Steve Maclin has made his first known move since leaving TNA, appearing at Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling’s television taping in Windsor on August 7.
At the event, Maclin defeated Psycho Mike in his first appearance of the night. He later interrupted commentary on camera and was then involved in a match with Rhino.
During that segment, Maclin attacked Rhino before the match began. He was eventually disqualified, then continued the assault after the bell. The chaos also saw Maclin attack the referee and a doctor before ending the angle with a con-chair-to on Rhino.
Maclin became a free agent after departing TNA in June. He was also recently stripped of the Boca Raton Championship Wrestling Heavyweight Championship after announcing that he would not appear at the promotion’s August 16 Summer Smash event.
There had been preliminary contact between Maclin and AEW after his TNA exit, but his appearance in Windsor confirms that Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling is part of the former TNA World Champion&#8217;s immediate plans. Adam Copeland is scheduled to appear for MLP at Northern Rising.

Steve Maclin Debuts For Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling After TNA Exit

Paige is set to appear on the August 14 edition of WWE SmackDown following her latest issues with Nikki Bella.
The development came after the August 7 show, when Nikki blamed Paige for their loss to Fatal Influence at SummerSlam and for losing the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship. Nikki said she had finally reached her limit before turning on her former partner.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="525" data-dnt="true">
Nikki Bella is on a mission to make Paige&#39;s life a living hell. 😳<a href="https://x.com/NikkiAndBrie?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NikkiAndBrie</a> <a href="https://t.co/l7YIIROPQA">pic.twitter.com/l7YIIROPQA</a>
&mdash; WWE (@WWE) <a href="https://x.com/WWE/status/2085903954722935025?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 8, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Paige responded on social media by rejecting Nikki’s version of events. She said she had kept Nikki from being pinned twice at SummerSlam, noted that she was the one who won the tag titles for their team, and confirmed that she will be back on SmackDown next week.
&#8220;I saved your a$$ from getting pinned twice at summerslam.. I’m also the one who WON those championships. I’ll be back next week. You haven’t seen anything yet babe.&#8221;
Below is the updated card for next week&#8217;s SmackDown:
&#8211; United States Championship Match: Baron Corbin (c) vs. Carmelo Hayes
&#8211; Women&#8217;s United States Championship Match: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Jacy Jayne
&#8211; WWE Tag Team Championship Match: R-Truth and Damian Priest (c) vs. The MFTs (Tama Tonga and Talla Tonga) (with Haku) vs. AAA Tag Team Champions The War Raiders (Erik and Ivar)
&#8211; Paige will address Nikki Bella&#8217;s heel turn

New Segment Announced For Next Week’s SmackDown

Tatum Paxley’s SmackDown debut was reportedly the result of a request from Charlotte Flair.
According to False Finish, Flair personally wanted WWE to bring Paxley into the new group that appeared with her and Alexa Bliss on the August 7 edition of SmackDown.
The group formed during the show’s main event. Flair was facing Jade Cargill when B-Fab and Michin got involved. Bliss then appeared with Lily, and after the arena lights went out, Paxley was shown on the top rope when they came back on. She then took out B-Fab and Michin from above.
With the interference neutralized, Flair defeated Cargill. The show ended with Flair, Bliss and Paxley standing together.
The report did not say whether the alliance is expected to continue, but it stated that Paxley’s debut in the group was pushed by Flair rather than being a standard call-up decision.

Why Tatum Paxley Debuted During The SmackDown Main Event

On last night&#8217;s SmackDown, Chelsea Green had a celebration for her Interim WWE Women’s Championship victory at SummerSlam. Later in the same show, she was pinned in a Women&#8217;s Tag Team Championship match against Fatal Influence.
The finish drew strong criticism from viewers, many of whom questioned why WWE had its newest champion lose so quickly after winning the title.
One fan wrote: &#8220;Why are you making Chelsea Green eat a pin already???&#8221;
Another post said: &#8220;Making your women’s champion be a jobber for Fatal Influence in her first match since winning the title is certainly a choice.&#8221;
Some fans also argued that the result undercut the start of Green’s title reign: &#8220;How do you want us to care about these superstars when you pin your champions a few days after winning?&#8221;
Another reaction stated: &#8220;Pinning your new WWE women’s champion is disgusting. Thanks for letting us know yall don’t give a f**k about Chelsea Green.&#8221;

Fans Criticize WWE Booking After Chelsea Green Got Pinned On SmackDown

Chelsea Green said her WWE Women’s Title win at SummerSlam felt like a full-circle moment and would leave her satisfied if she chose to retire today.
Green won the interim WWE Women’s Championship in a multi-woman ladder match at SummerSlam after Rhea Ripley was sidelined with an injury. The victory also made Green a WWE Triple Crown Champion.
Speaking to XTU Philadelphia, Green described the title win as perfectly timed, with her family and husband there to see it.
“It does, and it just, it truly does feel like everything happened at the perfect time in Minnesota at SummerSlam with my family ringside, my husband ringside. Like I could not have asked for a better full circle moment.
If I were to close the book that is WWE or that is professional wrestling or whatever it is, I would be so happy doing that today because of this moment.”

Chelsea Green Says She Can Happily Retire After WWE Women’s Title Win

Tessa Blanchard said she now sees WWE’s decision not to sign her as a positive turning point in her career.
Speaking on WrestleMagicPod, Blanchard recalled advice from William Regal during her time around WWE. She said Regal asked whether she would still wrestle if WWE did not sign her, then told her to get more experience.
“If we did not sign you right now, would you still be a wrestler? Okay, well then I need you to go out there and get more experience.”
Blanchard said the setback was difficult at the time, but she followed that advice by working and training in several countries, including Japan, China, Australia, Austria and the United Kingdom. She said that experience helped her become a more versatile wrestler.
“I remember feeling kind of defeated, but I went to Japan. I went to China. I went to Australia. I went to Austria. I went to the UK. I trained in all these countries. I learned every style. I wanted to be the most versatile wrestler that I could be, so no matter who I was in the ring with, what style, what country, it didn’t matter. I could go out there and have a great match.”
Blanchard said she had originally expected WWE to be her long-term destination and did not see TNA as part of her path. She added that WWE already knew her through extra work, the Mae Young Classic and her appearance in Fighting with My Family, but she decided to prove herself elsewhere.
Her career later developed in TNA, where she said Tommy Dreamer and Jimmy Jacobs helped her understand television wrestling. She went on to win the Knockouts Championship and later the TNA Men&#8217;s World Championship.

Tessa Blanchard Says WWE Passing On Her Helped Her Career

D-Von Dudley has clarified that he was not claiming anyone inside WWE wants Vince McMahon to return.
Speaking on D-Von &amp; The Duke, Dudley said his earlier remarks were about comments he had seen from fans online during periods when WWE was being criticized for creative decisions.
“Even with the whole thing with Vince, me saying that people want to see Vince back. No, what I’m saying is reports that I have seen from the fans. If you went online during the time I saw it, you’d see the same thing.
When WWE was criticized for certain storylines and not pushing people, fans were saying, ‘Oh, it wouldn’t have happened if Vince was there. We would love to have Vince back.’
I’m not saying that people within the company are saying that. I’m saying the fans are saying that, and that’s what I was reading.”
Dudley also said the reaction to his comments showed how easily online opinion can be treated as fact. He added that negative voices often receive the most attention on social media, even if they do not reflect the full audience.
He also referenced the controversy surrounding McMahon’s exit and said it created major problems for WWE as the company tried to move forward.
“It’s always the fans that criticize and badmouth a company that get the loudest voice. But all the people that say the opposite, those are the ones you barely hear unless you read the comments on social media.
So I’m not saying talent. It’s the fans in general that are saying this. I can’t dictate what the fans say. I don’t do that. I can’t speak for them.”

Steve Maclin Debuts For Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling After TNA Exit

New Segment Announced For Next Week’s SmackDown

Why Tatum Paxley Debuted During The SmackDown Main Event

Fans Criticize WWE Booking After Chelsea Green Got Pinned On SmackDown

Chelsea Green Says She Can Happily Retire After WWE Women’s Title Win

Tessa Blanchard Says WWE Passing On Her Helped Her Career

D-Von Dudley Says His Vince McMahon Comments Were About Fans, Not WWE Talent