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Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe and All Elite Wrestling.
Knight Reportedly Topping Cena in Merchandise Sales
LA Knight has established himself as one of WWE’s most popular stars. and fans of the company are reportedly showing their support with their wallets.
According to Wrestlenomics (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News), Knight’s merchandise on WWE’s online shop and recently been outselling huge names such as John Cena, Cody Rhodes and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.
Knight has reportedly had 71 items featured in the daily top-10 rankings on the online shop, including his black “Yeah!” shirt, which has been inside the top 10 for the past 30 days.
WWE has embraced Knight’s popularity over the past couple of months and given him a big push, which included a battle royal win at SummerSlam and a victory over The Miz at Payback.
On last week’s episode of SmackDown, Knight stepped up to save Cena from an attack at the hands of The Bloodline and signed the contract to be Cena’s tag team partner against Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa at Fastlane this weekend.
Cena is one of the most popular and successful Superstars in WWE history, and WWE typically has him work with performers who the company is high on.
Knight already worked with Cena once since he was the special guest referee for Knight vs. Miz at Payback, but things will be take to another level at Fastlane when they team up.
Assuming Knight and Cena win the match, Cena figures to put his stamp of approval on Knight in front of the fans, which will go a long way toward taking him to the next level.
Copeland Reportedly Assuming Leadership Role in AEW
Adam Copeland, formerly known as Edge during his Hall of Fame career with WWE, made his highly anticipated AEW debut at WrestleDream on Sunday.
Given his name recognition and history of success, Copeland is a huge addition to the AEW roster, but he could have significant value beyond his work as an on-screen character.
According to Fightful Select (h/t Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats), a “longtime AEW talent” said Copeland spoke outwardly about his desire to be a key figure behind the scenes in terms of helping out other talent.
Copeland reportedly talked about his interest in “filling the gap” left behind by CM Punk, and doing so without causing any internal issues.
It was also noted by Fightful that people within AEW are “unanimously positive” about Copeland joining the company.
Punk signed with AEW in 2021, but his tumultuous tenure with the company came to an end last month when he was terminated after an alleged backstage altercation with “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry at All In.
While Punk is a highly successful legend of the business who seemingly had a big backstage role in his own right, his time with AEW was often marred by controversy.
Copeland can perhaps provide other talent with much of the same guidance and advice without adding any drama, which could be massive for AEW’s internal development.
As for Punk, he remains a free agent, and if WWE wants to strike back at AEW for signing Copeland away from the company, bringing in Punk is likely the biggest counter WWE can possibly make.
WWE Hoped Lynch Could Wrestle on Raw Before Postponing Match
WWE postponed the scheduled NXT Women’s Championship match between Becky Lynch and Tegan Nox on Monday night’s episode of Raw after Lynch suffered a cut that required stitches during her bout against Tiffany Stratton at NXT No Mercy on Saturday.
According to Fightful Select (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), WWE had hoped Lynch would still be able to compete Monday, but she was not cleared, which caused the creative team to move in a different direction.
Lynch appeared on the show in a sling and had a backstage interaction with Nox in which she promised that their match would happen when she is healed up.
WWE later went on to advertise Lynch vs. Nox for next week’s show, which suggests that Becky’s injury is not considered significant enough to keep her out for long.
At No Mercy, Lynch and Stratton battled in the main event in an Extreme Rules match. It was a rematch of their first encounter, which saw Lynch win the title, and they managed to top a quality match with an even better one.
Even though The Man prevailed, Stratton came out of it looking like a star, and all signs point to her eventually reaching the heights of Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Bianca Belair, Bayley and Rhea Ripley on the main roster.
On last week’s Raw, Nox made her first televised appearance in months and beat Natalya to earn an NXT Women’s Championship opportunity.
Nox was in the crowd for No Mercy to watch Lynch vs. Stratton and was featured prominently, which suggests WWE is interested in building her up in a significant way.
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