Next, It’s Your Turn: T4T Wrestling Restores the Fighting Spirit for LGBTQ+ Wrestlers

Photo by Esther Lin (@allelbows) on Instagram

On November 7, 2025, the co-creator of T Boy Wrestling, Adam Bandrowski, announced that the company was closing its doors. In a now deleted Instagram post, Adam alleged that his co-creator Mich Miller had “mismanaged organizational funds”, plunging them into hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. Youtuber bittnia goes into much greater detail on the greater controversies surrounding T Boy Wrestling, and the consequences regarding its closure. Long story short, the allegations are horrific and all affected parties deserve justice. Unfortunately, the dissolution of a wrestling company due to carnie behavior is neither new nor rare, but T Boy Wrestling’s fate is especially consequential. 

Wrestling has a very dark past in regards to homophobia, transphobia, and the like. The early iteration of Goldust was flamboyant and erotic, and constantly hit on his male opponents to get a rise out of the audience. A 2002 episode of Monday Night Raw centered around the risque promise of ‘Hot Lesbian Action’, or HLA, by then general manager, Eric Bischoff. Sixteen years later, Sami Zayn interviewed his rival Bobby Lashley’s “sisters” on RAW, and they were clearly male wrestlers dressed in drag.

Bad drag, mind you. 

You can say wrestling is a product of its time, you can say these bits were pushed on the writing teams by senile old men and sex pests, and you can say it’s not that deep (it is that deep, but that’s a conversation for another time). The undeniable truth is that queer people— and the mere implication of queerness— have been the butt of jokes in wrestling for decades. Gay people were comedy acts and lesser than their hetero counterparts, trans people were only good for shock jock slop. It’s a miracle wrestling still has a queer fanbase today.  

Giving credit where it’s due, pro wrestling has taken greater strides for the LGBTQ+ community than most major sports leagues. Openly queer wrestlers like Anthony Bowens, Toni Storm, Mike Bailey, and Giselle Shaw, are proudly presented on screen and have won major championships in AEW and NWA. Iconically, Finn Balor utilized his Wrestlemania 34 entrance to make a “message of inclusion” and show off his support for the LGBTQ+ community. This year, there were over 50 wrestling events in the U.S. to commemorate Pride Month. But pro wrestling can always do more; provide more opportunities, have more conversations, create more spaces. 

Despite its many, many flaws, T Boy Wrestling was a prominent space for LGBTQ+ wrestlers to take center stage on the squared circle. The spirit of it is worth fighting for, and Kidd Bandit has the fighting spirit to do just that. 

Kidd Bandit is a trans wrestler and the self-proclaimed Protagonist of Pro Wrestling.

Photo by Esther Lin (@allelbows) on Instagram

She blended her love of martial arts, anime, and video games to curate a fighting style that entertained audiences and gave her opponents headaches. She wrestled against men like Zack Sabre Jr., Jay Malachi (Je’Von Evans), and Malakai Black, and against women like Miyu Yamashita, Allie Katch, and former TBS Champion, Maya World. If she continued to evolve and grow, I have no doubt we would have seen her kicking heads and taking names in AEW. However, back in April, Kidd Bandit wrestled her final match, and left her kickpads in the GCW ring. 

This was neither ‘goodbye’ nor ‘see you later’, instead it was more of a ‘stay tuned’. Kidd Bandit retired from in-ring competition to focus on a different facet of pro wrestling: promotion. A month before her in-ring finale, Kidd announced on X that she would be re-launching T-Boy Wrestling, cleaning up all the carny grime, and calling it T4T Wrestling. She wanted to create a space that would empower trans and nonbinary wrestlers, boldly declaring “if places ain’t platforming us, then we’ll make our own way”. Shortly after, she announced dates for tryouts and the first show. Over the next few weeks, prolific trans and nonbinary talent gravitated around this new promotion, and wrestling hopefuls put in the work in T4T’s training camp.

The stage was set for July 3rd, when T4T Wrestling would put on its first wrestling show— no, not just a show, but a showcase.

A recital. 

From the beginning, T4T Wrestling has separated itself from the mold. It marketed their debut as performance wrestling, a hybrid of wrestling, drag, dance, and theater. Some matches would be more about telling a story while others would be more about good graps and dope dives. At its core, though, T4T Wrestling stays true to its initials: it’s a show by trans people for trans people. 

Photo by Esther Lin (@allelbows) on Instagram

Their debut recital sold out fast, and it was a wild, unapologetic celebration of queer identity and pro wrestling— everything Kidd Bandit promised. Abigail Thorn, who plays Admiral Lohar in House of the Dragon, acted as a guest hostess for the event and got involved by hitting a competitor with a steel chair. There was a three-way match for the NWA Women’s Television Championship featuring three of the most prominent trans wrestlers on the scene today: Dark Sheik, Nyla Rose, and the defending champion, Gisele Shaw. And headlining the show was a FQ Princex Of Pride Title Match between trans wrestler Sonny Kiss and nonbinary wrestler Richie Coy.

The spirit of T4T Wrestling is worth fighting for.

It’s diverse, inclusive, and expressive, everything the LGBTQ+ community embodies. Kidd is doing everything that T Boy Wrestling failed to do. She wants T4T Wrestling to be a space where queer people can be their most authentic selves (and get paid for it!), and her pride for this company is well-placed. 

I haven’t gone out of my way to read any of the negativity and bigotry surrounding T4T Wrestling— I value my sanity too much to do that— but I can tell what the haters will say. They’ll say it’s doing too much, it’s too goofy, it’s excluding non-queer wrestlers. And if this is you, then I pity the misery you wallow in just for someone to remember you exist. Also, take a shower.

As a cishet man, I will never experience the level of plight and persecution that trans and nonbinary people do. I have never been shamed for being alive, the Supreme Court isn’t barring my entry into certain sports teams, the medication I need to stay alive isn’t being demonized and restricted (yet). In the grand scheme of things, my life is a luxury, one that queer people don’t have access to (yet). 

Photo by Esther Lin (@allelbows) on Instagram

Kidd Bandit is giving the LGBTQ+ community a taste of that luxury: a space just for them. It’s beautiful and badass. As a wrestling fan and ally, I hope that T4T Wrestling has a long and fruitful existence. At the time of writing, they are still expanding and improving. In August, they announced a collaboration with Swordplay LA to provide weekly wrestling classes for those in the Los Angeles area, and appointed Emmy-nominated filmmaker Vera Drew as their general manager. 

To keep up with news, follow T4T Wrestling on their official Instagram account, and also follow Esther Lin (@allelbows), who took many of the pics you see in this article. Follow me here on Dirt Sheet Radio as well. I have a feeling this won’t be the last time I write about T4T Wrestling, and I’m excited to see what the future has in store for Kidd and her vision. 

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Jhuvin P. is a writer for CBC/DSR. He has previous experience as a ghostwriter, has published several short stories, and is perpetually working on a novel. In addition to writing, he is also a comedian based out of Colorado Springs. He posts clips of his stand-up along with his other goofy antics on TikTok and Instagram.

BloodyMania 19 and the End of JCW’s First Russo Season

In November 2025, JCW revealed Vince Russo as the company’s new mystery investor on Episode 59 after weeks of buildup. Since then, Russo has worked on-screen and on the creative team. His arrival signaled a push toward consistent serialized television, complete with cliffhangers, recurring segments, and stories that regularly spanned episodes and promos. This was Russo’s first BloodyMania.

True, JCW doesn't officially divide its weekly show, Lunacy, into seasons, but this year’s BloodyMania sure felt like a season finale. The annual event, held during the Gathering of the Juggalos, brought months of stories to a payoff.

JCW leaves BloodyMania with more weekly viewers, recognizable characters, and growing attention from beyond the Juggalo universe. The roster is more defined than it was a year ago, and wrestling media is increasingly treating Lunacy like a show to follow rather than an ICP adjacent curiosity.

It’s not perfect. Obviously. Some elements remained uneven, with too many interference finishes, referee bumps, and stipulations that unnecessarily complicated matches-matches that still sometimes unfold as if they don’t have the physical talent they now do. Still, overall, the company should be counting this year as a win.

JCW and the Gathering

JCW and Insane Clown Posse are inexorably bound, but they’re becoming increasingly less interchangeable. For those who are totally uninitiated into the glorious, odd, and sometimes disgusting world of Juggalo culture, The Gathering is Juggalo Mecca. This year’s 26th Gathering ran Aug. 19-22 in Macks Creek, Missouri. Wrestling, specifically JCW, is part of a much larger four-day reverie that includes musical guests, sideshows, contests, pageants, seminars, camping, and, no doubt, lots of not-so-wholesome activities not fit to print.

BloodyMania has been JCW’s flagship Gathering show since 2007. JCW is, first and foremost, a Juggalo wrestling promotion. Its owners are ICP. Its identity, humor, references, and audience are closely connected to Juggalo culture. As such, BloodyMania and the Gathering remain cornerstones. But Violent J has spent the last two years making JCW into something wrestling fans, in general, love, even if they have no connection to ICP. Before this year’s BloodyMania, he described the goal to PWTorch: “Our goal is to be a respected independent.”

More people are watching.

Vince Russo’s arrival signaled a change in identity, but he didn’t single-handedly propel JCW’s growth. Lunacy began its current weekly run before he joined the company. Violent J says its live YouTube audience has increased from roughly 100 viewers when the project began to around 3,000 now. Viewership may have increased fairly steadily since Lunacy launched, but there was a sizable spike around Russo’s arrival. Episode 54, released in October before Russo’s reveal, sits at about 20,000 YouTube views. Episode 60, the first full post-Russo-as-investor episode, has more than 55,000.

In December of 25, Sports Illustrated reported that Russo’s arrival coincided with Lunacy’s highest week-to-week YouTube viewership to that point. Violent J told SI that the promotion had become “very heavily involved in storytelling,” pointing to long-form stories, reveals, and cliffhangers.

Beyond advancement in episodic storytelling, driven by both Russo and Violent J, production value for the weekly has become more polished and more TV-like overall. That polish shows in weekly recap packages, edited backstage segments, and character vignettes, along with a more established broadcast team led by Joe Dombrowski and a rotating group of commentators. Technical execution is leaps and bounds more refined today than in episode one, though it still has occasional missed camera shots and low-quality backstage audio; the show consistently looks intentionally produced as weekly wrestling television.

Caleb Konley, Russo-era character

Konley has been a Lunacy staple since the beginning. He’s an industry veteran and came to JCW as a talented technical wrestler. His skill level didn’t necessarily change with JCW’s Russo-era storylines. What changed was how the company used him and how much airtime he got.

Over the last year, he's fully transformed into ‘The Chosen One,’ a Russo darling increasingly protected and clearly favored by the person with power over the show. Lunacy put an exclamation point on that in February on Episode 69 when Konley betrayed man-servant Jeeves and backhanded the Ring Rat to a hail of jeers from the audience, only for Russo to appear and applaud him.

Konley’s bro-mantic allegiance to Russo became a weekly staple; he eventually took the Lunacy World Championship, and with it a Russo-ordered custom belt engraved with his own face, which he seems to love gazing longingly into. From there, Russo’s favoritism became part of Konley’s title run, with protection, interference, and rule-bending repeatedly helping keep the championship on him, earning both men considerable heat.

Enter Kerry Morton

A second-generation wrestler and established NWA talent who continually earns his spot, Kerry Morton invested months developing and complicating his own identity on Lunacy. Morton called himself “Mr. JCW” on Episode 62 and kept using the moniker, with commentators and announcers following suit, spotlighting his growing role in the production. Still, JCW gave him space to become more confrontational and increasingly fixated on those he believed were working against him. In an SI interview this spring, Morton said JCW allows him to be “loud and creative and be my own self.”

The growing allegiance between “The Chosen One” and Russo left plenty of room for Morton to shake off the spoiled nepo-baby energy he initially brought to JCW and become a surprise favorite that fans can align with against the Konley/Russo dominion.

Their match on the Gathering edition of Lunacy brought that to a point.

Konley attacked Morton before he could enter the battle royal, leaving him unable to beat the referee’s 10-count and costing him the match. Morton later confronted Konley and got an immediate title defense. He hit a superplex, survived a belt shot and, with the referee down, got hold of the championship himself—but chose not to use it. Konley eventually used the referee as a shield, landed a low blow, and finished Morton with the Burning Hammer to retain. The Chairshot gave it the highest match rating of the Gathering episode and called Morton “a star.”

Morton lost, but the match made him look like an obvious future challenger.

The Supporting Roster

JCW now also has a recognizable group of recurring characters who don't depend on being in the main event.

Paige Collett’s Ring Rat is, perhaps, my favorite, and she’s become one of the most immediately recognizable recurring roles on Lunacy. The name comes from a historically derogatory slice of wrestling slang, but Collett has leaned into the stereotype, creating a deliberately exaggerated groupie-type character. According to Collett, another wrestler turned the role down (thankfully) before it was offered to Collett, who told WrestleZone, “There’s no small role, only small performers.”

“The Boss & the Ring Rat”

posted and captioned by Collett Feb 202g

Lunacy has let her prove that. She’s been tied to stories with Jeeves, Konley, Disco Ray and Steven Flowe, appeared in numerous backstage segments, and eventually moved from ringside character to in-ring participant. By the Gathering, her return in the battle royal got an immediate reaction.

CoKane has a similarly precise relationship with audiences. When he entered the same battle royal, fans threw drinking straws into the ring as part of his cocaine-dealer gimmick. Ring Rat and CoKane are good examples of JCW getting supporting characters over on their own terms. Neither needs to be in the main event to get an immediate reaction.

That depth extends well beyond Ring Rat and CoKane. The Outbreak, Barnabas, Steven Flowe, Brothers of Funstruction, and 2 Tuff Tony have all become familiar parts of the weekly show, while JCW has rotated in higher-profile guests including James Storm, Matt Cardona, Nic Nemeth, RVD, KENTA, and Matt Riddle.

Those big, outside names may bring people to the show, but the regular roster has to give them a reason to come back.

The Gathering Lunacy Episode and BloodyMania.

The final Lunacy before BloodyMania did a lot more than fill out the card.

GCW’s promoter, Brett Lauderdale, was seated in the crowd along with Nick Gage, Vipress, and Parrow. The camera panned to the group repeatedly throughout the show, rousing plenty of fan speculation.

Their presence wasn’t entirely new. JCW and GCW have worked together before, including at last year's Gathering and during The Collective over WrestleMania weekend in Vegas. What changed was the focus on GCW and how they were presented; by the end of the episode, it was clear GCW was no longer purely another independent promotion working with JCW. Lauderdale and his wrestlers had entered the Lunacy universe and storyline, a development that would be made explicit during BloodyMania.

BloodyMania wasn’t the strongest wrestling card JCW has produced this year. And that’s ok. It functioned as the payoff to stories the promotion had invested months developing.

Twisted Snow vs. Steven Flowe and Shane Mercer

James Storm and CoKane, paired as Twisted Snow, opened against Steven Flowe and Shane Mercer. Flowe was originally scheduled to team with Mr. Anderson, but JCW announced on the previous night’s Lunacy that Anderson couldn’t make the show. Flowe recruited Mercer by offering him the Golden Guitar. The match gave the crowd a mix of Storm's veteran offense and the more physical exchanges between CoKane and Mercer. One of the bigger moments came when CoKane launched himself over the barricade with a tope con hilo, carrying him into the second row.

The finish saw the Ring Rat come out to distract Storm, giving Flowe a chance to swing his guitar. Storm moved, and Flowe accidentally hit Ring Rat instead. Storm followed with the Last Call superkick, and CoKane hit the Tombstone to give Twisted Snow the win.

A straightforward opener, but the finish served the larger storyline, with Flowe and Ring Rat’s history on Lunacy giving the interference weight.

Alice Crowley Gets the Next Shot

Alice Crowley defeated J-Rod and Hollyhood Haley J to become No. 1 contender for the JCW Women’s Championship. AEW veteran Nyla Rose served as special enforcer. When J-Rod charged Haley J and Haley moved, J-Rod collided with the referee. Rose then revealed referee stripes under her gear and took over the match. J-Rod later swung at Rose, who answered with a neckbreaker. Crowley followed with a lariat for the pin.

The win establishes a clear path for Crowley as Dani Mo’s next challenger and gives JCW an immediate direction for the women’s championship after the Gathering.

Josh Bishop Remains Champion

Josh Bishop’s three-way title defense against Façade and Father Bronson gave BloodyMania some of its most ambitious in-ring action, with high-flyer Façade absorbing most of the risk. Façade used Bronson as a platform to attack Bishop, then climbed part of the lighting structure before diving onto both men.

Bishop retained with Exit 187, continuing a run that has established him as one of JCW’s more credible champions.

Dani Mo

It’s been a rough year for Dani Mo, who has been embroiled in multiple tense storylines. Earlier in the show, HoKane’s interference helped cost The Outbreak their tag-title match against Choppa City, and by the time HoKane faced off against Dani, the women’s championship was not the only issue between them. Control of Jacksyn and Abel was also on the line.

HoKane controlled much of the match with heavier offense, including a second-rope senton, while Dani answered with a Code Red and worked toward the Moonmist Twist. Barnabas’ interference backfired when special referee Gail Kim hit him with Eat Defeat, allowing Dani Mo to recover and finish HoKane with the Moonmist Twist. The win kept the title on Dani and, more importantly, gave her control of The Outbreak. HoKane then turned on Barnabas, closing one of Lunacy’s longer-running stories while immediately giving Dani a new direction with Jacksyn and Abel—and Alice Crowley waiting as her next challenger.

Konley Retains the Lunacy Championship

Violent J forced Konley into another title defense at BloodyMania, yet again overriding Russo’s “Jack Tunney Rule,” which is meant to limit his “Chosen One” to one defense per month. Mr. Happy emerged as the surprise challenger with unfinished business against Konley. Unlike Konley’s earlier demolition of Jeeves, Mr. Happy was presented as a legitimate threat. But outside interference in the form of Jasmin St. Claire once again handed the champion another escape. St. Claire appeared with fake labor contractions, distracting Happy long enough for Konley to evade with a roll-up, allowing Konley to leave the Gathering with the championship intact after surviving both Morton on Lunacy and Mr. Happy at BloodyMania.

GCW Gets Physical in GoreGames

BloodyMania closed with GoreGames, the five-on-five elimination match billed as the payoff to the months-long JWO-Luciano Family feud, with Mad Man Pondo serving as special ref. After plenty of fan speculation, GCW’s presence turned physical during GoreGames between the JWO and the Luciano Family. Nick Gage brawled with 2 Tuff Tony. Vipress tangled with Willie Mack. Painful Paul delivered the event's biggest turn after looking ready to help finish EC3; Paul turned on his own teammate, hitting Dijak with multiple chokeslams. Afterward, he stripped off his Luciano Family gear to reveal a JWO shirt underneath.

Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope abandoned the commentary desk to join the brawl before the JWO closed the show, standing tall.

GoreGames was a little crowded and difficult to follow as a match, but it worked as a storyline payoff. The JWO–Luciano Family feud concluded, Painful Paul switched sides, and GCW went from a presence in the crowd to an active part of the conflict. What JCW does with that GCW involvement now is a giant question mark coming out of BloodyMania.

What BloodyMania Showed About the Russo Run (so far)

Russo deserves a lot of credit for JCW’s increased emphasis on character development and continuity. Konley has become a reviled, television-worthy heel, Morton has shifted to become one of Lunacy’s principal characters, and Ring Rat is a recognizable, and more importantly, useful part of the show. Dani Mo, HoKane, Barnabas and The Outbreak carried one of Lunacy’s longer-running stories into a BloodyMania payoff that actually felt earned.

That isn’t Russo’s achievement alone. Violent J still sets JCW’s broader direction, and the wrestlers have had to make some pretty absurd material work. By and large, they have done just that.

Yes, there's still plenty of unnecessary padding around some pretty great wrestling. JCW continues to lean a little too heavily on interference, outside interruptions, and ref bumps. Sure, those devices can support a story, but when the wrestlers are already carrying the match, they’re filler at best and a distraction at worst. Morton and Konley showed us what a better balance can look like at JCW. The match still had a ref bump and cheating, but those elements served the characters instead of replacing the actual wrestling. The characters set the stakes, the wrestling carried the match, and the finish followed naturally: Morton refused to cheat; Konley used every shortcut available. The story and the match were pulling in the same direction.

What Comes Next — and Why It Matters

BloodyMania closed several stories. Now the question is whether JCW’s momentum can carry beyond Lunacy.

So far, it looks like it. The harder question may be whether the outside interest pays off. Case in point: On Sept. 6, Caleb Konley is scheduled to defend the Lunacy Championship against Avery Styles at Next Generation Wrestling’s Reckoning in Knoxville. Styles, the 19-year-old son of AJ Styles, announced at TNA Lockdown the day after BloodyMania that he’d signed with the company.

That puts a JCW championship on another promotion’s card against a wrestler who just signed with TNA, exposing both Konley and the title to fans that may not follow Lunacy. For a promotion looking to establish itself beyond the Juggalo world, cross-promotional visibility matters—especially with a veteran champion facing a heavily scrutinized second-generation prospect.

And, of course, Konley still has unfinished business at home. Morton’s loss at the Gathering didn’t close their story. Far from it. JCW has an established feud to return to while Konley takes the title elsewhere.  

Dani Mo is another example of JCW talent gaining traction beyond Lunacy. Crowley is next in line for her title at home, while the win over HoKane gave Dani control of The Outbreak, so there’s plenty left to build on leaving the Gathering. But outside JCW, she holds the IWC Women’s Championship, challenged STARDOM’s Hazuki for the SPARK Joshi World Championship, and appeared on Busted Open in August. JCW is developing her as a weekly television character while her profile grows elsewhere. If that continues, it’s evidence that Lunacy can help raise the value of the wrestlers it features—not just its own viewership.

That pattern continues down the roster. Bishop and J-Rod have both drawn outside interest, including WWE tryouts and reported TNA attention. That visibility matters for a promotion still trying to prove it belongs in the broader wrestling conversation. Konley, Morton, Dani Mo, Bishop, J-Rod, etc.: These folks can wrestle.

GCW is another part of that broader reach. Brett Lauderdale, Nick Gage, Vipress, and Parrow moved from lurking around Lunacy to being part of the story at BloodyMania, building on an existing working relationship between the two promotions. Whether that turns into another interpromotional feud, more crossover appearances, or something involving Russo and Lauderdale is still unresolved, but what matters is that there is room to develop it.

These developments may be a better measure of JCW’s progress than any single BloodyMania result. The promotion is getting more wrestling-media coverage, its talent is drawing interest from larger companies, and one of its championships is about to be defended outside JCW. That doesn’t make JCW a major promotion, but it does show the company becoming more connected to the broader independent wrestling business. The next test is whether that attention can translate into sustained growth beyond Lunacy.

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Jenny Catlin is a writer and pop culture enthusiast based in the square states. She’s a contributing writer to The Athletic, a Lighthouse Writers Book Project Fellow, and an award-winning essayist obsessed with obsession. You can find her on Instagram or Substack.

A Handy Guide To: WWE Summerslam 2026

Need to know when and where to watch an upcoming PPV/PLE? Need to know who’s fighting who? Need to know why you should care? Then, you’ve come to the right place!

A Handy Guide is a new series on Dirt Sheet Radio where we run down an upcoming pay-per-view match card, and discuss the competitors and stories coming into each match. For now, our focus is going to be on WWE and AEW, but if there’s interest, we may expand to companies like TNA, NJPW, and more.

Today’s edition is all about Summerslam 2026, taking place on Saturday, August 1, and Sunday, August 2, 2026 at 3 p.m. PT/6 p.m. ET from the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This is WWE’s premier show of the summer and, arguably, their second biggest show of the year. The 39th iteration of the event, this is the first time Summerslam has taken place in Minnesota since 1999. 

The PLE will air on traditional pay-per-view and stream on the ESPN app in the United States. International viewers can stream it on Netflix; additionally, it will stream on SuperSport in Africa, and Abema in Japan. This article does not cover any of the kick-off (pre-show) matches, and as always the card is subject to change. For now, these are the matches and their stories:

Night One

Liv Morgan vs. Iyo Sky— Women’s World Championship Match

Wrestling is all about wins and losses, and few have embodied that spirit these past few months like Iyo Sky. In February, she lost the women’s tag titles and was left off the Wrestlemania 42 card. In April, her close friend, Kairi Sane was released from the WWE. In May, she bade farewell to Asuka after their match at Backlash. Then, in July, her close personal roommate— I mean friend— Rhea Ripley went down with an injury (more on that later). She has suffered loss after loss, yet through it all, she keeps fighting and flying. It’s that drive that pushed her all the way to win the Queen of the Ring tournament, earning her the crown and a shot at the Women’s World Championship at Summerslam. 

Her opponent in the QOTR Finals was none other than the women’s world champ herself, Liv Morgan. There was confusion and speculation as to why Liv entered the tournament (after all, the winner is supposed to face her for her title). The simple answer was she wanted to prove she was the most dominant woman in WWE, she “wanted it all”. That arrogance and greed propelled the leading lady of the Judgment Day to the finals, but she came up short against Iyo Sky. Let that be a lesson, readers: don’t get cursed by Danhausen. Uh, I mean, don’t be greedy. More on that Danhausen thing later, as well. 

Iyo’s win not only gives her a guaranteed shot at Liv’s championship, it also gives her the edge in their rematch. The Genius of the Sky has proven she can beat the champ, now she just has to do it one more time. 

Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar— Hell in a Cell

Oba Femi has become very over with the fans very quickly. In NXT, he established himself as a true conqueror, bulldozing his competition with inhumane power and speed on the way to two reigns with the NXT Championship and a record-setting 273-day reign with the NXT North American Championship. With no worlds left to conquer in WWE’s third brand, he vacated the NXT Championship and set his sights on the main roster. He made his official main roster debut by entering first in the 2026 Royal Rumble, and he was an absolute beast in the match. The only entrant that could give him pause was another beast. The Beast Incarnate: Brock Lesnar. 

Oba and Brock have become fast enemies. They are both used to imposing their will on people, backing up all talk of their dominance in quick, successful fashion. So, when they locked horns at Wrestlemania 42, people expected something akin to Godzilla vs. King Kong. Instead, they saw Oba beat Brock in five minutes and supposedly sent him into retirement. The retirement period lasted for about a month, and then Brock surprised Oba and the world by blindsiding him on Raw and hitting him with an F5. Brock won their rematch at Clash in Italy, setting the stage for a rubber match, but he would not heed Oba’s call for round three. 

So, while continuing to call out Lesnar, Oba multi-tasked and won the 2026 King of the Ring tournament. Brock would finally return to Raw after the tournament, letting Oba know that he heard his call-outs loud and clear. After once again dropping Oba with a kick to the groin and an F5, Brock finally accepted his challenge for Summerslam to settle this once and for all. However, he upped the ante by throwing out the ultimate grudge match stipulation: Hell in a Cell. This will be the first HIAC match since Punk and Mcintyre’s war at Bad Blood 2024. Ever since they phased out the Hell in a Cell PPV and started using this stipulation to settle increasingly violent feuds, it has made the cell feel so much more menacing. Oba and Brock will write the 54th chapter of hell, and it will be a miracle if either man walks out in one piece. 

Also, Oba relinquished his shot at the WWE title to face Brock despite Summerslam being two nights now. Which is…well, it’s a choice. 

Gunther vs. Nick Aldis

Before Nick Aldis was the general manager for Smackdown, he was a former TNA World Heavyweight Champion and brought a renewed sense of relevancy to the NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship. But even if you didn’t know anything about his time outside of WWE, there’s no denying that he carries himself like a big deal. Though he lets his brains and mic talent speak for him, he still has his imposing wrestler’s physique. He doesn’t need to throw down in the ring anymore, but he can if pushed to his limits. 

And, wow, has Gunther pushed him to his limits. 

Ever since the Ring General joined Smackdown, he has been a thorn in the side of the general manager. He constantly antagonizes and disrespects Aldis, questioning his decisions and authority, and believes he can keep doing this because what’s the GM going to do about it? Nick Aldis isn’t a wrestler anymore. At least, he wasn’t a wrestler anymore. But when Gunther lost his match at Night of Champions for the Undisputed Championship, he was irate and shoved the Smackdown GM, and Aldis retaliated by shoving Gunther. He was provoked, it was inevitable and understandable. What was less understandable was at Saturday Night’s Main Event, when Aldis pulled the referee out of the ring during Gunther’s tag match and hit Gunther with the Undisputed championship. 

As a consequence, Nick Aldis had to relinquish his title as Smackdown’s general manager. As a reward/punishment, he gets to face Gunther in a sanctioned match at Summerslam. This will be Nick Aldis’s first match in nearly three years, and Gunther is the best man to formally reintroduce him to the ring (he isn’t called the Ring General for nothing). He may also chop Aldis to death; it remains to be seen.

LA Knight, Solo Sikoa, and Royce Keys vs. The Bloodline (Jacob Fatu, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso)

It’s a story about trust, it’s a story about loyalty, it’s a story about The Bloodline…again…again…again. Over the past 6-7 years, this stable has been a staple of WWE programming, for better or for worse. For LA Knight and Solo Sikoa, it’s definitely for the worse. If you’ve been watching the WWE for the last few years, you know what to expect from a Bloodline storyline. Jacob, Jey, and Jimmy are all back as one big, happy family after Roman Reigns won the World Heavyweight Championship. The OTC got Jacob Fatu to fall in line after defeating him at Backlash, and now the Usos are trying to get one final piece to make The Bloodline whole: Solo Sikoa. The issue, though, is that Solo hates The Bloodline, and he has every right to hate the family. When Roman Reigns went MIA after Wrestlemania 40, Solo stepped up as leader of The Bloodline, he aimed to rebuild it and bring it back to relevancy. Though, in doing so, he also kicked out the Usos and denounced Roman, so maybe there isn’t a clear-cut “good guy” in this family. Not even Solo “Dolo” Sikoa. 

And then there are the other two people in this messy six-man tag: Royce Keys and LA Knight. Royce Keys (formerly AEW’s Powerhouse Hobbs) made his WWE debut at Royal Rumble 2026, he lasted around ten minutes and even eliminated a former World Heavyweight Champion in Damian Priest. He staked his claim on Smackdown and was actively being recruited by Solo Sikoa to join his MFT (Bloodline 2.0). When Solo’s family tree withered and he had to live up to his first name, he came to the aid of Royce while he was being beaten down by Jacob Fatu and the Usos, endearing him to the Powerhouse and getting him to join the fight against Bloodline 3.0. LA Knight has always been in this fight. The Megastar has hated every iteration of The Bloodline and has been their first and loudest opponent since they reformed. If The Bloodline has no haters, then LA Knight is dead. He’ll do anything to ensure they never regain power and relevancy, even teaming with Solo Sikoa. 

If anything, this is going to be an entertaining match. There’s family drama and soap opera intrigue, which is what WWE does best. The Bloodline Vortex will keep spinning no matter who wins, and at least it gives these six men something to do. Here’s to whichever team wins, and whichever team wins the rematch at War Games in November. 

Fatal Influence (Fallon Henley, Lainey Reid, Jacy Jayne) vs. Paige and The Bella Twins

It was a big surprise when Paige returned to the WWE at Wrestlemania 42, it was an even bigger surprise when she won the Women’s Tag Team Championships on that night with— of all people— Brie Bella. In her first run with the company, Paige never saw eye-to-eye with the Bella Twins, she was billed as the “Anti-Diva” and the Bellas are basically the Kardashians of wrestling. Apparently, time heals all wounds, and Paige and Brie have proven to be a formidable tag team. During their reign, they’ve fended off the former champs, Lash Legend and Nia Jax, taken the fight to Judgment Day’s Raquel Rodriguea and Roxanne Perez, and beat the soon-to-implode pairing of Bayley and Lyra Valkyria. No matter who has gotten in their way, the leading ladies of 2010s women’s wrestling have put them down. And then the future arrived.

Fatal Influence— the trio of Jacey Jayne, Fallon Henley, and Lainey Reid (who replaced Jazmyn Nyx in 2025)— has dominated NXT’s women’s division for the last two years. After winning every championship there is to win on NXT (and also TNA’s women’s championship because why not?), the group made their main roster debut on the Smackdown after Wrestlemania. They made their presence and intentions known by attacking the top female stars of the blue brand, including the women’s tag team champions. When Paige and Brie faced off against Fatal Influence at Saturday Night’s Main Event this month, it looked to be business as usual, but a timely assist by Jacy Jayne allowed her faction members to secure the titles and add more gold to Fatal Influence’s resume. 

The official challenge for Summerslam was made just a couple of weeks ago, when Nikki Bella returned from injury to help Paige and her sister fend off Fatal Influence. Six women, the past, present, and future of the WWE, and dominant in their respective eras. The titles will not be on the line in this match, but both teams will look to defend their honor, pride, and status as top women in the company. 

CM Punk vs. Cody Rhodes— Undisputed WWE Championship Match

It would take more than a couple of paragraphs to go into Punk and Cody’s history, and if we included their AEW tenure, it would take pages. Cody returned to the WWE in 2022 and immediately set his sights on becoming the flagbearer, the standard, the face of the company. He prides himself on being a valiant fighter, taking on anyone and everyone to earn his keep and prove he belongs on top. Since returning, he has wrestled inside Hell in a Cell with a torn pec muscle, secured a rare victory against Brock Lesnar, and ended Roman Reign’s 1,316 day reign as world champion. He has won the tag team championship once, the WWE Championship four times, the Crown Jewel Championship, the 2023 and 2024 Royal Rumble, and the 2025 King of the Ring tournament. 

When hell froze over at Survivor Series 2024, CM Punk returned to the WWE, and immediately cemented himself as one of the top stars of the company. He has truly become a cult of personality— simply let that radio static ring and suddenly you forget all the controversies surrounding Punk. The fans want to see him kick ass and take names. After settling blood feuds with Drew Mcintyre and Seth Rollins, CM Punk finally became the World Heavyweight Champion again and carried Raw for the better part of 2025. He would lose the championship to Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania 42, and on the Raw after Wrestlemania, he and the newly crowned WWE Champion Cody Rhodes would face off in the ring. 

“Just say when,” Cody declared.

Three months later, Punk would say ‘when’, but the tables had very much turned. When Rhodes was taken out before his WWE Championship rematch, CM Punk made a surprise return to take his spot. Punk made the most of his opportunity and captured the WWE Championship for the first time in 13 years, and granted Cody Rhodes his championship rematch at Summerslam. 

This will not be the first time Punk and Rhodes have faced each other one-on-one. Their first encounter was back in 2008, when both men were young, hungry competitors with no personal animosity with each other. That’s not going to be the case this weekend. Over the past few weeks, things have gotten heated between them. Rhodes accused Punk of “intentionally” clipping him with the title after their match at Saturday Night’s Main Event. At the Summerslam Kick-Off show, Punk pie-faced Rhodes and picked at his insecurities by calling him “little brother”. This is a match between two men who desperately cannot lose to the other, their pride won’t allow it. 

Night Two

Penta vs. Chad Gable— Intercontinental Championship Match

In 2025, one of the most charismatic and creative luchadors in the world, Pentagon Jr. (now known as Penta), made his WWE debut. His opponent? Chad Gable. 

Since then, Penta has been a mainstay on Monday Night Raw, winning the Intercontinental Championship and defending it for over 150 days. His most high-profile defense so far was a ladder match at Wrestlemania that featured Dragon Lee, JD McDonagh, Je’von Evans, Rey Mysterio, and Rusev. No matter who you put against him, Penta embodies his mantra of Cero Miedo and fearlessly holds onto his championship. 

Meanwhile, after failing to defeat Penta, Chad Gable developed a personal vendetta against all things lucha libre. He donned a mask and overtly patriotic gimmick, became El Grande Americano, and specifically targeted the luchadors in WWE. Had he not gotten injured, who knows where the original plans for El Grande Americano could have gone. The fact is that he did get injured and Ludwig Kaiser would take up the mantle and, against all odds, become one of the most celebrated luchadors in AAA. Gable returned at the Royal Rumble, confronting the new El Grande Americano and firing the first shot in a feud that would become bloody, personal, and profoundly cinematic. The two El Grande Americanos would face off in a Mask vs. Mask match that is being touted as a genuine Match of the Year contender. When Chad Gable lost that match, he relinquished his mask and returned to Monday Night Raw where he now seeks to redeem himself. He’s trying to make amends to the luchadors he has hurt, aiding guys like Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee when they need it. 

In mid-July, a seven-person gauntlet match was held to determine the number one contender for the Intercontinental Championship. Chad Gable would be the sixth entrant in that match, facing off against Rusev, who had just made short work of Je’Von Evans. Against the odds, Gable outlasted Rusev and then tapped out Ethan Page to become the number one contender for the IC title. 

His opponent? Penta. 

This match has been more than one year in the making. Winning the championship would mean redemption for Gable (in his home state of Minnesota, no less). Retaining the championship would mean vindication for Penta. Whoever wins, this is sure to be an amazing rematch. 

Trick Williams vs. Baron Corbin — United States Championship Match

Baron Corbin was meant to be a WWE lifer. He wrestled the WWE style, fit the mold of a WWE heel, and was built from the ground up in WWE’s system. Everything about his presentation had the World Wrestling Entertainment sticker. Then, in November 2024, WWE peeled that sticker off and chose not to renew his contract. Rather than retire from wrestling and live off the residuals of his decade-long run in WWE (which I shamefully thought he would), Baron Corbin stayed in the wrestling scene. He worked the independents as sort of a nomad, using the name Bishop Dyer, and fighting for top indie promotions like GCW, Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling, and even a dark match for AEW. His biggest indie accolade was a run in Major League Wrestling as one half of their world tag team champions with another WWE cast-off, Donovan Dijak. 

It’s still unclear why WWE released Baron Corbin in the first place. Maybe to rebuild his brand or for budgetary reasons. Whatever it was, they decided to bring him back last July, making an emphatic return during a match between Carmelo Hayes and the United States Champion, Trick Williams. Corbin has stood tall over the champion a couple of times and has officially laid out the challenge for the United States title, and Trick has readily accepted. 

Trick Williams is having a hell of a rookie year. He was the once charismatic face of NXT, holding the main title twice, the North American Championship once, and even having a spell with the TNA World Championship. He’s currently managed by actual rapper Lil Yachty despite already being good on the mic and holds a custom, fur-lined version of the United States Championship. The phrase “Whoop that Trick” echoes across arenas, aided by one of the best theme songs in current-day WWE. If he defeats Baron Corbin this Sunday, it will help solidify his US title run as one of the best in years. But Baron Corbin is no stranger to being US Champion, and the big chip on his shoulder could be more than Trick Williams to handle.

Danhausen vs. Dominik Mysterio— Human Monies on a Pole Match

Danhausen shouldn’t work in the current WWE landscape. He’s a Nosferatu-esque gremlin with a cape, nasally voice, and a jar full of human teeth (allegedly). He also debuted by coming out of a box and coffin— neither of which had airholes— and often curses people by pointing at them and telling them they’ve been cursed. There is nothing about his gimmick that fits in the modern take-us-seriously-as-a-combat-sport version of the WWE. And yet, at the time of writing, he is the second best merch seller in the entire company. The force of nature that is Danhausen should not be ignored by any WWE wrestler, lest you find yourself in Dominik Mysterio’s shoes. 

After making his debut at last year’s Elimination Chamber, Danhausen introduced himself to The Judgment Day on Raw. Dominik made the mistake of telling Danhausen to beat it and that he would never become a champion, and so Danhausen cursed him. Later that night, the second-generation luchador would lose the Intercontinental Championship to Penta. Since that day, Danhausen has been a very nice, very evil thorn in the side of The Judgment Day, and Dominik specifically. He cursed Dominik’s kayfabe girlfriend Liv Morgan and she lost the Queen of the Ring Finals. He stole $100,000 in “human monies” from the group after they tried to pay him to curse Oba Femi. Most recently, he employed the services of NBA star Karl-Anthony Towns to help him defeat JD McDonagh at Saturday Night’s Main Event. 

This feud is about bragging rights— wait, no, it’s about respect. Maybe it’s about who wants it more? Okay, whatever this feud is about, it’s going to come to a head at Summerslam. Tune in to see whether Dominik Mysterio gets his money back and restores dignity to the Judgment Day, or if Danhausen continues his unprecedented meteoric rise and goes on to win all the championships a la Sheamus in the WWE 12 video game. 

Finn Balor vs. Sami Zayn — #1 Contender’s Match for the Undisputed WWE Championship 

It's difficult for me to remain unbiased about this match. The fact that Sami Zayn is in a number one contender's match instead of the WWE Championship match is a genuine injustice, but what's done is done so…big sigh. 

Anyway, how did we get here? Sami Zayn, made his displeasure over the WWE Championship scene loud and clear. And constant. He was vocal enough to get himself inserted into a WWE Championship match at Night of Champions which, against all odds, he won! Sami Zayn was the Undisputed WWE Champion, the gold standard, the face of the biggest wrestling company on the planet…for nine days. In a less cruel world, Sami wouldn’t have had to defend his championship so quickly after winning it. And maybe he wouldn’t have been unprepared to face a returning CM Punk instead of his scheduled opponent, Cody Rhodes. Maybe he would have beat Cody again instead of losing to Punk. Maybe he wouldn't have crashed out loud enough for Adam Pearce to grant him a chance to become the number one contender for the championship he believes he should still be holding. 

The fact is we are living in this world, and now he's facing another man who has also been criminally underutilized: Finn Balor. The former member of the Judgment Day recently joined Smackdown, a brand where he has more enemies than acquaintances, let alone friends. After fending off some old foes in the Tongas, he was inserted into a Fatal Four Way match between himself, Damian Priest, Royce Keys, and Trick Williams (all names that the WWE Champion CM Punk called out as people he wanted to face). This will be only the fourth time that Zayn and Balor have faced off in a televised singles match, the last time was in the 2021 King of the Ring Semifinals. Finn Balor has come out on top every single time. Will he continue his streak at Summerslam? Or will Sami finally, finally, finally come out on top?

Five-Way Ladder Match for the Interim WWE Women’s Championship

The multi-person ladder match is the bay leaf for a pro wrestling match card. You don’t always need it, and you don’t know how it got in there, but man is it giving that stew the good spice. Except this time, we know why the bay leaf is here. At the Clash of Italy event in May, WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley suffered a torn meniscus while defending her title against Jade Cargill. Though she’s recovering well, the timetable for her return is hazy, and WWE is going for a “better safe than sorry” approach. Rhea Ripley will not fight at Summerslam, but she won’t be stripped of the title. Instead, an interim WWE Women’s Champion will be crowned in a five-way ladder match. The winner of the ladder match will face Ripley at a later date to unify the titles. 

This is only the second time that WWE has implemented an interim champion, typically they will vacate the championship instead. The last time was in 2020, when Santos Escobar became Interim Cruiserweight Champion because Jordan Devlin was having travel issues. Insane how badly that sentence has aged in 2026. 

Jade Cargill is the former women’s champion, and though she came up short in May, her undeniable strength and power can carry her past every woman in this match. She earned her spot via disqualification after Charlotte Flair attacked her in her match with Nia Jax. Tiffany Stratton is no stranger to winning ladder matches, the former Money in the Bank winner looks to repeat her success and regain the women’s championship and become a double champion (Tiffy Two-Belts does have a nice ring to it). Charlotte Flair earned her way into this match via disqualification after Jade Cargill attacked her during her match with, once again, Nia Jax. Chelsea Green didn’t need a disqualification win to secure her spot at Summerslam, she fought back to defeat Kiana James and now the leader of the Green Regime has a chance at becoming the women’s champion. The final entrant is one-half of the former Women’s Tag Team Champions, Lash Legend. No, not Nia Jax, who had been screwed out of two shots at this ladder match, but her tag team partner. That being said, Lash Legend is an imposing woman who showed off her power by defeating former Women’s United States Champion and NXT Women’s Champion, juggernaut of STARDOM, and all-around badass Giulia in mere minutes.

Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins— World Heavyweight Championship Match

If Punk and Rhodes need pages to get into their entire backstory, then these two guys would need a whole book. Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins have been intertwined for their entire WWE careers. They had stereo stints in FCW and NXT, rising up the ranks and learning the WWE style of wrestling. From there, they received a call-up to WWE’s main roster, debuting as two-thirds of the influential trio known as The Shield. After running roughshod throughout the WWE for a couple of years, Seth Rollins shocked by putting a chair into Roman Reigns’s back and breaking up The Shield. 

Since that betrayal, Seth Rollins has become a 6-time world champion, held the Money in the Bank briefcase twice, won the 2019 Royal Rumble, won tag team championships with four different partners, once considered himself a “Monday Night Messiah” (and even had his own “Disciples”), founded and was later ousted from The Vision, poked a man’s eye out in a sanctioned match (it was a whole thing), got a very catchy theme song, and married and had a child with Becky Lynch. Meanwhile, Roman Reigns has become a 4-time world champion, holds the record for the longest world championship reign in modern WWE history, beat leukemia back into remission, got showered in dog food, and founded The Bloodline (WWE’s most influential stable in decades). Now, twelve years later, the two Shield brothers are running it back.

To borrow a phrase from the legendary Kevin Steen/El Generico feud, they seem “destined to do this forever”. Though, forever seems to have an expiration date. Per Seth Rollins himself, he and Reigns are “closer to the end” than they are from the beginning. They need to finally finish this chapter of their lives, get a clean break, and decide who is the better man once and for all. With Roman Reigns being on a part-time schedule and Seth Rollins’s injury list piling up, this might be the last chance to give them that high-profile send-off, the final, final hurrah of The Shield. This is going to be an emotion-fueled match, expect callbacks galore from their Shield days and false finishes aplenty as the two brothers dig deep to put the other in the ground. 

Other Things To

Look Out For: 

- Big Cass has been advertised to return on the Raw after Summerslam, but maybe he could return earlier (a la Big Show before the 2004 Royal Rumble). If he does appear at this pay-per-view, look for him to make an immediate splash against a main eventer.

- Also be on the lookout for a big return. Over the last few Summerslam PPVs, we’ve seen the return of Brock Lesnar, Becky Lynch, and Roman Reigns. Some big names that have been out for a long period of time are Randy Orton, Drew Mcintyre, Kevin Owens, AJ Lee, and Stephanie Vaquer.

- A week before Summerslam, Raquel Rodriguez won the Women’s Intercontinental Championship from Sol Ruca. Though she doesn’t have a match scheduled for Summerslam, be on the lookout for her and the rest of the Judgment Day this weekend. 

- Though Rhea Ripley is rehabbing her injury, she could still make an appearance on the weekend. Possibly to stare down the new Interim Women’s Champion? 

- This is a high-profile WWE event and they’ll look to attract celebrities of all kinds. Expect a lot of ringside cameos, and maybe a Jelly Roll-esque appearance in the ring to chokeslam The Miz or something. 

---

Jhuvin P is a new writer for CBC/DSR. He has previous experience as a ghostwriter, has published several short stories, and is perpetually working on a novel. In addition to writing, he is also a comedian based out of Colorado Springs. He posts clips of his stand-up along with his other goofy antics on TikTok and Instagram. 

Violent J and Desmond Ingram Team Up for Official JCW Lunacy Comic Book

As Juggalo Championship Wrestling is expands the world of JCW Lunacy, an official comic book featuring dozens of wrestlers from the company’s roster is now their latest project. JCW founder and one-half of Insane Clown Posse, Violent J, and comic book writer Desmond Ingram co-write the story, with artwork by Bryan SilverbaX, and colors by Damir Rosic. According to Ingram, the comic follows the persistent conflict between the Juggalo World Order and Big Vito LoGrasso’s crew.

Big Vito’s attempted takeover of JCW escalates into a full-fledged faction war when Violent J revives the Juggalo World Order to dismantle Vito’s Luciano Family. Big Vito’s crew is staunchly anti-Juggalo, while Violent J obviously represents a for Juggalos by Juggalos faction. This long-running attempted takeover is fruitful and ongoing territory but doesn’t require Lunacy loyalty to follow.

The project is headed by Ingram, a United States Marine Corps vet, musician, and founder of the independent comic company Henchman and Heroes, which has already released a series of single-page digital wrestling comics that will soon be available as a physical collection: SQUASH MATCH! CARNAGE VS DEATHKNELL.

In a July 27th post, Ingram said he was happy to announce the collaboration finally and that he thinks they cooked up an insane story. He went on to say that developing an official JCW comic in coordination with Violent J has been an honor. Expect appearances by a host of the eclectic JCW roster, including Willie Mack, EC3, 2 Tuff Tony, Nic Nemeth, Josh Bishop, and Caleb Konley, along with dozens of other JCW personalities.

The Don, Big Vito LoGrasso, is at the center of the story, and in his own announcement, he described it as another milestone in a career spanning more than three decades. “From the independent scene to WWE, ECW, WCW, TNA, and now JCW, it’s always been about entertaining the fans and leaving a legacy,” Vito wrote. “The Don has officially made comic book history.”

The comic is expected to be released around the time of the 26th Annual Gathering of the Juggalos, which will be held in Macks Creek, MO, August 19th-22nd. When I spoke with Ingram, he said physical copies of the comic are expected to be part of a larger bundle at this year's Gathering. Still, he cautioned that production delays are always possible.  Although a digital edition has not yet been officially announced, those involved in the project expect one to be available.

The announcement represents another step in JCW’s effort to build Lunacy into a larger fictional universe. The promotional episodic weekly is already blending wrestling matches with serialized plots that borrow from ICP culture and beyond with hyperbolic characters and comic-book-style storytelling. There’s been no indication that the initial release will expand to a series, but moving these wrestlers into an illustrated narrative makes natural sense and gives JCW another format in which to develop its rivalries, factions, and increasingly elaborate mythology. More release information will be announced through JCW, during future episodes of JCW Lunacy, and through Henchman & Heros.

First look at the cover of the upcoming JCW Legacy Comic

Jenny Catlin is a writer and pop culture enthusiast based in the square states. She’s a contributing writer to The Athletic, a Lighthouse Writers Book Project Fellow, and an award-winning essayist obsessed with obsession. You can find her on Instagram or Substack.

A Handy Guide To: AEW Redemption 2026

Need to know when and where to watch an upcoming PPV/PLE? Need to know who’s fighting who? Need to know why you should care? Then, you’ve come to the right place!

A Handy Guide is a new series here on Dirt Sheet Radio and Comic Book Clique where we run down an upcoming pay-per-view’s match card, and discuss the competitors and stories coming into each match. For now, our focus is going to be on WWE and AEW, but if there’s interest, we may expand to companies like TNA, NJPW, and more.

Today’s edition is all about AEW Redemption 2026, taking place on Sunday, July 26th, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. This is the inaugural Redemption event and the first AEW PPV to take place in Montreal. 

The PPV will air on major cable and satellite providers in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. U.S. and Canadian viewers can stream the event on YouTube, Prime Video, and DAZN. Additionally, U.S. fans can also stream it on HBO Max at a discount, or catch it at select Dave & Buster locations nationwide. International viewers can view the event on PPV.com or MyAEW.com. 

This article does not cover any of the Buy-In (pre-show) matches, and as always the card is subject to change. But for now, these are the matches, and these are the stories:

Mark Davis vs. Andrade El Ídolo— National Championship Match

To the surprise of no one, the Don Callis Family is all over this show, and out of all the matches on this card, this one is the Doniest Callisiest Familiest of them all. When Andrade returned to AEW, he immediately aligned himself with Don Callis and his growing family. However, the DCF’s biggest strength (numbers) is also its biggest weakness. The more members they have, the more egos need to be balanced, and Andrade didn’t want to get lost in the shuffle behind guys like Okada, Fletcher, or the newly acquired Kevin Knight. 

Things came to a head at Forbidden Door. Andrade was handpicked by Don Callis to join Team MJF in the wild and bloody “Death’s Door” twelve-man tag team cage match. He protested the decision, primarily due to his hatred for MJF, and would loudly betray his team during the match. Now on his own and with an eye for singles gold, Andrade won a number one contender’s match for a shot against a familiar face: the National Champion, and DCF member, Mark Davis. 

Mark Davis joined the family back in 2025 as part of a spiteful feud against Will Ospreay. He’s brought both muscle and brains to the group, beating down DCF adversaries with precise brutality. He made it to the semifinals of this year’s Owen Hart Tournament, and a couple of months ago, he won the AEW National Championship from “Jungle” Jack Perry. Davis has defended the belt in RevPro and Ring of Honor, and most recently defended it in a hard-hitting match on Collision against “Speedball” Mike Bailey. This Sunday, he is not only defending the championship, but also the honor of the Don Callis Family. 

"The Painmaker" Chris Jericho vs. Tommaso Ciampa

— No Holds Barred

This feud has hit all the notes for a typical face/heel feud. Returning star receives a welcome back pop and an automatic face turn, heel is jealous of face because “reason”, something something respect. 

Tommaso Ciampa has made his hatred for Chris Jericho crystal clear (even spoofing his infamous 1,004 Reasons promo to explain it). He believes he is better than Jericho and feels he needs to expose him as a fraud following his return to AEW. As for Jericho, he is running solo for the first time since the disbandment of the Jericho Appreciation Society, and sees Ciampa as a nuisance (see: Jericho calling him “Tommy” during a recent promo battle). The two faced off for the first time at Beach Break, and Ciampa won after blinding Jericho with sand and hitting him with a running knee. Typical heel work, typical end to a filler feud. 

And then Ciampa tried to attack Jericho with a power drill.

“Psycho Killer” Tommaso Ciampa has re-emerged, and it seems this is no longer just about respect. Now, he wants to kill Jericho(?). Meanwhile, Jericho has not taken this threat lying down, and has tapped into his own sadistic side, returning to his Painmaker moniker to enact revenge on Ciampa. Ciampa has upped the stakes and called for a No Holds Barred match, Jericho has accepted. Painmaker versus Psycho Killer; this is going to be brutal.

Cage and Cope (Christian Cage/Adam Copeland) vs. The Death Riders (Claudio Castagnoli/Pac)

— Tag Team Championship Match

When Christian Cage and Adam Copeland became the AEW tag team champions, it was a cathartic moment. Two best friends whose careers were cut short due to injuries, returned and branched off on their own paths, and then came together to remind themselves and the world how great they are. Some people thought they might slow down a little bit. Some people thought they would take on challengers sporadically until dropping the belts and riding off into the sunset. Those people do not know Cage and Cope. 

In their first two defenses of the championships, they faced young, hungry competitors in The Dogs (Clark Connors and David Finlay) and The Death Riders (Daniel Garcia and Wheeler Yuta). The Dogs and Death Riders are now aligned to inflict pain and violence all throughout AEW, and the tag team championships remain in their crosshairs. Since the younger Death Riders were unable to get the job done, the heavy hitters are now taking their shot. Claudio Castagnoli and PAC are wrestling savants with kicks and elbows that can take your head off. Cage and Cope will not let the titles go without a fight, and Claudio and PAC are the perfect wrestlers to bring the fight to them. 

Bang Bang Gang

(Jay White/Juice Robinson) vs. The Dogs (Clark Connors/David Finlay) — Double Chain Match

Speaking of The Dogs, they have been engaged in a bloody and personal feud with the Bang Bang Gang that stems from a historic schism of one of Japan’s most infamous factions. In 2023, Jay White lost a “Loser Leaves NJPW” match, and as he was addressing the crowd, David Finlay attacked him and took control of Bullet Club. Finlay saw the faction through to its bitter end while White joined AEW and formed Bullet Club Gold (later the Bang Bang Gang). In 2025, Jay White needed to take time off to deal with some severe injuries and would be sidelined for 15 months. Enough time for David Finlay and Clark Connors to finish their tenures in New Japan and set their sights on becoming all elite.  

The Dogs formed in full force back in March when David Finlay made his AEW debut to help Clark Connors and the other dog, Gabe Kidd. Formed from the ashes of the Bullet Club, these three men have run roughshod through the AEW roster and were set to win the tag team championships at Forbidden Door. Until Jay White made a surprise return and attacked David Finlay, costing them the match. There is a price to pay this Sunday, and it will be paid with blood and chains. The Double Chain Match will supposedly function much like the Double Dog Collar Match between FTR and The Briscoes in 2022. One member of a tag team will be chained to a member of the opposing team, ensuring there is nowhere to run or hide, and the violence will not stop until there is a pinfall or submission. 

Kyle Fletcher vs. Bandido— International Championship Match

On March 28, 2026, Kyle Fletcher suffered a torn meniscus, fractured tibia, and fractured ankle. These injuries should have taken him out of action for months. Less than sixty days later, Kyle Fletcher returned at Double or Nothing to help kick Konosuke Takeshita out of the Don Callis Family. An insane amount of luck kept Fletcher from needing surgery and allowing him to rehab so quickly. Though, it wasn’t luck that helped him defeat Takeshita and win the International Championship. 

The golden boy of the Don Callis Family is riding high after betraying one of his best friends— again— and taking his title in the process. He has already amassed one successful title defense against the high-flying luchador Komander, and at Redemption he’s set to face another luchador: Bandido. 

At just thirty-one years old, Bandido has already solidified himself as a legendary luchador and has held the ROH World Championship now for over 470 days. He combines smooth high-flying prowess with a disproportionate strength that allows him to easily throw around guys twice his size. And he, like so many wrestlers, has a bone to pick with the Don Callis Family. After Fletcher successfully defended his championship, he and the DCF sought to unmask Komander. He was saved by Bandido and Brody King, which enraged Fletcher enough to call the tag team out for a singles match with the International Championship on the line. It’s a bold, emotional move on the young champion’s part, but if it pays off, it can go a long way in solidifying Fletcher as a main-event talent. 

If it pays off…

Six-Man Ladder Match to Become #1 Contender for the International Championship

The multi-man ladder match is the bay leaf for a pro wrestling match card. You don’t always need it, and you don’t know how it got in there, but man is it giving that stew the good spice. On this pay-per-view, the spice is coming from a six-man ladder match to determine the new number one contender for Kyle Fletcher’s International Championship. Already announced for the match are: Quebec’s own “Speedball” Mike Bailey, the man who nearly defeated Fletcher in his first defense, Komander, the former National Champion “Jungle” Jack Perry, and The Beast Mortos, who returns to AEW after dealing with visa issues. 

The final two entrants will be determined in qualifying matches on Saturday night’s Collision. AR Fox takes on “The Prodigy” Nick Wayne, and the last time these two faced off, Fox was victorious and also won the ROH World Television Championship from Wayne. Now, they face off for a shot at a different championship. The second qualifying match is between El Clon, the evil side split off from the wrestler Hologram after he began “glitching out” in the ring, and Lio Rush, who has become possessed by a demon that has made him go insane and also won him the ROH World TV title. Wrestling is fun. 

Hikaru Shida vs. Maya World

— TBS Championship Match

Hikaru Shida returned to AEW in April to answer Willow Nightingale’s challenge, coincidentally, for the TBS Champion. Over the next few weeks, Shida began developing an attitude and animosity towards her fellow competitors. She was more brutal and relentless in the ring, all for the sake of becoming a champion again. She fully turned heel during the Survival of the Fittest match, submitting Kris Statlander after she was blindsided by Persephone, and becoming the TBS Champion. She has shown no mercy to challengers and continues beating them down after the bell rings. It’s during her post-match beatdown of Queen Aminata that she was interrupted by her newest challenger: Maya World. 

Maya World has had a whirlwind couple of months. After the tragic loss of her brother, she continued to wrestle in order to honor his memory. That drive and dedication earned her a spot at Forbidden Door and in the finals of the Women’s Owen Hart Cup tournament. Despite coming up short, it gained her respect and adoration from the fans, and a continued presence on AEW television. Now, on the heels of her great showing at Forbidden Door, she is in another high-profile pay-per-view match. Can she ride her momentum all the way to her first AEW championship win? Or will Hikaru Shida continue to hone her ruthless edge and extend her reign?

The Young Bucks vs. Death Riders (Will Ospreay/Jon Moxley)

After defeating him at Dynasty in April, Jon Moxley started a campaign to recruit Will Ospreay. It was a confusing move, the two men are like oil and water. Moxley is cold, methodical, and violent; Ospreay is flashy, high-flying, and…okay, so he’s violent too but in a video game character kind of way. Still, though, why would Moxley want Ospreay of all people to join the Death Riders? The answer, it turns out, is deceptively simple: Ospreay earned Moxley’s respect. He’s willing to work with the Aerial Assassin so he can live up to the latter part of that moniker. Ospreay was hesitant at first, but he eventually learned to tap into his more violent side, and even the most apprehensive Death Riders learned to embrace their newest recruit. With the Death Riders in his corner, Will Ospreay vanquished Swerve Strickland at Forbidden Door and won the Men’s Owen Hart tournament. 

The lessons continue, however, and Moxley has taken the full-fledged Death Rider completely under his wing. Moxley and Ospreay have become a formidable mentor/student tag team, defeating their opponents with a brutality that some would deem unnecessary. The Death Riders would deem it as part of the business. Meanwhile, the Young Bucks have their sights set on the world tag team championships again and want to ensure The Elite are all holding gold sooner rather than later. They see Will Ospreay and, by extension, the Death Riders as a threat to that golden prophecy.

The Young Bucks have challenged Moxley and Ospreay to a match at Redemption, and the Death Riders have accepted. With the Bucks being best friends to Ospreay’s potential All-In opponent, Kenny Omega, how personal will he take this match? Will it be “just business” for him? Or a prelude to what could await Kenny in London in one month?

Thekla vs. Willow Nightingale

— Women’s World Championship Match

Back in May, Willow Nightingale suffered a shoulder injury that forced her to relinquish her TBS Championship and drop out of the Owen Hart tournament. This was a significant loss to the women’s division and hurt the momentum of Willow, who was having a banner year. However, earlier this month at Beach Break, Willow made a shocking return during the Women’s Casino Gauntlet, ultimately winning the match and a shot at the AEW Women’s Championship. Willow Nightingale proudly revels in this pay-per-view’s theme of redemption. On an episode of Collision, she declared, “Redemption means…that the worst day of my career doesn’t have to define the rest of it.” She’s been vocal about the pain of losing it all, but also the strength it took to get her back and better than ever. She is not going to waste this chance to get back to the top of the women’s division.

However, the woman standing in her way is the mean, violent, toxic champion Thekla. After winning the championship in a bloody strap match against Kris Statlander in February, Thekla has been on a reign of terror. Alongside Julia Hart and Skye Blue, the Triangle of Madness has engaged in regular beatdowns of the women’s division and antagonized pretty much anyone with a pulse. Unfortunately for her challengers, Thekla has backed her trash talk up decisively in the ring. Over the last five months, she’s amassed victories against the likes of Thunder Rosa, Mina Shirakawa, Jamie Hayter, Alex Windsor, and Stardom’s own Starlight Kid. Neither woman is backing down from the other, and when these two dynamic forces finally meet, it’s surely going to be spectacular. 

Kenny Omega vs. Kevin Knight

— Men’s World Championship Match

There is perhaps no other wrestler on this card that embodies the theme of redemption like Kenny Omega. Back in January 2025, Kenny Omega returned after a thirteen-month absence due to a life-threatening bout of diverticulitis. During that time away, he had two feet (sixty-one centimeters) of his intestines removed and was told he could never return to the level of the Best Bout Machine, the seven-star man, the God of Pro Wrestling. To return to the ring was already a miracle, to become AEW champion again was another thing entirely. Jameus Mooney wrote a beautiful article that touches on how much Kenny’s identity is linked to the AEW World Championship, and you can read that here. 

Winning the world championship means ultimate vindication for Kenny. Yes, he did win the International Championship from Konosuke Takeshita during this time, which was vindicating in its own right, but it wasn’t the World Championship. It wasn’t the championship synonymous with All Elite Wrestling, the company he built. At Dynasty, Kenny was unsuccessful at wrestling the world championship from MJF, but managed to secure a rematch at Beach Break. However, it was with an asterisk that has plagued The Elite since AEW’s inception: if Kenny lost, he could never challenge for the world championship ever again. Thankfully, Kenny Omega found himself again and regained the world championship at Beach Break. Kenny knows it’s going to be a journey to keep his championship, but he also knows this will all result in the “best” version of Kenny Omega that AEW has ever seen. A version that every challenger of the belt will have to combat.

Enter the TNT Champion, Kevin Knight. 

Kevin Knight won the TNT Championship in a Casino Gauntlet match at Dynasty in April. The win came as a surprise to everyone…who hasn’t been watching the product. Kevin Knight has quickly become one of AEW’s most reliable talents, and him winning the TNT Championship shows the company believes he is the present and future of the business. However, that responsibility has deformed into arrogance, and he believes the people that have lifted him up are actually anchors holding him down. At Double or Nothing, he let one of those anchors loose by turning heel on Darby Allin. Since then, he has split from his tag team partner, “Speedball” Mike Bailey, joined the Don Callis Family, and called out the new world champion. 

Kenny has called Kevin Knight out for being a fraud. He believes there is still goodness inside Knight and wants to see the return of “The Jet”. But Kevin Knight doesn’t believe there is goodness in his heart, only greatness. That ego may get the better of the TNT Champion. His growing disdain over certain members of the DCF (*cough* Kyle Fletcher *cough*) has caused him to ban the rest of the family from ringside during this match.  This will be the first test of Kenny’s reign and the biggest test of Kevin’s entire career. Whatever the outcome, this is sure to be an exciting match.

Other Things To Look Out For

Where is Swerve Strickland? After coming up short in the finals of the Owen Hart tournament, he hasn’t been seen on television. Could he make an appearance at Redemption? And if so, who does he go for next? 

Hangman Adam Page can never challenge for the AEW World Championship again, leaving his next path wildly up to interpretation. Could we see a hint of what he does next on this night?

Mercedes Mone went back-to-back and won the Owen Hart tournament two years in a row. She’s set to face the women’s champion at All-In, so she’s certain to make an appearance at Redemption, possibly after (or during?) the women’s championship match.

It was also announced that this PPV would celebrate 80 years of the Rougeau wrestling dynasty. Expect a nice, respectful ceremony at the event with very little chance of shenanigans. 

A plethora of former WWE wrestlers have entered free agency. Big names like Motor City Machine Guns, Kairi Sane, and The New Day are on the market and have not yet confirmed where they’re going next. Could we see some new faces become all elite at Redemption?

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Jhuvin P is a new writer for CBC/DSR. He has previous experience as a ghostwriter, has published several short stories, and is perpetually working on a novel. In addition to writing, he is also a comedian based out of Colorado Springs. He posts clips of his stand-up along with his other goofy antics on TikTok and Instagram. 

AJ Lee Comeback? | AEW PPVs on HBO Max | Summer of Bandido | Dirt Sheet Radio Ep. 208

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