NEWS

I’d call that a rub. There are very few stars in the history of wrestling who have reached the level of John Cena. He has been the face of WWE in the modern era and helped lead the company into its most profitable era ever. Cena has mainly become an actor in recent years but does still wrestle occasionally, which might be the case again on the big stage later this year.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE is hoping to have Cena wrestle at this year’s Summerslam on July 30. The plan would be for Cena to face current United States Champion Theory at the show, though the plans have not yet been finalized. Cena is scheduled to return to Monday Night Raw on June 27. He has not wrestled since last year’s Summerslam, where he lost to Roman Reigns.
Opinion: This is the kind of thing that Cena should be doing and WWE seems to understand that. Have him return, hype up the crowd, and then put someone young over. Cena isn’t going to be a full time star again but he is such a lege..

Rampage
Date: June 10, 2022
Location: Cable Dahmer Arena, Independence, Missouri
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz
We are just over two weeks away from Forbidden Door but things have been shaken up pretty hard around here lately. A string of injuries has changed some of the direction in AEW but bringing in some of the New Japan wrestlers should help. That includes this week, as Will Ospreay/Aussie Open are teaming up to face FTR/Trent Beretta. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Eddie Kingston vs. Jake Hager Kingston strikes away to start but Hager knocks him down with a knee to the ribs. Hager sends him outside before it’s back inside to crank on both arms. They’re already back to the floor with Hager pounding away, followed by some forearms in the corner back inside. The armbar goes on back inside but Kingston fights up. That doesn’t go well for Kingston, who gets chopped so hard that he takes down the straps. Kingston kicks him in the head to take over, only to walk into an overhead be..

Impact Wrestling
Date: June 9, 2022
Location: Osceola Heritage Park, Kissimmee, Florida
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan
We are rapidly approaching Slammiversary and that means it is time to start filling out the card. The main event is set but we still need to add in a few more spots here and there. This includes another name in the Ultimate X match, plus a likely Moose vs. Sami Callihan match. Let’s get to it.
The opening sequence looks at Sami Callihan attacking Moose last week.
Callihan wants Moose.
Opening sequence, again featuring a classic TNA theme.
Tenille Dashwood vs. Rosemary Madison Rayne is here too. Rosemary knocks her into the corner to start and a ram into the buckle makes it worse. Dashwood manages to get in a shot of her own though and pulls Rosemary outside for a crash to take over. Back in and the Upside Down doesn’t get Rosemary very far as Dashwood clotheslines her down.
A full nelson is broken up though and a double clothesline gives them both a..

You have his attention. There are a lot of people in WWE but there are only a few whose opinions really matter. At the top of the list is none other than Vince McMahon, whose decisions can change the way the wrestling world works in the blink of an eye. Getting McMahon’s endorsement can mean the world to a wrestler and now he seems to be impressed by someone else.
According to Fightful Select, “people of influence” in WWE are said to be impressed with Gunther. The people were said to be impressed with Gunther’s work in NXT as Walter, but his move to the main roster has also included his efforts to lose weight and get in better shape. McMahon himself is also said to be impressed with Gunther’s in-ring work since his debut on SmackDown.
Opinion: It is nice to see that someone who is this talented is getting the recognition that he deserves. Gunther is someone who will get your attention no matter what he is doing and that includes having some hard hitting matches. He has done well so f..

History has been made! There are a lot of titles under the WWE banner and some of them have been around for a very long time. Those titles are the ones that can kick start a wrestler’s rise to the top and the Intercontinental Title has a history of doing just that. The title might not have a perfect record, but winning it can be a great sign. That might be the case again.
This week on SmackDown, Gunther defeated Ricochet to win the Intercontinental Title for the first time in his career. Gunther debuted on SmackDown in April and has gone undefeated since then, with his match against Ricochet being his first title shot. This comes amid reports of WWE higher ups, including Vince McMahon himself, being impressed with Gunther’s work so far.
Opinion: This is a nice thing to see as Gunther feels like someone who could be different. You don’t get a monster like him very often and the fact that WWE is willing to give him the title before he has had the chance to undergo one of the company’s ..

Smackdown
Date: June 10, 2022
Location: Raising Cane’s River Center Arena, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee
It’s officially Money In The Bank season and that means we need to have some qualifying matches. Maybe they can even play the theme song fourteen times. Other than that, we might get to hear about something related to Roman Reigns wrestling again sometime in the future. But probably not. Let’s get to it.
Commentary hypes up tonight’s historic show.
Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre In the back, McIntyre throws Butch around and says he’ll see Sheamus out there. They hit each other hard to start with McIntyre getting the better of it off some chops. A Michinoku Driver gives Drew two but Sheamus sends him to the apron for the forearms to the chest. That’s reversed so Drew can hit his own, only to have Butch offer a distraction. Something like White Noise on the apron drops McIntyre and we take a break.
Back with Sheamus hi..

That would be worth a read. There are several major names in wrestling history but all of them pale in comparison to Vince McMahon. Whether you like him or not, there is no denying that he is the most powerful person the wrestling industry has ever seen. McMahon has been around for the better part of fifty years and that means he is going to have some stories to tell. Now, he looks ready to tell them.
According to the New York Post, McMahon is shopping his memoir around to various publishers. The story is written by McMahon and tells the story of how he took over the wrestling industry. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the idea is to put the book head to head with the book Ringmaster by Abraham Riesman, a McMahon biography due out in 2023. There is no word on if or when McMahon’s memoir would be released.
Opinion: This is interesting as you can all but guarantee that someone, somewhere, will publish McMahon’s book. McMahon is someone who has dominated an industry and t..

Stables have been a thing in wrestling for a very long time and it isn’t that much of a surprise. A stable allows a lot of wrestlers to get television time together rather than hoping that one or two of them can make it onto the show that week. That is something that has worked for a very long time and still does to this day. It could be as serious as the NWO or as goofy as 3MB but it can still work no matter what. That is the case again, though this week saw what I would consider an upgrade.
Back at WrestleMania 38, Damian Priest gave Edge a surprise assist to help him defeat AJ Styles. The two would unite and form the Judgment Day stable, eventually adding Rhea Ripley. While the stable’s mission wasn’t entirely clear, Edge always teased adding new members, which finally took place again this week. It just might not have gone as he had planned.
This week on Monday Night Raw, Finn Balor officially joined Judgment Day and almost immediately turned on Edge, laying him out with help fro..

That could have been worse. Injury scares are one of the worst things that you can see on a wrestling show as you never know how bad they might be. Someone could get hurt and have their careers ended, but thankfully that is not always the case. Occasionally you can get some good news that night, which seems to have been the situation this week after an NXT star was hurt.
According to PWInsider.com, there was an injury scare for Gigi Dolin during this week’s NXT taping. On Wednesday during the taping for the June 14 show, Dolin was injured during her match when Cora Jade hit her with a cannonball senton. Dolin did not get up and the match ended shortly thereafter. However, during the June 21 taping later in the night, Dolin did appear in the arena, though she did not get physical. There is no word on what happened to her or how much time, if any, she might miss from the ring.
Opinion: The fact that Dolin was still in the arena later in the night rather than at the hospital is a pretty..

Wait…who? There are a lot of different aspects that come together to make a wrestling star feel important but one of the biggest is their name. You can only get so far with a bad name and that has been shown on more than one occasion over the years. WWE has a hit and miss record with naming its wrestlers, but this time around even what they had isn’t quite right.
WWE has a live event scheduled for the Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena in Atlantic City, New Jersey on August 14. There have been a few matches announced, but the arena’s website had listed incorrect names for the show. This includes “Seth “Franklin” Rollins” and “Ashule” instead of Seth “Freakin” Rollins and Asuka. The incorrect names were still listed as of Thursday morning but had been corrected later in the day.
Had to see for myself that this is real. WWE is back. pic.twitter.com/OYYYUVal1c
— Nationally Published Troll (@mongo_ebooks) June 9, 2022
Opinion: That’s the kind of error that might not mean anything in the sho..

Interpromotional arguing. There are a lot of talented people throughout the wrestling world but not all of them work for the same promotions. While WWE still rules the wrestling landscape, the rise of AEW has opened the door for another major promotion. The two companies have done battle before and now they are doing it again, this time over a former WWE star.
Athena, formerly known as Ember Moon during her time in WWE, made her AEW debut at Double Or Nothing and has set her sights on Jade Cargill and the TBS Title. This led to Cargill saying that Athena has changed her look since coming to AEW, referencing meetings that Athena said took place during her time in NXT where she was encouraged to dress more like Mandy Rose. Athena responded, saying that Cargill looked like Rose and Charlotte. WWE’s Alexa Bliss chimed in, saying she wasn’t sure who Cargill was in the first place.
You ask me. You look rather “Mandy-ish”. I thought you weren’t trying to be sexy? ? got close to a REAL godde..

Maybe not so long? Roman Reigns has been the biggest star in WWE for a long time now and that is likely to stay the case for a good while longer. However, Reigns is also not around as often as he has been in the past and that is becoming a bit of an issue. Reigns has not defended his Universal Title since WrestleMania 38 but that might be changing sooner than we expect.
Earlier this week, news broke that Reigns was not expected to wrestle at Money In The Bank on July 2. However, according to Wrestling Observer Radio, while Reigns is not scheduled to wrestle until Summerslam on July 30, there is still a chance that he could wrestle on television before then. There is a chance that the match could be against Riddle, who was Reigns’ original Money In The Bank opponent.
Opinion: I know that Reigns has a new contract and that is great for him, but it is getting a little bit annoying to have him gone so often at a time. This is similar to what Brock Lesnar did a few years ago and that is n..