Month: May 2021

I’d call it main event worthy. Wrestling promotions like to hype up the idea of a dream match, even if that might not be how some fans see it. The idea makes a lot of sense: this is the kind of match that you are not going to be able to see anywhere else but it is certainly worth the time and money to see it. WWE might be putting together something pretty close to one for this year’s Summerslam main event.
Adrian Zarian of the Mat Men Podcast has sent out a tweet suggesting that the main event of this year’s Summerslam would be John Cena vs. Roman Reigns, potentially for the Universal Title. The tweet said “You can’t see what you can’t believe”, hinting at a Cena vs. Reigns match. Cena has been rumored to return to WWE in July for a potential Summerslam program.
Reigns and Cena have faced off before, with Reigns defeating him at No Mercy 2017. Cena has mainly moved on to his acting career in recent years, with his last match taking place at WrestleMania 36 in the Firefly Fun House ma..

That would have been a change. There are only so many ways to present a pay per view, which can make for some interesting situations when a wrestling promotion tries to freshen things up. Sometimes it can work rather well with just a few simple tweaks and that might be the case again with one of the bigger shows of the wrestling year, assuming WWE makes a change.
According to the WrestleVotes Twitter account, WWE is considering August 21 as a date for Summerslam. Should that be the case, it would be the first time that Summerslam has ever taken place on a Saturday. However, this date could be going head to head with a Manny Pacquiao boxing match. Other potential dates are Sunday August 22 and Saturday August 7, though WWE would prefer to hold the show on a Saturday. There is no word on when WWE will announce the date of the show.
Update: 8/21 is currently “provisional” according to a source. Pacquiao fight wasn’t official until 5/21, no updates since on document being circulated. 8/2..

The international side. WWE is an international wrestling company, with television airing around the world and, at least before the Coronavirus pandemic, live events around the world. That means they have to keep things moving to make sure the audience is as interested as possible, both in America and around the world. Now they have a new idea to make that work.
According to Wrestling Observer Radio, WWE is attempting to push more international stars, particularly wrestlers from China. This is the reason behind Xia Li receiving a push in NXT and a feud against Mercedes Martinez, who is expected to help season Li. It is also the reason for a renewed push for Jinder Mahal, as well as Mansoor officially becoming a part of the Monday Night Raw roster. There is no word on if other wrestlers will receive such pushes.
These three have some potential. Check out all three of them in action:
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Welcome back maybe? WWE has a lot of talented wrestlers on its roster and that can create a bit of a problem. While it is great to have that many wrestlers available, the company also has to spread them out over three different major weekly shows. Sometimes those wrestlers are going to stick with one show, but you do get occasional movement. WWE might be interested in such a change.
According to the WrestleVotes Twitter account, the Monday Night Raw creative team has wanted Finn Balor to return from NXT for months. This comes during the same week as Balor mentioned wanting to move back up to the main roster in an interview with Ryan Satin. Earlier this week, Balor was defeated by Karrion Kross in an NXT Title match. There is no word on if WWE is planning on making such a move.
Balor returned to NXT in October 2019 during the show’s initial move to the USA Network. Since then he has won the NXT Title for a second time, during which he set a record for the most combined days as NXT Cha..

That’s a job for her. Every now and then in wrestling, you see someone who pops off the screen at you. It might be for one reason or another, but most of the time there is a level of charisma to them that you cannot ignore. That can open a lot of doors and it can even make up for a lack of in-ring abilities. It seems that we are seeing that take place all over again.
On May 3, Eva Marie made her return to WWE television after a four year absence. This included the first in a series of vignettes with Eva Marie talking about how she wanted to help other women become stars. According to Fightful Select, the current plans for Eva Marie is not for her to wrestle, but for her to help get over female wrestlers over. There is no word on when Eva Marie will appear in the arena rather than in a pre-taped vignette.
Eva Marie made her WWE debut in 2013 as part of the first season of Total Divas. She would go on to wrestle occasional matches both on the main roster and in NXT, including at Wrestl..

There goes another one. Commentary is one of the most important aspects of a wrestling show. The commentary team points the fans in the right direction and lets them know where the company wants things to go. They convey emotions and explain what is going on, both to older and newer fans. Now an experienced wrestling, broadcaster is a free agent.
According to Fightful.com, Tom Phillips has been released from WWE. There is no word on why Phillips was let go, though it does come during the same week as several releases, along with Monday Night Raw broadcaster Adnan Virk departing the company. According to PWInsider.com, Phillips’ release has nothing to do with the releases from earlier this week and took place within the last twenty four hours.
Phillips did some nice work while he was around. Check out some of his time with the company:
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Opinion: It would ..

Main Event
Date: May 20, 2021
Location: Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Kevin Patrick
I’m glad to get to say this but I have almost no idea what to expect from Main Event these days. They have had a feud (with a VIGNETTE) from Ricochet and Mustafa Ali, plus a few returns in recent weeks. It’s almost like they realized they had another show that they could use for a variety of things and are actually doing it for a change. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Mandy Rose/Dana Brooke vs. Lana/Naomi Patrick calls Mandy and Dana one of the fastest rising teams in the women’s division. Lana and Dana start with some tumbling to little avail. Now commentary would have you believe that this is a completely different Lana than the one we saw a year ago. Naomi comes in for a chinlock but gets taken into the corner for the tag off to Mandy. A flapjack gets two on Naomi and it’s a pair of basement kicks to the face for two. Mandy waistlocks her back down and we hit the..

Impact Wrestling
Date: May 20, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: D’Lo Brown, Josh Matthews
We’re done with Under Siege and that means it is time to start getting ready for Moose vs. Kenny Omega at Against All Odds. Other than that, we need to fill out the rest of the card, which is a nice feeling as these regular big shows have done a lot of good things for the way Impact works month to month. Let’s get to it.
In Memory Of New Jack.
Opening recap.
Opening sequence.
Rohit Raju vs. Jake Something Shera is here too. Something forearms Raju outside in a hurry but the Shera showdown lets Raju get in a few cheap shots. Back in and Jake hits a hard shoulder and shouts a lot as Raju rolls outside. This time the referee checks on Raju, allowing Shera to get in a big clothesline of his own. Jake’s missed charge sends his shoulder into the chest, setting up Raju’s flying armbar for two.
A kick to the face gives Raju two more and it’s time for a standing armba..

They aren’t happy. Every now and then, a wrestler becomes the biggest star in the industry and can change quite a few things at once. That is not something you get to see very often, but it can be rather special when it takes place. WWE has had a few of these over the years, but now the company does not seem thrilled with something that one of their biggest stars ever has said.
Earlier this week, John Cena referred to Taiwan as a country during an interview to promote the F9 movie. This comment was not well received in China, which disputs Taiwan’s status as an independent country. As a result, Cena issued an apology to Chinese fans in Mandarin, apologizing for his unspecified mistake. Cena apologized several times, citing doing several interviews in a day as the reason for the statement. Now WWE has a reaction of its own.
According to Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men podcast, Cena’s apology is not going over well backstage in WWE. There is no word on what this could mean for Cena’s WWE ..

That doesn’t sound great. There are a lot of ways a wrestler can get injured and put them out of action. These injuries can put someone on the shelf for a short or long time or anywhere in between. That can make for a scary situation and unfortunately that was the case for one of the biggest stars in the world earlier this month. Now we know a bit more about the situation.
Former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay tweeted out an update on his condition after suffering a neck injury earlier this month. According to the update, Ospreay spoke to his physio and will be undergoing another MRI on his lower back. There is a chance that his back has suffered the same sort of injury as his neck, though Ospreay did not specify what is wrong.
Ospreay injured his neck during a match against Shingo Tagaki on May 4 and was forced to vacate the title as a result. There is no word on what New Japan will be doing to crown a new champion. Despite the injury, Ospreay mentioned that his goal i..