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It was a big week for professional wrestling which is often the scene behind a premium live event or pay-per-view. This week, WWE and All Elite Wrestling (AEW) saw major championship changes at the top of their rosters as both companies entered their marquee events – SummerSlam and All In.
CM Punk returned to WWE programming on “Monday Night Raw” and was the replacement for the Undisputed WWE Championship match against Sami Zayn. Cody Rhodes was supposed to be in this match until he was attacked by Gunther. Zayn thought he was in the clear until Raw general manager Adam Pearce told Zayn that someone would replace him. Punk showed up and the crowd in Chicago was immediately sent into chaos.
CM PUNK TO DEFEND WWE NON-MATCH MATCH AGAINST CODY RHODES AT SUMMERSLAM
CM Punk smiles during Monday Night RAW at the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Ill., on July 6, 2026. (Melina Pizano/WWE via Getty Images)
Punk and Zayn put on one of WWE’s best TV matches of the year. In the end, it was Punk who captured the Undisputed WWE Championship and ended Zayn’s short-lived reign as champion after nine days. Later in the week, Punk and Rhodes were booked for a title match at SummerSlam but would first have to team up to face Zayn and Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event in New York City.
AEW’s “Dynamite” featured MJF attempting to defend the AEW World Championship against Kenny Omega. If Omega lost this match, he would no longer be able to fight for the title. It was the same goal that Rhodes faced during his time in AEW and that “Hangman” Adam Page faced in his match with MJF earlier this year, which he lost.
AEW often showcases its pay-per-view main events with a “Dynamite” look and Wednesday’s title belt was no different. MJF and Omega showed their top skills and went above and beyond to make the title mean something. MJF came out to the announce table and tried to use the Dynamite Diamond Ring to cheat his way to another victory.
KENNY OMEGA TAKES THE AEW WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IN A BIG MATCH OVER MJF
Kenny Omega enters the ring during Wrestle Dynasty for New Japan Pro-Wrestling at the Tokyo Dome on January 05, 2025 in Tokyo, Japan. (Etsuo Hara / Getty Images)
Will Ospreay, who is guaranteed to win the title at All In, came in and took the ring from MJF before he could use it but almost lost it to Omega completely. MJF hit Omega with a low blow and a header while the referee tried to get Ospreay out of the ring. However, Omega kicked out when the referee only counted to one.
Florida’s cry was electrifying. MJF, who appears to be struggling with a knee injury, does everything he can to get Omega down, but to no avail. Omega hit MJF with a couple of V-triggers and a One-Winged Angel that finally eliminated MJF. He captured the championship and began his second reign as AEW world champion.
There are many unknowns in pro wrestling despite the documented nature of the shows and events. You never know who’s going to come back, you never know who’s going to be on the shelf and you never know who’s going to win when it’s all said and done.
What we do know right now is that August is going to start and end in an amazing way. SummerSlam and All In make for must-see events. Each event had a slower build up than most fans are used to, but everyone can expect high level drama and intrigue that goes into each one. Let’s not minimize that fact as the days and weeks go by.
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“Hangman” Adam Page returns in “Collision”
“Hangman” Adam Page returned to AEW programming after a months absence following his AEW World Championship loss to MJF earlier this year. Dressed in a black suit jacket, Page walked down the entrance ramp to a sloppy crowd.
He opened up about dealing with ovarian cancer, which has been out of the ring for almost four months. He talked about his work gardening and planting seeds and told the crowd that he wanted to plant more seeds. He recalled putting his chance to reclaim the AEW world title against MJF and losing in the match.
Page vowed to be “a man of my word.”
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“I know the condition, it’s not always signed in ink on a contract that’s put in a filing cabinet somewhere, but it stays with me. And I wanted to let you know that I intend to be an honest man,” he said. “I will never challenge for the All Elite Wrestling Men’s World Championship again.”
He suggested he took inspiration from Omega’s title win and that he saw “miles and miles of empty track” ahead of him. He called out TNT champion Kevin Knight, national champion Mark Davis, continental champion Jon Moxley and international champion Kyle Fletcher.
“I’ll have to find something else to do and you bet you–I will.”
Welcome back, Page.
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Sheamus says goodbye to WWE
Sheamus enters during RAW at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., on Oct. 27, 2025. (Michael Marques/WWE via Getty Images)
Samus made her WWE debut in 2009 – first appearing on ECW and later Raw. He quickly became John Cena’s biggest rival and surprisingly captured the WWE Championship against him at TLC in December of that year.
Man, how time flies.
Sheamus would become a four-time WWE champion, three-time United States champion, five-time tag team champion and winner of the King of the Ring, Money in the Bank and Royal Rumble. In the final years of his life, he would be hampered by injuries but he got one last moment with Cena in the ring at Madison Square Garden before Cena finally retired.
During the week there were reports that Sheamus’ contract will expire and that he will leave the company. It seems that he confirmed these reports when he changed his social media profiles to his real name, Stephen Farrelly, and then deleted the message from fans.
“Banger after Banger after Banger after Banger after Banger after Banger after Banger after Banger after Banger after Banger after Banger after Banger after Banger after Banger after Banger after that,” he wrote in X, “slán mo WWE was the chairman.”
It is unclear whether this will be the end of the road in the professional struggle of the 48-year-old Irishman. But there will definitely be good opportunities in and out of the ring for him going forward.
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Highlight: CM Punk’s collaboration with Candice LeRae
All in all, it may be pointless and unremarkable, but the partnership between CM Punk and Candice LeRae jumped off the screen during “Friday Night SmackDown.”
Punk finished talking to Cathy Kelley when he turned to see LeRae and Johnny Gargano, who was still planning and not talking to anyone. Remember, Sami Zayn is the only one Gargano seems to listen to – for better or for worse. LeRae gave Punk a strong reminder after defeating Zayn for the title.
“I hope you’re proud of yourself,” LeRae said. “As annoying as Sami is, he’s the only person who didn’t abandon Johnny. He’s basically the voice of the voiceless. And as long as Sami held that title, it was hope. Hope is the real bottom. Hope is Johnny, my hope, and you, you stole that from us. So, yeah, I hope you’re proud of yourself.”
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Punk responded in the only way he could.
“I’m proud of myself. You had hope for nine days. Good for you,” he said. “I hope you hear me, Johnny Wrestling, because that’s what I miss. Johnny Wrestling. Not whatever this is. You, too. Just stop whatever you’re doing and get back in the ring. Get back to doing what you two do best. Whatever this is, it’s not working.”
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Baron Corbin returns to WWE
Baron Corbin takes down Trick Williams during SmackDown at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., on July 10, 2026. (Rich Wade/WWE via Getty Images)
It had been a long time since Baron Corbin had been seen in a WWE ring. But now that he is done with Major League Wrestling (MLW), rumors were rife that his return to WWE was imminent.
He made a name for himself on Friday night’s lineup when he interrupted a match between Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes.
Corbin entered the ring and hit the End of Days on both Williams and Hayes. But the big question is why? Why are you following both guys who were playing the game? Is he back to challenge for the United States Championship? And what did it mean for Ricky Saints who was watching the game intently?
We’ll have to keep watching SmackDown to find out.
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Rocky Romero talks about New Japan’s G1 Climax
New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s prestigious G1 Climax kicked off over the weekend in Chicago. Rocky Romero spoke to Fox News Digital about the event before the bell rang.
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Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling is live this week
Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling (MLP) will air this week on TSN at midnight ET on Wednesday.
Rohan Raja spoke to Fox News Digital in May about MLP and why fans should tune in.
“I remember when we ran our first show many fans, I, even if you go to Twitter and even the headlines will report, the quality is similar to the product of AEW or WWE. It is very high. We have Mauro Renallo as the voice of MLP,” he said at the time. “He’s on fire and doing a lot of things like Jake Paul, he did Anthony Joshua’s last fight, Tyson Fury’s last fight. We’ve got all these guys full of stars.
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“The way I sum it up is like a world clash but every week because we have guys from AEW there, we have guys from Japan, we have guys from Mexico, we have guys and girls from WWE coming to it. So, I feel like that’s a really big thing where they’re not only showing Canadian talent but you feel like you’re playing everything in the world. clash but I feel like we’re a promotion that had everyone – tasting everything into one thing with the TSN taping and how that’s going to go, it’s going to add to what we’ve built and it’s something you won’t want to miss.
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Some pro wrestling news and notes you may have missed:
Kyle Fletcher during AEW Double or Nothing in Queens, NY, May 24, 2026. (Lee South/AEW)
- Kyle Fletcher defeated Konosuke Takeshita for the AEW International Championship during “Break Break.” The third tournament hosted by the Don Callis Family team.
- Willow Nightingale earned a shot at the AEW Women’s World Championship at Redemption against Thekla.
- Xia Brookside defended the TNA Knockouts World Championship against Lei Ying Lee at “Impact.”
- Chris Jericho spoke to Fox News Digital about his upcoming documentary “Vietslam.”
- Major League Wrestling (MLW) has announced that world champion Killer Kross will be in the movie “Godshot.”
- Avery Styles, son of WWE Hall of Famer AJ Styles, will make his Game Changer Wrestling debut on July 31st.
- Dave Sturchio of Fight Factory Wrestling previewed Beach Fight 3 via Fox News Digital.
- MLW Women’s Champion Shotzi Blackheart clarified who the real “Indy God” is in an interview with Fox News Digital.
