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That is going to get them in some trouble. It can be rather interesting to see a new star debut on WWE television, even if they have been on another show before. That can make for some fun situations as you do not know how the new star is going to be received. However, that might not be the best thing in the world in some situations, which seems to be the case this time around.
This week on Monday Night Raw, NXT UK’s Piper Niven made her debut, wrestling in Eva Marie’s place to defeat Naomi in less than a minute. Niven has wrestled for NXT UK since 2017, following an appearance in the Mae Young Classic. She was not given a name and commentary did not recognize her, but it seems that someone has some problems with Niven already.
Since Niven’s debut, various fans have posted messages to Twitter, many of which have been critical of Niven’s size and weight. Various WWE and NXT stars have responded as well, criticizing fans for making such comments. Niven herself has responded as well, sa..

That’s pretty mainstream. WWE is in a weird place when it comes to mainstream attention. Things have gotten better in the last few years as WWE has gone PG and they are not on FOX every Friday night, but there is still a big gap between professional wrestling and almost anything else in mainstream sports. Every now and then you see something a little different though, and that will be the case again this summer.
WWE has announced that the Best WWE Moment Award will return to the 2021 ESPY Awards. This will be the second version of the award, with Roman Reigns’ return winning the inaugural edition in 2019. This year’s version will be determined by fan voting, with fans being allowed to choose from sixteen options in a tournament style format. Here are the first round matches, with fans being able to vote here:
MATCH 1 Dominik Mysterio makes in-ring debut at SummerSlam, with dad Rey Mysterio in his corner Roman Reigns returns to SmackDown and aligns with Paul Heyman MATCH 2 Pat McAfee ..

You can call wrestling a lot of things, but ultimately it is about telling a story. That can be accomplished in a lot of different ways, but there are a few things that have to be there to make the whole thing work. You need the right characters, the right story and the right actions, but you also need the right energy. If the vibe isn’t right, the whole thing is not going to work out. An old clip made me think about this earlier this week and it kind of shows you something that is missing from modern wrestling.
First off, the clip:
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And now, some backstory. This is from Starrcade 1987 in Chicago, with the United States Tag Team Champions, the Midnight Express (Beautiful Bobby Eaton on the left and Sweet Stan Lane on the right. If you somehow haven’t seen them before….egads man get out of this thing and go watch one of the best teams of all time.), on the way to the ring for a non-title Skywalkers (scaffold) match. Jim Cornette and his bodyg..

Another shot? There can be a lot of frustrating times as a wrestling fan and one of the most annoying is when you see someone being ready to become a star and being held back. This can happen for a variety of reasons and sometimes it is due to something beyond the wrestler’s control. That was the case again last year but now it seems like we might be seeing someone again.
According to Ringsidenews.com, Sonya Deville is training for an in-ring return to WWE. There is no word on when Deville could return to the ring, though WWE has considered bringing her back multiple times throughout the course of the year so far. Deville’s most recent match took place at Summerslam 2020, though she has served as an authority figure since January.
Deville has taken time away from an in-ring career while she deals with the legal process involving a man accused of stalking her. Last summer, a man broke into Deville’s home carrying a knife, zip ties and mace, among other items. The case is still waiting..

Welcome back. There are a lot of people needed to make a WWE event work. While the wrestlers are the most important part of a show, there are several other roles that need to be filled. Some of these are a lot more prominent than others, but you need the right people involved to make everything work. Now WWE is bringing back someone who could help in a nice way.
According to Wrestlinginc.com, Shawn Daivari is back with WWE as a producer. This comes less a week after Daivari was working as a producer at the NWA’s When Our Shadows Fall pay per view. The move comes as WWE is preparing to return to full time touring starting in July. Daivari had worked as a producer for WWE starting in January 2019 but was let go last year due to budget cuts brought on by the Coronavirus pandemic.
https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2021/06/veteran-wrestler-returns-to-work-for-wwe/
Daivari has been around. Check out some of his time in various places:
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[This pos..

Everyone does it eventually. At some point, every wrestler eventually has to retire. It might be for one reason or another, but it has to happen at some point. Sometimes you see someone get taken out of the ring before they should, but the best situation is a wrestler being ready to retire when they are ready. That is the case with a former WWE star, though it might be earlier than you would expect.
Via a post on Instagram, former WWE star ACH, 33, has announced that he is stepping away from wrestling. The post does not go into any details on why he is stepping away or if he plans to return to the ring at some point in the future. His most recent match took place at AAW Take No Prisoners 2021 on May 7 near Chicago, Illinois, where he defeated Danny Vega.
ACH has wrestled around the world, including in Japan and Mexico, as well as in Ring of Honor and Impact Wrestling. His highest profile run came in WWE, where he signed in 2019, only to be gone before the end of the year. Eventually ..

He needs someone. There are certain ideas in wrestling that you will see taking place over and over again. It might not be the best idea in the world, but sometimes you need an idea that you know has worked before. It can be even better if the original wrestler can be involved, even in a small way. That seems to be the case in NXT and the story may be about to expand.
Last weekend at NXT Takeover: In Your House, LA Knight became the new Million Dollar Champion by defeating Cameron Grimes in a ladder match. Original champion Ted DiBiase brought the title in and had mentioned that he wanted someone to continue his Million Dollar Legacy. During an interview with PWInsider.com, Knight mentioned that he was in search of his own version of Virgil and was currently taking applications. There is no word on if NXT is planning to bring in a Virgil character.
Virgil served as DiBiase’s bodyguard for the first several years of DiBiase’s time in the WWF. The pair eventually split in 1991 when Vir..

The champ is injured. There is no way around injuries in wrestling. No matter how talented and trained someone is, there is always going to be the chance that someone gets hurt. It could be through a single moment or it could be overall wear and tear, with no one being able to escape either of them all the time. That seems to be the case with one of the bigger names in wrestling today.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, AEW and Impact Wrestling World Champion Kenny Omega is dealing with a variety of injuries but is expected to keep working through them. At the recent AEW Double Or Nothing fan fest, Omega mentioned that he thinks it might be time to consider retiring but having fans in the arena makes him feel better. There is no word on what sort of injuries Omega is dealing with at the moment.
Omega has been working well despite his injuries. Check out how he has been doing lately:
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Shake it up? WWE may be the biggest and most powerful wrestling promotion in the world but they are not exactly enjoying the best reputation at the moment. Fans have not exactly been pleased with what they are doing and their television audiences would seem to reflect that. It would seem that a few changes need to be made and believe it or not, we might be seeing that take place.
According to Wrestlingnews.co, Vince McMahon is aware that WWE’s product is stale and in need of a shakeup. The idea is that the better storylines and ideas are being saved for when crowds return to the shows, which will begin on July 16. There is no word on what those changes will be, though John Cena and the Rock have been rumored for returns to the company in the coming months.
There have been some changes before. Check out some of the better ones in WWE history:
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Opinion: Th..

Welcome home. With so many wrestlers on the WWE roster, it can be hard to find a spot for someone to break in. It might help if someone has something that sets them apart from the rest of the wrestlers, especially if a wrestler is trying to get in from the outside. That was the case this week as a released wrestler came back to WWE in a pretty big way this week.
Samoa Joe made his return to WWE television this week, making his return to NXT. General Manager William Regal had been interrupted by Karrion Kross but Samoa Joe appeared instead. Regal offered him the position of General Manage but Samoa Joe countered by offering to be Regal’s enforcer. Regal agreed, on the condition that Samoa Joe not be an active competitor and could only attack someone if physically provoked. Later in the show, Adam Cole would shove Samoa Joe and get choked out as a result.
The return comes two months after Samoa Joe was released from his WWE contract and had been rumored earlier in the week. Samoa Joe h..

What he says goes. Vince McMahon might not be the most popular name in the wrestling industry but he certainly is the most powerful. McMahon controls the biggest and strongest wrestling promotion in the world and any change he makes could have quite the impact on the wrestling world for a long time to come. Now he might be shaking things up on Monday Night Raw.
According to Ringsidenews.com, McMahon has told the WWE creative team to no longer present cold matches, meaning a match with no story or stipulation. This is why Jeff Hardy put his career on the line in an impromptu match against Cedric Alexander during this week’s Monday Night Raw. There’s no word on how long McMahon’s newest order will continue.
The idea could go a few different ways. Check out the match, plus some more McMahon ideas:
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Opinion: This seems like another one of those McMahon ideas..

That’s what’s in a name. A name can mean everything in wrestling and the higher of a level that the wrestler reaches, the more important it becomes. It can make all of the difference in the world to whether someone is a star or little more than a warm body on the roster. WWE has a hit and miss track record for their names and now they are trying something new with an established name.
This week on Monday Night Raw, Eva Marie made her return to WWE television and was scheduled to face Naomi in her first match. However, an unnamed woman wrestled on Eva Marie’s behalf and defeated Naomi in less than a minute. The woman, who wrestled in NXT and in the Mae Young Classic under the name Piper Niven, was not identified by commentary, who did not seem to recognize her. Now we might be seeing her under a very different name.
According to Fightful Select, WWE is considering the names “Doudrop” or “Dew Drop” for Niven. It is not clear if WWE is looking at any other names or if this is the direct..