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Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
Update on Alleged Orton-Machine Gun Kelly Confrontation
Machine Gun Kelly’s appearance with Logan Paul at SummerSlam has become a subject of speculation in the wake of the rapper’s appearance on the Impaulsive podcast.
On the episode that dropped on Aug. 27 (starts at 26:00 mark), Kelly claimed he saw Orton before the show began and the Viper was talking “s–t about me” unprovoked.
This led to a back and forth on social media with Orton seemingly calling the story fake, with Kelly responding by asking WWE to release the footage since cameras were rolling.
In an update to the story, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select (h/t H Jenkins of Ringside News) there is no footage from WWE of the alleged confrontation and every WWE talent and staff member who has been asked about it said they didn’t hear about it until the podcast.
Sapp’s report also notes that Orton has told people “outright it didn’t happen” when he has been asked about it.
One possible explanation is Kelly is working his own angle to secure an invite back to WWE. He’s been featured on WWE television multiple times in the past as a friend of John Cena, including a memorable angle on Raw in 2015 when he got powerbombed off the entrance ramp by Kevin Owens.
Cena is returning to WWE for a retirement tour next year. Orton is one of his oldest rivals, so there is a natural feud that could be built out of it if the two legends wanted to do one more match together.
Motor City Machine Guns to Debut on NXT
As NXT prepares for its upcoming move to the CW, the tag-team division is expected to add another title contender very soon.
In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Wrestle Talk), Dave Meltzer reported the Motor City Machine Guns duo of Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley are “expected to start imminently” on NXT.
While WWE hasn’t officially announced the signings of Sabin and Shelley, it has been assumed for months they were going to join the promotion after their recent run in TNA.
The Motor City Machine Guns wrapped up their second stint with TNA in April. They lost to The System in their final IMPACT match on March 23.
Shelley had a one-off appearance on NXT in 2020 as Kushida’s mystery partner in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Sabin has never before wrestled in WWE.
The duo returned to TNA in 2022 and won the tag team titles from Heath and Rhino in December 2022. They lost the belts to Ace Austin and Chris Bey on Impact four months later.
WWE is loading up NXT even before the CW premiere on Oct. 1. CM Punk, who has already been advertised for that show in Chicago, will make a special announcement on the Sept. 17 NXT. Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton is expected to appear on Tuesday’s episode.
Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair have been confirmed for the CW debut. There’s nothing advertised for Tuesday’s show that would lead one to think Sabin and Shelley will debut that soon, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if they show up on or before Oct. 1.
Raw Will Have Commercials on Netflix
As we get closer to the launch of Raw on Netflix, more details about the show’s format on the streamer are coming to light.
Per Meltzer (h/t Nikunj Walia of Ringside News), Raw will feature commercials in part because Netflix is “working to incorporate commercials into their programming, and the pro wrestling audience is already accustomed to seeing ads during shows.”
Even though the show will still have commercials, Meltzer did note the ad-breaks “will have more flexibility” compared to traditional television since Netflix doesn’t need to adhere to the same time and duration limits as networks.
This isn’t a surprise because Netflix introduced an ad-supported tier for subscribers in November 2022. As the streamer moves into more and more live programming—including two NFL games on Christmas Day—its use of commercials was only going to increase.
It wasn’t specified if people who are subscribed to Netflix’s ad-free tier will have to watch commercials.
Netflix and WWE agreed to a deal that could be worth up to $5 billion over 10 years to make the streaming giant the exclusive home for Raw starting on Jan. 6.
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