NEWS

History has been made! There are a lot of titles in the wrestling world and some of them are defended very regularly. A title change means a lot as you can see the new direction a company is taking. While they don’t happen very often, it still means a lot when one does. That was the situation again this week as a former champion regained the title in a pretty big grudge match.
This weekend at AEW Battle Of The Belts, Sammy Guevara defeated Scorpio Sky to win the TNT Title for a record tying third time. The win came as Guevara hit Sky low and gave him the GTH for the pin. This came after the two had been feuding for several weeks with Sky refusing to give Guevara a title match. Sky had taken the title from Guevara in March, holding it for 36 days.
Opinion: I’m a bit surprised by the title change but it is the kind of thing that you need to have on a show built around championships. Guevara seems like he is heading for a turn to the dark side as well so things could be getting even mor..

Battle Of The Belts II
Date: April 16, 2022
Location: Curtis Culwell Center, Garland, Texas
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone
It’s time for another special as AEW is back with a focus on the titles. That could make for a big night, as we are fresh off a World Title match this week on Rampage. This show is another hour long deal, which tends to mean a focus on in ring actiaon. AEW tends to thrive there so let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
TNT Title: Scorpio Sky vs. Sammy Guevara Sky, with the rest of the Men of the Year is defending while Guevara has Tay Conti with him. Guevara gets knocked back to start and Sky hammers away before things reset a bit. They fight over a suplex attempt before Guevara clotheslines him down. A backflip over Sky sets up a dropkick to the floor, with the fans not being so pleased with Guevara. Sky slams him on the floor and a mostly missed TKO over the top rope sends them both back outside. We take a break and come back with Sky hitting a pair ..

Welcome back. Commentary is one of the most important parts of a wrestling show. The commentary team is there to tell you what is going on but also to guide fans in the direction the company is wanting. That is easier said than done and the right team is hard to put together. Next week is going to feature someone very familiar who is not around all that often anymore.
WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler has announced via his Instagram Stories that he will be back on commentary next week on Monday Night Raw. This will be the second straight week on commentary for Lawler, who is replacing Corey Graves as he is on his honeymoon with Carmella. Lawler has done commentary for WWE on and off for about thirty years but has only made occasional appearances on Monday Night Raw in recent years.
Opinion: Lawler is kind of perfect for a spot like this as he is both familiar but also someone who is not around very often and still feels special. I’m not sure how long he is going to be around but at leas..

Yes, again. Tag teams have a weird history in WWE. The company has a tendency to break up tag teams out of nowhere, occasionally even seeming to put them together for the sake of splitting them. It does not leave teams with that much time to get things going and now there is a chance that another team might be split up, at least after this week’s edition of SmackDown.
This week on SmackDown, Madcap Moss defeated Humberto in a singles match. The match included Humberto’s Los Lotharios partner Angel interfering. Following the match, Angel yelled at Humberto, suggesting that there are issues between the two. Angel is currently scheduled to face Moss in a singles match next week. There is no word on the two of them possibly splitting up. The two began teaming together as Los Lotharios in September 2021.
Opinion: I don’t know if this means the team is going to be splitting up, but this is the pattern that WWE teams tend to follow on their way to breaking up. I’m not sure why the team migh..

I think he would be welcomed back. There are a lot of wrestlers throughout WWE’s history but very few of them are close to the level of John Cena. After being on top of the company for such a long time, Cena has become one of the biggest legends in WWE history. Cena is the top star of the most recent generation but has since moved on to Hollywood for the most part. He will still come back every now and then though, and that might be the case again.
According to Brad Shepherd’s Unleashed Patreon, Cena is expected to return to WWE television at some point in late June. There is no word on what he will be doing or which show he will be appearing on. Cena last appeared on WWE television in August 2021 when he lost in the main event of Summerslam against Roman Reigns. It is not clear if Cena will be wrestling or how long he will be back.
Opinion: This could certainly be a big deal for WWE, as Cena is as big of a star as they have who might appear on more than one or two shows. Cena is som..

That doesn’t sound good. There have been so many wrestlers throughout the years and some of them have become names that are known to most wrestling fans. It can be interesting to see what they are doing after they leave the ring, though that does not necessarily mean it is a good thing. That seems to be the case again as a legend has shared some bad news.
Wrestling legend Virgil has revealed that he has received bad news regarding his health. Virgil revealed on Twitter that he has suffered two major strokes and has been diagnosed with an early form of dementia. He has set up a page asking for donations, in addition to offering to sell autographs and video shoutouts. Virgil has not wrestled since Talk N Shop A Mania 2 in November 2020.
Dearest a Meatsauce Mafia. I am grateful that I can communicate something that has happened to me. Unfortunately I have some really hard news to share.
If you were wondering why I haven't been so engaged over the last few weeks it’s because i was..

It’s a change. A wrestler’s name is their identity, as a change can mark a huge shift in everything about them. The right or wrong name can make all the difference in the world to a wrestler and that is still the case today. Sometimes you see someone’s name changed to something else and that has been the case a lot as of late in WWE. Now we know the thinking behind the changes.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Vince McMahon has sent out a memo to WWE talent, saying that he does not want them using their real names or the names they used before coming to WWE. This explains name changes to Raquel Gonzalez (now Raquel Rodriguez), Marcel Barthel (Ludwig Klaus) and Raul Mendoza (Cruz del Toro). The rules apply to new talent debuting and will not result in established names being changed.
Opinion: This is one of the most McMahon things that I have heard in a long time, as it is such a random change that means nothing to almost anyone but him. Does the name Gonzalez or Rodrig..

There might be a place for him. Wrestlers have a lot of things to cover every time they are in front of an audience. While the focal point is going to be in the ring, there are other things that need to be done as well. One of the most important is the ability to talk, as fans need a reason to care about someone. Now we might be seeing a new talker coming up to the main roster soon.
According to PWInsider.com, NXT’s LA Knight appeared in a dark segment before this week’s edition of SmackDown. Knight appeared in a suit and announced that he was creating Knight Model Management as a manager rather than a wrestler. He introduced Mace as his first client and helped him defeat Erik. This is seen as a tryout for a potential managerial role for Knight on the main roster.
Opinion: While I’m disappointed in Knight only being brought up to the main roster for his talking abilities, it’s better than having him languish down in NXT any longer. Knight is a talented guy and someone who is able to ..

They have reason to worry. One of the biggest wrestling stories over the last few years has been the amount of releases WWE has made. Hundreds of wrestlers have been let go from the company over the last two years, which has completely reshaped the way the company works. The releases have come out of nowhere and now they might be coming up again for some of the remaining wrestlers.
According to Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp, several WWE wrestlers have been concerned about possible upcoming releases, possibly as soon as Friday. There were no releases announced on Monday and a WWE higher up said that they did not know of any that were upcoming. WWE has not released any names since January when they let several NXT trainers go from the company.
I know a lot of people have been concerned about “WWE release day” today, including much of the talent.
At least one higher up told me that they didn't know of any releases set to happen today, if you'd like to take their word for it.
— S..

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?
Best In The World 2019
Date: June 29, 2019
Location: UMBC Events Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman, Colt Cabana
It’s another pay per view and in this case, the show isn’t looking half bad. They’ve managed to build things up better than usual with television and I’ll take that over what they tend to put together. The main event is Matt Taven defending the World Title against Jeff Cobb because for some reason we deserve Taven as champion around here. Let’s get to it.
Kickoff S..

That’s the big one. We are on the way to WrestleMania Backlash and that makes for a tricky build. With WrestleMania out of the way, it is time to start doing things a little bit differently and WWE needs to come up with a way to make that work. Sometimes they try something a little out of the ordinary and that seems to be what they are doing with a title match that is doing something different.
This week on SmackDown, a Tag Team Title unification match between Raw Tag Team Champions RKBro and SmackDown Tag Team Champions the Usos was officially announced. Last week, Roman Reigns ordered the Usos to bring him the Raw Tag Team Titles, prompting the Usos to go to Monday Night Raw and start the feud with RKBro. This will be the first time that there has been one set of men’s Tag Team Titles in WWE since 2016.
Opinion: This is something that is long overdue as there is no reason for two sets of Tag Team Titles in WWE. There is barely enough challengers for one set so putting them together..

It’s a gig. Being in the WWE is the pinnacle for a lot of wrestlers as it is the highest profile wrestling promotion in the world. Getting to be on one of WWE’s television shows means that you have done something right in your career and are pretty far ahead of a lot of wrestlers. However, it can be difficult to get television time, but now someone else is getting a chance in a different way.
This week’s edition of SmackDown featured Drew Gulak auditioning to be a member of the broadcast team, including a backstage interview, plus an interview in the ring with Charlotte. During the Charlotte interview, Gulak suggested that Ronda Rousey made her tap out at Wrestlemania, causing Charlotte to put him in the Figure Eight until Gulak tapped out and screamed that he quit. There is no word on if this is an angle or Gulak switching to a new role in WWE. His last televised singles match was on the June 7, 2021 edition of Monday Night Raw, though he has also wrestled on Main Event.
Opinion: I’..