Week in Wrestling - Monday, August 2, 2021
WWE NEWS
WWE cuts Bray Wyatt
News broke over the weekend that WWE released Bray Wyatt from his contract. The news shocked wrestling fans everywhere and word is that many of the talent within the company were upset with the cut as well. Given how Bray has been used over the past few years and the amount of TV time the Fiend character was given, you would think that Wyatt was a talent Vince McMahon had high hopes for. But as for me, I celebrated! I have hated Wyatt's work ever since he no longer was with the Wyatt family and I HATED everything about the Fiend character, including his association with Alexa Bliss. I just wish they cut her too and they both went elsewhere. I hope this means they drop Bliss' stupid rip off of the Fiend gimmick and we can move on.
The fact that a lot of fans are "outraged" by the Wyatt cut is silly to me, as these are the same people who have been shitting on his gimmick for the past few years. He just needs to go somewhere else and do whatever makes him happy. I'm just happy I don't have to watch any more of his hocus pocus bullshit. Sucks for Bray if he wanted to still work there and was happy with his role, but selfishly, I'm overjoyed!
The fact that a lot of fans are "outraged" by the Wyatt cut is silly to me, as these are the same people who have been shitting on his gimmick for the past few years. He just needs to go somewhere else and do whatever makes him happy. I'm just happy I don't have to watch any more of his hocus pocus bullshit. Sucks for Bray if he wanted to still work there and was happy with his role, but selfishly, I'm overjoyed!
Ric Flair Leaving WWE
News broke on Fightful today, as I was writing this update, that Ric Flair is no longer with WWE as he asked for his release and got it. Just last year Flair said he signed a new deal and he would be with WWE forever. Welp, shit changed! You know Ric is all about the money and I'm sure seeing everything popping on AEW every week and seeing Tully and Arn be featured in prominent roles really made him want to get over there and get some of that shine. Plus his new son in law Andrade is over there shining. If I was Ric, I would be in AEW next Wednesday night if I could. The creative for Flair in WWE has been so inconsistent and I'm sure he wants to be used so much better than how Vince see's him at this point. So leaving and going to greener pastures, in the short term, is for the best. But for the long term, I don't think this was the best play for Flair, who has done this before when he left WWE for TNA. Time will tell if they scrub Flair from their history. But good for Ric.
WWE RAW/ SMACKDOWN
The Boss is Back
Finally, after months of being away, Sasha Banks returned to WWE for the first time since the Friday after Wrestlemania, and set up her rematch with Bianca Belair, most likely for Summerslam. Sasha has been away filming for the Mandalorian, and waiting for the build for this return match fro Summerslam. I know I have been frustrated with not having Sasha on my TV every week, as she is the best woman in the company and the division clearly has been floundering, but this was the perfect return. What a breath of fresh air. The crowd was so hot for the return and initially it looked like Sasha was coming to the aide of Bianca. When in reality, it was set up for the perfect beat down at the end of the show. This was perfection folks. She's the best for a reason. Thank you Lord, for blessing us with the Boss!! Summerslam will be another classic.
Cena vs. Reigns is Set
After what I wrote last week about not liking how they were putting Finn Balor in with Roman Reigns before Summerslam, I'm glad they decided to throw a twist in this week. During the contract signing between Reigns and Balor they detoured Finn into a feud with Baron Corbin and John Cena signed the contract for a title match at Summerslam. This was pretty creative. Now I hope this means Balor will get the winner at the PPV after Summerslam and this company can actually have some long-term booking for once.
Lashley squashes Hurt Business
I absolutely hated this. All the time it took to build up the Hurt business as a serious powerhouse group that actually meant something. And not even six months after Lashley is champion with Shelton and Cedric by his side as tag team champions and pictures are all over the internet showing a great black heel faction on top, look at how these guys have been buried into a pile of shit. I fucking hate this company more often than not. Just so stupid. What was gained here? We know Lashley is a beast more than worthy of beating Goldberg. Squashing Shelton and Cedric doesn't make anyone feel any different about them. It just makes those guys look like shit.
Keith Lee should Request a Release
So a week after returning and getting choked out by Bobby Lashley, Keith Lee was squashed by the NXT champion Karrion Kross, who just last week loss to Jeff Hardy. Absolute idiocy. So what was the point of booking this match between two guys who both need wins and neither should be losing? Nobody gets over and this is exactly why. Keith Lee, I still don't know exactly what you did to piss this company off, but if you know what's best for you, request your release immediately, while you still have some fans behind you. Lee could easily be a top guy in AEW, who DESPERATELY needs a top black star. Get the fuck OUT!!!
NXT
Joe is Back... For Real
I really enjoyed how Joe laid out his return to the ring by resigning, signing his active roster contract and his contract for an NXT title match with Kross at Take Over. This was so well done because it made sense, was not long a drawn out, and it built off the energy of the crowd. Clearly the fans are excited for Joe's return, and he is the biggest star on the brand. To me that's a huge indictment on Vince McMahon once again, because he fired Joe and if it weren't for HHH, Joe would be in AEW right now doing this. But I won't complain about getting to see Joe still perform at a high level. It's just a shame he's not doing this on the main roster instead of bringing back 55 years old Bill Goldberg. Smh.
Dakota finally Strikes
In what seems like has been building forever, Dakota Kai finally turned on Raquel Gonzalez, which should set up the women's title match for Take Over. While I understand the appeal of Raquel from an aesthetics standpoint, and clearly she is the type of monster they like to push, I have never been fan of her work. She just has not impressed me in the ring and her style doesn't lend itself to mesh with many of the top women she will have to face on the main roster. Again, I'm not writing her off, but baby face Raquel vs. Heel Dakota does nothing for me. Dakota is no HBK, even though Raquel could be Diesel.
Holland is Back
I absolutely love the group of Oney Lorcan, Danny Birch, and Pat McAfee last year during the pandemic. It was such a shame that Ridge Holland got hurt just as the group was getting off the ground, but they did an excellent job inserting Pete Dunne right into his slot. So now with Holland back, this group looks like a main event act for sure. I love this. If only Pat would come back and be the mouth piece on Tuesday night's, this would be perfect! And this group feuding with Thatcher and Ciampa is just such an excellent pairing. All we need is Mustache Mountain and I'm in heaven.
TakeOver 36 Lineup
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TakeOver 36 is taking place the day after WWE's SummerSlam pay-per-view. Here's the updated TakeOver card:
- NXT Champion Karrion Kross defends against Samoa Joe
- NXT United Kingdom Champion WALTER defends against Ilja Dragunov
ALL ELITE WRESTLING
AEW Sells out United Center
After heavy hints that CM Punk would be debuting for the company, AEW sold out the United Center in Chicago for the Friday, August 20th debut of Rampage, "The First Dance", pretty much as soon as tickets went on sale. I have not brought up the CM Punk talk here because I give my opinion on facts on this update and not rumors, as there are plenty of places you can go for that. Plus, I do have sources within the business and never want to put myself in a position where I share some things and leave things out. So I rather just talk about what's already officially reported. So since it was all but spelled out that CM Punk will be coming in on the 20th, I am excited that he finally made the decision to join AEW.
I think Punk has always been a perfect fit for the company and they will give him the creative freedom to do what he thinks is best. Punk has a strong following, which is evident by the 13,600 tickets he moved between the presale and four minutes on Monday. Even more impressive is this is the same market where AEW will be running multiple times during All Out Week. As far as how he should be booked and featured, I will get into that more next week.
I think Punk has always been a perfect fit for the company and they will give him the creative freedom to do what he thinks is best. Punk has a strong following, which is evident by the 13,600 tickets he moved between the presale and four minutes on Monday. Even more impressive is this is the same market where AEW will be running multiple times during All Out Week. As far as how he should be booked and featured, I will get into that more next week.
Plans Change
Let's Recap our Update over the last month.
7/5/21 - We got the first hint on TV that they seem to be building to an Omega vs. Adam Page title match, possibly for the main event of All Out. I have to be honest, I don't see the appeal. The way Page has been used, given his association with the Dark Order, has weakened him greatly in my opinion. I understand that there is a story there between Page and Omega and if developed properly over the next few months, it could possibly be huge match that I would enjoy. But I just don't feel the time is right. Omega beat Page clean as a sheet, earning the title shot where he won the title. Page hasn't had any interaction with him in months. Back when Page was drinking beers and saying "Cowboy Shit" he was ready for the push in my opinion. But I just don't feel it. Maybe when fans are back, the momentum will get behind him and they will get this back on track. I just think there are other guys who have been booked stronger, who would capitalize on the top main event program right now.
7/12/21 - The build to Kenny Omega vs. Hangman Adam Page continued last week and largely was a repeat of the previous week with the Dark Order coming out to confront Omega and a returning Don Callis, who was excellent on the mic. But this week things got physical, when the Good Brother and Nakazawa attacked the Dark Order, which led to Hangman coming out to make the save. Omega and Page did a stare down and the crowd seemed pretty hot for it. Me, I just don't have that emotional investment in the Page at all, and I love Kenny Omega, but his current character is cheesy to me. I miss NJPW Kenny, The Cleaner, leader of the Bullet Club. But the crowd will determine how hot this feud is by the time we get to All Out. I will be interested to see how they develop the story over the next few months.
7/19/21 - We got more build for Omega vs. Page, with this time the Bucks joining in on the party. I'm sorry, I just can't get past Page hanging with these Dorks, the Dark Order. They agreed to a 10 man tag between the two factions for some time in the future, and I couldn't be less excited. I'm sorry guys, this is not for me. Page is teaming with a bunch of losers who literally suck and never win anything. I wish he went lone wolf on this one.
7/26/21 - After weeks of what feels like the same in ring interview/ brawl between the two teams, The Elite will face The Dark Order and Hangman Page on this Wednesday's Dynamite. If the The Dark Order team wins, Hangman will get a title shot at Omega, almost definitely at All Out, and the Dorks will get a tag team title match. I do think a 10 man elimination match will be fun to watch and should make for some great action. If Page's team loses, he can't challenge for the title. With rumors abound of new big stars coming in, I do wonder if they will change plans and go with a different main event for All Out. If a certain mega star is coming, I would....
So as you can see, I have never been high on the hype for this match and feel they needed more time to build the story up, with Hangman on his own two feet and not with the Dorks. But I was told that the story was built perfectly and it was ready for All Out. Well, I was right. So they buried Hangman and made room for the WWE stars to come in and so money matches to be made. But great job Hangman, your time will come one day....
Jericho Held Nothing Back
I know there was a lot of outrage over the Jericho hardcore match with Nick Gage last week, but what the hell did you expect when they booked Nick Gage. I didn't see a problem with it and I though Jericho committed himself to the style and they had a hell of bloody spectacle. That was a match straight off GCW, that harks back to the days of ECW. It was crazy, but fun and exciting, which appealed to me and fans who are tired of the same cookie cutter style in every match. I agree, AEW has been doing too many street fights/hardcore matches, and when you do too many nothing stands out. But this shit here, stood out big time. That bump through the glass pane was ridiculous! I love variety in my wrestling, and this was just crazy enough to be exciting, and nothing looked phony. That's what I like. I shit on stupid things like when MJF did that soft ass long ass stalled push of Jericho off the cage. Or that stupid Exploding barb wire match that made the business look weak. This match here, made people think these people are really killing each other. Maybe it is real? An element of that is good.