Charlotte FlairCharlotte Flair was not being placed in Money in the Bank.Rumors circulated ahead of Money in the Bank that Charlotte Flair would be inserted into the Money in the Bank match, replacing Zelina. When asked about that ahead of the show, Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp said he hadn’t heard of such a plan to take place. We’ve followed up and were told there wasn’t serious consideration to that and that Charlotte’s creative has been planned for a while.Specifically, Fightful Select was told that Charlotte Flair’s creative to be involved with Bianca Belair and Asuka was planned and set even before she returned. We’re told that the idea was to re-establish Asuka, and have her involved with two top talent chasing her for the title, instead of the other way around to add more intrigue and suspense to the reign.LA KnightFightful spoke to LA Knight ahead of his huge Money in the Bank ladder match in London.Knight said that he doesn't remember specifically who made the call to him to come back to WWE. During the point, he didn't think that it was realistic that he'd get back into WWE because the pandemic was happening and he thought he was on the back end of his career. However, an overture was made and it ended up being a good fit. He admitted at one point over ten years ago, WWE wasn't returning his calls, before he got to developmental.Regarding rumors that he was slated to win Money in the Bank as far back as last year, he said it was just people guessing, hoping and conjecture. However, when he started to get booked in qualifying matches and then to win them, it started to become a reality, and then he sees betting odds in his favor as well. We'd been told by WWE sources separate of this interview that talent hadn't been informed as of yet if they're winning MITB.He said if the "DUMMY" aspect of his catchphrase makes sense or fits, he'll bring it back. However, he won't change it to fit the UK theme, as he once did with "TONTO, SI" in Mexico.Drew McIntyreDrew McIntyre is back, and set for a big Intercontinental Title program with Gunther, picking up where he left off after WrestleMania.At the WWE Money in the Bank post-show press conference, Triple H dismissed reports of creative issues between McIntyre and WWE. WWE sources and sources close to McIntyre all confirmed that his deal was up in early 2024. Triple H said that he hopes that McIntyre was there for the rest of his career. While Fightful never reported creative issues between McIntyre and WWE, we can confirm that ensuring good creative was something important to McIntyre. While Drew was off TV and social media during that period, he was in continuous contact with Triple H and WWE, though he wasn’t informed of when or where he’d be drafted to. Sources close to McIntyre say that he has not signed a new contract as of yet.Triple H also confirmed a Fightful Select report that Drew McIntyre had injuries that mounted up, and needed to get a couple of things fixed. He’d been dealing with injuries for quite some time, including gutting out the highly acclaimed match at WrestleMania with Sheamus and Gunther.The return was kept very quiet, and both sides got suspiciously quiet in the weeks leading up to it. McIntyre was not brought to the presser and was spending time with loved ones while he had the chance.We're told thus far, contract negotiations haven't started. John CenaJohn Cena was back. Well, for one night at least.John Cena made a shocking return to WWE in London at WWE Money in the Bank. As was the case with several things on the show, WWE did very well at keeping it a secret, as it was kept very close to the vest, and almost no one knew that Cena would be there. He championed the idea of doing WrestleMania in London, something that Triple H didn’t seem prepared to follow up on after the show. We’ve learned a little bit more why.WrestleMania is set for Philadelphia in 2024, and WWE is in the late stages of finalizing the 2025 WrestleMania city, which we’ve heard to be a city in the United States. The earliest a WrestleMania could hit London is 2026 unless something drastic happens, and WWE sources told us they don’t find it likely on the horizon. However, there was a survey taker near media day this week asking about what cities in the UK would be most convenient for a HYPOTHETICAL Royal Rumble or Summerslam in the area. Among those cities listed were London, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow. WrestleMania was not mentioned on that survey.As of now, WWE higher ups tell Fightful that Cena was only set for this show and didn’t have upcoming programs planned. Though that can always change if his schedule frees up. WWE were very happy with how things went for his appearance.There are not active plans for John Cena in WWE that we've heard of. Judgment DayIf you couldn’t assume it yourself, WWE are over the moon about Judgment Day.Unfortunately, we’re not allowed to report news based on assumptions, but a WWE higher up spoke about the company’s affection for the stable. Fightful was even told Edge himself recognized that Judgment Day was better suited in this iteration than the original plans had outlined.The higher up spoke highly of each member, saying that Finn Balor has been “very easy” for WWE to work with throughout this process and has molded to a variety of roles that the company has needed him in over the last year in Judgment Day.Rhea Ripley was put over heavily for working through her knee issues that she’s spoken about in the past. However, her willingness to improve and help get everyone else over by contributing as a manager was also highlighted. Another longtime WWE staffer said it would have been easy for her to just be concerned about her creative surrounding the title. We’ve also heard that there are situations where she was supposed to dominate and was happy to give her opponent more offense.Damian Priest’s work ethic was praised, and especially his work with Bad Bunny. Originally there was a tag team match set for that show, and WWE sources told us that everyone felt comfortable enough with Bad Bunny in the ring for their WWE Backlash match.Dominik Mysterio received praise for his advanced schedule, which has seen him do a lot of media obligations with the success of his new character. Beyond that, we’re told WWE has been putting Dominik in a variety of situations and against a variety of opponents in the ring in order to get him used to a variety of styles and opponents.Since this article was published, Damian Priest won Money in the Bank and is in the top title picture. Vince McMahonVince McMahon has been making plenty of changes remotely via phone, as well as in person at the June 5 WWE Raw. However, there are some things we’d heard he was particular about – but that didn’t last for long.Those that we’ve spoken to say that McMahon generally likes to make good on the advertised matches if possible, even if they weren’t his idea. Sometimes there are some exceptions, however, by and large, if it’s advertised, they try to see it through. On Smackdown, there were a plethora of matches advertised on June 9 that those who booked it were hoping to see through.One source told Fightful that advertising matches on Smackdown one, two and three weeks ahead on the same show could have been an effort to “Vince proof” some plans on Smackdown. However, the main thing we heard he made changes to on the June 5 Raw were match orders, match times and some quick additional segments.The following Monday, June 19 a world title match, a “pivotal storyline moment” and more were changed for the first 30 minutes of the show, with another match added. The following Friday, several matches were changed on Smackdown at Vince McMahon’s request. Smackdown had not previously experienced heavy changes to the level Raw had for some reason.Ultimately, we’re told many of the matches that were promoted weeks ahead ended up happening, but we’re not told if there was any reason for that.There was a ton of frustration around several changes to last week's Raw and Smackdown episodes at almost every level of WWE.Bron SteinerRick Steiner’s behavior didn’t cause heat for Bron Breakker.In April, Rick Steiner was banned from WrestleCon after making transphobic comments towards IMPACT Wrestler Gisele Shaw, with the behavior corroborated by several people who witnessed it. For those questioning that the incident happened, Rick Steiner confirmed it to multiple people that Fightful spoke with since, as well, though we weren’t given any color on the situation.Bron Breakker recently spoke to USA Today and stated that his father, Rick Steiner’s transphobic comments do not reflect him. There was no heat from WWE towards Breakker, but we’re told that it eliminated any chance of the company using Rick Steiner for quite some time. WWE sources that we spoke to on the matter said there was no consideration in holding Breakker responsible for something his father did, and that Breakker has had no character issues whatsoever since joining the company.Omega and OspreayWill Ospreay and Kenny Omega had a match considered by many to be an instant classic at Forbidden Door.Many watching the match voiced concern over spots in the match, and the condition the competitors would be in after a series of moves that several deemed risky. However, we were told that both competitors emerged relatively unscathed. In fact, Kenny Omega told several people he was fine after the match ended.Omega and Ospreay returned backstage after the match to applause and a standing ovation from the match, which received heavy praise from their peers.This match, much like the Wrestle Kingdom match, was meticulously planned. Ospreay had mentioned to Fightful in a recent interview that he wanted a second match with Omega to be a lot different, because he felt like at Wrestle Kingdom that Omega got in about 80 percent of the offense.We're told that there was discussion of using the Canadian flag before the match, but that those specifics were not approved before the match and likely wouldn't have been.Harley CameronA recurring face on AEW is under a full-time deal, even though they haven’t wrestled since that became the case.Fightful Select has learned that Harley Cameron is under a full-time AEW deal, after showing up in several QTV segments and appearing as a second for some matches, as well. She’s not wrestled in the ring since AEW Dark back in March, where she beat Mafioso. However, she was a part of a recent viral segment on Rampage with The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass.Cameron has only had a few matches in AEW, which date back to July of 2022. She lost her debut to Willow Nightingale, before beating Brittany J in December.In addition to being an on-screen personality, Cameron has also performed as a singer, doing an appearance inside the MGM over Double or Nothing weekend that saw several of her co-workers show up to support her.Bryan Danielson Bryan Danielson is already working on AEW creative, but we’ve learned a bit more.We can confirm Wrestling Observer’s report that that Danielson is being lauded for what he provides creatively.It was reiterated that the Championship Friday episode of AEW Rampage was actually a Tony Khan idea, as opposed to Danielson’s as some originally attributed.Instead, Danielson has been working on the first several weeks of AEW Collision creative of late. We’re told that Danielson has been very valuable in speaking with talent about how they want their creative handled and the ways to communicate things between creative and talent.Unfortunately, Danielson's injury occurred, and caused several adjustments creatively for AEW. There were plans for Danielson to wrestle more on television following Forbidden Door, and he was to be involved in Blood and Guts, targeted for July in BostonFuego Del SolFuego Del Sol NotesThe recently returned from injury, and soon-to-be free agent Fuego Del Sol caught up with Fightful Select’s Sean Ross Sapp for an exclusive interview. The Oklahoma City native spoke on several topics.Fuego said the rehab process he went through was very rough. He had five broken bones in his foot. Fuego said it was a simple move; he was on the top rope and came down to hit a dropkick and landed on foot awkwardly. Fuego said they put a screw in his foot, and he had to do a lot of rehabbing before they would take it out. He mentioned being in a cast for over a month. The injury happened at a Supreme Pro Wrestling event in Elks Grove, Pa, on February 19th. He had surgery on March 7th and returned to the ring on June 23rd.Regarding his return match. Fuego said he’s not usually one to get nervous, but he was worried that day and had butterflies. He also mentioned that was the first time he had a broken bone. After the return match, Fuego said he was relieved.Fuego spoke about his friend Sammy Guevara. He said Sammy gets all the credit for bringing him into AEW. He said if Sammy did not throw his name out there, he would not be in AEW. Fuego says that he and Sammy have been friends since 2016.He said Sammy gave his number to QT Marshall, who was the one that was booking extras at the time, and QT gave him his shot. He said he eventually had to choose between his job and wrestling, and he chose wrestling. Fuego bet on himself and mentioned that higher-ups at AEW told him about having an opportunity there. Fuego said it was stressful because of the pandemic and not having a job, but he was thriving professionally.He said Sammy is like his brother, and they will be friends for life. Fuego would then talk about what led to him getting signed. Fuego said many people saw his effort, grind, and attitude. He noted The Young Bucks liked him since his first day.Fuego would also mention that he never looked at the Young Bucks as executives; he just looked at them like the boys. He said they developed a good relationship, and he would go to them for advice.Fuego said when AEW was going back on the road, he thought there was something they didn’t like about him or see in him yet. He decided that if that were it, he would take the world by storm and make them realize what they could have had.He said the first Rampage was his AEW TV debut, and he faced Miro. He added that he was good to work with. He said before the match; they told him he was going to hit Miro with three DDT’s. Fuego said he was overwhelmed because he felt they would not sign him.Fuego said he’d never forget laying in the ring after the match and AEW Referee Bryce Remsburg telling him to stay there during the commercial break. Once he heard Sammy’s music hit, he knew it would only get better. Fuego says he still gets chills thinking about it when getting the contract offer.Fuego would talk to us about Too Fast, Too Fuego and said it was all done by Cody. Fuego added that he had no say in it. He said it got him booked on the show weekly and vlog bits every week. It would continue to grow and evolve his character and grow his status.Fuego talked about leaving AEW because he knew he wasn’t getting used often and might have gotten lost in the shuffle. He prepared that he might be gone from AEW soon, so he took Indy dates to be ready if his number were called.He got injured, and AEW paid him during his injury time. He said he finds AEW very respectful and professional for doing that, but also for not firing people and keeping them until their contract.Fuego said he always aspired to create more significant moments. He says he feels he has little to prove and much to show. Fuego added that he doesn’t know if Tony entirely bought into him. Fuego says when his contract is up, he will survey the landscape to see the best opportunity for him. He mentioned that he does want to hit all the big Indies. Fuego adds that he is only 27 years old and has much left in the tank and said he's barely scratched the surface.He said when he got the call that they would not renew his contract, he revealed that Tony Khan had called him. He said in the conversation; Tony said, “I hope you go out and prove us wrong.” Fuego says he told Tony, “No, Tony, I'm going to go prove you wrong.” Fuego said Tony commended him for his professionalism, and Fuego said thanked them for their time.Fuego stated Sammy Guevara had texted him a lot after the news and said they were both a little devastated, but he always wanted Sammy to do his own thing. He said Sammy is his own star.Portions- Triple H noted that someone rolled their ankle on the way back from the ring at Money in the Bank. We weren't told who, but were told that it doesn't look serious.- Natalya was backstage at WWE Money in the Bank getting certificates from Guinness World Records.- The call to run back the Shotzi/Bayley match that got canceled by Vince McMahon was made quite a while back and Shotzi was brought to the UK.- Vince McMahon was not in London for the shows, and we haven't yet heard of any major changes he made.- There was a pop in the arena for an Edge video airing. We're told that he wasn't in the plans for the show at any point.- WWE sources told us they're tentatively planning a press conference for after Detroit's Summerslam, but that we'd get more details.- WWE sources told us almost everything on the Money in the Bank show went as planned outside of the Logan Paul/Ricochet spot, and even they recovered well.- WWE officials were very happy with the news they got regarding Smackdowns viewership last week.- In addition to the story we ran Monday, WWE sources also spoke very highly of Damian Priest competing at a main event level against Seth Rollins on this UK tour.- We'd mentioned that Piper Niven was brought into the UK and not injured, despite not being on TV. She wrestled Raquel Rodriguez and Becky Lynch on live events last week.- Omos was in town, but hasn't wrestled. Chelsea Green was not in London, as she's still landlocked due to green card issues. Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa, Candice LeRae, Indi Hartwell weren't overseas.The Miz was also back in the States.- WWE Raw had a tougher travel schedule this go around, with additional live events and getting into London later than the other team. There was some adjustment to the lineups for media and live events.- Nick Khan was at Money in the Bank.- AEW found out Britt Baker wouldn't be able to compete about 20 minutes before the show.- AEW sent some talent to Europe last week to do AEW Fight Forever promotional appearances. We're told that promoting that game is a big priority for the company.- In addition to QuizzleMania, SRS filmed a couple of other episodes of Wrestletalk shows.- Zoey Stark was slated for MITB media Friday, but was pulled so she could be added to another UK live event. - Fightful filmed short interviews with Shayna Baszler, Bayley, Pretty Deadly, Santos Escobar and LA Knight- There were tons of travel delays for NJPW talent out of Toronto on Monday.- Independent Wrestler Amber Nova was backstage at a recent episode of WWE Smackdown.- During a recent interview, PCO said that he was going to work MLW Fightland last year, but couldn’t because he was with IMPACT. We’re told they were interested if he was available and a free agent. However, we’re told by those in MLW there were never any issues with IMPACT because things between either side never got that far.- After BJ Whitmer’s abhorrent actions that led to a domestic violence arrest, he was fired by AEW. We were told by sources close to the situation that he’d actually been fired before the report even hit the internet, as he’d been in jail the week prior.- Those that we've spoken to claim that some top angles in AEW are tentatively planned through All Out. All Out has been on the schedule as United Center for monthsBrandon WilliamsOn June 25th, 2023, “The Locksmith” Brandon Williams faced Blake Christian for the GCW Championship at GCW vs New South 2. Williams would be a guest on The Spotlight with Fightful’s Jeremy Lambert and Stephen Jensen a few days later to discuss numerous topics, including his career, music, and more.Brandon said he and Christian had a good match at GCW vs New South 2. He noted that Christian is very quick and unbelievable with his movements. Williams said he had seen Christian’s work in person before. Brandon said it was a heavy hitter [match] and said you could see the bruise on his face but was thankful he did not get knocked out.Brandon said working in the Von Braun Center [Huntsville, Alabama], where he attended his first wrestling show,”was off the chart”. He noted that it was a WCW House Show that he attended. Brandon said that was only the second show GCW has held in Alabama and added that it was a hot crowd. Brandon noted that GCW is planning on returning to Alabama sometime in the future, whether that was at the end of the year or sometime next year, he was not sure about.Brandon would talk about his history with Dump Sanders. He said he’d known him since he was 18 or 19 and in the Backyard Wrestling scene. Brandon said there is a gap in his wrestling career because he moved to California. When he moved back to Alabama, Brandon said he went to a wrestling show and said it was bad. He felt like they could do something better. Brandon said mentioned saving money and making plans. They now do shows, in his words, “like every damn week.” Brandon said they have had some ups and downs, but it’s been good. He and Sanders run the New South shows together.Brandon said he got into Backyard Wrestling when he was in sixth grade. When talking about some of the dumb things he did, Brandon said he broke his arm and sliced his arm open. He spoke about how they used barbed wire and light bulbs. He said there was no way he would do some of those things today. He doesn’t think he would get back into the Death Match scene to the extent that it involves light bulbs and glass because of a past injury that included a visit to an emergency room. He said the light bulb nearly got to his artery.He mentioned growing up being a fan of Shawn Michaels, Jeff Hardy, and Rob Van Dam. Brandon talked about being an ECW mark and being in the Rob Van Dam and Jerry Lynn feud. He mentioned that he would like to wrestle Nick Gage.Brandon spoke about his experience living in California and trying to make it into the entertainment business. He talked about being into the hardcore music scene and being in a band.This interview is available for viewing on our Fightful Overbooked at this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtqKELg1N50Frank The ClownFrank The Clown joined In The Weeds to promote his appearance at Warrior Wrestling’s Friday Night Lights event on Friday, June 30th, at Marian Catholic High School in Chicago Heights, Illinois.Frank started the conversation by insulting Fightful's Joel Pearl. Joel told Jeremy Lambert that he "might get his wish and he might fight Frank The Clown." Frank said he would not fight just anyone and would say, "Joel is not much of a draw." However, Frank said he would get one of the students to have a “pow wow” with Joel. Jeremy asked if Frank could have KC [Navarro] punch Joel in the face, with Frank replying, “that could potentially be arranged.”Frank promoted KC Navarro vs Matt Cardona for Warrior Wrestling. Frank said he appreciated Cardona allowing him to main event a GCW show in his hometown of Chicago. Frank mentioned his first singles match, and the last singles match. Frank said Brett Lauderdale was too cheap to clean the ring before his match, and glass was still in the wrestling ring.Frank says he backed KC Navarro because he is the best-unsigned talent in the independent scene. He says he has everything you would want in a star. Fightful’s Jeremy Lambert would ask Frank why he is not well-liked. He says it's jealousy. Frank said he would like to manage Abadon, Zack Cay, Nyla Rose, Puf, and others.Frank commented on his entrance landing on the football field from a few years ago at a Warrior Wrestling event; he says he doesn’t know if he can top that entrance but has a few tricks up his sleeve.Frank said Skeeball is his favorite carnival game and thinks he can take anyone on in a game of it.Joel would ask Frank about working with David Arquette. Frank said his first-ever match was against Arquette and RJ City in 2018. Frank said the match was a trainwreck and mentioned Arquette pinned him. Frank said he had to team James Ellsworth and it did not go well.Frank gets asked to say two nice things about Warrior Wrestling. Frank said, “the Carnies that run Warrior Wrestling pay him”. He mentions that he makes good money selling some of his merchandise. Frank ended the interviewing by plugging the showing, saying to watch the “Tribal Clown” instead of the “Tribal Chief” on June 30th for Warrior Wrestling.Shayne HawkeShayne Hawke spoke with In The Weeds on Fightful:- Calls out Matt Viviani for being a coward and not starting a Twitch channel. Praises his gaming skills.- Isn’t worried about fighting many wrestlers in the ring due to politics (“You want to be on my good side”) and has two black belts.- IWS Scarred for Life airs on FITE Plus July 15. Bussy, Jordan Oliver, and Maki Itoh will be part of the show.- Made deal with FITE Plus because FITE Plus wanted them. Says IWS/GCW joint shows on FITE Plus did well for all parties. Think FITE Plus deal will help Canadian independent talent.- Thinks US Indies are Indies “on easy mode” because it’s easy to get over. Would put any top Canadian indie talent over any top USA indie talent. Thinks it’s harder for international talent to break out.- Thinks there’s a lot of design space in Canadian wrestling that hasn’t been explored yet.- Praises Le Tabarnak de Team and thinks they should be signed. Also puts over Green Phantom, Cassanova Productions, Locked And Loaded (Jessie V & Mark Wheeler), Ben Tull, Matt Falco, James Stone.- Calls C4 the PWG of Canada. Praises the production value of IWS and doesn’t think any indie matches.- Recalls Sid appearing at the IWF 5th Anniversary Show. It was his first match back since breaking his leg in WCW. PCO wanted to bring him in. They teamed as The New Shit as a tribute to the Marylin Manson song.- Sid wanted a faction. Hawke and the man who would become Giant Tiger wore black pantyhose as the Masked Assassins, which was a rib on PWA, who was at war with IWS. Sid cut a nearly 18 minute promo after the match.- Backstage, Sid asked for two stools. The first one was for his knee pads. The second one was for the little person who was with him, “so if he wanted to sick [Sid’s] dick, he wouldn’t have to jump.”- Sid’s last comments were saying a guy looked like “205 pounds of shit” and then walking away, never to be seen again in IWS.- Does over his training methods at the IWS Dojo, including an in-ring improv class. Mike Bailey and 2point0 have come through the Dojo.- Has written for WWE comic books.- Played Kevin Sullivan on Dark Side episode. Did fight scenes for Doink the Clown episode of Dark Side. Would like to do more with Dark Side.- Thinks it’s important to wrestlers to take care of their mental health. Encourages his students to take a mental health day if they need one. Also encourages anyone to reach out if they want to talk.- Sources indicate there are now no longer immediate creative plans for Trench and Parker Boudreaux since their removal from Mogul Affiliates due to injury. Trench is now gone from the company.- We recently had someone ask if there had been any change to WWE’s travel methods for talent. When asking, talent told us they’re still responsible for their own hotels and rental cars, and flights are paid for. There are exceptions for big events or when WWE schedules them for media.Jack VaughnJack Vaughn recently appeared on In The Weeds with FightfulJack Vaughn talked about his recent viral video. Jack said he put a lot of work into the video, and the idea came to him because he sees a lot of spots on TV now where wrestlers will jump up and down and go through the ropes, and it looks silly to him, and none of it makes sense to him.Jack said the person at the end of the video was random. He said he sees something new every time he watches the clip. He said the reaction has been positive.Jack talked about wrestling in Europe. He said one of his best friends, Jake Oman, got him involved in touring Finland, Estonia, and Sweden. He stated that European fans cheer the American wrestlers, and here in the United States, the foreign wrestlers are heels.He spoke about his recent Dog Collar match he had with Cody Jones. He said it was one of his favorite angles that he has done. He said he got to poke the bear in the angle because he got to make the angle personal. He spoke about Cody’s father, who had passed, and that helped get heat. Jack said the Dog Collar match was a gimmick match that made sense, considering the feud.Jack said Ruffin was the referee for the Bret Hart and Roddy Piper match at WrestleMania 8. Vaughn noted that Ruffin taught him about the old territory days, part of Vaughn’s gimmick. Vaughn also said he trained under Shark Boy. Vaughn said his training started with Shark Boy, which was more of a training camp where you learn the basics. He added that Ruffin taught him more of the psychology behind the sport.Jack talked about social media and said he wishes it did not play a big part in getting over. However, he realized he needed to do it because it was a helpful tool. He also mentioned that it has been very good for networking as well.
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