Hurricane Ian is the big national story this week, ravaging parts of the south east, such as Tampa and Orlando, where a good portion of pro wrestlers live. The worst parts of the storm happened between Tuesday and Thursday, causing a few wrestlers to miss the AEW tapings on Wednesday and potentially may cause some WWE wrestlers to miss Smackdown tonight.
Prior to Wednesday's taping, Tony Khan let all staff affected by the hurricane know that attending the tapings was voluntary, and there would be no punishment for missing tapings due to having to be at home. Swerve Strickland and Jake Hager were among the known wrestlers who had to miss the taping.
WWE tapes Smackdown in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada tonight. There is concern that some wrestlers may be forced to miss the taping due to canceled flights out of Orlando and Tampa as a result of the hurricane.
The WWE Performance Center has been shut down all week, according to the Wrestling Observer, and this past Tuesday's NXT show was actually taped two weeks ago, thankfully. They would have had to cancel the tapings if they didn't pre-tape the show. NXT canceled events scheduled for tonight at the University Area Community Complex in Tampa and tomorrow at the Dade City Armory in Dade City.
WWE star Natalya revealed that she is in the direct path of the hurricane, but she should be safe. "We are currently in the direct path of Hurricane Ian, but we are in a safe enough spot not near the water, and have been preparing for the storm as much as we possibly can," Natalya tweeted. "We haven't been asked to evacuate but we're taking the storm very seriously. Hoping everyone stays safe." She is likely not expected for the Smackdown taping tonight. Others are expected to miss the show as well. Full preview below.
WWE star Titus O'Neil is out with Metro Ministries in the Tampa area offering free meals to residents affected by the hurricane.
Young Bucks and Kenny Omega Told Their Suspension Investigation "Put on Hold"
Dave Meltzer provided an update on the suspension of The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega. The trio haven't been seen on TV since the very real physical altercation they had backstage with CM Punk after the conclusion of the AEW All Out pay-per-view.
"Regarding the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega, they all hadn’t heard anything from the company at least as of a few days ago," Meltzer wrote. "The belief is that their situation is on hold pending potential legal action, which unless cleared up, could delay things for some time and there is also a second hold up that hasn’t been made clear."
Matt Jackson posted a tease on an Instagram story saying he would see the fans soon, writing “Thank you so much guys for everything and the last 18 years. You guys have supported us and been so great to us, and I really can’t wait to see you guys very soon.”
Vice Working on Vince McMahon Documentary
PWInsider revealed that Vice TV is working on a documentary with Vince McMahon as the subject. The documentary is scheduled to air in October.
PWInsider writes "Vice TV is currently in the process of producing a new documentary on Vince McMahon, PWInsider.com has confirmed with multiple sources who were interviewed for the project. The documentary will cover McMahon's career, including his retirement/resignation from WWE in the wake of the articles published by The Wall Street Journal."
Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez have both been interviewed for the doc. Separately, HBO Real Sports is also working on a documentary, and we've heard rumblings that there will be some shocking revelations in that one.
Tonight on TV.
Smackdown tonight on Fox at 8pm has announced
- Sami Zayn & Solo Sikoa vs. Ricochet & Madcap Moss
- Hit Row (Top Dolla & Ashante “Thee” Adonis) vs. Los Lotharios (Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo)
- Bayley vs. Shotzi
AEW Rampage tonight at 10pm on TNT:
- John Silver vs. Rush
- AEW Tag Team Champions The Acclaimed defend against Private Party and The Butcher & The Blade in a three-way
- Jamie Hayter vs. Willow Nightingale
- Lee Moriarty vs. Fuego Del Sol
- Hook appearance
More News and Gossip
Rush has signed a full-time deal with AEW. Bandido was offered a full-time contract after his amazing main event match with Chris Jericho last week, but no word on if he has signed it yet. AEW is also interested in signing Juice Robinson.
The goal as of now is to reveal what the White Rabbit is at WWE Extreme Rules next Saturday.
Previously, Karl Anderson has said he would never go back to WWE, but he's changed his tune, telling Sports Illustrated “Just like you said, never say never. We’ve got verbally agreed upon dates with New Japan Pro-Wrestling for an extended period of time. But there’s such a built-in story with Bullet Club, and we never got to finish the story (in WWE) with AJ Styles or even Finn. “There’s been a lot of things that have happened in the business, so you can never say never. Any time we can work with brothers like AJ and Finn, we’re always going to listen to that."
The new season of Young Rock on NBC will focus on Rock's ascent during the Attitude Era. The show premieres on November 4th.
AEW Dynamite this Wednesday will be fifteen minutes longer than usual.
Dave Meltzer reports that Randy Orton's back injury is worse than originally anticipated having some backstage worried about his future status.
Read previous editions of this column here. You can always follow me @robinjection on Instagram and Twitter and @Squaredcirclpit.
