Get caught up to speed with the latest news on AEW Dynamite, Lesnar, Benoit, and More!

AEW To Air Weekly Replays?

When WCW Nitro aired on TNT, the company usually would air replays of the weekly show after midnight. In a bit of interesting information (thanks to TiffanyMC), according to some cable provider guides, the AEW Dynamite debut will re-air at 1 am EDT. No confirmation as to if this will be a weekly occurrence.

Jason’s Take

The re-airs of Nitro used to garner strong ratings. This is a wise move by AEW and TNT.

Universal Championship Match Announced

WWE has announced that the Universal Championship will be defended on the September 30th episode of RAW. This episode is being billed as RAW’s “season premiere.” Tonight’s episode of RAW will feature a Fatal 5 Way match involving Bobby Roode, AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Ricochet and Rey Mysterio to determine the #1 contender. The week of 9/30 will be a huge week for the WWE, and they appear to be pulling out all the stops for generating huge ratings.

Jason’s Take

Typically I consider the “season premiere” of RAW to be the RAW after WrestleMania. This will be interesting to see how the match outcome affects the Universal Championship match the following Sunday with The Fiend, Bray Wyatt at Hell In A Cell.

RAW and SmackDown Receiving Makeovers?

With the upcoming WWE Draft, we know there will be changes to the WWE rosters and announcer teams. The Twitter account for WrestleVotes is reporting that there will also be changes to both the SmackDown and RAW stages and set set design. This will begin with the 9/30 episode of RAW and the debut of SmackDown on FOX on 10/4.

This coming week of TV is the final week with the current entrance stage. Both RAW & SmackDown are getting an updated, fresh feeling set.

— WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) September 21, 2019

Jason’s Take

The company did a bit of a stage and logo makerover for each brand when the brand split was announced a few years ago, so I have no problem with a change to set designs.

Lesnar To Win WWE Championship?

This week the WWE announced a huge WWE Championship match for the 10/4 debut of SmackDown on FOX as Kofi Kingtson will defend his title against Brock Lesnar. WrestlingNews.Co is reporting that FOX executives want WWE to have a title change on the first episode to get people talking, and Lesnar is a big name that FOX can get behind.

Jason’s Take

It has long been rumored that FOX wanted to get behind Ronda Rousey as the face of the SmackDown brand. With that option unlikely, the next best thing would be for the network to get behind Lesnar. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Lesnar walk away as champion, and it could explain why the company has yet to announce a championship match for Kingston at the upcoming Hell In A Cell pay per view.

Benoit To AEW?

David Benoit, the song of Chris Benoit, appears to be interested in joining All Elite Wrestling. Benoit recently appeared on former WWE star Darren Young’s podcast.

“I want to go to AEW one hundred percent, I love AEW. I love what they do for the boys. Take care of them.”

Jason’s Take

An interesting debate could be had as to what kind of career Benoit could have on a national stage. Would a company allow him to be named David Benoit, or would a company attempt to come up with a random name in order dis-associate itself with Benoit’s father.