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History has been made. There are all kinds of titles in wrestling and it makes sense to have so many. Titles are something that any fan or non-fan can understand because they are a really easy concept to grasp. In addition to regular titles, there are also some unofficial ones, many of which have a history of their own. Another of those had its history advanced this week.
Ricky Starks defeated Brian Cage to become the new FTW Champion during this week’s edition of AEW Dynamite. Starks defeated Cage when the rest of Team Taz turned on Cage, including Powerhouse Hobbs hitting him in the head with the title belt, allowing Starks to hit a spear for the pin. The win ends Cage’s reign at 377 days, after Taz awarded him the title on July 8, 2020.
The FTW (F*** The World) was introduced by Taz in the original ECW in 1998 as an alternate World Title. The title went on to be defended in EC, with Sabu even winning it at one point. Taz would ultimately unify the ECW World and FTW Titles in 1999 ..

Mark your calendars. There have been all kinds of changes taking place throughout the wrestling world over the last year, with some of them being a bit more important than others. Some wrestlers have come and gone and now fans are going to be back for most major promotions by the end of the month. The changes are not done yet though, even if one of them is going to be minor.
According to PWInsider.com, both the July 27 and August 3 episodes of NXT will be broadcast on the SyFy network instead of USA due to USA’s coverage of the Summer Olympics. There is nothing to suggest that Monday Night Raw will be moved due to Olympics coverage. The Olympics are scheduled to run from July 23 until August 8 in Tokyo, Japan.
NXT has been doing fairly well as of late. Check out some of their recent efforts:
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Opinion: This is one of those things that happens every now an..

Dynamite
Date: July 14, 2021
Location: H-E-B Center, Cedar Park, Texas
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross
It’s another special show this week with Fyter Fest Night 1 as they’re out of Florida for the first time in over a year. The big story this week is the return of Jon Moxley to defend the IWGP United States Title against Karl Anderson, as we have an AEW wrestler defending a New Japan Title against an Impact wrestler. I for one can’t wait on the recreation of Taz vs. Mike Awesome so let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
IWGP United States Title: Jon Moxley vs. Karl Anderson Moxley is defending and here’s Eddie Kingston with a pipe to jump Doc Gallows before the bell. They slug it out to start and then proceed to slug it out some more, this time with Moxley winning a battle of the forearms. Back up and Anderson knocks him to the floor for a ram into the barricade. Moxley comes back with some microphone choking but Anderson kicks him off the apron for a crash. Anderson g..

Value for value. There are all kinds of talented wrestlers on the WWE roster, to the point where you might forget about some of them from time to time. That can make it more interesting when you see someone you have forgotten about do something new. It seems that is the case with a longstanding WWE employee, who might be seen on a brand new show.
According to the WrestleVotes Twitter account, NXT’s Aliyah has been traded to Monday Night Raw for Mandy Rose. This comes after Rose made a surprise cameo on this week’s NXT and told Robert Stone that his Robert Stone Brand seemed to be under new management in Frankie Monet. Earlier in the show, Aliyah attacked Stone, seemingly ending her association with the Robert Stone Brand. There is no word on what this will mean for Rose’s team with Dana Brooke on Monday Night Raw.
While I’m not sure why, source says it seems like a trade went down between rosters:
RAW trades Mandy Rose to NXT for Aliyah.
— WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) July 14, 202..

This is a strange week as I had a full column planned out but then some news broke earlier this week that meant things needed to be changed. Therefore, this week is going to something I don’t like having to write that often: a farewell to someone who I didn’t realize I respected as much as I did until not so very long ago. He earned every bit of the respect that he had and it has already been a bit difficult to accept that one of the best ever is actually gone.
The week changed in a hurry on Monday, as Paul Orndorff passed away at 71 years old. The news was not the biggest surprise as a recent video had shown Orndorff in rather bad shape, but it was still a hard one to take. Orndorff is one of those guys who I grew up watching and it is going to be hard to imagine him gone. Today we’re going to take a bit of an overall look at his career, which will by no means be exhaustive.
The first thing I (and many others) will think of for Orndorff is that he headlined the first WrestleMania. W..

Impact Wrestling
Date: July 8, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Josh Matthews, D’Lo Brown
We’re almost up to Slammiversary and that means it is time for the final push towards the show. The Elite got to stand tall at the end of last week’s show but they are going to have to get what is coming to them sooner rather than later. It wouldn’t surprise me to see them lose a bit of ground here, but you never can tell with them. Let’s get to it.
Opening recap.
Kenny Omega and Don Callis are here for the contract signing between Omega and Sami Callihan, who doesn’t have them worried.
Opening sequence.
Brian Myers vs. Jake Something The loser has to admit the other is a professional and Sam Beale is here with Myers. Something slugs away to start and they’re on the floor in a hurry with Myers being sent face first into the steps. They head back inside where Myers is clotheslined straight back to the floor in a hurry.
This time Myers gets in a shot of his own..

Welcome back? We are just over a month away from Summerslam, which very well may be the biggest WWE show of the year. The company seems intent on trying something special this year and that means they are going to need to set up a huge card. One of the best ways to do this is to have some guest stars. We might know one of the biggest name WWE could bring in.
Earlier this month, reports emerged saying that John Cena’s Summerslam status was up in the air due to production beginning on Argylle in Europe in August. However, according to Wrestling Observer Radio, the movie is not going to be an issue for Cena returning for Summerslam, where he is expected to face Universal Champion Roman Reigns. In addition, Fightful Select is reporting that Cena is possible for the July 23 SmackDown, though this has yet to be confirmed.
This could be big. Check out Cena returning, his time at Summerslam and his issues with Reigns:
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One more adjustment. WWE is undergoing a lot of changes at the moment and it could mean things will look very different when it all wraps up. What makes things all the more interesting this time is we do not know when the changes are going to be wrapping up. However, WWE does have an annual change, though we might need to change a detail about it this time.
According to the WrestleVotes Twitter account, WWE may be changing the dates for this year’s WWE Draft. The original dates of August 31 and September 3 may be changed to either October 1/October 4 or October 4/October 8. October 4 would be the date for one of the nights, though it is not clear which night it would be. It is not known why the changes could be made and WWE has not yet announced the Draft.
So hearing some changes.
Previous had reported the draft would take place 8/31 & 9/3. Hearing it’s getting delayed by a month.
I was just told a 10/4 date but not sure if that’s night one or two
So the possible dates now are:..

That’s what’s next. WWE has a lot of time to fill throughout the course of a week and it can get even more complicated when you factor in major specials. The good thing is that WWE has spent a long time figuring it out, though not every one of them is going to be a hit. This time around though, WWE might have a pretty good idea for one of their top feuds, assuming it is the way they go.
In the main event of this week’s NXT, Karrion Kross defeated Johnny Gargano to retain the NXT Title. NXT enforcer Samoa Joe served as the guest referee for the match and nearly clashed with Kross multiple times. Following the match, Samoa Joe raised Kross’ hand and left but Kross choked him out to end the show.
Samoa Joe returned to NXT in June as General Manager William Regal’s enforcer. However, he was told that he was not allowed to be an active competitor and could not fight a wrestler without being physically provoked. There is no word on if Samoa Joe will be getting back in the ring, as he has n..

Update your programs. WWE is in a state of change at the moment as there are all kinds of switches and updates taking place. This has involved a lot of the wrestlers being moved around in a bunch of different directions, some of which are a little more well received than others. Every now and then you will see WWE make a move that might leave you a bit confused, and that might be the case again.
According to PWInsider.com, Tegan Nox and Shotzi Blackheart are both permanent members of the SmackDown roster. However, Blackheart will officially be known as just Shotzi. Nox will be using her full name, but there is a chance that it could be shortened in the future. The two made their surprise debuts last week on NXT, defeating Natalya and Tamina in a non-title match.
This could be a big one. Check out what SmackDown is getting:
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Opinion: I hope that Nox keeps..

It’s something else to do. There are so many wrestlers on the WWE roster that it is hard to find something for everyone. That has been the reason for several releases over the course of the last year and a half, with some names not being the biggest surprises. Several WWE wrestlers had a reputation for never leaving catering, but it turns out that one of them was doing quite a few other things.
According to Fightful Select, Bo Dallas had been doing several other jobs outside of the ring before being released on April 15. Dallas was working in the production end of the company, including working with cameras, lighting and live events, occasionally with Wesley Blake. Both were released on the same day, after Blake had not wrestled since May 2020 and Dallas how not wrestled since November 2019.
These two could have done some more things. Check out both of them, plus some of where they might have been helping:
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It’s done. Last year, the SpeakingOut Movement shook up the wrestling world in a huge way that could not have been seen coming. A series of statements, announcements and interviews revealed that several wrestlers from around the world were being accused of various forms of sexual harassment and assault. Now one of the biggest remaining cases has been wrapped up.
According to TMZ, Candy Cartwright has dropped her sexual assault lawsuit against WWE’s Riddle. The lawsuit claimed that Riddle sexually assaulted Cartwright in a van in 2018, a charge which Riddle has denied. There is no word on if a financial settlement has been reached, though Cartwright was seeking $10 million in the lawsuit. Neither Riddle nor his lawyer has commented on the situation. Riddle never missed any time with WWE over the situation and will compete in the Money in the Bank ladder match this coming weekend.
This is still a rather serious situation. Check out some more lighthearted moments with nothing to do with..