Professional Wrestling

AEW and Ring of Honor owner Tony Khan says ROH's weekly TV program will be broadcast on the HonorClub streaming platform starting in 2023.

Khan made the announcement Saturday during his press conference after the Final Battle pay-per-view.

Since acquiring ROH in March, Khan has regularly featured the promotion on AEW programming. That decision has been controversial, with some feeling the ROH push has watered down the AEW product—particularly its championships.

Khan pushed back on criticisms of ROH being on AEW, saying he's found the criticisms "amusing." With that said, with ROH starting its weekly programming in the coming months, it's probably fair to expect a more focused version of AEW Dynamite moving forward.

HonorClub will cost $9.99 per month and include the entire library of Ring of Honor content, which dates back to 2002. The likes of CM Punk, Brian Danielson and Seth Rollins cut their teeth in the ROH brand, which should give HonorClub plenty of value for wrestling obsessives. Current pay-per-views will be made available 90 days after their airing.

No date has been announced for the launch of ROH's new weekly show. Khan was shopping around hoping to land a television deal, but the relaunch of HonorClub seems like a strong compromise.

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Shawn Michaels is hoping The New Day's reign as NXT tag team champions proves to be a major boost for the brand.

Michaels spoke to reporters after Saturday's NXT Deadline event, saying he's hopeful Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston will feature the championships on SmackDown and be part of the brand's next premium live event.

"As best that I understand it right now, The New Day is still a part of SmackDown, so our titles should definitely be represented. That crossover that we had in the last several months is going to continue," Michaels said.

"... I absolutely have to think about selling those tickets in Charlotte [for Vengeance Day] and finding out what we can do to best help that. At this point right now, I can't say that I know that New Day is going to be a part of that, but I can promise you I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that they are because that's something that's going to be beneficial in making that premium live event in Charlotte something special."

The New Day defeated Pretty Deadly at Deadline in what became a record-setting performance for Kofi Kingston. The former WWE champion is now a 15-time tag champion, breaking a record he shared with Booker T.

The surprising move to NXT is a welcome change for the New Day, which had largely been spinning its wheels for months. A classic title match against The Usos aside, Woods and Kingston have largely been relegated outside the top of the tag team picture while remaining one of the most over acts in the company.

It's unclear when or if Big E will return to WWE programming, but it would be fun to see the former NXT champion make an appearance with Woods and Kingston now plying their trade in Orlando.

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Sasha Banks is reportedly coming to New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Dave Melzer of Wrestling Observer Radio confirmed Banks will be attending NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom event next month, signaling the end of her run in WWE.

"She's not going back to WWE, but you cannot always rule that out," Melzer said. "Maybe they'll just say 'She's more trouble than she's worth. She's asking for so much money.' Which is, of course, the attitude a month ago of 'Oh my god how can she ask for so much money?' January 4th Tokyo Dome and other dates, and Mercedes Vernado or whatever name she will go with, but as of right now—she's done with WWE. It can change at any moment, but that's the situation right now."

Banks has not appeared on WWE programming since she and Naomi walked out on the company in May amid frustration with booking. The departure of Vince McMahon over the summer created hope of reconciliation between the parties, as Banks and Triple H have a close relationship dating back to her days in NXT.

There has been speculation about her return for months, but it appears negotiations fell apart.

It's unclear if Banks will be setting up an in-ring program during her New Japan appearance or merely just be in attendance at Wrestle Kingdom.

Regardless, the appearance will undoubtedly spark rumors of Banks joining AEW. New Japan and AEW have a strong working relationship, and Banks has long expressed admiration for Joshi-style wrestling.

With AEW teasing a mystery tag team partner for Saraya for Jan. 11's Dynamite, the speculation will be rampant until proven otherwise.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).

CM Punk wrestling again is a topic...again, after the apparent fallout with AEW and what it could mean for the pro wrestling landscape.

But for all the possibilities and fantasy booking, there's only one name who made sense before his big return from a seven-year hiatus and that one name remains as the only one able to justify a re-return.

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

Don't scoff. This is a dream feud that fans wanted to see for a decade or more but it never came to fruition despite the occasional wink or nod toward one.

Austin himself, regardless of age, just had a fun two-night performance at last year's WrestleMania in that feud with Kevin Owens. He can clearly still cut a promo, have a good feud and go in the ring and there's more room than ever over two-night events to make it work.

Wildy enough, the hangup in such an idea isn't the 57-year-old Austin, but the divisive Punk.

Punk's superb comeback and year or so of great showings screeched to a halt with the combo of an injury and the fallout with AEW that has him missing from the company and his future a question mark.

By the time Punk heals, perhaps time itself mends any wounds with stars within AEW and the promotion itself and all involved can turn it into a feud. But at this point, MJF getting more cheers than Punk in Chicago and some of the crowd reactions since then would seem to make his return to feud with the likes of Matt and Nick Jackson, plus others, too risky.

For Punk, there might be more in it to give WWE another look. For WWE, it's a no-brainer. It's abundantly clear he still moves the needle in a way 99 percent of pro wrestlers can't, so bringing him on in a part-time capacity for major feuds (or in this case a very specific one-off or series with one guy) would make perfect sense.

Punk might still have his issues with WWE and vice versa, but the company has always been willing to mend fences for the sake of the business. While the two didn't seem to mesh well, both Punk and Triple H could probably reach some sort of agreement—especially if the carrot dangling from the stick is a historic feud with Austin.

Think about how fun the build to one of the most-requested feuds ever would be. Austin would have plenty of ammo on Punk given his now two splits with companies, never mind the low-hanging fruit of poking fun at his non-wrestling stumbles in the MMA world, if not otherwise.

And Punk? Any shots fired at the "smaller" promotion AEW is a big win for WWE, never mind his blurring the lines by potentially taking shots at WWE and those within, too. Or, bonus points if he comes back some sort of heel-corporate character, letting Austin play an even bigger babyface. Never mind, of course, accusing Austin of being a sellout at his age and the standard-fare promo stuff.

General dislike for Punk probably goes away fast once that static hits again in either promotion (time heals all, too). And if it's in WWE, a much broader audience probably isn't even as tuned in to what went down in AEW. But WWE could really lean into that heel idea if it happens because it's straight-up impossible to name two guys on the opposite ends of the love-hate spectrum right now in a way that bleeds through to real life.

At this point, anything but Austin feels almost too risky for another Punk return. Sure, he could have some internet-savvy promos with "Hangman" Adam Page, Kenny Omega or someone similar, but is it really worth the roll of the dice? Same story in WWE, where the list of viable feuds just keeps shrinking.

Punk-Austin, at least, would keep both guys away from titles but still give WWE something capable of headlining one of the two nights of WrestleMania. Keep in mind we're not talking WrestleMania 39 in California, which seemingly belongs to The Rock, never mind Punk's current injury comeback schedule. This is more about 40 in Philadelphia.

WWE loves its spectacle at Mania and there are few bigger things on the road to Mania possible than the glass breaking to interrupt Punk or the static to interrupt Austin, signifying two similar legends from different eras who never linked up, finally doing so.

Time's almost out on a Punk-Austin dance, so everything else can wait. If Punk comes back to wrestling one more time, Austin would seemingly be right there and available to give fans the dream feud.

WWE announced Friday night during SmackDown that Matt Riddle is expected to miss six weeks after getting attacked by Solo Sikoa on Raw.

Riddle had been scheduled to team with Elias in an undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship match against The Usos on Raw, but after The Bloodline attacked Elias, Kevin Owens was chosen as Riddle's new partner.

After The Usos picked up the victory, Sikoa brutalized Riddle by crushing him in the corner multiple times and hitting him with the Samoan Spike in honor of late family member and WWE Superstar Umaga.

Riddle has had his fair share of issues with The Bloodline dating back several months, and he has come out on the losing end each time.

In May, Riddle and Randy Orton put the Raw Tag Team Championship on the line against the SmackDown tag team champions The Usos in a unification match. The Usos not only won, but they also put Orton on the shelf with a back injury, and he still hasn't returned.

In June, The Original Bro challenged Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship, and he fell short in that pursuit as well.

Riddle later entered into a lengthy rivalry with Seth Rollins, but he was eventually drawn back to The Bloodline thanks to its dominance over many of the titles in WWE.

Now, Riddle is set to be off television for over a month, although that isn't necessarily a bad thing for him and his character.

After suffering another big loss, Riddle can take some time away and allow the fans to miss him before returning to a favorable reaction.

Since the Royal Rumble premium live event is in seven weeks away, the timeline for his return puts him right in line to return in time to be part of the men's Royal Rumble match.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).