NEWS

Dynamite
Date: May 25, 2022
Location: Michelob Ultra Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone
It’s Double Or Nothing weekend and that means it is time to get in the last Dynamite before the pay per view. That means it is time to find out who will be in the finals of the Owen Hart Foundation tournaments, which should make for some interesting matches for the pay per view. It’s also the third anniversary of the first AEW show so this should be good. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Wardlow vs. Shawn Spears In a cage with MJF as the referee and Wardlow has to win here to get MJF on Sunday. Wardlow is still handcuffed to start so Spears gets in a few shots, allowing MJF to stomp away in the corner. The double teaming is on, including sending Wardlow into the steps. MJF stops to talk too much trash though and gets hit in the face, allowing Wardlow to drop Spears.
The Swanton connects but MJF won’t count, allowing Spears to get up. One heck of a chair ..

That could mean something. There are a lot of people who come together to make WWE work. With so many people involved behind the scenes, it can mean quite a bit when something changes. However, there are a few names who mean more than almost anyone else and those people tend to have the name McMahon. Now we might know a little more about one of their futures.
Last week, Stephanie McMahon announced that she would be taking a leave from her duties at WWE. While WWE President Nick Khan will be taking over her duties in the short term, he is not the long term solution. WWE has posted a job listing on their corporate website for Brand And Chief Marketing Director, who would take over several of McMahon’s former duties as Chief Branding Officer. There is no word on when McMahon will return to her job.
Opinion: This is the kind of thing that makes me wonder what this is going to mean for WWE going forward. I’m curious to see if McMahon does return, but at the moment she is going to be repla..

That’s a big day. WWE is the most powerful and dominant wrestling promotion in the world and that has been the case for a very long time now. However, for the first time in about twenty years, another promotion has come up and given WWE a bit of competition, as AEW has become another national company. Now we might be seeing the two of them airing on the same night later this year.
According to Wrestling Observer Radio, there is a chance that AEW Full Gear and WWE Crown Jewel could both be taking place on November 5. WWE has already announced the date for Crown Jewel and Full Gear is always held in early November. AEW has not confirmed the date of their show or the night of the week that it will air. This would be the first time that the two promotions have aired a major event on the same night.
Opinion: This is one of those situations where it might not happen but it will certainly be interesting if it takes place. At the end of the day, AEW and WWE running on the same day or even th..

Get to know him. There are all kinds of ways to present someone new in wrestling and it can make for some interesting presentations. Sometimes you see a new wrestler show up altogether, but sometimes it is a new presentation of someone you have seen before. This time it might be either, which could make quite the surprise whenever we find out who we will be seeing.
This week on NXT, a vignette aired announcing the debut of a new star named Giovanni Vinci. The video features a woman speaking while showing a man putting on expensive clothing. The voiceover talks about status and living life in the fast lane while showing shots from around Italy, where Vinci seems to live. There is no word on who the wrestler is or when they will be debuting.
Who do you think it is? Check out the vignette for the new star:
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Opinion: The more I think about this, the more I think this might be the return of Fabian Aichner under a new name. He is from Italy and h..

That’s a big one. There are some legends of the wrestling world but some of them are among the biggest of all time. It takes someone special to get to that level but you know someone who reaches such a point. Those names are some of the greatest stars wrestling has ever seen and now one of them will be feeling a lot better after some serious medical issues have been solved.
WWE Hall Of Famer Kurt Angle has revealed that he has undergone double knee replacement surgery and is ready to begin his rehabilitation process. Angle posted a video on his Twitter announcing the surgery and thanking fans for their thoughts and prayers. Angle retired from the ring in 2019 after working for WWE and Impact Wrestling, being inducted into both of their Halls of Fame.
That could be worse. Check out Angle post surgery:
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Opinion: That is something hard to go through but at the end of the day, it is going to be worth it for Angle. If nothing else, you can imagin..

Fare thee well. While it might not seem to always the case, every wrestler steps out of the ring for good at some point. They are able to finally leave active wrestling and move on to something else, though it can be easier said than done for some. It can be emotional to see someone walking away, and now we will be seeing someone do just that after a very long time in the ring.
Former WWE and current NWA star Aron Stevens, formerly known as Damian Sandow, has announced that he will be having his last match on June 11 against Trevor Murdoch at ALWAYZ READY. Stevens made the announcement on Instagram in character, saying that he will be praying that the wrestling business survives without him. Stevens debuted in 2001 and is a former WWE Tag Team Champion with the Miz.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Aron Haddad (@thearonfiles)
Opinion: This is one of those careers that has lasted for a very long time and it deserves quite the sendoff. Stevens is someone who has done well ..

That’s a big change. There are all kinds of wrestler in WWE, to the point where the company is able to split its roster into multiple sections. That can be rather difficult to keep track of but WWE does it as well as they can with Monday Night Raw and SmackDown having their own set of wrestlers. At least that is in theory, but the situation might be changing soon.
According to Wrestling Observer Live, while the decision is not official, the WWE brand Split is all but finished. Several Monday Night Raw wrestlers will be heading to SmackDown this week, including Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins, though it is not clear if the two will be on camera. It is not clear if WWE will officially be ending the Brand Split or just loosening it, as has been the case in recent weeks.
Opinion: I’m not sure how much of a difference this is really going to make, as some of the titles have been unified and wrestlers appear on different shows on a regular basis. It should be interesting to see how FOX and US..

Stick around for a bit. We are coming up on the three year anniversary of AEW’s first ever event and the company is still going strong. The rise of AEW has changed quite a few things for all kinds of fans but also for the wrestlers themselves. Now wrestlers are able to have a different place to go aside from just WWE and one such star is going to be sticking around for a long time.
AEW star Kyle O’Reilly appeared on the Toddcast and revealed that he has signed a five year deal with the company. It is not clear if this is a new deal or the deal that he signed when he came into the company back in December 2021. O’Reilly has gone on to become part of the Undisputed Elite and will be facing Samoa Joe in the semifinals of the men’s Owen hart Foundation tournament.
Opinion: Good for O’Reilly to get a deal that he seems happy with and that he can be on for a long time to come. You don’t get to see a lot of people get that kind of security and O’Reilly is talented enough that he deserves it..

NXT
Date: May 24, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph
We are less than two weeks away from In Your House and the show has already started to come together. There are still a few matches to be set up for the card but at least we already have the main event set. Unfortunately that match is another Joe Gacy title shot against Bron Breakker. Let’s get to it.
Tony D’Angelo and company want to get their hands on Legado del Fantasma again.
Stacks/Two Dimes vs. Malik Blade/Edris Enofe Stacks elbows Enofe down to start but a dropkick gets him out of trouble. That’s not enough for a real comeback though as Stacks takes Enofe down again and grabs a seated abdominal stretch. We cut to Legado watching in the back, but now they’re heading to the ring. Enofe fights up and knocks Two Dimes over enough to make the tag to Blade, meaning house can be cleared. A high crossbody gives Blade two but the goons take him down in a hurry. Cue Legado..

Catch you later. Injuries are one of the worst things that can happen in wrestling as you never know when you are going to see someone left on the sidelines for a while. Any wrestler can get injured at any time and there is no way to know how long it is going to be before they will make it back into the ring. That is the case again, as an NXT star is out of action.
As announced on this week’s NXT, Nikkita Lyons has suffered an undisclosed injury and is out of action for the time being. This includes Lyons being removed from her second round match in the Women’s Breakout Tournament. There is no word on how long Lyons will be out of action. Tiffany Stratton talked her way into the match instead and defeated Fallon Henley to advance.
Opinion: That’s never good to hear and hopefully Lyons is back in the ring sooner rather than later. Assuming this is an actual injury and not a storyline, Lyons being out of action hurts a talented NXT women’s division. Lyons is not like many other stars i..

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?
Double Or Nothing 2021
Date: May 30, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Excalibur
We return to pay per view and that is a nice feeling to have. The card is absolutely stacked and one of the biggest that AEW has had in recent or even long term memory. Possibly the most important story here is the fact that the fans are back in full capacity, meaning it will be even more energized than usual. Let’s get to it.
Buy-In Show: NWA Women’s Title: Riho vs. Serena De..

That could be a long one. There are a lot of wrestlers on the WWE roster today but only a handful of them are legends in their own time. Those wrestlers are among the most important and popular stars the company has and it means a lot to have them around. That is not always the case though and now one of the biggest stars in WWE today may be missing some time.
Last week on SmackDown, the Bloodline attacked RKBro and left both of them laying. This week on SmackDown, Riddle announced that Randy Orton will be out of action due to both the attack and problems with his back. Orton did not appear on the show and according to Wrestlingnews.co, this may be WWE’s way to keep him off of television while he takes some time off for his back to heal. There is no word on when Orton may return to television.
Opinion: Orton missing time is not a bit surprise as he already works a reduced schedule. Now he can take a break and get things healed up again, likely setting up a big return for a showdown w..