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Ring of Honor
Date: July 7, 2021
Location: UMBC Events Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman
We are almost up to Best in the World and that means we should be in for the big final push towards the show. This time around though, we have a special fight between the Briscoe Brothers, taking place from their chicken farm. That might sound absurd, but these two could absolutely pull it off. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Quinn McKay welcomes us to the show and gives us the weekly preview.
Last week, Bandido won Survival of the Fittest and is REALLY excited to get to challenge Rush for the World Title at Best In The World. He gave Quinn a big hug, which she said never disappoints.
Fred Yehi talks about how he has been having a bit of an up and down time around here as of late. Now he is on a roll and has a Pure Rules Title shot against Jonathan Gresham. He and Gresham had the same trainer and they have met a lot over the years. They’ll shake hands ..

We have some sad news to report today, as WWE Hall of Famer “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff has passed away at the age of 71.
From WWE.com:
Orndorff was a standout running back at the University of Tampa and joined Mid-Southern Wrestling after a brief stint in the World Football League. Early rivalries with Jerry Lawler, Ted Dibiase and Jake “The Snake” Roberts gave way to NWA North American Heavyweight and National Heavyweight Championship reigns.
Orndorff joined WWE in 1983 and was tabbed with the “Mr. Wonderful” nickname by his then-manager “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. With his awe-insipring in-ring style and umatched swagger, “Mr. Wonderful” turned his talent into a prototype for the modern-day Superstar. He made a memorable debut on January 23, 1984, with a win over Salvatore Bellomo at Madison Square Garden and launched right into the main event picture with matches against World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan. Mr. Wonderful achieved sports-entertainment immortality by competing alongs..

She’s another one. We are less than a week away from Money In The Bank, which is one of the more complicated cards to put together throughout the year. There is only so much that can be done when you have sixteen people tied up exclusively in two matches, meaning there are not many options elsewhere on the card. Now we know another name who is going to be tied down.
Sonya Deville has announced that Natalya will be the seventh entrant in this Sunday’s Women’s Money In The Bank ladder match. Deville announced that the match needed someone steady and no one is as steady as Natalya. This leaves one remaining spot in the match, which will also include Alexa Bliss, Asuka, Naomi, Nikki Cross, Liv Morgan and Zelina Vega.
With all the changes and challengers for #MITB and #Smackdown, I will be the one to establish some consistency for this Sunday and there is NO ONE more consistent than 1/2 of our @WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions… @natbynature. Nattie, welcome to the MITB Ladder Match!
— Dadd..

That would explain a lot. The biggest WWE story of the week has been Jimmy Uso’s DUI arrest. Uso has a history of issues with alcohol but it does not seem to have stopped WWE from pushing him. This week’s SmackDown was partially centered around Uso, who was treated the same as his brother Jey to end the show. It seems that there might be a reason behind Jimmy’s treatment.
According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, WWE may have decided to move forward with Jimmy’s push because he is already part of a main event angle on SmackDown involving Reigns. The story could ultimately involve the Rock, who may be facing Roman Reigns in a future WrestleMania match. As a result, there is a chance that WWE will not be punishing Uso for his issues.
Rock can be quite influential. Check out some of his best moments in WWE:
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Opinion: I’m not sure if this is wha..

Three for one. Titles are the easiest concept in all of wrestling as anyone can get it: someone, either a singles wrestler or a tag team, hold a championship and another wrestler/wrestlers try to take them. There are several ways you can go with that idea, but ultimately it is about getting two people into a ring with a title on the line. That was certainly case over the weekend.
There were three title changes at Ring of Honor’s Best In The World pay per view over the weekend. First of all, Dragon Lee defeated Tony Deppen to regain the Television Title. Lee had held the title for a year before having to miss a title defense due to an injury. King lost the title to Tracy Williams, who went on to lose it to Deppen, who held the title for seventy four days.
Next up, Homicide and Chris Dickinson of Violence Unlimited won the Tag Team Titles by defeating Jonathan Gresham and Rhett Titus of the Foundation in a Fight Without Honor. Titus was substituting for Jay Lethal, who had lost a match..

The more things change. WWE is almost ready to go back on the road and that is going to open up a lot of doors. There are so many different benefits from running live events, including extra practice for the wrestlers, a dry run to see what works and what doesn’t and more exposure, but there is one more big thing. However, this time around WWE might be making even more changes.
According to Wrestling Observer Radio, WWE might have made a variety of NXT callups in response to the lower ticket sale advances on the company’s upcoming return to touring. Vince McMahon was reportedly unhappy with the amount of tickets being sold and made the callups as a result. So far, Shotzi Blackheart and Tegan Nox have appeared on the main roster, with the chance of more to come.
Live events can be fascinating. Check out some of the cool things you can see there and how callups work:
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Main Event
Date: July 8, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Byron Saxton
Our random wrestling show of the week is back and I’m really not sure what that is going to mean. In a reversal of things that I said for years about Main Event, I’m running out of ways to say that things are different around here and that is a very good thing. I’m curious to see what we get, though it might not wind up working out. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Veer vs. Jeff Hardy Shanky and Jinder Mahal are here with Veer as usual. Veer powers him into the corner to start and Jeff knocks himself down while trying a shoulder. Hardy is sent throat first into the middle rope and we’re already in the neck crank. Jeff fights up but gets taken down by the hair.
The nerve hold goes on again but Hardy fights up with a sitout jawbreaker. This time Hardy’s comeback actually works, including some shots to the head but the Twist of Fate (possibly with a botch as w..

205 Live
Date: July 9, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph
The debut of the newly stocked 205 Live will have to wait another week as it is time for more Breakout Tournament preview matches. Last week’s matches were not exactly thrilling and did not leave me overly excited for the rest. Maybe this week’s can be an improvement, which shouldn’t be that difficult. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Josh Briggs vs. Asher Hale Briggs is a 6’8 monster and not exactly a cruiserweight. The fans are behind Hale as he gets slammed down without much effort. The smaller Hale can’t drop toehold him but a small package gets a fast two. Briggs is sent outside for a running knee from the apron but he is right back in for a shot to the face. There’s a hard whip into the corner to give Briggs two and a release side slam drops Hale again. A splash gets two and a chinlock has Hale in more trouble.
Hale gets big booted out to the floor but..

Can you blame them? The world of WWE is changing all over again and that is going to be the case in a big way in the coming weeks. Starting July 16, WWE will be returning to active touring with its first show outside of Florida since March 2020. This is a big change after nearly a year and a half in the same place so the company is changing things up a bit. It just so happens that some wrestlers are unhappy with the situation.
According to Wrestling Observer Radio, WWE wrestlers who do not live near Orlando, Florida are unhappy about being required to go to the Performance Center for additional training. Part of the problem came from wrestlers not wanting to give up their days off for no additional pay for drills they do not see as necessary. Several of the wrestlers who live nearby would have gone to the Performance Center to train anyway without it being made mandatory but were not given the chance.
Training can help a lot. Check out some WWE wrestlers getting ready for some bigger..

Welcome to your new home. The biggest WWE story of the year has been all of the releases up and down the roster. Several wrestlers have been let go from the company, leaving several holes in the roster. That makes for some changes to WWE, but it also opens up a lot of changes to other promotions. One former WWE star has now found another home in a new company.
Chelsea Green made her Ring of Honor debut during this weekend’s Best In The World pay per view. Green is not ready to wrestle at the moment due to a broken arm, Green said that she was ready to debut in one month. As a result, she will not be one of the sixteen entrants in the Ring of Honor Women’s Championship tournament. Her most recent match took place on the November 13, 2020 SmackDown.
Green was one of the wrestlers WWE released from the company on April 15, 2021. She spent most of her time in the company as a part of NXT, eventually debuting on SmackDown in November. Her lone match as a part of the main roster took place..

What could have been. There are certain characters in wrestling who are about as unique as you can get. No one else can play them and no one else would be able to do it either. That is the kind of special status that you do not get to see very often but it is rather special when it works. WWE has that at the moment, but it was almost taken in a rather different direction.
In a new interview with Metro.uk, Mike Bennett, formerly known as Mike Kanellis in WWE, revealed that was scheduled to portray Sister Abigail as part of a new Bray Wyatt faction. Bennett says that Vince McMahon wanted Wyatt to lead a faction again, this time with Wyatt’s Firefly Funhouse puppets being portrayed by wrestlers. While Bennett would have been Abigail, Eric Young would have been Mercy the Buzzard. This never came to fruition and Bennett was released from WWE on April 15, 2020.
This could have been a mess. Check out what we almost saw and who could have done it:
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Wrestling is in a weird place when it comes to mainstream attention. It is rare to see wrestling being treated as something important or legitimate, which means it can be all the more interesting when you see it happen. Wrestling has come a long way in the last few years as various outlets have been covering it a bit more. That was the case again this weekend in a rather nice way.
Saturday night, Bianca Belair vs. Sasha Banks in the main event of WrestleMania 37 Night One won the Best WWE Moment at the 2021 ESPY Awards. Both Belair and Banks were on hand to accept the award. This is the second time that WWE has been presented with an award at the event, with Roman Reigns’ announcement that he was cancer free winning the 2019 edition.
ESPY WINNERS!
Thank you EVERYONE!@ESPYS @wwe @espn #ESPYs2021 pic.twitter.com/lMMuwlcUZL
— Bianca Belair (@BiancaBelairWWE) July 11, 2021
Thank you to our @WWEUniverse for voting for us!!! I love you! @ESPYS pic.twitter.com/9DlACDOBP3
— Mercedes Varna..