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It’s never too early to start planning ahead. Things are very different in WWE after last week’s Superstar Shakeup. The rosters have been switched around quite a bit and it’s not clear where things are going to be going in the next few weeks as people start to find their new footing. What might be clear though is where things are going in about three months on a certain night.
The website of the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia is advertising three matches for the July 14 Extreme Rules pay per view. Now listed for the show are AJ Styles vs. Drew McIntyre, Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton and Seth Rollins defending the Universal Championship against Baron Corbin. These early cards are of course subject to change. The venue had already announced matches for the show but these now reflect the reset rosters.
Could this set up a title match? Check out Rollins yelling at Corbin last year:
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Opinion: I can’t say I’m surprised as WWE is going to push ..

Not so fast? Last week WWE ran the Superstar Shakeup with names moving from show to show, with Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live’s rosters receiving some facelifts. These were long overdue and it was a good idea to make some of the changes. As it turns out though, WWE wasn’t entirely done with the changes, including some of those that were made during the shows.
According to PWInsider by way of 411mania.com, Andrade, Zelina Vega and Aleister Black have all been moved over to SmackDown Live after coming to Monday Night Raw last week. Andrade and Vega moved over from SmackDown Live while Black was officially named to the roster. Black’s partner Ricochet did not move over with him. The move is better for the trio’s personal lives, as Black and Vega are married and Andrade’s girlfriend Charlotte is on SmackDown Live.
Last week was a big debut for Andrade. Check out his only match as part of the Monday Night Raw roster:
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Opinion: Well ok then…

Another legend hangs them up. Contrary to popular belief, wrestlers are like all other athletes. Their careers start, they have their glory run (some go longer than others) and then at some point, they all retire for one reason or another. For the best of all time, it’s a sad day for the fans and now another name is ready to walk away from the ring after a long career.
According to New Japan Pro Wrestling, Riki Choshu, 67, will have his retirement match on June 26 in Korakuen Hall. The match will be a six man tag with Choshu teaming with Shiro Koshinaka and Tomohiro Ishii against Tatsumi Fujinami, Keiji Muto and Togi Makabe. Choshu debuted in 1974 and had his first retirement match on January 4, 1998. He is also credited with inventing the Sharpshooter.
In case you’re not familiar. Check out Choshu in his prime against Ric Flair:
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Opinion: This one might not mean as much to some fans but Choshu really is a legend in his own time. To wrestle..

The gold rush has ended. It had been previously reported that Cody Rhodes will be facing his brother, Dustin, aka Goldust, at AEW’s debut event, Double or Nothing. However, with Dustin still being under WWE contract, that could create a problem.
Not anymore.
Dustin released a statement on his official Instagram account, in which he says that he has asked for his release from WWE and it was granted.
View this post on Instagram Official Statement: Done on my own terms. Thank you to the @WWEUniverse @wwe and the world of entertainment. #wrestling #DustinRhodes
A post shared by Dustin Rhodes (@dustinrhodestx) on Apr 21, 2019 at 1:07pm PDT
In the statement, he acknowledges his love for the fans, but that he’s put his body through a lot in the last 30 years. He also said “Remember and never forget the name of…Goldust.”
Goldust has been a fixture of the company for a long time. Check out his debut from 1995:
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I can’t say that I blame the guy f..

Information is good to have. It had been previously reported that Sasha Banks tried to quit WWE recently, due to her being very unhappy with her position in the company.
However, new information may reveal that her feelings are justified.
According to the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the decision to have her and Bayley lose the Women’s Tag Team Championships to The IIconics at WrestleMania 35 was not a last minute decision and many people in the company knew about it. However, Banks & Bayley were not told until the day of the show.
They were also told at the time that the company was going to spilt them up as a tag team. The combination of them not getting the title run that they expected to establish the championships as meaningful, along with splitting up their team so quickly, caused both of them to be upset. While, Bayley was upset but didn’t quit, Banks was given a few weeks off for her to cool down and have the opportunity to work things out.
Things were..

We have some sad news to report, along with a way that we can help. Just a few hours before he officially became a Raw Superstar in the 2019 Superstar Shakeup, Ricochet received some difficult news. His mother’s home, the house he grew up in, was destroyed in a fire.
Thankfully, his mother, her boyfriend and her boyfriend’s two children are safe, but the rebuilding process is going to be tough.
As a results, Ricochet has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for some of the damages caused by the fire. He wrote the following regarding the disaster:
Monday afternoon I found out that my mom came home from the theatre to find her house engulfed in flames. Luckily my mom, her boyfriend and his two boys are all okay, but devastated from losing all of the memories that were in this house. Not only memories that they have made together, but from me and my brothers childhood, my son growing up and everything in between.
He also tweeted about it:
I'm raising money to help my mom rebuild ..

This is only a rumor, so take it for what it’s worth. It had been previously reported that Alexander Wolfe was leaving WWE, and wrote a farewell message to everyone on his social media accounts.
However, according to the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, this may not be the case. It is being reported that Wolfe isn’t leaving the company, but he may be going back to NXT as a singles competitor, or he could be used as one of the top stars on the European brand.
Wolfe has always been known as one of the members of the group SAnitY, along with Eric Young, Killian Dain and Nikki Cross. Check out what they are capable of:
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Young was traded to Raw as a part of the 2019 Superstar Shakeup. However, it is unknown what the future of Dain and Cross is.
Editor’s Opinion:
This is great news. He is a very talented competitor who could be a big deal in one of the NXT brands.
What do you think the future holds for Alexander Wolfe? Leave ..

From wrestling, to movies, to major publications, the Great One has done it all. The latest issue of TIME magazine features their annual list of the 100 Most Influential People in the world, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is one of six people who graced the various covers for the 2019 list.
The other people who will be on different covers are Taylor Swift, Gayle King, Sandra Oh, Mohamed Salah and Nancy Pelosi.
The Rock shared the news via his Instagram account, and said the following:
I’m boundlessly humbled and honored to grace the cover of @TIME.
I’ve been quite the lucky man over the decades to have such a successful career, but it’s only due to the deep connection I have with the fans, the audience – the people.
To have success at something is one thing, but to have global positive influence on people’s lives is the greatest and most powerful strength one could ever have.
Thank you TIME Magazine for this exceptional honor.
And most importantly, thank you to my one and only ..

I think it’s safe to say that this year’s WrestleMania had some big moments. In something that actually surprised me, we got three happy endings in the major matches, with Kofi Kingston, Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins all slaying the dragons and winning their titles. That was the right move to make as WWE needed to give the fans something to cheer for after a long stretch of bleak. WrestleMania is over now though and that means it’s time to start looking forward.
That brings us to the current problem, which is something that can be fixed and addressed, though it’s not something that can be done overnight: who in the world is supposed to be the big villains going after the new champions? Right now, who is going after Rollins, Lynch and Kingston? They don’t exactly have major heels going on and unfortunately, I have very little faith in WWE to build them up. This has been a problem for a very long time now and while it’s something that is dealt with every now and then, it has been an issu..

There is money to be made in NXT. A few weeks ago, John Oliver’s piece on working conditions in WWE struck a few different nerves, with wrestling fans finding out a lot about what it’s like to work for the biggest wrestling company in the world. While some of the situations were more serious than others, we now know something a little more specific about a certain group of employees within the company.
According to a new article in the Sports Business Journal, the average salary for a WWE developmental talent is about $80,000, with a range of between $50,000 to $150,000. Without going into specifics, the salary of a main roster wrestler is said to be able to climb into the high seven figures for top names. WWE salaries do not tend to include transportation or road expenses, or health insurance.
This is where they work for the next level. Check out this look at the WWE Performance Center:
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Opinion: That’s quite the salary for someone who is ..

To the injured list. We’re pretty much in the beginning of a fresh season for WWE. With WrestleMania over and the Superstar Shakeup taking place earlier this week, things are at a fresh start for the company. However, that doesn’t mean that all of the people are right there for the earliest episodes. Two former World Champions were notably absent this week and it’s not looking like great news.
According to PWInsider.com, both Sheamus and Daniel Bryan are currently out of action with undisclosed injuries. Sheamus wrestled on both Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live last week but was neither seen nor mentioned this week on SmackDown Live with his regular partner Cesaro appearing without him. Bryan has not been seen since WrestleMania 35. Both have long term injury issues, with Sheamus having spinal stenosis and Bryan having a long history of concussions. There is no word on if those injuries are connected to their current absences.
In case you forgot. Check out Sheamus in action last w..

You mean it wasn’t the first choice? Earlier this week, Monday Night Raw held the first half of the annual Superstar Shakeup. The night included a variety of superstars moving from SmackDown Live, 205 Live and NXT over to Monday Night Raw, but there was one thing that dominated the reaction to the show. It’s one of them ore questionable things WWE has done in a long time and now we know something else about it.
This week on Monday Night Raw, the NXT Tag Team Champions the War Raiders were called up to the main roster, albeit under the new names of Ivar and Erik, collectively known as the Viking Experience. According to PWInsider, the original name for the team was going to be the Berzerkers, a nod/homage to the Berzerker, who wrestled for the company in the early 1990s. There is no word on when or why the name was changed.
It’s still a strange name. Check out the team’s debut under their new names:
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Opinion: I’m still trying to wrap my head..