NEWS

Smackdown
Date: July 22, 2022
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Pat McAfee, Michael Cole
And then Vince McMahon retired from WWE and everything changed. This is one of those moments that you knew would happen in some way at some point but you can’t actually fathom it going down. On top of that, Brock Lesnar has reportedly walked out on the show and won’t be here, though maybe something can be salvaged. Let’s get to it.
Here is Stephanie McMahon to get things going. She announces Vince’s retirement and the fans immediately go into a THANK YOU VINCE chant. Stephanie asks the fans to not get ahead of them her and says thank you Vince for everything.
Here are the Street Profits to be all hyped up for their Tag Team Title shot at Summerslam. Cue Theory to remind us that he will be cashing in on Roman Reigns. That brings out the Usos, who don’t like Theory threatening Roman Reigns. The Usos says Montez Ford and his wife are leaving Summerslam with no titles and the ..

I guess he wasn’t pleased. There are a lot of wrestlers in WWE, but there is only one Brock Lesnar. Throughout his multiple runs in WWE, Lesnar has been one of the most dominant stars the company has ever seen. Even though he only appears occasionally now, it means something when he shows up. That was supposed to be the case this week, but now things might have changed.
Lesnar has been advertised for this week’s edition of SmackDown, but according to Bryan Alvarez of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Lesnar has left SmackDown as of just before 5PM EST. There is no word on why Lesnar left, though it comes less than an hour after Vince McMahon announced that he is stepping down as WWE CEO and Chairman of the Board. It is not clear if Lesnar will appear on the show in any fashion.
From several sources, Brock Lesnar has left Smackdown.
— Bryan Alvarez (@bryanalvarez) July 22, 2022
Opinion: I’m not sure what is going on here, but at the end of the day, things are going a bit more nuts ..

It actually happened. There is no one in the history of wrestling as powerful as Vince McMahon. Whether you like him or not, McMahon has been the force in wrestling for well over twenty years now and anything he says or does can change the industry as a whole. No one has ever had his kind of power or influence, but now two people are going to have to try.
On Friday afternoon, McMahon announced that he is officially retiring as Chairman and CEO of WWE. McMahon said that at 77 years old, it was time for him to go. He also announced that Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan will be co-CEO, with Stephanie serving as Chairwoman. Vince will still be the majority stockholder in WWE, though there is no word on what this means for his status as head of creative. This comes amid an investigation into Vince over hush money payments for a series of alleged affairs with various women in WWE.
At 77, time for me to retire.
Thank you, WWE Universe.
Then. Now. Forever. Together. #WWE #thankful
— Vince ..

The Game is back. WWE issued the following press release today, regarding Triple H and his executive role within the company:
WWE today announced that effective immediately, Paul Levesque will resume his executive position as EVP, Talent Relations.
“I look forward to returning to my prior position as head of Talent Relations. I’m healthy, fired up, and ready to take charge,” said Levesque.
Triple H replaces John Laurinaitis, who has been on administrative leave since June 21 due to his involvement in the recent scandal involving Vince McMahon. McMahon currently under investigation for paying several million dollars in hush money to cover up inappropriate relationships that he had with women in the past.
It had been reported that several members of the WWE roster were “very happy” when Laurinaitis was placed on his administrative leave.
The Game has been battling several health issues recently, including a cardiac event last year that forced him to step away from his duties within ..

Call it a tease? Wrestling can be a fun sport in that you never know what kind of a match you might see. Every now and then you see people get together for a match that you wouldn’t have imagined seeing under almost any circumstances. That can make things very fun, and now WWE might be teasing a rather personal showdown, though then again they may not be.
Over the years, Monday Night Raw’s Riddle has been open about his dislike for WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg’s work in the ring. This includes criticizing Goldberg’s mixed martial arts style, including on WWE programming. WWE has posted a clip of the two of them running into each other backstage at Summerslam 2019, with Goldberg saying that they needed to talk and Riddle saying anytime. Goldberg also said that he wasn’t Riddle’s bro. According to Cagesideseats.com, this has led to speculation about a possible future match between the two, but this is not yet confirmed.
It was an intense moment. Check out Goldberg meeting Riddle:
[This ..

That’s always cool. Wrestlers are able to do a lot of things with their celebrity status and it can often be rather positive. Sometimes you see a wrestler get to do something worthwhile that can help other people. That is the case again with some of the more popular wrestlers today and in this case, it is something that is going to help someone who is rather close to one of them.
This week on AEW Dynamite, Dax Harwood told a story about his eight year old daughter facing heart surgery due to a hole in her heart. Harwood revealed that his daughter fought to get better, which will cause him to “fight like an eight year old” at Death Before Dishonor. He has since revealed a new t-shirt from Pro Wrestling Tees, featuring the “Fight Like An 8 Year Old Girl” moniker. All proceeds will go to the American Heart Association, with Harwood saying he will match all royalties.
So many of you guys asked. LFG!
100% of Royalties Will Be Donated To The American Heart Association
I’m truly proud to ..

Nothing wrong with an extra check. Wrestlers are in a weird place when it comes to celebrity status. While it is true that they are wrestlers, the top level stars are regularly wrestling in front of a good number of people. At the top level, they are wrestling in front of a national television audience on a regular basis, meaning they are going to be worth something to an advertiser. That is certainly the case with a current star.
AEW’s Jon Moxley appeared at the Forbidden Door media scrum with a case of Athletic Brewing non-alcoholic beer. Moxley mentioned that he was hoping to get a sponsorship from the company. Since then, Athletic Brewing has posted a video to Twitter, showing Moxley at the media scrum and announcing that the two sides had come to terms on a deal. The video ends with Moxley presenting an advertisement for the drink.
It’s quite the surprise. Check out the announcement and ad:
[This post contains video, click to play]
Opinion: That’s one of those things that you ..

They might need counseling. There are a lot of wrestling promotions throughout the world and some of them are rather prominent. These are the promotions that have been around for a very long time now and a lot of people have heard of them over the years. It turns out that the modern version of one of the most famous promotions in history might not be going so well.
On August 28, the NWA will present its 74th anniversary show, featuring Tyrus challenging Trevor Murdoch for the NWA World Title. This comes after NWA owner Billy Corgan pulled Nick Aldis from the match. The two have both commented on the situation, with Corgan blaming Aldis’ attitude. According to PWInsider.com, there is some truth to the storyline comments, as Aldis has been critical of Corgan’s creative direction of the NWA. This has resulted in heat on Aldis for promoting himself as bigger than the NWA itself. Aldis is still expected to wrestle at the show with a new opponent to be named.
?? JUST ANNOUNCED: @Billy has ..

It’s a good place to go. Injuries can be one of the worst things that a wrestling promotion can go through. A string of injuries can take out all kinds of wrestlers and the question becomes how a company can get through the wrestlers’ time on the shelf. AEW is currently dealing with that situation, but now they might be able to see quite a few lights at the end of the tunnel.
AEW has a group of stars out of action with injuries, including reigning World Champion CM Punk, Bryan Danielson and Kenny Omega. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, AEW is hoping that the three of them will be back for All Out on September 4. There is currently no guarantee or announcement on any of the three returning. No matches have been announced for the show so far.
Opinion: That is a good goal for AEW, as they tend to have some major events taking place at pay per views. Hopefully the company can get at least some of the wrestlers back for All Out, as the company could use a lot of star power in a hurr..

They’ll be there. The wrestling world is getting back one of the more prominent promotions of this generation as Ring Of Honor is running an event this weekend. That should make for quite the moment, but it does have some questions that need to be answered. Ring Of Honor has run one event this year and that was nearly four months ago. The promotion needs a roster and now we know two prominent names.
During the Ring Of Honor Death Before Dishonor conference call, owner Tony Khan revealed that the Briscoes are signed to the company on long term contracts. The Briscoes are Ring Of Honor Hall of Famers and record twelve time Ring Of Honor Tag Team Champions. They are scheduled to challenge FTR for the titles in a two out of three falls match at Death Before Dishonor.
Opinion: I don’t think this is much of a shock as is no one more associated with Ring Of Honor than the Briscoes. They are the undisputed biggest team in the promotion’s history and that isn’t even counting their singles suc..

Welcome to the family? There are two major wrestling promotions in the United States with AEW and WWE. The two companies are both built around a rather strong roster and it can be a lot of fun to see someone go from one company to another. That is the case again this week, though this time it is a rare case of someone going from one company to the other and back again.
This week’s edition of AEW Dynamite featured the return of Cole Karter, who lost to Ricky Starks. Karter is the former Two Dimes of NXT fame, though he was written off of television last month after being released from the company for an unknown incident. According to Fightful Select, Karter has returned to AEW and is under a deal with the promotion. Karter had previously wrestled for AEW in 2021.
Opinion: I’m not sure if Karter is going to be the next big thing in AEW but he does have a good look to him and some skills in the ring. That being said, AEW’s roster is already completely overloaded anyway and there is very..

It’s the nature of the match. There are a lot of match types in wrestling and some of them are a lot more violent than others. Some of those matches are designed to be as violent as possible, particularly in matches between people who can’t stand each other. It can make for some serious violence, which is on top of the inherent danger of wrestling. That was the case again this week.
The main event of this week’s AEW Dynamite saw Chris Jericho defeat Eddie Kingston in a barbed wire match. The match saw barbed wire around the ring with both wrestlers using it throughout the match. Jericho has since taken to Twitter and revealed that he suffered a broken nose during the match, though it is not clear when in the match it happened. There is nothing to suggest that Jericho will be missing any ring time.
Just left the doctors office. It’s official….that SAVAGE @MadKing1981 broke my nose last night. #barbwireeverywhere @AEW pic.twitter.com/1TVUxjUVZx
— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) July 21, 2..