00:00A shock WWE departure, WWE fan backlash, Roman Reigns backstage heat, and, of course, we'll
00:08hear from our special American Correspondent MJF.
00:13I'm Oli Davis, and this is the WrestleTalk News.
00:22Back in the Vince McMahon era, WWE releases used to be an event.
00:26All of a sudden, names would start dropping on a WWE-has-come-to-terms-with webpage like
00:30flies.
00:31Within an hour, 5, 10, 15, 20 names, some small, some midcard, one or two your absolute
00:38favourites would've all been wished well in their future endeavours.
00:42Paul Levesque era, for contrast, has opted for a far less dramatic approach.
00:46A steady drip feed of releases throughout the year, mostly comprised of the company
00:50just not renewing contracts, rather than suddenly letting them go from out of nowhere.
00:55It now feels far more in line with simple talent turnover.
00:59It means news of contracts not being renewed, and thus talent departing, comes out before
01:04they actually leave.
01:05For us, the sudden firing in seconds is now mostly drawn out for about a month.
01:10But for the talent that are being let go, it still comes as a shock.
01:14NXT star Damon Kemp, the real-life brother of former WWE Project and Olympic wrestler
01:18Gable Steveson, who was also released this year, publicly announced that he would be
01:22leaving WWE on the 8th July when his contract was not renewed.
01:26The following week, he was written out of NXT when his No Quarter catch crew turned
01:30on him.
01:31Now, in an interview with Monty and the Pharaoh, not Cody's dog, Kemp revealed how much of
01:35a surprise his release was.
01:37Apparently his catch crew faction mates had been notified they would be filming matches
01:41for TNA Wrestling, but he didn't get any messages.
01:45He then spoke with a highly influential person about the direction of the group and his future,
01:50where he was told they've got creative laid out for months, and that he was given great
01:54feedback and felt reassured.
01:56But the following week, when he tried to get in touch with someone about talks to renew
01:59his contract, he was called on the phone by the talent relations department instead, where
02:04they told him they weren't going to renew his contract.
02:08Kemp was actually booked for TV the following day, but he was told there was no need to
02:13show up there or at the Performance Center, and he's got a 30 day non-compete period.
02:18It's like, completely caught off guard, and I mentioned a great conversation a week
02:22before and I was like, whoa.
02:24I was just stunned.
02:25I was like, alright.
02:27So I was really taken back and really caught off guard, but there's no regrets, no regrets
02:32being there.
02:33I loved it.
02:34I'd go back.
02:35Kemp isn't the only wrestler now finished with WWE.
02:38In an interview with Chris Van Vliet, Beth Phoenix has officially confirmed she is no
02:42longer under contract there.
02:44She said she still has a really good relationship with the company, and she loved her time there,
02:48but she is currently a free agent, and she's looking into Wrestling Opportunities.
02:55Wrestling Opportunities, title of your next indie wrestling pay-per-view.
02:58The educated speculation has Phoenix joining her husband Adam Edge Copeland in AEW to do
03:04all the intergender tag matches together.
03:06And following MVP showing up at a Bloodsport show at the end of last month and saying his
03:11WWE contract is up very soon, his longtime protégé Omos has told Adrian Hernandez of
03:17Unlikely, I'm definitely going to miss him.
03:19I was extremely grateful that I had the opportunity to work with him and I did learn a lot.
03:25Forever friendship.
03:26He's forever my guy.
03:28And is able to be a surprise entrant in AEW's Casino Gauntlet match in about 9 days.
03:33Speaking of All In, let's check in with our special American Correspondent, MJF.
03:40MJF.
03:41Hey MJF.
03:42Hey Cumstein.
03:43So, you're our American Correspondent here, giving us a specific American take on British
03:54culture and history.
03:56And on this day, in 1513, Henry VIII beat the French in the Battle of Spurs.
04:02That is exciting.
04:03Yeah.
04:04It's interesting.
04:05You guys had another battle with a different group of people, if I can recall.
04:11No, it wasn't Germany.
04:15That's right.
04:16So, you guys had a battle with America, lost, hopped on your ships, grabbed all your shitty
04:23little tea, and swam all the way back over to England, running away like gutless cowards.
04:30Speaking of gutless English cowards, William Ospreay.
04:33I will be facing him for the American Championship on August 25th.
04:36Wembley Stadium All In.
04:38Get your tickets today.
04:46Back to WWE releases, Matt Riddle was one of the first names let go in the TKO Leveque
04:51era.
04:52That one wasn't that surprising.
04:53Despite being consistently popular, he was also consistently a headache, with wellness
04:58policy suspensions, personal life controversies and backstage heat stories falling out with
05:03huge names like Brock Lesnar and Bill Goldberg.
05:06And it's now come out there was tension between him and another huge WWE name.
05:12Probably the biggest you can get right now, Roman Reigns.
05:16This all apparently stems back to an interview Riddle gave in 2021, where he was arguing
05:21Roman Reigns isn't the only ratings draw in WWE.
05:24His RKBro team was very popular too, but, in Riddle's particular way of speaking,
05:30that came out as, you're related to The Rock, shut up.
05:33Like I'm not impressed.
05:34I can beat you up in a real fight.
05:36Former WWE presenter Matt Camp, who used to host the Bump, has now recalled that there
05:40were times Reigns and Riddle were purposely kept apart from each other unless they had
05:44to work together for a feud, like Riddle's 2022 title shot on SmackDown.
05:49Camp described one example where Reigns wasn't even in the Bump studio.
05:53He was only calling them remotely on the video screen, but they still kept Riddle, who was
05:57an in-person guest, off the set until Roman's section was done.
06:01Riddle has now added to this story during an appearance on the My Love Letter to Wrestling
06:05podcast with Mark Andrews, where he revealed he went to his RKBro Randy Orton for advice
06:10on how to apologise to Roman for his comments.
06:13Orton apparently rewrote Riddle's apology letter, thinking it would have a better chance
06:17of success, but…
06:18I sent this apology and let's just say that he did not accept it.
06:22I was like, dammit Randy, I can never ask you to apologise for anything.
06:26I've learned, don't ask Randy to do an apology for you.
06:30Somehow, nine months into his WWE return, CM Punk hasn't fallen out with anyone behind
06:34the scenes.
06:35In fact, he's seemingly even become a beloved backstage presence at NXT.
06:40NXT is due to switch networks to the CW on the 1st October, and that first episode is
06:45going to be broadcast on the road in Chicago.
06:49Speaking on WGM Radio, NXT head chef Shawn Michaels has revealed that Punk will have
06:54a major role on the episode.
06:56This could be a promo, a match, or longshot, maybe even a continuing position on the brand.
07:02It's been reported ever since Punk made his WWE return that his long-term goal is
07:07to inherit running NXT from Shawn Michaels.
07:10I would suspect, though, whatever it is, it'll last for at least another week.
07:14Because the following episode, on October 8th, will go head-to-head with a special title
07:19Tuesday edition of AEW Dynamite, which finds itself moved from its regular Wednesday night
07:25slot.
07:26The last time that happened was October 10th, 2023, where NXT had appearances from John
07:31Cena, Cody Rhodes, Paul Heyman and The Undertaker, while Dynamite had the in-ring debut of Adam
07:37Copeland.
07:38Expect a similar loaded up competition this year, because Randy Orton has already been
07:41announced for NXT.
07:43Earlier this week, it was reported Judgment Day will be getting the new name Street Trash
07:47now they've replaced Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley with Liv Morgan.
07:50I personally don't mind the name, but it experienced a fan backlash online.
07:54WrestleVotes is now reporting WWE saw that backlash and have changed their plans.
07:59Looks like they heard the outcry.
08:01Source claims the name Judgment Day will remain, however the slogan Street Trash will be incorporated
08:06within the group's gimmick.
08:08The Street Trash idea came directly from Finn Balor, with merchandising concepts already
08:13and approved.
08:14Although Fightful has reported WWE has recently filed for the trademark Fatal Influence, which
08:20sounds to me like it could fit a Morgan-led faction considering how she broke up Rhea
08:24and Dom.
08:25But whatever happens, anything is better than pure Fusion Collective.
08:29Following a report that Vince McMahon's health has been in decline since leaving TKO,
08:33Vince's attorney has denied those claims to WrestleVotes, saying his health is fine.
08:37And in another wrestling health update, Afa Anoa'i, one half of the Wild Samoans, has
08:42not passed away, despite some reports incorrectly claiming he had.
08:46His condition does seem to be severe, though, as his daughter has posted that he could pass
08:50soon.
08:51Afa's brother and Wild Samoans tag team partner Seeker passed away on the 25th June.
08:56To finish on AEW news, Dynamite ratings have bounced back now the Olympics has concluded,
09:00with Wednesday's episode being the number one show on cable, with a 13% rise on the
09:05previous week.
09:06The overall numbers were 703,000 total viewers, with a 0.2318-49 rating, and the promotion
09:12has also announced that All In will be taking a year off from the UK to return in 2026.
09:19The 2025 All In will instead take place in Texas' Globe Life Stadium, which will be
09:23AEW's first ever stadium show in the US.
09:27Alien Romulus is out in cinemas today, so Luke has gone back to find out who really
09:32killed the lost Alien 5 movie.
09:35Go watch it now!
09:36Here's a clip.
09:37In January 2015, Neil Blomkamp posted this artwork online.
09:42It featured Sigourney Weaver as Ripley, Michael Biehn as Hicks, this intriguing Xenomorph
09:47helmet and other visuals and ideas that really lit a fire under the Alien fanbase.
09:53Coming soon reported these images were from a now defunct Alien movie that Blomkamp might
09:57have been working on titled Alien Xeno, but the truth came out a few days later that this
10:02was just the director being a bit cheeky and developing an Alien movie without any
10:07involvement from Fox, the studio that owned the intellectual property.
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