The High Risk Wrestling Podcast

The artist formerly known as Mike Santana has made his way to NXT. After being a tag team wrestler for a long time, he bet on himself and worked his way up to being a world champion. I's time to tell his story.

• Previously - ep. 292: What Was Wrong with Summerslam '26
• Today - ep. 293: The Ballad of Mike Santana
• Ep. List - Who's Next in TNA
• Spotlight - NXT's Men's Division

The WWE brought us the biggest party of the Summer and even though it was good show, there was a lot left on the table. Today, we're going to talk about what was ultimately missing.

• Previously - ep. 292: Summerslam '26
• Today - ep. 293: What Was Wrong with Summerslam
• Ep. List - Ranking the WWE's Important PLE's
• Spotlight - Tatum Paxley

The WWE is bringing us the biggest party of the Summer from Minnesota and on paper it looks to be a good card. You know how we do with these shows so let's get into it.

• Previously - ep. 290: AEW Redemption '26
• Today - ep. 291: WWE Summerslam '26

Match Card

Saturday Night

• The Bella Twins (Nikki and Brie Bella) and Paige vs. Fatal Influence (Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley, and Lainey Reid)
• Gunther vs. Nick Aldis
• LA Knight, Solo Sikoa, and Royce Keys vs. The Bloodline (Jimmy and Jey Uso, and Jacob Fatu)
• Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar in a Hell in a Cell Match
• Liv Morgan (c) vs. Iyo Sky for the Women's World Championship
• CM Punk (c) vs. Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship

Sunday Night

• Trick Williams (c) vs. Baron Corbin for the WWE United States Championship
• Sami Zayn vs. Finn Balor to determine the #1 Contender for the WWE Championship
• Danhausen vs. Dominik Mysterio in a Human Monies on a Pole Match
• Tiffany Stratton vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Jade Cargill vs. Chelsea Green vs. TBD in Ladder Match to crown an Interim WWE Women's Champion
• Penta (c) vs. Chad Gable for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
• Roman Reigns (c) vs. Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship

AEW is bringing us a brand new PPV event in Redemption. Yes, this is a filler event as we are heading in to ALL IN, but this does have some stakes for the show. You know how we do with these shows - we're going to preview each match and make our predictions for the show. Let's get into it.

• Previously - ep. 289: What's Going on with TNA?
• Today - ep. 290: AEW Redemption '26 Preview and Predictions

Match Card

• Tommaso Ciampa vs. Chris Jericho in a No Holds Barred Match
• Mark Davis [c] vs. Andrade El Idolo for the AEW National Championship
• The Bang Bang Gang (Juice Robinson and Jay White) vs. The Dogs (Clark Conners and David Finlay) in a Double Chain Match
• Adam Copeland [c] and Christian Cage [c] vs. Death Riders (Claudio Castagnoli and Pac) for the AEW Men's World Tag Team Championship
• Jack Perry vs. Beast Mortos vs. Komander vs. Mike Bailey vs. El Clon vs. Nick Wayne in Int'l Championship #1 Contender Ladder Match
• Hikaru Shida [c] vs. Maya World for the AEW TBS Championship
• Kyle Fletcher [c] vs. Bandido for the AEW Int'l Championship
• Death Riders (Jon Moxley and Will Ospreay) vs. Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson)
• Thekla [c] vs. Willow Nightingale for the AEW Women's World Championship
• Kenny Omega [c] vs. Kevin Knight for the AEW Men's World Championship

There's something in the water with TNA. There's something going on with TNA. We've got to talk about it. The move back to the TNA branding was supposed to be, no pun intended, impactful, but was it? We're going to go over everything starting the re-brand and find out what's going on.

• Previously - ep. 288: When Fans Turn
• Today - ep. 289: What's Going on with TNA?
• Ep. List - The Current Best TNA Champions
• Spotlight - Mara Sade

Fans turning on the product or a wrestler or a story isn't anything new. Sometimes the obvious thing should be done. Sometimes the company makes the wrong decision. That all would cause the fans to turn. That's what we're talking about today.

• Previously - ep. 287: 2026 Second Quarter Recap
• Today - ep. 288: When Fans Turn
• List - Who Should Win the Men's MITB Briefcase
• Spotlight - Hikaru Shida

The 2nd quarter of the year is in the books and there was an unusually large amount of things that happened. From shocking world title wins to some losses and cuts, we'll cover it all.

• Previously - ep. 286: Forbidden Door '26
• Today - ep. 287: 2026 2nd Quarter Recap

AEW is once again bringing us their crossover PPV event, Forbidden Door, and this time CMLL and STARDOM have joined the fray. The card is fully loaded with top talent and top matches with major implications for the future. Let's get into it.

• Previously - ep. 285: Faction Warfare 8
• Today - ep. 286: Forbidden Door '26

Match Card

• Buy-In: Maika vs. Skye Blue in a TBS Championship Survival of the Fittest Qualifier
• Buy-In: Divine Dominion (Lena Kross and Megan Bayne) vs. Thunder Rosa and Olympia for the AEW Women's World Tag Team Championship
• Steel Cage Match: Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly, Konosuke Takeshita and Darby Allin vs. MJF, Kevin Knight, Kyle Fletcher, Jake Doyle, Kazuchika Okada and Andrade El Idolo
• Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Final: Mercedes Moné vs. Maya World
• Men’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Final: Will Ospreay vs. Swerve Strickland
• AEW Women’s World Championship Match: Thekla (c) vs. Starlight Kid
• AEW World Tag Team Championship Match
  Adam Copeland and Christian Cage (c) vs. David Finlay and Clark Connors
• AEW Continental Championship Match
  Jon Moxley (c) vs. Bandido
• IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship Match
  Shota Umino (c) vs. PAC
• Three-way Tag Team Match
  The Young Bucks vs. Mistico and Mascara Dorada vs. Shingo Tagaki and Titán
• Kenny Omega vs. Zack Sabre Jr

Back at it like a crack addict. What is wrestling without factions? They've become such an integral part that it'd be weird at this point to not have them. Today, I've got another three that are still making their mark on the industry today.

• Previously - ep. 284: WWE's Recent Failure to Take Chances
• Today - ep. 285: Faction Warefare 8
• Ep. List - The Next Men's ROH TV Title Contenders
• Spotlight - Hazuki

The WWE has their tried and true formulas of doing things. Sometimes that formula can get in the way of things stopping them from taking chances and you need to take chances to spark something. Today's show is about the WWE's recent failure to take chances.

• Previously - ep. 283: The Best Wrestling Tournaments Today
• Today - ep. 284: The WWE's Recent Failure to Take Chances
• Ep. List - The Worst WWE PLE's of the Past Five Years
• Spotlight - Kelani Jordan