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It’s a long time coming. There have been a lot of great tag teams in wrestling over the years and some of the best ever have been brothers. A pair of brothers are going to have a connection that others are never going to be able to replicate because they have known each other since before they started wrestling. One of those teams will be returning to the ring next week.
This week on SmackDown, Jimmy Uso requested a tag match with his brother Jey against the Street Profits for next week’s show. Sonya Deville made the match and it was officially announced later in the show. However, Jey disapproved of Jimmy asking for the match, saying that he should have asked first. The match will be the Usos’ first match in over a year due to Jimmy’s knee injury.
The Usos made their WWE debuts in 2010 and have teamed together since, save for a few missed stretches due to injuries. During their time together, the team has held six WWE Tag Team Titles and won two Slammy Awards for Tag Team of the Yea..

Strike up the band! NXT is a weird place as you see some of the newest coming stars getting their chance to showcase themselves. That it exactly the point of a developmental television show and NXT does it as well as almost anyone else in the world today. One of the cool moments is getting to see the NXT star make their main roster debut, which was the case this week.
Rick Boogs, former knock as Eric Bugenhagen in NXT, made his main roster debut this week on SmackDown. Boogs appeared before Shinsuke Nakamura’s match against King Corbin, playing Nakamura to the ring on his guitar. Late in the match, Boogs began playing his guitar again, this time to distract Corbin so Nakamura could steal the pin. There is no word on if this will be a permanent promotion or partnership between the two. Boogs also portrayed Joe Average in a series of Old Spice ads during WWE television earlier this year.
This was pretty awesome. Check out Boogs’ debut, the match, and Boogs’ time in NXT:
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Welcome back. There are a lot of ways to bring a wrestler back to television and some of them are more effective than others. One of the many options available is to build them back up with a series of vignettes or promos and then have them come back when the time is right. That is what WWE did this week and it wound up working out rather well all things considered.
Aleister Black made his return this week on SmackDown, interfering in the show’s main event. Black ran in on the fatal four way Intercontinental Title match and hit Black Mass on Big E., allowing Apollo Crews to retain his title. There is nothing to suggest that this is the start of an alliance between Black and Crews. Black had appeared earlier in the night in a vignette.
This was Black’s first appearance in the arena since his last match on WWE television in October. Black was drafted to SmackDown in the 2020 WWE Draft but never appeared on the show. He began appearing in a series of vignettes starting just after Wrestl..

Nice to see you again. There are so many wrestlers on the WWE roster that the company has divided its wrestlers in two. Monday Night Raw and SmackDown have had their own rosters on and off over nineteen years now and it has been rather helpful in a lot of ways. Above all else, it allows for some interesting moments when someone shows up on the other show. That was the case this week.
This week on SmackDown, Monday Night Raw’s Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax made surprise appearances, attacking Bianca Belair as she confronted Bayley. Women’s Tag Team Champions Natalya and Tamina made the save, setting up a six woman tag team match. Baszler made Natalya tap out to the Kirifuda Clutch, setting up a title match next week on Monday Night Raw.
Baszler and Jax were allowed to appear on the show due to the Brand To Brand Invitational concept. The idea allows a Monday Night Raw or SmackDown wrestler to appear on the other show once every quarter of the year. This is one of the only ways that a wre..

Smackdown
Date: May 21, 2021
Location: Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee
We’re done with Wrestlemania Backlash and it is time to start getting ready for the Cell next month. I’m not sure what is next up for some of the people on this show, but the ending to Backlash would suggest more of Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins. Other than that, we have a four way for the Intercontinental Title this week. Let’s get to it.
All of the champions, sans Roman Reigns, are on the stage and here is Sonya Deville in the ring. As you might have heard, WWE is going back on the road in front of the fans in July, starting with Smackdown on July 16. Deville introduces all of the champions on stage, with Apollo Crews promising to destroy everyone tonight to retain his title. With that out of the way, Sonya introduces Reigns, to his old music.
Instead she gets Paul Heyman, who says this isn’t a parade of champions, because it’s just a parade of title holders. Later tonight, at ..

They’re back! The Coronavirus has changed the way wrestling works and it has not been a pleasant experience so far. The biggest change for the industry has been the lack of fans in attendance, but that seems all but done as the sporting world opens up again. AEW has already announced a return date for fans, and now WWE is going to be right behind them in a big way.
WWE has announced that they will begin a return to live events beginning on July 16 in Houston, Texas. The event will be the start of a twenty five city tour and will begin with SmackDown, followed by Money In The Bank two nights later and Monday Night Raw the next day. No other dates have been announced as of yet and it is not clear which states will be hosting shows.
* Friday, July 16: Smackdown – Toyota Center in Houston
* Sunday, July 18: Money in the Bank – Dickies Arena in Fort Worth
* Monday, July 19: RAW – American Airlines Center in Dallas
WWE has not held a live event at full capacity since March 2020. Since the..

NXT UK
Date: May 20, 2021
Location: BT Studios, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Andy Shepherd
It’s time for a title match as we have A-Kid defending the Heritage Cup against Tyler Bate in their rubber match. That alone should be enough to carry the show but we should be getting some other good stuff around here to make the rest of the show work. If it is like their recent efforts, everything should be fine. Let’s get to it.
We open with a video on A-Kid vs. Bate, with Bate becoming a huge star and A-Kid needing to become his own man. Bate needs to win something to get back on top and it’s time for a showdown.
Opening sequence.
Rampage Brown vs. Wolfgang They trade cravates to start as we hear about their various European championships. Brown hits a dropkick but gets whipped hard into the corner to put him down as well. It’s already time to go outside for the slugout with Wolfgang sending him into the post. A backbreaker gives Wolfgang two back inside and we hit the ..

What a pair. The WWE women’s division has come a very long way in the last few years and that is a very good chance of pace. Above all else, women’s wrestling is finally being treated seriously and that is the kind of thing that has been missing for a very long time now. This includes getting rid of some of the more over the top ideas, though now we might be seeing a bit of a return.
One of the biggest stories in the women’s division at the moment is taking place on Monday Night Raw. Alexa Bliss has gone from being the Fiend’s willing follower to having powers all of her own, mainly provided by a doll named Lily. Bliss has spoken about the power that Lily has given her, which has caused SmackDown’s Sasha Banks to ask to be shown the power of darkness. Bliss responded, saying there was always room for more on the playground, to which Banks said “let me in”. Banks has not been seen on television since the SmackDown after WrestleMania 37, where she lost the SmackDown Women’s Title.
Let ..

Time for a new job. The wrestling world has changed quite a bit in the last few years and it seems to have been for the better. The rise of AEW has shaken up a lot of things and there is a good chance that the shaking up will continue. While this would seem to only affect the top companies, there is always the chance of a domino effect, which seems to be the case again with another promotion.
According to Fightful Select, Impact Wrestling’s Don Callis has lost most of his backstage authority, which has been transferred to Scott D’Amore. Callis is expected to stay with Impact Wrestling in an on-screen role while also becoming Kenny Omega’s full time manager in All Elite Wrestling. There is nothing to suggest that Callis is being punished in any way.
Callis is quite the talent. Check out what he has done in AEW and Impact Wrestling:
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Opinion: This is the k..

That’s one for the books. There are certain wrestlers in history who are always going to be remembered for a few different things. Some of these things might be a little bit better than others, though it can be interesting to see what happens when those same wrestlers make an appearance after being away for a bit. That was the case recently, and one of them had a gift for one Vince McMahon.
A new video has been released on Twitter, featuring former WWE Champion Rob Van Dam backstage at the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony earlier this year. Van Dam meets with McMahon and after saying hello, presents McMahon with a package of his officially branded RVD420 rolling papers used for smoking. McMahon sees what they are and laughs while accepting them.
This is one that almost has to be seen to be believed. Check out the clip, plus some of Van Dam’s better moments in the ring:
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From the other side. The World Title means more than any other accomplishment in professional wrestling, at least in theory. The title has been the symbol of excellence in wrestling since the concept began and that is not likely to change for a very long time. There are other World Titles outside of WWE though, and this time they had another sport’s World Champion at one of their events.
WWE has tweeted out a photo of World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Tyson Fury backstage at this weekend’s WrestleMania Backlash event. The photos show Fury and his son posing with Rey Mysterio and Vince McMahon. There is no word on if Fury was backstage at the event for any specific reason or if he and his son were simply there visiting.
Fury has a history in WWE, having appeared on the debut episode of SmackDown on FOX. He began a feud with Braun Strowman, ultimately defeating him via countout at Crown Jewel 2019. Drew McIntyre has mentioned wanting to face Fury in a match in the UK at some point, tho..

I don’t think this needs an explanation. There are some things that happen in wrestling where you know that things are going to be a little less than serious. Certain moments only take place in wrestling or in a movie and every now and then you see those things taking place at the same time. That was the case at WWE’s latest pay per view and it will likely get people talking.
This weekend’s WWE WrestleMania Backlash event was sponsored by Netflix’s Army Of The Dead movie, which stars WWE Hall of Famer Batista. The show featured an introduction video with clips from the movie and Batista narrating the clips. However, later in the night there was something else involving the movie, which features zombies. It turns out that the show had some guest stars.
WrestleMania Backlash featured a lumberjack match between Miz and Damian Priest, with a group of zombies serving as the lumberjacks. The zombies interfered in the match with Priest and Miz fighting them off. Late in the match, John Morr..