– Shawn Michaels isn’t letting the cat out of the bag regarding CM Punk’s participation in the October 1, 2024 edition of NXT in Chicago, Illinois. Iridian Fierro of Fightful interviewed Shawn Michaels for WGN Radio. HBK talked about the upcoming episode of WWE NXT that will take place on October 1, 2024 at the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois. Not only will this edition usher in a new era of WWE NXT as the show moves from the USA Network to the CW Network, but CM Punk will also appear as a special guest on this show.
Shawn Michaels said he wouldn’t dare reveal what they have planned for CM Punk at NXT on October 1, 2024. However, HBK hinted at more surprises for NXT viewers and everyone who will attend the show in Chicago:
“I can’t let the cat out of the bag at the moment. So, he [CM Punk] will be there. He will obviously play an important role for us and as I said, there will certainly be more surprises.”
Shawn Michaels also explained that while the NXT team loves their hometown of Orlando, Florida, they are all excited to be on the road with NXT and performing in front of the traditionally electrified Chicago crowd:
“The NXT Universe is, as they say, very excited to be coming to Chicago. Here in Orlando, our talent loves our home base and our arena, but going on tour is a really big event for us and our talent, so they’re excited to be coming to Chicago.
So they’re excited to come here and perform in front of one of the biggest crowds that anybody in the world knows, which is the Allstate Arena in Chicago. It’s certainly one of the best crowds to perform in front of and our NXT Superstars are really excited to be able to do just that.”
Randy Orton will succeed CM Punk and will appear as a special guest one week later on the NXT edition on October 8, 2024 in St. Louis, Missouri. The said NXT show on October 8, 2024 with Randy Orton will be broadcast on US TV parallel to “AEW Dynamite: Title Tuesday”.
– Since their debut at the WWE SummerSlam Premium Live Event in 2022, Damage CTRL has been used as a heel stable in WWE. In recent weeks, however, the group’s portrayal – which now consists of IYO SKY, Kairi Sane and Dakota Kai – has changed to be more in line with babyface characters. This change is said to have also been noticeable in the WWE’s internal roster, where Damage CTRL is now listed as a “babyface” on the “WWE Raw” roster.
According to PWInsider Elite, this change took place over the course of the last week. While SKY, Sane and Kai are now listed as babyfaces, Asuka, who is currently recovering from knee surgery, is still listed internally under “Miscellaneous”.
“The Empress of Tomorrow” reportedly sustained the knee injury during an edition of “WWE SmackDown” in March 2024. Nevertheless, she continued to perform as a wrestler in the weeks before and after WWE WrestleMania 40. Asuka and Sane’s loss to Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship at WWE Backlash seems to have marked Asuka’s temporary retirement from WWE TV, as she has not appeared as a wrestler since then. Instead, she is on the road to recovery, as various vlogs show.
Similar to Asuka, Dakota Kai is also sidelined due to a knee injury. After tearing his right meniscus, Kai is expected to be out for eight to ten weeks. In Kai’s absence, SKY and Sane will face The Unholy Union: Isla Dawn & Alba Fyre for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships on the next edition of “WWE Raw,” with Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark completing the match as the third team.
