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She taught us how to say goodbye. Earlier this year, Renee Young left WWE after 8 years with the company; her final event was to be a part of the pre-show of the this year’s edition of SummerSlam. But why did she decide to leave the company?
Young answered this question and more when she recently sat down with Jason Agnew and Mark Andrada of the Sunday Night Main Event podcast. Below are some highlights from the interview:
On leaving WWE:
“I’ve been there for eight years and I kinda did everything I could possibly do. I felt like I was bouncing around and continually trying to carve this path out for myself and I feel like I hit my ceiling,” admitted Renee. “My strength is being a TV host and as I’ve realized more and more that after doing commentary for a year plus, that was really rocky for me. I didn’t enjoy doing it and then not really having a solid role on SmackDown when I was listed as being a Special Contributor, whatever that’s supposed to mean. Then that never actually tur..

The more you know. The COVID-19 pandemic has been at the forefront of world culture for the past 6 months, and almost every industry has been affected by its devastation. However, professional wrestling has found a way to remain on the air, using testing to providing a safe working environment for all of their performers, staff, and production team.
But how have they done it?
According to a report from Wrestling Inc., both WWE and AEW are doing weekly COVID-19 tests to all performers, to ensure that it is safe for them to be in a wrestling ring each night. Furthermore, the fact that all performers have been tested has led to the relaxed nature of mask-wearing by the talent for both companies.
Here is how each company is handling its testing procedures:
WWE:
All talents are instructed to show up to a parking garage the day before tapings. Talents stay in their cars and are given a nasal swab test. The talent then leave and are sent a text, or other message, later that night letting..

Who’s under the mask? There is something great about a masked wrestler. I don’t mean the kind like Rey Mysterio, but rather the kind where you wonder who is under the hood. You don’t see these things too often anymore but they can be incredibly intriguing. If the drama is built up well enough, the payoff can be worth it in the end. WWE is trying this, but the people involved might be spoiled.
Starting back in August, a masked group called Retribution started to wreck havoc on the main roster. They have broken equipment in the back, attacked wrestlers, and just caused a bunch of chaos. That has gotten them noticed, but so far we have no idea who is under the masks. There have been a few hints and fans have guessed who are playing the characters, but who is expected to be revealed? WWE has some names in mind.
According to Postwrestling.com, WWE has an internal list of five names who are considered part of Retribution. The five names are Dominik Dijakovic, Mercedes Martinez, Shane Thorn..

Not him too. Last month, Keith Lee made his full time main roster debut and did not waste time making an impact. Lee defeated Randy Orton in short order at Payback and the sky seemed to be the limit for him. The following night he was in a #1 contenders match and was showing every bit of potential that a former NXT Champion should be having. However, that might not be enough.
Lee seems like he should be one of the most can’t miss prospects that WWE has ever seen. He is a big, strong, athletic freak of nature with some rather engaging speaking abilities. Lee was good enough to get the NXT Title, which is quite the endorsement for a wrestler these days. That really should make him a layup but for some reason, that doesn’t seem to be the case in WWE at the moment.
According to Wrestling Observer Radio, WWE has no specific plans for Lee at the moment. He is considered the latest wrestler who is being put on television with no short or long term idea for his future. There is no heat on Le..

That’s what’s in a name. Wrestlers names are one of the most important parts of their entire presentation. Some of the biggest stars in the history of wrestling are at least partially there due to their name, including Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Steve Austin, The Rock and more. It gives them their identity and if you have the wrong one, it can cause a lot of harm to a career. Some modern WWE names are a little out there and now we know a bit more about why.
WWE has a tendency to cut wrestlers’ names in half. Wrestlers such as Big E., Cesaro, Rusev and Apollo Crews and more have lost their first or last names at different times. That is the kind of thing that can be rather odd, but for some reason WWE keeps doing it over and over. Believe it or not, it is a Vince McMahon idea, and as usual, his logic is something worth hearing.
According to Wrestling Observer Radio, some of the first names, including Alexander for Rusev and Antonio for Cesaro were dropped because McMahon did not want t..

The story continues. One of the more confusing moments of Raw last night was the sudden finish to the match between Mickie James and Asuka for the Raw Women’s Championship. The two competitors appeared to be in a submission spot, when the referee stopped the match saying that James couldn’t continue.
It had been previously reported that James suffered an injury during the match and as a result, the referee made the decision to stop the match midway through. However, this may not actually be the case.
According to Brian Alvarez on Wrestling Observer Radio, multiple sources are saying the referee simply botched the finish and that Mickie is not injured. It is believed that the referee thought she was hurt, so he called the match, but he was just wrong and it was too late to go back on the call.
Check out some action from last night:

We will continue to monitor this story and provide any updates as they become available to us.
Editor’s Opinion:
I was very confused while watching th..

Let’s go outside. WWE has been trying to make some adjustments to get things back to normal during the Coronavirus pandemic but it has not been easy. There are only so many things that can be done to make the situation better and one of the biggest has involved the venue for the WWE television shows. After spending months in the Performance Center, it was time to move on to the Amway Center. But what happens after that?
One of the details of WWE’s deal with the Amway Center is that is it only going last until the end of October. While WWE will have a home for the next month and a half, they will have to figure out a place to go after that. Such a move would leave them open to a variety of questions, but there is a chance that they have something in mind to deal with the situation.
According to the WrestleVotes Twitter account, WWE is looking for outside venues to hold their television events once the Amway Center contract expires. The same venue would host both Monday Night Raw and S..

That’s a big role. Wrestling and acting have one of the more confusing relationships in the world. Wrestlers are seen as actors but they rarely get the chance to act outside of roles playing wrestlers, as that is all they are seen as being. That has not been as bad in recent years though, as some wrestlers are getting the chance to branch out. One is doing so in a major way.
Sasha Banks is one of the Four Horsewomen and has come a long way in her time on the main roster. After dominant the NXT Women’s Division, Banks moved up and has become a five time Raw Women’s Champion. It is easy to see why WWE would want to push her in a big way and she is going to get the chance in one of the bigger mainstream franchises in media history.
Banks is featured in the new trailer for the second season of the Mandalorian, a Star Wars series airing on Disney+. Banks can be seen as a hooded character whose name and plot details are unknown. It is not clear if this will cause any changes to her role on..

There’s your explanation. You never know when you might see someone get injured in wrestling. An injury can go down during any match with no warning and that makes them all the more dangerous. It can be a horrible way for a match to go and some of them can be a lot more devastating than others. That seemed to be the case during a pretty important match this week.
One of the biggest matches on this week’s Monday Night Raw featured Mickie James challenging Asuka for the Raw Women’s Title. The match was presented as perhaps James’ last chance to win the title as her in-ring career is winding down. The match was a focal point of the show and ended in a somewhat controversial fashion. There might be some bad news as to why.
This week on Monday Night Raw, Asuka defeated James when the referee rules that James could not continue while in the Asuka Lock. Mick Foley and Lance Storm have tweeted that he had heard James’ shoulder may have popped out during the match, which caused the referee to..

Two down? Like so many other businesses, wrestling is a place where it isn’t about what you know but who you know. Or in this case, who likes you. If you have someone in your corner in wrestling, you can have a lot of doors opened in your career. This is certainly true in WWE, where a nod from Vince McMahon can do wonders for someone’s push. However, the opposite is also true as McMahon not being impressed can destroy you. That might be the case with two Monday Night Raw names.
Earlier this year, Paul Heyman was fired as Executive Director of Monday Night Raw. This shook things up on the show, as Heyman had been in charge for a long time and had established things the way he had wanted them. There were several Paul Heyman Guys/Women who were pushed because Heyman saw something in them. However, some of those names are not going to receive as much of a push now that Heyman is gone, including two prominent names.
According to Wrestling Observer Radio, McMahon is not interested in pushi..

That’s a worst case scenario. An injury can shake up a lot of things, including the careers of people associated with the injured wrestler. Someone going on the shelf can cause a bit of a domino effect, especially in WWE where wrestlers are often locked into one role instead of being put into the place where they are needed. That is the case again and it does not seem to be good news.
During an eight man tag on last week’s Monday Night Raw, Ivar injured his neck on a suicide dive and immediately threw up the X sign to say that something was wrong. Ivar was taken away on a stretcher and it was later revealed that he had suffered a neck injury. That did not sound good and Ivar was scheduled for surgery this week. Now we know what that will mean for two different people.
According to Wrestling Observer Radio, Ivar’s neck surgery will keep him out of the ring for a year or perhaps even longer. There is no word on the exact nature of Ivar’s injury or what will need to be fixed. While he i..