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Naomi had the option to not lose twice before her WWE return. For the first time in her WWE career, Naomi won the Money in the Bank Ladder match. Her latest accolade was written about by former TNA President Scott D'Amore in his column on Uncrowned. D'Amore wrote about when Naomi ventured into TNA Wrestling. He remembers the conversation they had about her returning to WWE and said tears were shed. D'Amore noted she had every right to not do the Knockouts World Title rematch with Jordynne Grace before returning to WWE, but wrote that she insisted on taking that loss before heading back. But, of course, I have an affinity for Naomi … or rather Trinity, which is her real name and what she was known as during her incredible run in TNA from 2023-24. Trinity was a massive get for TNA. The transition from the WWE can be tough when it's all you've ever known, but once she committed, she was phenomenal. Trinity had no ego, brought no drama — just had a team-first attitude. She was a huge boost to the entire locker room, not just the Knockouts division. Everyone knew she’d probably return to WWE eventually, and we were cool with that. The goal was always to showcase her as a featured star and help her continue growing. She delivered at every major milestone — from Slammiversary to Bound for Glory, then into the TNA rebrand at Hard to Kill in January 2024. She signed to go back to WWE, and told me in December 2023. She had every right to say, “Hey, I need to drop the belt quickly and I can’t lose twice to Jordynne Grace during Hard to Kill weekend.” I actually offered her an out — to drop the title and then not do the rematch on television just days later. But she insisted on doing the right thing, passing the torch to Jordynne and giving the TNA Knockouts Title full respect. When she sat me down and told me she was going back to WWE, she did it in person and was gracious enough to tell me what her time in TNA had meant to her. That gave me the chance to tell her exactly what she had done for TNA in return. Some tears were shed, so yeah, if I am thrilled that Trinity won Money In The Bank and will be in a WWE title program, don’t blame me. Naomi has not held a singles title in WWE since being SmackDown Women's Champion in 2017.

NXT is headed to Houston. Shawn Michaels announced that the July 22nd episode of WWE NXT will take place from the 713 Music Hall in Houston, Texas. NXT Champion Oba Femi, NXT Women's Champion Jacy Jayne, NXT Women's North American Champion Sol Ruca, Tony D'Angelo, and Jaida Parker are currently advertised for the event. Houston… we have liftoff!@WWENXT touches down at @713musichall LIVE on @TheCW July 22. Pre-sale tickets available now with code SUPERSTAR. Offer ends Thursday at 11:59pm.https://t.co/nUov9cbpMB#WWENXT — Shawn Michaels (@ShawnMichaels) June 12, 2025 WWE Raw will be in Houston, Texas at the Toyota Center the night before. Fightful has coverage of WWE NXT every Tuesday beginning at 8 p.m. ET followed by a post-show review podcast on our YouTube channel.

Karrion Kross talks criticism. While Karrion Kross is currently seeing an upsurge in popularity with fans at this time, it wasn't always that way. In recent years, Kross has faced his fair share of criticism from fans, but for him, it has only made him better. While speaking on the Battleground podcast recorded before Money In The Bank, Kross was asked if there was anything he wanted to say to fans. "I want to say thank you to everybody who's in my corner. People who have been there from the beginning and people that are just getting in the corner now. I think the criticisms that I've been under, uh, since I've gotten back from WWE have actually helped me improve. I'm not one of those people where I'm just like, oh, you're not with me. Well, the hell with you. I take it all into consideration. It's made me better. It's made me hungrier. If me being in money in the bank is something you want to see, or me being more heavily featured on the show is something you want to see. Stay loud, hold your ground. I hear you every single Monday. I'm backstage doing things live deep in the building. I can hear you guys through the wall, and everybody comes up to me and goes,' did you hear that?' I'm like, yes, I did. It would be impossible not to. I could be in the parking garage and hear them through the wall. Coming to a WWE live event is unlike anything that anyone has ever experienced until you do it. Come to a live event and listen to that. I guarantee you it's 10 times louder live than it is through the TV speakers. Also, while you're at that WWE live event, buy a Karrion Kross t-shirt at the merch stand now. If you can find one. They are selling out. So I actually did speak with – I spoke with merch this week. They're going to be carrying more in stock as well. So this was, I guess to them is a bit of an experiment. They wanted to see how they're doing. I think we sold out of every single size last Monday except for large. So it's just talking to them, and they're going to be carrying more as well." Elsewhere in the same interview, Kross spoke about Moxley possibly returning to WWE. You can read more about that here. If you use any of the quotes above, please credit and link to the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.

Corgan clears up a misconception surrounding NWA collaborating with WWE. In May, WWE's Natalya made her way over to the National Wrestling Alliance for the Crockett Cup special. She challenged Kenzie Paige for the NWA World Women's Championship. Both Natalya and NWA owner Billy Corgan were on Busted Open and Natalya shared that she wants to go back to the organization to wrestle Paige again. Natalya: "I just hope that moving forward that I can continue to work for NWA because I plan on taking that championship off that b*tch! Kenzie Paige.” Later in the conversation, Corgan spoke about a misconception about the NWA and WWE collaborating. He said it was assumed that the NWA would be sold. Corgan stated that the organization is not for sale, nor has WWE asked if it was. Corgan: “The WWE endorsement, if you even wanna call it that -- let’s call it a blessing -- shows you that we’ve earned our spot in this game here. We’re not competition by any stretch of the imagination but we are a player now and the other thing I wanna add really quickly is we’re not for sale. A lot of people assumed that the minute that door opened with Nattie, that that night we were gonna be sold. We’re not for sale and WWE has not asked.” The National Wrestling Alliance made the announcement that their Powerrr series is going to be moving to The Roku Channel in July. If the quotes in this article are used, please credit Busted Open with an H/T to Fightful for the transcriptions.

The American Gladiators have been named. Tony Maglio of The Hollywood Reporter reports that Wardlow, Kamille, Eric Bugenhagen (Rick Boogs in WWE), Jessie Godderz (aka Mr. PEC-Tacular), and Jessica Roden (aka J-Rod) are among the 16 Gladiators set for the "American Gladiators" reboot. “The original Gladiators were iconic, so our search for the new Gladiators had to be exhaustive. Our team went cross country, meeting with thousands of fitness influencers and professional athletes to find the highest caliber of competitors” Barry Poznick, general manager MGM Alternative, Evolution Media and Big Fish Entertainment, told THR. “Every Gladiator in this lineup embodies what it means to be a modern warrior — relentless, inspiring, and ready for the challenge of a lifetime. They are real-life superheroes.” The Gladiators will have special names similar to the original series, but names have not been announced. List of Gladiators: Abigail Lay (Springfield, MI) Ayinde Warren (Silver Springs, MD) Dani Means (Los Angeles, CA) Dani Speegle (Houston, TX) Drew Aggouras (Boston, MA) Emily Nelson (Mesa, AZ) Eric Bugenhagen (Milwaukee, WI) Fessy Shafaat (Orlando, FL) Jason Peele (Southern Pines, NC) Jessica Roden (Mount Vernon, OH) Jessie Godderz (Weed, CA) Joseph Hall (Sacramento, CA) Kailey Latimer (Durham, NC) Lu Faustin (Brooklyn, NY) Michael Wardlow (Middlefield, OH) Sydney Hunter (Sacramento, CA) Fightful Select reported that Wardlow and Kamille have been off AEW television working on a TV project. "American Gladiators" will be hosted by The Miz and air on Amazon Prime.

Rhea Ripley reacts to her first ladder match in WWE. At WWE Money In The Bank this past weekend, Ripley would appear in the first ladder match of her career, taking part in the women's Money In Th Bank ladder match. While Ripley would come up short, she would be involved in several big spots in the match, including being sandwiched between ladders. While speaking to Complex Sports in a new interview, Rhea was asked about her experience in the match, noting that she was just trying not to die. "I mean, there was a lot of things going through my mind out there. I was just honestly trying not to die. I've never been in a ladder match before, like ever. So getting hit with ladders, falling on ladders, getting covered in ladders, they're... Sandwiched in ladders. They're a lot stiffer. I mean, obviously you'd think that they're pretty hard, but they... just trump anything that you're thinking. They're so much harder and painful than you could comprehend. So I was just trying to survive at that point." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Complex Sports (@complexsports) Elsewhere in the same interview, Ripley would name the WWE superstar she thinks would die first in a horror movie. You can read more about that here. If you use any of the quotes above, please credit and link to the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.

Tiffany Stratton just misses with her first pitch. WWE Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton threw out the first pitch at the New York Mets game on Thursday, June 12th. Wearing a custom Mets WWE Championship, Stratton delivered a field goal. Tiffany Stratton is here at Citi Field today! pic.twitter.com/6N33N58V6X — SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) June 12, 2025 Tiffany Stratton threw out the first pitch today at Citi Field! pic.twitter.com/ogfONOMMHC — SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) June 12, 2025 Grimace, celebrating his one-year anniversary as a Mets legend, clearly put a curse on her.

Michelle McCool details The Undertaker's recent heart issues. McCool and Undertaker were on hand for WrestleMania 41 festivities in Las Vegas, as Michelle McCool was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame. In addition to that, Undertaker was featured at WWE World. As it turns out, there were some worries behind the scenes, as Undertaker was in the midst of dealing with a heart issue. Undertaker and Michelle McCool broke down the situation on the latest episode of Six Feet Under. Michelle McCool: “It’s because of the heart issues you’ve been having weeks prior. Which, by the grace of god, we found out just by — It ended up being terrifying. The day we got home from WrestleMania, the next day at 6 am, we were at the hospital for a little bit of heart surgery.” Undertaker: “Just a little bit.” Michelle McCool: “It was your heart.” Undertaker: “There was that little sidebar going on.” Michell McCool: “A sidebar for five weeks. It was terrifying.” Undertaker: “I wasn’t supposed to go to Vegas.” Michelle McCool: “You weren’t supposed to go anywhere. You didn’t want me to tell anybody. Not fair to me, not fair. We were in the hospital for four nights two weeks before WrestleMania. Yeah, you weren’t supposed to go. I’m not mad at it because I’d probably be the same [way], but it was terrifying, I couldn’t focus on anything else. All I wanted to focus on was you, your heart, and getting you in with the best cardiologist, which we eventually did but that took a lot of phone calls. Several nights in the hospital. By the grace of god you are here, but out of the words of the doctor himself, it could’ve turned out badly had we not found it that day.” Undertaker: “You did. You made me go have a test done.” Michelle McCool: “I did. That I had scheduled in January, that’s crazy about it. You went to the doctor March 28th, I’ll never forget. Then you called me and you were like, 'They won’t run the heart exam.' Just a routine heart scan that we were gonna do.” Undertaker: “I didn’t even know that anything was wrong.” Michelle McCool: “Got you into another [appointment] about an hour later. They had one appointment open. Come to find you, you had been in chronic a-fib for who knows how long. But the scary part was that you didn’t feel any symptoms, so we didn’t know. Yeah, you came in a few times out of breath and I’d bust your balls like, 'Dude, you were just throwing the ball with the dog, why are you so out of breath?' Or going up the stairs to pray with the kids, 'Why are you out of breath', not thinking it was an actual heart issue. So, yeah. Medicines didn’t work and we ended up in the ER on a Friday. Of course you wouldn’t stay the night. At the end of Kai’s flag football all day Saturday, you looked at me and said, 'I’m still in a-fib.' because you were doing it with the watch. I was like, 'If you’re not out of a-fib when we’re getting ready to go to church tomorrow morning, we’re going to the hospital.' Thankfully you agreed. Michelle McCool: “We went to the hospital, numbers were out of wack. Heartbeat was out of wack. Your ejection fracture of how the blood was pumping or whatever was 30%, it wasn’t much. Supposed to be 100%, obviously. We ended up staying in the hospital for four nights where they actually had to cardiovert you and shock you back to a normal rhythm. That sadly lasted, what, 24 hours. Maybe 48. After four days we go home, two days later you’re back in a-fib. Man I was stressed.” The couple went on to note that heart issues have been resolved at this point. McCool and Undertaker will be featured on season two of WWE LFG, which will premiere on June 22. Learn more by clicking here. If you use any of the quotes above, please credit and link to the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.

Naomi captured the women's Money in the Bank briefcase at WWE Money in the Bank, marking the first time she had won the briefcase in five tries. Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Naomi was asked what was going through her mind as she unhooked the briefcase. "You never know. In wrestling, we all know, the card is always subject to change. Even that day and everything leading up to it, in my own mind, I knew I earned this moment. I knew I deserved it, but I still wasn't psyching myself out or telling myself until I wrapped my fingers around the handle and had [the briefcase]. In that moment, the funny thing is, it took so much to hold back my tears in that moment. I finally let it release when I had the aftershow with Big E. It was important that I really stayed true to who the character Naomi is at this time. That part was really hard because I was like, 'Oh my Gosh, I finally did it.' This has been a year in the making. Since my return, just wanting to really make the best use of my time here. I've always cared, but to be a little more assertive and aggressive this go round. That's something that I didn't have early on in my career. Some people say I'm too nice. I never felt like that was a bad thing and I don't regret being that way, but I understand now when and what to fight for at this stage of my career. With the choice of creative given me, I'm very thankful for this space and opportunity to continue to grow and show what I do and can bring to this division. It's been something I'm grateful for. To have all that going through my mind in that moment was a rush of emotions," she said. Naomi has already taken the briefcase to the BET Awards. She's also revealed what she keeps in the briefcase. You can see the contents by clicking here. If you use any of the quotes above, please credit and link to the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.

D'Amore inquired about Killings' availability. A week after being informed that his WWE contract was not being renewed, Ron 'R-Truth' Killings was brought back to the company in the main event of Money in the Bank. For that week, crowds across WWE programming chanted for Truth and his colleagues publicly showed support for him. Killings' return was written about by former TNA President Scott D'Amore in his latest column for Uncrowned. D'Amore shared that he exchanged messages with Killings before he came back to WWE. He inquired about his availability for the Maple Leaf Pro show in July. Here's what D'Amore wrote: I exchanged texts with Ronnie shortly before the show. No, he didn’t mention that he was going back to WWE — he’s a pro and he also knows that I hate spoilers. (Why would anyone WANT to know spoilers? Wrestling is at its best when there are surprises.) Obviously I wanted to check if there was a chance that he could be legally cleared to appear at Maple Leaf Pro'ss next big pay-per-view on July 5, but mainly we had a great talk about the outpouring of love from not just fans, but also Ronnie’s peers when news broke that he was done with WWE. I experienced something similar when I was let go from TNA in February 2024. Like I said to Ronnie, it is like attending your own funeral, and by that I mean you get to hear the things people usually only say when it’s too late. I don’t know for a fact if Ronnie asked WWE to be known as “Ron Killings” — his real name — as part of this new deal, but it is very smart. Because it is his legal name, he can use it for future projects, television shows, other wrestling gigs, signings, whatever. “R-Truth” is WWE IP. Killings showed up on the June 9th WWE Raw and to read a recap of his appearance, head over to this Fightful article.