NEWS

NXT UK
Date: July 7, 2022
Location: BT Sports Studios, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Andy Shepherd
Things need to pick up a bit around here and unfortunately that has been the case for a little while now. Between the influx of NXT stars and nothing major happening for a few weeks now, it hasn’t been the most exciting place. Maybe that can be changed this week as Kenny Williams faces Tiger Turan. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Kenny Williams vs. Tiger Turan Williams charges at him before the bell but settles for a lockup once we get going. That earns him an armbar from Turan without much effort, followed by a running shoulder for the knockdown. Turan goes back to the arm before dropkicking a frustrated Williams out to the floor. Back in and Turan does a headstand in the corner to avoid another charge before kicking Williams down again.
Williams finally gets smart by taking out the leg and a boot scrape across the eyes makes it worse. The neck crank doesn’t do m..

It might be a little while. There have been all kinds of changes taking place as of late in WWE, with some of those taking place behind the scenes. Those changes have caused various changes to take place in front of the camera as well. Some of the changes might not have taken effect just yet though, and that seems to be the case with one of the more interesting ones.
Last month, reports stated that Triple H had returned to the WWE Performance Center and declared that he was “back”. However, according to PWInsider.com, the NXT leadership team has not changed and there is nothing to indicate that Triple H has any official position. Shawn Michaels is still the brand’s manager, with head writer Johnny Russo, Nick Bonnano and George Caroll as the writers. There is no word on when, or if, Triple H will resume any kind of authority.
Opinion: This is the kind of thing that shouldn’t surprise you in WWE, as the company continues to change one thing after another. I’m not sure where this is go..

They seem to be fans. There are certain moments in wrestling that get fans’ emotions going. It can be a lot of fun to see someone getting to do something that makes things interesting but they are pretty rare. You know them when you see them though and that seemed to be the case last weekend. It was so good that even the commentary team got excited.
At WWE Money In The Bank, Liv Morgan won the women’s Money In The Bank briefcase and cashed in on the same night, defeating Ronda Rousey to become the new SmackDown Women’s Champion. WWE has released a video from the announcers’ table, showing Pat McAfee and Michael Cole’s reaction, with the two of them jumping up in excitement over the cash-in and title change.
I’d call it a win. Check out how Cole and McAfee reacted:
[This post contains video, click to play]

Opinion: Other than maybe a few glimpses, you might not have seen these reactions at the pay per view. WWE putting out the video made for a great visual, even if commentary was l..

That’s a classy move. AEW has rapidly become one of the biggest wrestling promotions in the world and it has been quite the success so far. A good deal of that has been due to its roster, but at some point some of them need to change in one way or another. That was nearly the case with one of AEW’s wrestlers, but some more of the roster did not care for the plans.
According to Fightful Select, Colt Cabana’s AEW contract was set to expire earlier this year and the company was not going to offer him a new one. However, other members of the roster stood up for Cabana, who is considered extremely popular backstage. As a result, he was allowed to work the Ring Of Honor Supercard Of Honor event, though he has not wrestled an AEW match since the March 8 Dark. There is no word on when Cabana will wrestle again, though it appears he has been signed to a new deal.
Opinion: That is quite the inspiring story and it is great to see that Cabana has made such an impression on the roster that they a..

They’re not done yet. With so many people on the AEW roster, it can be difficult to keep track of everyone. While a bunch of people appear on either TV show at any given time, it isn’t possible to keep everyone around on every show. Sometimes you see someone show up for a special moment, and that was the case again this week with two of the more popular stars in the company.
The main event of this week’s AEW Dynamite saw Jon Moxley defeat Brody King to retain the Interim AEW World Title. According to PWInsider.com, after the show was over, Malakai Black came to the ring to check on King. As the two were leaving, Darby Allin and Sting appeared, with Allin offering King his hand in respect. However, King and Black left without shaking his hand, leaving Sting and Allin to play to the crowd.
Opinion: That is something that could be interesting later on and I am curious to see where it goes in the future. Allin paying respect to the House Of Black could mean quite a few things, though I d..

Welcome to KB’s Old School (and New School) Reviews. I’ve been reviewing wrestling shows for over twelve years now and have reviewed over 6,000 shows. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I’ll be posting a new review here on Wrestlingrumors.net. It could be anything from modern WWE to old school to indies to anything in between. Note that I rate using letters instead of stars and I don’t rate matches under three minutes as really, how good or bad can something that short be?
Great American Bash 2004
Date: June 27, 2004
Location: Norfolk Scope, Norfolk, Virginia
Attendance: 6,500
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz
We had to get here at some point and that’s not the most appealing thing in the world. The double main event will see JBL challenging Eddie Guerrero for the WWE Title in a Texas Bullrope match (totally different than the Montana bullrope match) and the Undertaker vs. the Dudley Boyz in a Concrete Crypt match (totally different than the good idea match). Let’s get to it.
The op..

They have a plan for that. Last weekend’s Money In The Bank event was a rather eventful night for WWE. Not only did the company have the show’s two namesake matches, but Miss Money In The Bank Liv Morgan cashed in her briefcase to become the new SmackDown Women’s Champion. That was a huge jump up for Morgan and it seems that WWE might have something in mind for her.
The Canadian Tire Center in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada is hosting a WWE live event on August 20. The advertisment for the event includes Morgan defending the SmackDown Women’s Title against both Natalya and Ronda Rousey. While the card is subject to change, this show takes place after Summerslam on July 30, suggesting that Morgan could be holding the title beyond the next major event. Morgan cashed in her briefcase on Rousey, following a successful titel defense against Natalya.
UPDATED CARD: Newly crowned @WWE SmackDown Women's Champion @YaOnlyLivvOnce will take part in a Triple Threat Match against @RondaRousey and @N..

They were pleased. WWE runs quite a few events throughout the year and some of them are among the biggest wrestling events anywhere. That means that some of the events that take place can matter quite a bit for WWE and having them be a success is quite the good situation. It seems to be the case again, as a WWE event was so solid that the company is bragging about it internally.
Last weekend, WWE presented its annual Money In The Bank event, featuring the show’s two namesake matches. However, according to Fightful Select, WWE was so pleased with the show that they sent out an internal statement to its executives, bragging about the show’s success. The memo bragged about the show being the most viewed Money In The Bank ever and the second highest gate in the show’s history. Also, merchandise sales at the event were up 95% over last year’s, which had been the highest merchandise sales in Money In The Bank history.
Opinion: This is one of those things that is worth bragging about as the..

For the first time. Title changes can make a huge difference in a wrestler’s career as you can see them moving up the ladder right in front of your eyes. It can be the kind of thing that reallys tarts a career in a huge way. That might have been the case again this week, as a young and upcoming star finally got his hands on some gold in some pretty impressive fashion.
This week’s AEW Dynamite featured Wardlow defeating Scorpio Sky in a street fight to become the new TNT Champion. The win markes Wardlow’s first title of any kind in AEW. The match came about after Sky cheated to retain the title over Wardlow in their previous match. Sky’s loss ends his second title at seventy days, having won the title on the April 27 edition of Dynamite.
Opinion: Wardlow had to win something and this is as good of an idea as they had for him at the moment. He gets a championship and has officially accomplished something in AEW. I’m not sure where he goes next, but lining up one villain in a row to com..

Breaking up is hard to do. There are a lot of wrestlers on the AEW roster and it can be difficult to keep track of what they are all doing. Sometimes it is easier to put them together in various groups and that is what a lot of the wrestlers have done over the years. That can make for some interesting moments, but now we had something else take place as one group is no longer a thing.
This week’s edition of AEW Dynamite saw the Gunn Club and the Acclaimed defeat Ruffin It and Fuego del Sol in an eight man tag. The match ended when Max Caster hit the Mic Drop on Bear Bronson but Austin Gunn stole the pin. Following the match, the winners brawled, drawing in Billy Gunn to break up the fight. Billy then turned on the Acclaimed and left them laying before walking away with his sons.
Opinion: This is one of those things that needed to happen and it makes sense for the change to take place. At the end of the day, if AEW wants the Acclaimed to be cheered, it didn’t make sense to have them t..

Dynamite
Date: July 6, 2022
Location: Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York
Commentators: Taz, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur
We’re back to the normal show this week and that could mean more than a few things. In this case it means that we are going to be seeing Jon Moxley defend the Interim World Title against Brody King, which should be a heck of a fight. Other than that, it is time to build towards Ring Of Honor’s Death Before Dishonor later this month. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
TNT Title: Wardlow vs. Scorpio Sky Wardlow is challenging in a street fight. Sky strikes away at the leg to start and gets dropped with a hard shoulder. A low blow cuts off Wardlow but he’s fine enough to toss Sky around a few times. They head outside where an American Top Team distraction lets Sky send Wardlow into the steps.
We take a break and come back with Wardlow knocking him off the top and hitting a Swanton. The Powerbomb Symphony is loaded up but Wardlow clears them out without much effort. ..

They could use it. WWE has been all over the place in recent months and that should not be surprising. Things have been changing both in front of and behind the camera, especially in the front office. While this has not caused a major change in the on-screen product, it has been taking place at the same time as something different in the arenas. This time around, it is some good news.
According to Wrestling Observer Radio, WWE has seen an upswing in ticket sales in recent weeks. While the numbers are not up huge, there is a stronger demand for tickets in cities like New York City and Houston. There is no word on what is causing the ticket sales to increase. At the same time, AEW ticket sales have been down, which is credited to a combination of injuries taking away star power and revisiting markets without much time in between shows.
Opinion: The AEW numbers make sense, but the WWE numbers are a bit confusing. At the end of the day, WWE does not have much going on at the moment, with..