Knotfest Wrestling is back with another huge update with news about Ric Flair, Kenny Omega, a recap of RAW and plenty more.
Ric Flair's Final Match Is Set
The day's big story is the announcement of Ric Flair's last match. For weeks, there had been speculation as to who would be facing the Nature Boy in what is being billed as the 73-year-old's final match and now we have our answer.
In a video posted to RicFlairsLastMatch.com, Flair was confronted in the parking lot by his trainer Jay Lethal, who was upset he was not booked on the card for the final match. Lethal decked Flair in the stomach. Jeff Jarrett was in the lot with his wife, Karen, and tried to put a stop to Lethal's attack. As Flair got up, he thanked Jarrett for the help but said that he never liked Jarrett or his dad, Jerry and that Flair never considered Jarrett a Horseman. This led to the Jarretts then attacking Flair, causing Flair to bleed.
The video of Flair cutting himself up for the cameras is pretty wild:
So the match is set, Ric Flair will recruit his son-in-law, Andrade, to face Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal. Flair noted to Busted Open Radio today that his daughter and Andrade's wife, Charlotte, will be in attendance for the match, but he is unsure if she will appear on camera.
Flair also revealed he's dealing with a foot injury going into the match saying "I've got plantar fasciitis, if I'm pronouncing that correctly, on the bottom of my foot. Other than that, I am perfect but that damn thing is sore as shit. I'm at the doctor right now." The disorder impacts the connective tissue supporting the arches of the feet.
The event airs next Sunday, July 31st on FITE TV and PPV. The final card is:
- Ric Flair & Andrade vs. Jeff Jarrett (w/ Karen Jarrett) & Jay Lethal
- Impact World Championship: Josh Alexander (c) vs. Jacob Fatu
- Impact Knockouts Championship Three-Way: Jordynne Grace (c) vs Deonna Purrazzo vs. Rachael Ellering
- Ricky & Kerry Morton (w/ Robert Gibson) vs. Brian Pillman Jr. & Brock Anderson (w/ Arn Anderson).
- AAA featured match: Rey Fenix vs. Laredo Kid vs. Taurus vs. Bandido
- The Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) vs. Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin)
- Killer Kross (w/ Scarlett Bordeaux) vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
- Clark Connors vs. Ren Narita
- The Von Erichs (Marshall & Ross Von Erich) vs. The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe)
- Bunkhouse Battle Royal with participants to be announced
Kenny Omega Return Planned for AEW All Out
AEW star Kenny Omega had been out of action since last November, and his absence was definitely noticeable on AEW TV. According to reports from Fightful Select and The Wrestling Observer, we might be seeing Omega make his return very soon.
Dave Meltzer reported last week that while it was assumed that the Young Bucks would face FTR at All Out to unify all the tag team titles, he learned that there are bigger plans for the Bucks, to be a part of a major angle. Today, on Fightful, Sean Ross Sapp reported that the current plan (although not set in stone) is for Omega to return at the September PPV to team with the Young Bucks.
It's safe to assume that the leading candidates to be their opponents would be Adam Cole and reDragon, except right now Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly of reDragon are injured. If everything works out, injury-wise, that would be a hell of a match.
Plus, it would also be likely that AEW would soon introduce their long-fabled trios' championship. Owner Tony Khan has said he was waiting for Omega to return to launch the belts because he wanted Omega and the Bucks to be a part of the tournament to crown the new champions.
It seems like business is about to pick up in AEW!
What Happened on Raw?
Not much honestly, with SummerSlam just under two weeks away, this felt like a transitional episode. Here are some highlights:
- Logan Paul convinced the Miz to face him at Summerslam. While Paul is being positioned as the babyface, the WWE crowd is cheering the Miz.
- Kevin Owens returned from his brief hiatus and tried to convince Riddle to dump Randy Orton and form a team with Owens. Riddle wasn't going for it, and ended up attacked by Seth Rollins. Rollins and Riddle have confirmed a match for SummerSlam.
- Becky Lynch confirmed she will face Bianca Belair at SummerSlam
- The Judgement Day continued to try to recruit Dominick Mysterio. Damian Priest faced Rey and beat him. After the match, Priest and Finn Balor attacked Rey and Dominick tried to stop them by saying he agreed to join Judgement Day. They did not accept his proposal and attacked him. A tag team match is set for next week.
TV Preview for this Week
WWE NXT 2.0 is tonight with a 20-woman battle royal to determine who is the next #1 contender for the title. Participants include Yulisa Leon, Sloane Jacobs, Lash Legend, Tatum Paxley, Tiffany Stratton, Elektra Lopez, Arianna Grace, Valentina Feroz, Kianna James, Sarray, Wendy Choo, Amari Miller, Fallon Henley, Indi Hartwell, Cora Jade, Alba Fyre, Nikkita Lyons, Katana Chance, Kayden Carter, and Ivy Nile. Other segments planned for the show are:
- JD McDonagh vs. Cameron Grimes
- Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen vs. Pretty Deadly for the NXT UK Tag Team titles
- Roderick Strong vs. Damon Kemp
- Axiom in-ring debut
- Von Wagner/Solo Sikoa confrontation
- The Schism reveals their identities
AEW have a big barbed wire everywhere match anchoring their show this Wednesday, being billed as Fyter Fest Week 2. The full lineup is:
- Eddie Kingston vs. "The Painmaker" Chris Jericho in a Barbed Wire Everywhere Match
- Luchasaurus & Christian Cage vs. The Varsity Blonds
- Brody King vs. Darby Allin
- Jon Moxley & Wheeler Yuta vs. Best Friends
- Jade Cargill, Kiera Hogan & Leila Grey vs. Athena, Kris Statlander & Willow Nightingale
Impact this Thursday on AXS TV has some great matches:
- Alex Shelley vs. Chris Sabin for a World Title shot
- X-Division Championship: Speedball Mike Bailey (c) vs. Cody Deaner
- Jordanna Grace and Mia Yim vs. Deanna Purrazzo and Chelsea Green
- Matt Taven & Mike Bennett vs. Ace Austin & Chris Bey
- Masha Slamovich vs. Madison Rayne
Here's some news from the wrestling world.
HBO Real Sports is working on a segment on the latest Vince McMahon story that first broke in the Wall Street Journal about him paying off women after having affairs with them. PWInsider reported HBO has "been attempting to reach out to former female employees of the company." No word on a release date.
On his new “Kliq This” podcast, Kevin Nash revealed he recently went down to NXT and spoke with his buddy Shawn Michaels about what he was seeing. “I went down and I watched NXT taping,” Nash said. “I said, ‘Slow it the fck down, right?’ … He just looks at me and goes, ‘It’s not the style anymore, you just have to accept that. The style is the style’ … He goes, ‘You go out there and fcking do test of strength and people will walk the f*ck out of the arena.'” “‘The fans want to see this, they want to see a spot-fest,'” Nash recalled Michaels telling him. “That’s great if that’s what the fans want. I particularly don’t.”
Fightful Select reports that Edge is scheduled to return next Monday, July 25th at the Madison Square Garden RAW episode.
Sami Zayn will appear on a new edition of WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s “The Broken Skull Sessions” on Peacock, which begins streaming this Friday.
In a recent interview with CBS Sports, Goldberg revealed he initially was told he was not winning his match with Bray Wyatt in Saudi Arabia in 2020. Goldberg did end up giving Wyatt his first defeat, and winning the WWE title that night. “Let’s put it this way, okay?” Goldberg said to Mahjouri. “I’m a talent, and I do what the boss tells me to do. I flew to Saudi Arabia knowing that I was gonna lose. Then, somehow, it changed, and the finish was different, and it surely wasn’t me. Because it’s an extremely selfish move… Who the hell am I, as a part-time guy, to come in and demand anything? Truly, I mean I’m not. Vince gave me opportunities that, you know, maybe I didn’t deserve in the past so I owe that man just about everything. I’ve never said ‘no’ to putting anybody over,” Goldberg continued. “Maybe back at WCW I didn’t agree with putting Jericho over or something like that … but not in a million years in that Fiend situation in Saudi would I have done that. No way in hell.”
Actress Julia Stiles was spotted at an indie show recently.
Here's a fun classic match to end the column:
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