Johnny Gargano Comments on “No More Laying Down. SmackDown Was The Beginning, Not The End”
Friday’s taped WWE SmackDown show in Cleveland, Ohio featured CM Punk defeating Johnny Gargano to retain the Undisputed WWE Championship. This match was notable for a backstage segment involving Punk managing to get Gargano to come back to normal after planking backstage in a depressed mood for months and compete for the title in front of his hometown crowd.
Following the show, Gargano reflected on Instagram about his match against Punk and it being the end of his planking backstage in WWE.
“Last night was for the people who never gave up on me, even when I gave up on myself.
I went toe to toe with the @WWE Champion in the main event of Smackdown in the arena where I first fell in love with professional wrestling as a child.
Cleveland, I love you.. you had my back against the best in the world. Punk said he now knows what it’s like to wrestle CM Punk in Chicago. All I’ve ever wanted to be was “your guy”, and make all of you proud.
For an indie kid like me.. it was an absolute honor, and dream to finally get in there with @CMPunk (who was the very first indie merch shirt I ever bought in High School)
I’d love to tell you I was at my best, but that’d be a lie. After laying around feeling sorry for myself for 8 months.. Mentally and physically.. I’m a work in progress.. but I guess we all are.
No more laying down. Last night was the beginning.. not the end. It’s time to stand up, be myself and put in the work to become the man I was always meant to be.
For you. For me. For those who still believe in Johnny Wrestling.
(The real Rebel Heart isn’t an option on here for audio, so just play it yourself and scroll through the pictures! )”
Adriana Rizzo Issues Statement on Her WWE Departure
As noted before, NXT and WWE EVOLVE talent Adriana Rizzo was released from WWE on Friday as part of a larger batch of talent cuts and departures.
Rizzo released an official statement earlier today on Twitter about her recent departure from WWE and thanking everyone who had supported her during her time with the company.
“My journey with WWE has come to an end.
The last four years have taken me through some of the highest highs and hardest moments of my life, and through all of it, I’m proud that I always remained me.
I’m incredibly grateful for my time as part of The D’Angelo Family. They truly became family to me. Becoming Adriana Rizzo was such a unique experience, and I loved every second of bringing her to life. That opportunity showed me that I was capable of so much more than I ever knew.
My journey wasn’t an easy one. An Achilles rupture and surgery, followed by an ACL and meniscus surgery, kept me out of the ring for nearly half of my time in NXT. But I fought like hell to come back.
And I did.
What makes this ending difficult is knowing how hard I fought to get back, and not getting the opportunity to show all of you just how much more I had to give. But I’ll never regret the fight it took to get there.
If any part of my journey means something to someone who has been knocked down, overlooked, injured, or told they were too far behind, I hope it reminds you to keep going. STAY RESILIENT!
Thank you to every coach, producer, teammate, friend, and person who believed in me and helped me along the way. And thank you to everyone who supported Adriana Rizzo. 🤌❤️
I don’t know exactly where the road takes me from here, but I know there is a lot more of my story left to write. If you want to continue supporting me and what I’ve been building check out https://saltanddaughters.com 🧂🌊
Onto the next chapter. And remember… Fool me once – I break ya face!”
My journey with WWE has come to an end.
— Adriana Rizzo ❤️🔥🐆 (@AdrianaRizzoWWE) September 5, 2026
The last four years have taken me through some of the highest highs and hardest moments of my life, and through all of it, I’m proud that I always remained me.
I’m incredibly grateful for my time as part of The D’Angelo Family. They truly… pic.twitter.com/cTz8bJKh5d
Royce Keys Reveals Name For His New Group With OTM
As noted before, the August 24th WWE RAW show in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada featured Royce Keys making his surprise return from “injury” and forming a new group with NXT talents OTM (Bronco Nima & Lucien Price). This new group attacked both The Usos and Solo Sikoa & LA Knight during the tag team match between both teams. Keys and OTM attacked The Usos for a second week in a row during the August 31st WWE RAW show.
Keys recently posted a video on Instagram featuring him and OTM revealing their new group name of “946.”
In the video, Keys stated that he’s been preaching that it’s not about family, it’s about loyalty. Keys also stated that nobody is safe and this isn’t a game because they live in the streets and it’s real life. Keys ended it saying “It’s what we do.”
WWE had filed a trademark for this new group name on August 28.
Backstage Update on WWE’s Pay Cut Offer Amount To Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods
As noted before, Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston departed from WWE this past May following a mutual decision over New Day not accepting a new restructured deal offer to stay in the company. Kofi and Austin Creed made their official debut for AEW at this past Sunday’s AEW All In 2026. Kofi and Creed had revealed in a recent interview with The Ariel Helwani Show that WWE’s pay cut offer was more than 50 percent. Former WWE talent Ridge Holland, real name Luke Menzies, had recently revealed on Twitter that WWE had asked him to take a 56% pay cut if he wanted to stay in the company in 2025.
The Wrestling Observer’s Bryan Alvarez reported that his sources stated that the 56% pay cut amount that Holland revealed he was asked to take was almost exactly what Kingston and Woods were asked to take from WWE.
AEW Dynamite Ratings – Sept. 2, 2026 – Viewership Up, Key Demo Down
AEW: MJF on His Belief “The Pendulum Has Swung’” Toward AEW Among “Real Wrestling Fans”, Mick Foley Makes Appeal To U.K. Fans For A Red & Black Flannel Shirt After Losing His Luggage, Will Ospreay on How He Had Expected The First Time He Got In The Ring Post Neck Surgery To Be “A Lot Worse”
AEW All In 2026 Part II Notes: Brawling Birds Wins AEW Women’s Tag Titles, Jon Moxley Wins AEW Continental Cup, Kazuchika Okada Wins AEW International Title, Andrade El Idolo Wins Men’s Casino Gauntlet, MCMG & FTR Returns, Sting Appears, Darby Allin Wins TNT Title, Mercedes Mone Wins AEW Women’s Title
![Jasper Troy Departs From WWE & More Talent Releases On-Going [Update x2: PJ Vasa, Wendy Choo, Adriana Rizzo, & Six More Developmental Talents Released]](https://www.tpww.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Wendy-Choo-540x304.jpg "Jasper Troy Departs From WWE & More Talent Releases On-Going [Update x2: PJ Vasa, Wendy Choo, Adriana Rizzo, & Six More Developmental Talents Released]")
