NEWS

What could have been. There are a lot of wrestling events throughout the year but nothing really comes close to WrestleMania. Making it to WrestleMania is one of the highest points that a wrestler can achieve and it means a lot for them. Getting to be in a major spot on the show is an incredible moment for a wrestler’s career, but two legends almost got their spot cut down.
During a recent edition of Talk Is Jericho, Chris Jericho talked about his WrestleMania 28 match against CM Punk for Punk’s WWE Title. The feud between the two involved Jericho attacking Punk and insulting his family, as well as pouring alcohol down his throat. This caused Vince McMahon to plan the match to last two minutes, with Punk getting disqualified for attacking Jericho, as McMahon thought would make sense. As a result, the match had a stipulation added where Punk would lose the title if he was disqualified. Punk would defeat Jericho at WrestleMania and then again in a street fight at Extreme Rules.
Opinion..

That’s an improvement. There are very few things sadder in wrestling, or anything really, for hearing about someone dealing with serious health issues. It happens with a lot of people, but sometimes you get a break and find out that things are not as bad as they seem. That might be the case again, as a wrestling legend is refuting reports about his health status.
Earlier this week, Jim Ross mentioned that AEW’s Jake Roberts was dealing with serious health issues involving his breathing, which was keeping him off of AEW television. However, Roberts has responded to the story on Twitter, saying that it is untrue and he will be around for a long time. Ross has not responded to Roberts’ statement. Roberts has been serving as Lance Archer’s manager in AEW.
Hey guys once again someone wants to make a splash on the internet and what better way is there than putting out Jake Roberts is in bad health. Totally untrue. I’m going to be around a long time.
— JakeSnakeDDT (@JakeSnakeDDT) May 12, ..

They have a plan for that. With so many wrestlers on the WWE roster, it can be easy to see someone fall through the cracks. This might be due to something that they bring on themselves but sometimes it can be due to something out of their control. That is the case again in NXT, but now WWE might be doing something to make the whole situation that much better.
Last month, WWE released Nash Carter from his contract after a photo of Carter dressed as Adolph Hitler was posted on Twitter. As a result, Carter and Wes Lee were stripped of the NXT Tag Team Titles, leaving Lee with nothing to do. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, Lee and Nathan Frazer may be paired up as a new team. The two were shown in a backstage vignette earlier this week, though it is not clear if they will be officially paired together.
Opinion: I could go for the two of them being a team, though Frazer seems more destined to be a singles star. Maybe WWE doesn’t see enough in Lee on his own, but it would be nice to..

It can happen to anyone. Injuries are one of the great equalizers in wrestling as anyone can get hurt at any time. You never can tell when someone is going to go down with an injury and that can stop anything they are doing at the drop of a hat. It is horrible to hear that someone is hurt and now we might be seeing it twice at once in the same company’s division.
Two AEW women are reportedly injured. First up, according to Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com, there is a believe among the AEW locker room that Leylah Hirsch has torn her ACL or MCL. This is NOT confirmed at the moment but if it is true, Hirsch would require surgery and miss several months. Hirsch was injured during a Dark match in April. Second, Hikaru Shida has reportedly suffered an injury of some kind. Shida has been wrestling this month in Japan so any injury would have likely taken place there.
Opinion: This is never something that you want to hear as it is the kind of thing that could keep either wrestler on the shelf f..

That would be a change. There have been several moves made in and around NXT in the last several months. The show has been relaunched as the new NXT 2.0, which has included a variety of moves that have left NXT barely resembling its original version. Some of these changes have been for the better, but now we might be seeing one of the older norms reestablished.
According to Wrestling Observer Radio, WWE is considering taking NXT back on the road. The return to touring would take place in the near future, with the touring likely taking place around Florida, as was done before the Coronavirus pandemic took place. It should be noted that these talks have been held before but nothing came of them. NXT has only run one event outside of the WWE Performance Center since the relaunch of NXT, with Stand & Deliver taking place in Dallas, Texas.
Opinion: This is something that has been needed for a very long time as NXT wrestlers have only been training in the Performance Center and wrestling m..

Call it a hint? The rise of AEW has changed the wrestling world and that will be the case for a long time to come. With the new company now a very strong presence in the industry, both wrestling fans and the wrestlers themselves have a lot to look forward to. One of the most important things that AEW can offer is a place for wrestlers to appear, but te opposite might be true in this case.
According to Fightful Select, Maxwell Jacob Friedman is reportedly “on edge” about his AEW contract status. Friedman and AEW President Tony Khan had an issue earlier in the year when Friedman was interviewed by Ariel Helwani without clearing it with AEW first. This led to a discussion between Khan and Friedman which seems to have soured their relationship. Friedman has referenced possibly leaving AEW when his contract expires in 2024 during on-camera promos, which are said to more than just in-character statements.
Opinion: This is firmly in the category of “I’ll believe it when I see it”, as Friedm..

Shake it up. WWE is in a strange period at the moment as they company has put almost everything they have behind one wrestler. That would be Roman Reigns, who is closing in on two years as WWE Universal Champion. That is the kind of thing you do not see happen very often and WWE is pushing the length of Reigns’ time as champion as a once in a generation deal. Now it seems that they have found a new way to extend it even further.
As announced by Fightful on twitter, Reigns is no longer advertised for Hell In A Cell on June 5. The show’s original poster featured Reigns, but he has now been replaced by Cody Rhodes. This comes as Reigns has recently signed a new contract with WWE, which will allow him to work several fewer dates. Reigns is expected to be working on some television shows, where he will be heavily advertised in advance.
Original WWE Hell in a Cell poster and updated WWE Hell in a Cell poster. Roman Reigns is no longer advertised on the poster or WWE's website. pic.twi..

So I’ve been sitting around trying to come up with something to talk about this week. It’s a few days after WrestleMania Backlash and the show was quite good, including a title change that was probably long overdue. Then we have had Monday Night Raw, NXT, Dynamite and some news here and there. After all that, I have come to a conclusion: nothing is worth a full column this week.
Therefore, it is time to break the glass and go into the slightly off inner workings of my head, as I’m going to do a stream of consciousness deal this time. That means starting with any given topic in wrestling and talking about it until I move on, with a grand total of nothing connecting these things whatsoever. Don’t bother trying to find some theme or anything close to it, as these are going to be things that just come to my mind one after another.
I really miss Coliseum Video. There were some terrible entries in its series, but the idea of getting a new WWF tape every so often (normally once a month or s..

It’s a different world. While there are a lot of people watching a wrestling event on television, there are also a good number of people who are watching the show in the arena. That can make for a difficult balance, as the promotion has to find a way to appeal to the fans at home but they also have to keep the people in the arena happy or the atmosphere will be ruined. That was the case again this week in a unique way.
This week’s AEW Dynamite took place in Long Island, New York, the hometown of Maxwell Jacob Friedman. The company’s debut in the area last year took place when Friedman was feuding with CM Punk, causing the venue to not like Punk. After Dynamite went off the air, Friedman came to the ring but Punk came out to confront him. As a result, Friedman left and sent Hook to the ring instead. Punk left, but ran into Danhausen, who cursed Punk back to the ring. Hook then t-bone suplexed Punk and choked him out, leaving Punk laying.
This is a special one. Check out Punk meeting H..

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?
Takeover 36
Date: August 22, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett
This might be the last version of the classic Takeover that we see and that is rather saddening. Takeover has been so special for such a long time but things in NXT are going to be shaken up in the near future. If this is it, they’re going out with a pretty big card, with three matches you could call the main event. Let’s get to it.
Kickoff Show: Ridge Holland vs. Trey Baxter..

It worked before. Titles are a simple concept in wrestling, but they are perhaps the most important thing a company can have. A wrestler holding a title will instantly be seen as more important and it can be their first step up the ladder. Some titles are seen as less valuable than others, but now a top WWE star wants to bring back one of the less important ones for a simple purpose.
During a new interview with Talk Sport, Drew McIntyre said that he wanted to bring back the WWE European Title. McIntyre said that he wanted to bring the title back because he wanted to win it as a child but can’t now that it has been retired. He made it clear that he only wants to bring it back so he can win it and then instantly retire it again. There is nothing to suggest that WWE is planning to bring the title, which existed from February 26, 1997 until July 22, 2002.
Opinion: This is the kind of thing that could be rather fun if WWE actually went through with it. There is no reason to make it into a..

They have rankings. The WWE roster has changed quite a bit over the last few months and it has left things looking more than a little different. That is not a bad thing and the changes are often needed to keep things fresh. At the same time though, it can be a bit difficult to figure out how the new roster is ranked. Now we know at least about at least a specific division.
According to PWInsider.com, WWE has updated the internal roster of the Monday Night Raw women’s division. This includes the rankings of the wrestlers and whether they are considered to be either a babyface or a heel. This comes after the returns of Asuka and Alexa Bliss, plus Lacey Evans being moved from Monday Night Raw from SmackDown. Here is the list:
Babyfaces
Bianca Belair
Alexa Bliss
Liv Morgan
Asuka
Dana Brooke
Heels
Becky Lynch
Rhea Ripley
Lacey Evans
Carmella
Zelina Vega
Doudrop
Nikki Ash
Tamina
Opinion: There are a few surprises on this list, with Evans being third on the villains’ side and Asuka being ..