a look paying homage to Optimus Prime. You can see the tribute to the famous Autobot throughout the gear thanks to the red, blue, and silver color scheme. Then there's Ricochet's logo getting an Autobot spin on the pants, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

As you can see in the image below, the vehicle theme runs throughout, and the jacket also features a spot that would typically open up to reveal the matrix of leadership that Optimus holds. Everything from the jacket to the boots was spot-on, and the only thing missing was a helmet and for Ricochet to literally transform on the way to the ring.

Ricochet is coplaying as Optimus Prime. He's so dedicated that he had the Matrix of leadership welded into his chest. #SummerSlam pic.twitter.com/y5qrHQUpcO

-- Star Man (@NESStarman) August 6, 2023

Ricochet has been feuding with Paul over the past few weeks, and there have already been several memorable moments, including Ricochet doing a full flip over the ropes and landing in a trademark superhero pose. It definitely impressed Paul, and when ComicBook.com spoke to Ricochet about working with Paul, he called WWE's newest signee a wild card.

"I got to understand that he's someone that's new, someone that's kind of a wild card," Ricochet said. "Someone that, although he doesn't know as much as a lot of the people that I'm around, he's still an athlete. He's still crazy. He's still a stunt man. He's still on his own wavelength of stuff that he does. Plus he's a trained boxer."

"Going in there with him, you don't really know what you're going to get," Ricochet said. "You don't know what you're going to have planned. You don't know until you get to cooking and then it all kind of molds together and it all kind of just comes naturally as it just starts flowing kind of thing. It definitely is a different process."

Tonight Ricochet will go toe to toe with Paul in the ring, where he will pull out all the stops in showing Paul just how good he is. There's even more to see at SummerSlam, and you can find the official card for SummerSlam below.

Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat)

Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar

World Heavyweight Champion Seth "Freakin" Rollins vs. Finn B?lor

WWE Women's Champion Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Bianca Belair (Triple Threat Match)

Intercontinental Champion Gunther vs. Drew McIntyre

Logan Paul vs. Ricochet

Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler

SummerSlam is streaming now live on Peacock.

What have you thought of SummerSlam so far? Let us know in the comments and as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!

Kairi Sane, a former WWE Women's Tag Team Champion and NXT Women's Champion, has signed a new deal to return to WWE according to a report from PWInsider. "The Pirate Princess" first worked in WWE from 2016-2021, eventually pivoting into an ambassador role for the company in her home country of Japan. She became a free agent in December 2021 and would return to the Stardom promotion months later. She'd go on to hold the IWGP Women's Championship and Artist of Stardom Championships before reaching free agency again in March.

The report states Sane's return is "imminent, possibly as soon as this week," meaning it's possible she could pop up at SummerSlam tonight. Her former Kabuki Warriors tag team partner Asuka is the reigning WWE Women's Champion and is taking on both Charlotte Flair and Bianca Belair during the pay-per-view. Stay tuned for full coverage of the event!

KAIRI has come to terms with the WWE to return!

-PWInsider pic.twitter.com/N49ARxHXha

-- Dark Puroresu Flowsion (@PuroresuFlow) August 5, 2023

Why Did Kairi Sane Leave WWE?

Sane explained in a 2022 interview with Japanese outlet Entame Next why she chose to leave WWE -- "When I left Japan in 2017, I promised my fans that I would go on a long journey, but that I would come back grown up. I told that to President Rossy Ogawa (now Executive Producer). In the first place, my goal was to learn first-class professional wrestling, and I didn't really intend to live permanently in the US. I thought about retiring from wrestling. This is a personal story, but I lost my best friend to illness. I made a vow at her graveside and promised to make it happen: I was going to participate in WrestleMania. I wanted to make it happen for sure. Thanks to that, I was able to compete in three WrestleManias, had a title match with Asuka as Kabuki Warriors, became a champion in both NXT and WWE, and even received an award for the NXT overall competitor of the year."

"After I moved to the U.S., my personal life was secondary to my professional life, and I was flying around and competing four times a week without a break, but then the pandemic hit, and I suddenly had time to myself," Kairi said. "Then I took the time to do some introspection. I thought, 'Where am I going to go from here? I had a sense of accomplishment that I had fulfilled my promise to my best friend and that I had done everything I could in my three years with WWE, and after several consultations with WWE, I decided to leave."

WWE SummerSlam 2023 Match Card

• Logan Paul vs. Ricochet
• Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
• SummerSlam Battle Royal
• Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler (MMA Rules)
• Intercontinental Championship: Gunther vs. Drew McIntyre
• World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor
• WWE Women's Championship: Asuka vs. Bianca Belair vs. Charlotte Flair
• Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat Rules)

WWE's SummerSlam 2023 premium live event takes place tonight at Ford Field in Detroit, and the match order for the show has made its way online. Fightful Select is currently reporting that the pay-per-view will kick off with Ricochet vs. Logan Paul. Unsurprisingly, Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship and the position of "Tribal Chief" will serve as the show's main event. You can see the full match order below

Paul vs. Ricochet going on first was actually due to Paul requesting he open the show. The celebrity YouTuber confirmed on a recent episode of Impaulsive that he will attempt to have his match, get on a private jet and fly to Dallas in order to walk out alongside his brother, Jake Paul, in time for Jake's boxing match with Nate Diaz.

"After SummerSlam, my brother is fighting the same night in Dallas," Paul explained. "As soon as my match ends, I'm going to hop on a [private jet], fly to Dallas in my gear, walk into the ring with my brother for his fight against Nate Diaz. I'm going to try to. I don't know if I'm going to make it, but if I do, it'll be minutes. I walk into the venue, round one Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz starts. It is barely possible. We did the math, it's barely doable."

WWE SummerSlam 2023 Match Order

• Logan Paul vs. Ricochet
• Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
• SummerSlam Battle Royal
• Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler (MMA Rules)
• Intercontinental Championship: Gunther vs. Drew McIntyre
• World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor
• WWE Women's Championship: Asuka vs. Bianca Belair vs. Charlotte Flair
• Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat Rules)

Ricochet on "Going Viral" With Logan Paul

A big aspect of the Paul vs. Ricochet feud has centered around the two "going viral" whenever they share the ring. The former Intercontinental Champion recently spoke with ComicBook ahead of tonight's match.

"I got to understand that he's someone that's new, someone that's kind of a wild card," Ricochet said. "Someone that, although he doesn't know as much as a lot of the people that I'm around, he's still an athlete. He's still crazy. He's still a stunt man. He's still on his own wavelength of stuff that he does. Plus he's a trained boxer. Going in there with him, you don't really know what you're going to get. You don't know what you're going to have planned. You don't know until you get to cooking and then it all kind of molds together and it all kind of just comes naturally as it just starts flowing kind of thing. It definitely is a different process."

"Obviously, what Ricochet does kind of goes viral, but it's not like I have the intention of going out there and going viral," Ricochet continued. "I just go out there and use what's in my environment. It just so happens that what I can do and things that are in my capability just happen to go viral."

Finn Balor and Seth Rollins first clashed in a WWE ring at the 2016 SummerSlam event, battling it out to become the first WWE Universal Champion. Balor was victorious, but he suffered a surgery-requiring shoulder injury in the process and had to relinquish the gold the following night. Balor has recently set his sights on Rollins' World Heavyweight Championship, looking to avenge that injury and finally get back to world champion status for the first time in seven years. The two will wrestle yet again at SummerSlam tonight at Detroit's Ford Field, but Balor doesn't feel like the match will be any kind of "full circle" moment for his career.

"I feel like the media are turning this into a very full circle moment for myself and Seth," Balor said in an interview with ComicBook at a media junket on Friday. "But really, for me, I'm just treating this as another day at the office and I've been doing this for a long time. I approach every match in the same, the same way with the same amount of attention and focus and that will be the same thing going at SummerSlam tomorrow."

@comicbookwrestling

#FinnBalor isn't concerned with course-correcting history at SummerSlam... #wwe #wwetok #wwetiktok #fyp #wrestlingtok #wrestlingtiktok #wrestletok

? Tyler Herro (Instrumental) - Diamond Audio

Finn Balor on The Demon's Future in WWE

In a recent appearance on After The Bell, Balor discussed his bodypaint alter-ego "The Demon" and how he felt it was trying to "please too many people" within WWE. His last two appearances as The Demon resulted in defeat as he failed to beat Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship at Extreme Rules 2021 (ending in an infamous sequence where he lost because the top turnbuckle inexplicably broke just as he was about to deliver his finisher) and lost to Edge inside Hell in a Cell at WrestleMania 39.

"I feel like that statement (about pleasing people) doesn't just apply to The Demon, that applies to Finn as well," Balor said in his interview with ComicBook. "I've been guilty of trying to please too many people all of the time and not please myself. And I kind of abandoned that kind of method. I'm more focused now on pleasing myself. So that, I find, is where you find your truest self and that's what we have right now. But with regards to demons, it's an ever-evolving process and we'll see where it goes in the future, but not anytime soon"

SummerSlam kicks off tonight at 8 p.m. ET on the Peacock network. Stay tuned for full coverage of the show!

WWE SummerSlam 2023 Card

• Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat Rules)
• World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor
• WWE Women's Championship: Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Bianca Belair
• Intercontinental Championship: Gunther vs. Drew McIntyre
• Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
• Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler (MMA Rules)
• Ricochet vs. Logan Paul
• SummerSlam Battle Royal

Roman Reigns is set to have his latest Undisputed WWE Universal Championship defense tonight in "Tribal Combat" against Jey Uso in the main event of SummerSlam 2023. But unless Reigns and Paul Heyman think having "Main Event Jey" win the gold is best for WWE's business, fans shouldn't expect it. Sean Ross Sapp dropped a new report via Fightful Select on Saturday quoting a source within WWE that Reigns will lose the title, "whenever Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman say it f--in ends."

"So in the event Roman Reigns loses the World Championship, it was said that the two would have heavy input as to who that would be, whether it be tonight, or a year or two down the line," Sapp wrote. "'They are constantly looking at every possibility. When they think it's the very best thing for business, they'll know to switch it up, do it right, and really make someone doing it.'"

The report also noted that recent challengers like Sami Zayn and Cody Rhodes were never scheduled to win the Undisputed title during Reigns' defenses earlier in the year. Rhodes apparently knew he'd be pivoting into a program with Brock Lesnar immediately after WrestleMania 39, which will seemingly culminate tonight in a rubber match with "The Beast Incarnate" at SummerSlam.

Historically it's not unheard of for a world champion to have some say in how they're booked or how long they'll remain champion as long as business is booming. But should Reigns still be champion past WrestleMania XL next April? And is there still a way Uso could pull off the upset tonight?

WWE SummerSlam 2023 Card

• Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat Rules)
• World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor
• WWE Women's Championship: Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Bianca Belair
• Intercontinental Championship: Gunther vs. Drew McIntyre
• Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
• Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler (MMA Rules)
• Ricochet vs. Logan Paul
• SummerSlam Battle Royal

Cody Rhodes on Bouncing Back From Losing to Roman Reigns

Rhodes gave a new interview with The New York Post ahead of SummerSlam this week in which he described bouncing back from his loss against Reigns at WrestleMania 39 as the greatest challenge of his career.

"It's the biggest challenge that's ever been presented to me," Rhodes said. "Bigger than doing All In, bigger than doing AEW, the biggest challenge ever is can this get hotter?"

"We left a sold-out SoFi Stadium with 80-something-thousand super pissed-off people. There are Roman fans too, don't get me wrong. But that was, to this day, when I think about the loss, when I think about how things went down, that to me is still jarring," he later added."...If it was a moment missed, it's my job to find the moment again."

Much like the company's in-ring rosters, WWE likes to shift around its announce teams. Monday Night Raw has seen dozens of different commentary table pairings over the years, with talent from the greater sports world putting on the headset as well as former backstage interviewers getting the bump up to play-by-play duties. The latter was the case for Michael Cole, as the longtime voice of WWE got his commentary start a couple of years after he broke into the company as a on-air talent mostly used in a backstage and voiceover capacity. Cole began calling the action in 1997 and went on to front the WWE SmackDown announce team before taking his talents to Monday nights for the majority of the 21st century. Cole returned to SmackDown in 2019.

Michael Cole Set to Pull Double Duty

As reported by Variety, Michael Cole is returning to the red brand's announce table. Beginning this Monday, August 7th, Cole and Wade Barrett will serve as Monday Night Raw's commentary team.

This change pulls Barrett off of WWE SmackDown but not Cole. Cole will remain on the blue brand and will work alongside now-former Monday Night Raw commentating duo Kevin Patrick and Corey Graves.

Since transitioning to announcing in 2014, Graves has always served as a color commentator. Like Cole, Patrick began as a backstage interviewer before getting the opportunity to call Monday Night Raw in late 2022. It's unclear as to if Cole and Patrick will split play-by-play duties or if Patrick will become more of a color presence.

Retirement Tour Beginning?

This news led to speculation that this could be the beginning of the end of Michael Cole's WWE career. The 56-year-old announcer has said in recent interviews that he expects to "slow down" in the next four years.

"Oh, well, I'm gonna have to stop or else," Cole said. "It won't be anytime soon. I still got a lot of work to do with this company. I mean, there's still a lot of stuff to do. Still a lot of shows to call. I told somebody that I'm 56 now, so 60 sounds like a pretty good age to maybe slow down a little bit."

Cole calls the action tonight at WWE SummerSlam which streams live on Peacock at 7:30 PM ET.

Ricochet and Logan Paul culminate their eight-month long rivalry tonight at WWE SummerSlam. These two high-flying sensations first crossed paths, or rather crossed flights, in the Men's Royal Rumble Match this past January. Ricochet and Paul went viral for their double springboard clothesline collision that occurred in mid-air. While Ricochet went on to tag with Braun Strowman and Paul got into a feud with Seth Rollins, the two always seemed to be an arm's length away. Tensions resumed in July when Ricochet and Paul both competed in the Men's Money in the Bank Ladder Match, a multi-man bout that once again involved these two performing an acrobatic spot.

Paul has impressed in all of his WWE matches, but he has had the luxury of strong dance partners. Ricochet is no exception, as Paul admitted earlier this year that when it came to timing their WWE Royal Rumble spot, Ricochet told Paul to not worry about landing simultaneously as he would catch up to him.

Speaking to ComicBook.com at the WWE SummerSlam press junket, Ricochet noted that getting in the ring with Paul is always unpredictable.

"I got to understand that he's someone that's new, someone that's kind of a wild card," Ricochet said. "Someone that, although he doesn't know as much as a lot of the people that I'm around, he's still an athlete. He's still crazy. He's still a stunt man. He's still on his own wavelength of stuff that he does. Plus he's a trained boxer. Going in there with him, you don't really know what you're going to get. You don't know what you're going to have planned. You don't know until you get to cooking and then it all kind of molds together and it all kind of just comes naturally as it just starts flowing kind of thing. It definitely is a different process."

On-screen, Paul has emphasized his objective in this WWE SummerSlam bout is to go viral. While Ricochet doesn't deliberately try to make those trending moments, he noted "virality" is second-nature to his in-ring style.

"Obviously, what Ricochet does kind of goes viral, but it's not like I have the intention of going out there and going viral," Ricochet continued. "I just go out there and use what's in my environment. It just so happens that what I can do and things that are in my capability just happen to go viral."

Ricochet faces Logan Paul tonight at WWE SummerSlam, streaming live on Peacock at 7:30 PM ET.

WWE's Rhea Ripley has seen a massive rise in popularity over the past year, taking on a more devious persona as a member of The Judgement Day and "Mami" to Dominik Mysterio. Ripley's full embrace of her onscreen character has also carried over to social media, and as a result, some of her fans have gotten a bit more "out of pocket." "The Eradicator" laughed it off while speaking with ComicBook ahead of a WWE x C4 Energy meet and greet on Friday outside of Detroit, after which she met with well over a hundred WWE fans. At least one fan asked her to step on them.

"They ask a lot of out-of-pocket stuff," Ripley said. "One that I used to get all the time is like, can I lick your armpit? And I don't know how to respond to that (chuckles). There's a lot of 'step-on-mes'. There's a lot of, 'If Rhea were to kill me right now, I'd die happy.' Very strange things. I love my moshes. I do, I really do love them, but they are quite deranged and sadistic and thirsty little moshes."

Imagine working all your life to be a world champion in the WWE, getting there, booker leaves you off the card for the second biggest show of the year, and you have to fly out there anyway to step on fans instead?????? pic.twitter.com/1Pa6ILPC2n

-- ?? (@KXNGAO) August 4, 2023

Rhea Ripley on Fans Rallying Around Her Ahead of SummerSlam 2023

But while many comments directed at Ripley are vaguely sexual in nature, many legitimately want to see the 26-year-old reigning Women's World Champion succeed in the WWE. This is why when WWE made it clear on the latest Monday Night Raw that this weekend's SummerSlam premium live event wouldn't feature a title bout between Ripley and Raquel Rodriguez, her fans became outraged online. The Australian native has seen those online posts as well and said she appreciates the support.

"I appreciate it, I do," she said. "All us women appreciate it. Because at the end of the day, we work all year round for opportunities like this. SummerSlam, it's a massive, massive show for the WWE. It's our second biggest (premium live event) of the year. So to not be on it, it's a little bit heartbreaking, but at the end of the day I know that we're all still going to be fighting for the next spot and the next PLE will come up. There's PLEs all the time now. So we will get our shot as well. But yeah, SummerSlam, it's cool to say that you're on it, and I appreciate everyone for backing us girls up."

WWE's SummerSlam 2023 takes place tonight at Ford Field in Detroit at 8 p.m. EST, streaming exclusively on Peacock. Stay tuned for full coverage of the event!

WWE SummerSlam 2023 Card

• Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat Rules)
• World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor
• WWE Women's Championship: Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Bianca Belair
• Intercontinental Championship: Gunther vs. Drew McIntyre
• Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
• Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler (MMA Rules)
• Ricochet vs. Logan Paul
• SummerSlam Battle Royal

AEW officially announced earlier this week that The Elite -- Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks and Adam "Hangman" Page -- have all signed new, multi-year contracts to remain with the promotion for the foreseeable future. Despite interest from the WWE, the four stuck with AEW for a variety of reasons ranging from salaries to creative freedom to lighter schedules. Cody Rhodes, who initially helped launch AEW with the aforementioned group and Tony Khan in 2019 but left in 2022 in order to return to WWE, was asked to give his thoughts on their decision in a press conference on Friday. "The American Nightmare" will be in action on Saturday night at SummerSlam, taking on Brock Lesnar.

"I'm very happy when any wrestler or Superstar gets paid," Rhodes said (h/t Haus of Wrestling). "I don't want to sound carny or hacky but to know that your peers and people who take the bumps and go through all this and have that type of the physical struggle that comes with this gig, to know they're getting paid is really exciting. I am over the moon that that group did what they did because, as Nick Jackson said, I believe they've made some NBA money off of it.

"I'm honestly just really happy for them. I am. I would have loved to have seen them again. But, you know, I'm very happy with the choices they made, and that schedule is a little different. This gig is, this particular gig at WWE, it's a different type of personality that maybe fits me a little bit more. Yeah, but very happy for him," he added.

Cody Rhodes on What His Heel AEW Run Was Supposed to Lead To

Rhodes revealed in an interview with ComicBook leading up to SummerSlam that the pseudo-heel run he was on during his last year with AEW was supposed to culminate in an interview with Sting. The only hint regarding that match was dropped in December 2020, but Rhodes chose to leave the promotion long before those plans could be executed.

"I was going to wrestle Sting," Rhodes confirmed. "I don't think I've ever shared that with anybody and nothing was on paper or anything like that. But I can say I got a tremendous offer from AEW creatively, financially, the full package. You won't hear me say anything bad about AEW or Tony (Khan) or my time there. It was a tremendous offer, but the offer wasn't right for me. What I wanted to get back to was the first goal that I ever had (winning the WWE Championship). But yeah, that probably would've been the endgame. That's what had been discussed, was to get one (match) with one of my heroes, Sting.

"And it's one of those things, you can wrestle one of your heroes or you can work with one of your heroes and he can be the head of creative (Paul Levesque), you can't have it all," he continued. "And I think one thing I do pride myself on as a wrestler is I will make a decision. It might be a left turn, it might be exactly where you think I'm going, but I will make a decision. I will not get stuck because I felt like I'd been stuck early in my career and never want to be that way again."

WWE SummerSlam 2023 Card

• Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat Rules)
• World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor
• WWE Women's Championship: Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Bianca Belair
• Intercontinental Championship: Gunther vs. Drew McIntyre
• Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
• Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler (MMA Rules)
• Ricochet vs. Logan Paul
• SummerSlam Battle Royal

Professional wrestling is back on Saturdays. All Elite Wrestling launched their third weekly broadcast this past June, AEW Collision, and has regularly run the new two-hour primetime Saturday show unopposed for its first seven weeks. While WWE Money in the Bank streamed on the same day as one of AEW Collision's live broadcasts, the London-based premium live event ran in the early afternoon due to the time difference. With WWE putting more of an emphasis on Saturdays for its premium live events, the global leader in sports-entertainment was bound to go head-to-head with AEW Collision eventually, and that is coming to fruition this Saturday.

WWE SummerSlam streams live on Peacock from 7:30 PM ET until close to 11 PM ET, meaning that it will completely engulf the 8-10 PM ET AEW Collision on TNT. When asked about this first-time overlap, AEW Collision flag-bearer CM Punk noted that he does not see the simultaneous broadcasts as competing with one another.

"We are not competing with SummerSlam," Punk told SI. "We are going to go up against college football soon. We have already been up against monster UFC cards every single Saturday. We are not competing with them. We are competing with what we did last Saturday. I am competing with who I was yesterday as a human being and a pro wrestler, and we, as the Collision team, are competing with what we did last Saturday. That's always going to be what we are striving to do, and I think that's an important message for the fans to understand."

Punk admitted that AEW Collision has an uphill battle every week when it comes to ratings but sees the show as having an advantage when it pertains to ticket sales.

"Collision is on a bad night for television, but the trade off is that I think it's a lot easier to sell a ticket to a Saturday night show than it is on a Wednesday or Monday or Friday," Punk continued. "I knew it was going to be an uphill battle, but we absolutely love the challenge. I think we've outdone ourselves so far."

Punk defends the "real" world championship against Ricky Starks this Saturday on AEW Collision while WWE SummerSlam will be headlined by Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns putting his title on the line against Jey Uso.

Olympic Gold Medalist Gable Steveson made his long-awaited WWE in-ring debut last week at NXT The Great American Bash. Steveson first inked a deal with WWE back in Summer 2021 and was later was announced as part of the inaugural WWE Next in Line class, a program that takes collegiate athletes and gives them a direct pathway to the company should they want to pursue sports-entertainment after their studies. While his transition from the amateur mat to the squared circle has been slow, WWE has peppered Steveson in where possible over the years, giving him appearances on WWE WrestleMania and WWE SmackDown. His first consistent run has come in NXT which culminated in a largely divisive match.

Steveson was met with relentless boos from the Texas crowd, and that unexpected negative response seemingly affected his in-ring performance. Speaking to ComicBook.com at the WWE SummerSlam press junket, fellow Olympian-turned-WWE superstar Chad Gable noted he thinks Steveson needs to allow himself to "be vulnerable."

"If I could go back and tell anybody early on in their career that comes from like amateur sports or anywhere else that's very competitive in nature, [I would say] allow yourself to be vulnerable," Gable said. "Allow yourself to show people who you really are and not just feel like you got to be this like, 'Oh, I'm a killer all the time.'"

Gable signed with WWE in 2013 after competing in the 2012 Olympic Games. He spent two years training at the WWE Performance Center before he made it to NXT TV.

"I think a lot of it is understanding what we do here in this company. We tell stories and we connect with people and we do that through our wrestling matches. We don't just wrestle. It took me a long time to learn that too," Gable continued. "Trust me, when I came in, I just wanted to have these awesome matches. Very quickly I realized that that's not going to work here. We need to tell stories, make people feel emotion and connect to you. And once I realized that that's when everything changed for me."

Gable's Alpha Academy tag partner, Otis, also went on somewhat of a similar journey, leaping from amateur wrestling to the more theatrical grappling.

"The kid's obviously a damn stud. Olympic Champion. That part's covered. I think you just got to let loose sometimes," Otis said. "He's a great kid, but still very tense. If it's not coming natural, it's going to take some work. The kid will get it. He's got the looks."

WWE SummerSlam goes down on Saturday, August 5th and streams live on Peacock.

Rhea Ripley continues to be one of the hottest WWE stars week after week as both the Women's World Champion and a member of the dominant Judgement Day faction. But despite her heavy involvement on Monday Night Raw and NXT recently, she doesn't have a match booked for Saturday's SummerSlam event at Ford Field in Detroit. It looked like WWE was setting the stage for her to defend her title against Raquel Rodriguez, but WWE seemingly postponed the match after Ripley brutally attacked her on this week's Raw. WWE fans have been vocally frustrated by the decision to leave Ripley off SummerSlam ever since, and "The Eradicator" herself has taken notice.

"I appreciate it, I do," Ripley told ComicBook on Friday. "All us women appreciate it. Because at the end of the day, we work all year round for opportunities like this. SummerSlam, it's a massive, massive show for the WWE. It's our second biggest (premium live event) of the year. So to not be on it, it's a little bit heartbreaking, but at the end of the day I know that we're all still going to be fighting for the next spot and the next PLE will come up. There's PLEs all the time now. So we will get our shot as well. But yeah, SummerSlam, it's cool to say that you're on it, and I appreciate everyone for backing us girls up."

Did WWE make a mistake by leaving Ripley off Saturday's card? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!

WWE SummerSlam 2023 Card

• Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat Rules)
• World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor
• WWE Women's Championship: Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Bianca Belair
• Intercontinental Championship: Gunther vs. Drew McIntyre
• Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
• Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler (MMA Rules)
• Ricochet vs. Logan Paul
• SummerSlam Battle Royal

Rhea Ripley on The Judgement Day Surpassing The Bloodline

Between Ripley's title reign, Dominik Mysterio's NXT North American Championship, Damian Priest's Money in the Bank contract and Finn Balor's status as No. 1 contender for Seth Rollins' World Heavyweight Championship, The Judgement Day looks poised to establish itself as the dominant faction in the WWE now that The Bloodline's numbers are dwindling. Ripley said elsewhere in the interview that she's confident that her faction could have a years-long saga similar to Roman Reigns' group.

"I 100% think that we could," Ripley said. "I think that we could overdo the Bloodline too. I think we could take over and prove why we are the most dominant force here in the WWE. At the end of the day, they might be blood, but we're family."

WWE star Seth Rollins has broken his silence about that mysterious role in Captain America: Brave New World. ComicBook.com was there for a WWE x C4 meet and greet event that saw the Superstar chat about the MCU before SummerSlam. As soon as set photos began to circulate, people wanted to know more about what part Rollins would play in the Captain America sequel. While he couldn't give us the entire story, the fan-favorite did mention that it was a great experience. Rollins would also allude to the playful rivalry with his wife Becky Lynch.

"I am sworn to secrecy. Pretty tight lipped on anything related to this project," Rollins mused. "Obviously the photographs have made their way online, nothing to be done about that, but it was a very good experience for me. I'm looking forward to seeing what the reaction is from everybody else who gets to get eyes on the project.

"There's always a healthy competitiveness in our marriage, we're both top tier stars, top tier competitors. It's very difficult for us to not be competitive," he added." She got to headline WrestleMania before I did, and I got to do this before her, so yeah, we're always duking it out."

Will There Be More Films After Captain America 4?

Other WWE Superstars have found their way over to Hollywood. Examples like Hulk Hogan, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, John Cena, and Batista are all over the place now. With Captain America: Brave New World on deck, could we see Rollins make a similar leap? According to one of his conversations with The Daily Mail, you can never truly count it out.

"As for me, I don't know where my future lies. I feel, like I said, at this moment wrestling is my future for as long as I can do it at a high level. But there's going to come a day when falling down is going to turn my bones to dust and I will have to start looking elsewhere and seeing what other options there are," the WWE Superstar admitted. "I don't think that's coming any time soon and I'm just in the prime of my career right now and there's a lot of years ahead of me."

How Is Captain America 4 Different From Other MCU Movies

Captain America: Brave New World will be a bit different than a lot of the cosmic stories that have been going in the MCU lately. The film's production designer, Ramsey Avery, spoke to Collider about the grounded feel of this one. (It sounds like the kind of project where a wrestler would not be that out of place.)

"[T]he intent of this is to be very grounded, to make sure it has that sense of really happening in the world," Avery said to the outlet. "So it's a different sense in a lot of ways than particularly some of the more recent pieces have been. And it's a very deliberate choice, and it's a fascinating choice and an exciting choice. And it comes with a whole host of different kinds of questions involved in that."

Who do you think Rollins is playing in Captain America 4? Let us know down in the comments!

Aside from a WWE Tough Enough submission video on the company's YouTube page and a security guard cameo on an NXT Takeover, AEW World Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman has had no association with WWE. That said, he has made teasing jumping ship to the global leader in sports-entertainment a major part of his character. Dating back to Fall 2021, MJF has frequently brought up the fact that his AEW contract expires in 2024 and tends to follow up that fact with an expression of admiration to WWE. In the past, MJF has complimented WWE CEO Nick Khan and WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque on AEW TV.

That said, MJF has always blurred the lines between fiction and reality, as it has never been abundantly clear which parts of his persona are a character and which aspects are authentic. For as long as he is a fully-fledged heel, MJF has been flirting with the competition. While he usually operates as a bad guy, MJF has had brief spurts as a babyface, and when that time comes he shows signs of being an AEW flag-bearer.

MJF Takes Shot at WWE After AEW Dynamite

After AEW Dynamite went off the air on Wednesday, Chris Jericho and MJF hit the ring to share their gratitude towards AEW President Tony Khan. MJF brought up the fact that when AEW was first in the works, WWE was interested in signing him, but he feared what that company would turn him into.

"When this company was started in 2019, prior to that there was only one show in town if you wanted to make real money, and the name of that place was WWE," MJF said. "And around that time, there was most certainly interest in MJF, but there was a part of me that thought if I went there my name might be Mordecai Schmeckle Jr. I might have to walk out with a dradel on or something."

MJF went on to thank Khan and the others who helped launch AEW.

"But then, there was a visionary, and there was also a bunch of men called The Elite. There was also Chris Jericho, a guy who took a serious leap," MJF continued. "All of them created an alternative, and that alternative gave opportunities for guys like your AEW World Champion, who is over as f--k, to get to be the versions of ourselves that we wanted to be.

"Tony, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Thank you for making me a very rich man come 2024 because there's going to be a big bargaining gig. I'm getting ahead of myself. In all sincerity, I'm not the only person who wants to thank you, Tony Khan."

MJF then brought out the entire AEW roster who applauded Khan from the stage before leading an "AEW!" chant to send the fans home.

If you use any quotes in this article, please credit AEW with an h/t to ComicBook.com.

The Anoa'i family is set to do battle at WWE SummerSlam. Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns revisits his earliest rivalry in his current run when he defends his title against his cousin, Jey Uso. Roman and Jey first met each other in a singles capacity at WWE Clash of Champions 2020 and once more at WWE Hell in a Cell the following month. Both bouts saw Roman pick up a decisive victory, with the Hell in a Cell Match especially showcasing the earliest signs of his newfound evil persona. Three years later, Roman has established himself as the most cruel final boss of the modern wrestling era, psychologically abusing his family in order to keep his title around his waist.

While Jey has been a lifelong tag wrestler, often indistinguishable from his brother, his time in The Bloodline has helped give him his own identity. Three years after his first shot at Roman, Jey has made himself into his own man, and there is no better time than now to pull the trigger on making him a world champion.

The Story Has Always Been About Jey Uso

Past challengers like Sami Zayn and Cody Rhodes have had claims to being the next champion, but no one fits the mold to end this reign more than Jey Uso. The Bloodline was birthed after Jey's defeat at WWE Hell in a Cell 2020. It only makes sense that it completely ends after Jey defeats Roman.

Beyond that, Roman and Jey have been linked for this entire three-year period, appearing together in hundreds of in-ring and backstage segments together. Sami popped into the equation last summer. Cody declared his path to Roman in April 2022. Neither of those two men have had even half the history that Jey has with Roman.

To go even further, Jey was the first person to pin Roman on the main roster. During a multi-man bout on a 2013 edition of Monday Night Raw, a face-painted Jey hit a splash and got the 1-2-3 on a Shield-era Roman, marking the first time that the Big Dog had been pinned.

There Are No Viable Challengers Left

Yes, Cody Rhodes is out there, but he likely won't get a world title opportunity until next April at WWE WrestleMania 40. What happens in between?

Roman is not advertised for numerous premium live events throughout the fall, which either says he is losing the title at WWE SummerSlam or he won't be defending his prize for many months to come. Reigns's WWE SummerSlam defense is his first defense since April, which is four months apart. Would WWE really not have Roman defend for eight months before WWE WrestleMania 40?

Sure, WWE could build new feuds for Roman come big four shows like WWE Survivor Series and WWE Royal Rumble, but those challengers would be no more than placeholders. Fans want more title defenses but also realistic challengers. Roman retaining keeps that paradox going.

If He Loses, What's Next For Jey?

Many have asked what comes next for Jey if he wins the title, but what happens if he doesn't? Does he go back to the tag division? Does he take time off? Does he still interact with Roman? Does he go about his business like none of this Bloodline stuff ever happened?

Jey is in a similar position to Kofi Kingston in Fall 2019. After Kofi lost his WWE Championship to Brock Lesnar, he was back in the tag division like nothing happened. Aside from a brief confrontation in the Men's Royal Rumble Match that January, Kofi never attempted to get revenge on Brock or tried to win his title back.

It's never smart to bet against The Bloodline's storytelling, but it is more difficult to fathom a direction for Jey if he fails to win the title than if he does.

WWE SummerSlam goes down this Saturday, August 5th.

All Elite Wrestling has become a modern-day haven for independent legends. While the young company has plenty of homegrown star-power and top talent that made their names in WWE and NJPW, a bulk of AEW's roster is made up of wrestlers who are just now getting their global big break after grinding on the indie circuit for years. Names like AR Fox, Orange Cassidy, Ethan Page and John Silver are wrestling on weekly television for the first time in their careers within AEW. Beyond that, AEW also has given some wrestling legends a new lease on their in-ring careers, with stars like Sting specifically being given the opportunity to finish his career on his terms. If the stars align, there's one name that fits into both of those categories: Nigel McGuinness.

Nigel McGuinness wrestled throughout the 2000s, making a name for himself in Ring of Honor. He remains the longest-reigning ROH Pure Champion to this day, with his 350-day run staying untouched. McGuinness is also the second-longest reigning ROH World Champion at 545 days. He had many memorable feuds throughout his in-ring run, but his most memorable remains his extensive program with Bryan Danielson. The two wrestled on ten occasions, never wrestling below 20 minutes. Danielson vs. McGuinness last happened in September 2009.

What Would Bring Nigel McGuinness Out of Retirement?

While McGuinness has not competed since 2011, revisiting his rivalry with Danielson would be enough to tempt the AEW commentator to return to the ring.

"The truth of the matter is, the only way I was going to come out of retirement was for a match against Bryan Danielson at Wembley Stadium," McGuinness told AEW Unrestricted. "It was going to take something like that for me to come out of retirement, because I really value my job doing announcing and there are so many other guys on the card that are so much better than me and deserve those spots, but in the right situation, I'd be crazy to not be open to that possibility."

As of right now, that potential match is shelved. Danielson broke his arm at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door in his main event match against Kazuchika Okada. Despite the American Dragon's injury, McGuinness believes he could still go come AEW ALL IN: London at the end of the month.

"Now, [Danielson] has gone and broken his arm. Let's be honest. We all saw the x-rays, and one of those bones was perfectly okay. I don't know how many bones are in the human body. He's got all of them apart from one, does he really need time off?" McGuinness continued. "He's sitting at home, taking a paycheck, digging those clams out of the sand. He could be in there wrestling me. To be perfectly honest, he's probably a bit scared."

If the opportunity presents itself, McGuinness says he is already ready to go.

"I'm not saying he'd be scared of wrestling me again, he's had a lot more experience than me, but I'm in as good of shape now as I've ever been," McGuinness added. "I'm in ring shape, I'm ready to go, but I can't see myself wrestling at this point in that sort of situation at this point."

AEW ALL IN: London goes down on August 27th.

With over four years of content under its belt, All Elite Wrestling seems primed for a streaming service sooner than later. The young promotion celebrated 200 episodes of AEW Dynamite this past Wednesday, all of which have been broadcasted on cable channels TNT and TBS. As of this writing, the only way to access old episodes of AEW Dynamite or any other of AEW's weekly broadcasts is if they were recorded on the cable provider or a cable streamer like YouTube TV or Sling. Those that have purchased AEW pay-per-views like AEW Double or Nothing or AEW All Out still have access to those shows to this day, as once AEW's premium events are bought they remain in that user's profile forever.

That said, AEW fans have been asking for one place to stream all of the company's content for a number of years. The smart answer has always been a streaming service. Given AEW's broadcast partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery, bringing AEW content to WBD's streamer Max has constantly been circled back to as the most likely option.

Tony Khan Wants AEW on Max

AEW President Tony Khan was once again asked about AEW's streaming future. Khan noted that his "dream" is to bring AEW to Max.

"We have all the bones for a really strong streaming platform. It would be a very strong addition to any streaming platform, and my dream is that it all lands on Max," Khan told PWInsider. "It would be tremendous."

Khan added that one of AEW's programs, AEW All Access, is already on Max. He hopes that AEW All Access can be a gateway to eventually bringing AEW's full content library to the streamer.

"Right now, AEW All Access is available on Max, which is very cool, and hopefully, that is a step in the right direction, getting our stuff steaming," Khan continued. "We have a great library. All together, with everything I own, it's thousands of hours of great wrestling and the AEW catalog has grown so much considering we started this thing from scratch four years ago. I believe the streaming service will happen. As to where it is and what platform it is, that's something that I believe largely will be influenced by Warner Bros."

AEW is actively negotiating with Warner Bros. Discovery on a new television rights deal, as their current contract expires at the end of the year.

AEW Dynamite Results (Aug. 2, 2023)

• AEW Women's World Championship: Hikaru Shida def. Toni Storm
• ROH World Tag Team Championships: Aussie Open def. El Hijo Del Vikingo and Komander
• Trent Beretta def. Jon Moxley and Penta El Zero Miedo (Anything Goes Match)
• Chris Jericho & Konosuke Takeshita def. Sammy Guevara and Daniel Garcia

AEW Dynamite's 200th episode ended on a high note as Hikaru Shida defeated Toni Storm to become the new AEW Women's World Champion. Shida was able to overcome repeated outside interference from The Outcasts' Saraya & Ruby Soho and even kicked out of a Storm Zero after the champ spraypainted her in the eyes while the referee's back was turned. Shida then countered a second Storm Zero attempt with a roll-up for the win.

Shida still holds the record for longest single reign as AEW women's champion at 372 days but had been mostly out of the title picture after she dropped the title to Dr. Britt Baker at the Double or Nothing pay-per-view in May 2021. But while she initially agreed to join The Outcasts earlier this year, she quickly made her intentions clear that she was aligned with AEW Originals like Baker and Jamie Hayter and had been battling the heels ever since. She earned a shot at Storm's title late last month by beating Nyla Rose in a No. 1 contender's match on AEW Rampage.

Hikaru Shida is your NEW #AEW Women's World Champion!

Watch #AEWDynamite200 LIVE on TBS!#AEWWomensWorldTitle@shidahikaru pic.twitter.com/hv5NFxydPB

-- All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) August 3, 2023

Dr. Britt Baker on Discourse Surrounding AEW's Women's Division

Shida's main event comes one week after the online wrestling community was set ablaze when last week's Dynamite episode had the fan sign "Book The Women's Division Better" prominently featured following a match between Dr. Britt Baker and Taya Valkyrie. Baker was then asked about that in an interview with TVLine.

"I see both sides to that because I completely agree," Baker said. "The absolute best matches that come out of professional wrestling come out of storylines you are so invested in. There are weeks and months that tell this beautiful story. It's something we haven't been able to invest as much time in the women's division lately. Again, there are many factors. Injuries, this and that. I definitely want to get to the point where we can get some solid storytelling with the women. At the same time the fans who hold signs that say to book the women's division better, that's great."

"Then when I go on Twitter it doesn't echo that. I don't see the same support. It's I hate these two wrestlers. This match was too long. This match was too short. If all you see about women's wrestling is all negative online, it doesn't add up to what they are preaching. If you want the women to be booked better, support the women," she added.

AEW Collision Card (Aug. 5, 2023)

• "Real" AEW World Championship: CM Punk vs. Ricky Starks
• AEW World Tag Team Championships: FTR vs. Brian Cage & Big Bill
• AEW TBS Championship: Kris Statlander vs. Mercedes Martinez

AEW's All In pay-per-view finally has its main event -- MJF vs. Adam Cole for the AEW World Championship. The event will take place at Wembley Stadium in London, England on Aug. 27 and will look to quadruple the company's all-time attendance record as ticket sales continue to climb toward 80,000 sold. Friedman announced the match after cutting a heartfelt promo on this week's AEW Dynamite, saying that while he's still a scumbag he's willing to start showing "The Real Max."

He then offered the match to Cole, someone he has developed a friendship with over the past few weeks while the two competed in the Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament. While the pair didn't manage to win the AEW World Tag Team Championships from FTR, neither man chose to betray the other after the fact.

IT'S OFFICIAL!

Adam Cole will challenge MJF for the #AEW World Championship at #AEWAllIn on Sunday, August 27th, at the legendary @wembleystadium in London!

LIVE on PPV!

? https://t.co/UN1cNj1kQq

Watch #AEWDynamite200 LIVE on TBS!@The_MJF | @AdamColePro pic.twitter.com/G5eyKYdfWe

-- All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) August 3, 2023

AEW's Tony Khan Praises the MJF/Adam Cole Storyline

AEW President Tony Khan was asked about the overwhelming positivity surrounding MJF and Adam Cole's partnership over the past month in an interview with The Orlando Sentinel this week.

"You hope that it gets hot, but this has gotten red hot, and fans are so excited about it that it's one of the great success stories in AEW's history," AEW President Tony Khan told Orlando Sentinel. "It's a story that may be relatable in some ways, fans may be living vicariously through it in other ways, but it's great to see the whole world get behind this bromance between two dudes who nobody expected to see click quite like this."

"This is why I like having ideas and outlines," Khan continued. "You can judge where to go next based on the reactions of fans. Fans have grabbed a hold of MJF and Adam Cole and their story, which is really very captivating."

@comicbookwrestling

#AEWALLINLondon main event announced! #mjf #adamcole #aew #aewtok #aewtiktok #wwetiktok #wrestlingtok #wrestlingtiktok #wrestletok #fyp #aewallin

? Blade Runner 2049 - Synthwave Goose

AEW All In 2023 Card

Other matches rumored for the All In event include New Japan's Will Ospreay vs. Chris Jericho and FTR vs. The Young Bucks III. Two wrestlers who likely won't make the show are Bryan Danielson and former AEW Women's World Champion Jamie Hayter, as confirmed by Khan in an interview with PWInsider this week.

"There is a little more clarity as to when Bryan Danielson will be back from his injury," Khan said. "I'm very excited to get Bryan back. I don't want to put a timetable because it's a challenging injury and a tough recovery, but I'm very confident Bryan will be back later this year. I'm still not sure when Jamie Hayter will be cleared. She doesn't know and we don't know, but hopefully sooner rather than later. Bryan, I'm very confident you'll see in a matter of months."

Cody Rhodes' presence was felt as AEW Dynamite celebrated its 200th episode this week in Tampa, Florida. To commemorate the event, a video package played early in the show celebrating some of the biggest moments from the show's history, and the former executive vice president and three-time TNT Champion appeared multiple times throughout the promo. The clips included his involvement in the debut episode, driving Shaquille O'Neal through a table and his final match in the company when he dropped the TNT Championship to Sammy Guevara in a Ladder Match.

Rhodes announced his departure from AEW in February 2022 and made his return to WWE two months later at WrestleMania 38. He recently addressed his decision to leave AEW in his new documentary, American Nightmare: Becoming Cody Rhodes.

TONIGHT, we're celebrating 200 episodes of #AEWDynamite!

Thank you to the fans, wrestlers, and staff who got us here!

And don't miss #AEWAllIn on Sunday, August 27th, at @wembleystadium in London!

Watch #AEWDynamite200 LIVE on TBS! @TonyKhan pic.twitter.com/FUbHw9YK6O

-- All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) August 3, 2023

Cody Rhodes Says a "Personal Issue" Drove Him to Leave AEW

"This is my one request in this entire documentary. This one answer, I don't want edited in any capacity, don't even edit this part," Rhodes said. "I can't tell you why I left AEW, I can't and I won't. But I can tell you the reasons that were said that didn't actually matter. I didn't leave AEW because of money and I didn't leave AEW because of other talents. I left AEW because of a personal issue. That's it. The byproduct of leaving AEW is the opportunity to go for the biggest dream I ever had and the first dream I had in my life."

Rhodes also discussed his final year in AEW in a number of interviews leading up to the documentary's premiere. That included an interview with ComicBook, in which he revealed his "heel" run was going to culminate in a match with Sting,

Cody Rhodes on The Scrapped Plans for His Heel AEW Run

"I was going to wrestle Sting," Rhodes confirmed. "I don't think I've ever shared that with anybody and nothing was on paper or anything like that. But I can say I got a tremendous offer from AEW creatively, financially, the full package. You won't hear me say anything bad about AEW or Tony (Khan) or my time there. It was a tremendous offer, but the offer wasn't right for me. What I wanted to get back to was the first goal that I ever had (winning the WWE Championship). But yeah, that probably would've been the endgame. That's what had been discussed, was to get one (match) with one of my heroes, Sting.

"And it's one of those things, you can wrestle one of your heroes or you can work with one of your heroes and he can be the head of creative (Paul Levesque), you can't have it all," he continued. "And I think one thing I do pride myself on as a wrestler is I will make a decision. It might be a left turn, it might be exactly where you think I'm going, but I will make a decision. I will not get stuck because I felt like I'd been stuck early in my career and never want to be that way again."

Former WWE and ECW World Champion Rob Van Dam made his surprise debut on this week's AEW Dynamite. FTW Champion Jack Perry kicked off a segment by calling out Jerry Lynn, who appeared on the entrance ramp but admitted he wouldn't be able to wrestle due to his many neck injuries and surgeries. But Lynn just so happened to call up an old friend and fight in his place, bringing out one of his oldest rivals. Van Dam, walking out to his classic "Walk" theme by Pantera, quickly chased Perry away.

Fightful Select reported earlier today that AEW is considering booking Van Dam for either the All In or All Out pay-per-views taking place in the coming weeks, most likely for a match with Perry. This will mark the first time "The Whole F'n Show" has wrestled on national TV since his tenure with Impact Wrestling ended in 2020.

Rob Van Dam on Working in AEW

RVD has been asked in a number of interviews over the years if he has any interest in wrestling for the young promotion. He told ReelTalker back in 2021, "I just always go with the flow of the universe. I'm always very happy with the way things turn out. AEW, I watch it sometimes, mostly to help Katie Forbes out. She'll watch it, she's up-and-coming, learning and I'll point stuff out. There is nothing that interests me about going there, except for business."

"There is nothing that makes me want to wrestle, except for business," he later added. "Where a fan thinks maybe I would watch TV and dream of getting in the ring with someone, as if that's my fantasy. That's not really the way life works, at least not for me. It's likely that I could be done now (wrestling) and not know it. I'd be totally fine (on never getting back in the ring), then the non-wrestling RVD would reap the rewards that come from the universe from reaching this stage. I don't miss it like the other wrestlers. I'm not hungry to be in the ring."

AEW Dynamite 200th Episode Card (Aug. 2, 2023)

• Chris Jericho & Konosuke Takeshita def. Sammy Guevara & Daniel Garcia
• Jon Moxley vs. Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Trent Beretta (Anything Goes Match)
• AEW Women's World Championship: Toni Storm vs. Hikaru Shida
• ROH World Tag Team Championships: Aussie Open vs. El Hijo Del Vikingo & Komander
• MJF Promo