NEWS

Call it a guest spot. The WWE roster is so big and varied that the company has been able to split its wrestlers into several unique groups. That can make for some useful organizing but it can also leave each show with a limited amount of matches. It can help to have some wrestlers move around for a show or two, which seems to be the case for a special match next week.
This week on SmackDown, WWE Champion Big E. made an appearance, interrupting WWE Champion Roman Reigns. Big E. would go on to team with Finn Balor to defeat the Usos in a non-title match. Later in the show, the Usos attacked Big E. again, leading to the announcement of a six man tag between New Day and the Blood Line for next week’s Monday Night Raw. This will New Day’s first match together in nearly a year after they were split up in the 2020 WWE Draft.
This has potential. Check out how the match was set up:
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The feel good moment. There are a lot of different ways to present a wrestling show but one of the easiest is to showcase the most popular wrestlers around. There will be a core group of wrestlers on the roster who are liked above the rest, but sometimes a different wrestler stands out. This can often be the case in their hometown, which was the case for a special moment this week.
This week’s edition of SmackDown took place in Bianca Belair’s hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee. Knox County Mayor Kane made a special appearance to give Belair the key to the county and Belair’s family was in attendance, but Becky Lynch appeared and attacked Belair to end the show. However, Belair faced and defeated Lynch after the show ended in the night’s non-title dark match. The two are slated to face each other in a title match at Extreme Rules.
Time for the real main event. Bianca Belair vs Becky Lynch. #SmackDown #WWEKnoxville pic.twitter.com/wkMw1OxmnE
— Tennessee Revolver (@TNRevolver) September..

Rampage
Date: September 17, 2021
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Commentators: Taz, Ricky Starks, Chris Jericho, Excalibur
It’s another stacked show this week with a pair of title matches. First up we have Butcher and the Blade getting a shot at the Lucha Bros, plus Miro defending the TNT Title against Fuego del Sol. The latter is made a little more interesting when you throw in del Sol’s car being on the line as well. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Tag Team Titles: Butcher And The Blade vs. Lucha Bros The Bros are defending and Butcher throws Fenix around to start. Penta comes in to take over on Butcher, including the wheelbarrow splash for two. Butcher forearms Penta in the face so Fenix comes in, only to get kneed in the face. It’s already back to Penta for the Sling Blades to the floor, setting up the big dives from the champs.
We take a break and come back with Penta having to crawl over for the tag to Fenix, who strikes away at Butcher and Blade. Butcher b..

Do they have another choice? There are all kinds of wrestling stories over the years but some of the more interesting ones are those which didn’t take place in the ring. Sometimes you hear of a story that you cannot ignore because it is something that could only take place in wrestling. That does not mean it is a good thing and now we are getting to see the fallout from something that took place a long time ago.
This week’s edition of Dark Side Of The Ring was on the infamous Plane Ride From Hell in 2002 where various WWE wrestlers ran wild on a flight across the Atlantic Ocean. The show featured stories about the flight, many of which involved things which were not well received. One such story involved Ric Flair and a flight attendant, which has caused even more trouble.
During the show, flight attendant Heidi Doyle spoke about Flair wearing only a robe and forcing her to put her hand on his genitals. As a result, according to a statement obtained by PWInsider.com, Flair’s Car Shie..

Keep adding them up. We are less than ten days away from Extreme Rules and the show has mostly come together. Granted there has been a lack of anything extreme on the card, but maybe WWE can put something together on the way there. They still have time to add something new to the card, which is exactly what they did during this week’s edition of SmackDown.
This week’s SmackDown featured a tag team match between Zelina Vega and Carmella against Liv Morgan and Toni Storm. Late in the match, Morgan kicked Carmella face first into the corner, causing Carmella to walk away from the match while holding her face for the countout. Morgan then challenged Carmella to a match at Extreme Rules, with Carmella accepting later in the show.
They have a history together. Check out some of their time against each other:
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Opinion: This is a feud that has been going on for ..

Smackdown
Date: September 17, 2021
Location: Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee
It’s almost time for Extreme Rules hold the extreme. So far we have nothing extreme whatsoever about the show and that is going to make for a weird card. I can imagine some matches being adjusted, though WWE is the kind of place where the show being named one thing and not having any of is not out of the question. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of Seth Rollins beating and injuring Edge last week, with Michael Cole doing a voiceover to explain what happened.
Here is the Bloodline to get things going. We see a clip of Brock Lesnar returning last week and issuing the challenge to Roman Reigns. Then the Demon showed up because he is going to be facing Reigns at Extreme Rules. The winner of that will get Lesnar at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia. Reigns tells Paul Heyman to teach these people how to acknowledge him, so Heyman goes into a speech about how Reig..

Any positive is a good thing. Wrestlers are superheros come to live on television and that can make for some very special moments. You get to see some wrestlers do some amazingly special things and that is one of the greatest appeals in wrestling. At the same time though, these wrestlers have problems all their own. That was the case earlier this month, but now we have a bit of an upgrade.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE COO Triple H is in better shape after his surgery following a cardiac event due to a genetic event. While Triple H is now able to take phone calls, he is not allowed to discuss any form of business. It is not clear when Triple H will be allowed to return to work. WWE is currently undergoing significant changes and Triple H has lost power as a result.
Triple H has done a lot of good things in WWE. Check out some of his better moments:
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Impact Wrestling
Date: September 16, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: D’Lo Brown, Matt Striker
We’re on the way to Victory Road and ultimately Bound For Glory, which should make for a pair of back to back big shows. The main story this week is a ten man tag with most of the biggest feuds in the company being thrown into one big match. That should be enough to set up Victory Road so let’s get to it.
The opening recap sets up the ten man tag.
Opening sequence.
Violent By Design vs. Decay Rhino/Deaner for the team here, with everyone else at ringside. Rhino jumps Black Taurus to start and it’s already off to Deaner to kick away at the ribs. That’s broken up with an elbow in the corner and Crazzy Steve comes in for a backsplash. Deaner takes him into the corner though and the villains start taking turns. Steve neckbreakers his way to freedom and bites Deaner in the head so Eric Young gets on the apron. The distraction lets Deaner…accidentally hit Rhino ..

Where did he go? WWE has made all kinds of changes over the last few months and it has been fascinating to see how everything shakes out. That might not always make the most sense, but at the same time, some changes pretty clearly needed to be made. We may have been seeing another such change, despite never actually seeing the person in the first place.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Harry Smith, better known as Davey Boy Smith Jr., has virtually disappeared from WWE. Smith wrestled a dark match before fans returned to WWE events in July but has yet to appear again for the company. There is no word on anything being wrong with Smith or any backstage issues. It is not clear when he will be wrestling again or debuting.
You might (or might not) need to get used to him. Check out what Smith can do:
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Opinion: I’m not sure what is going on wit..

It could be a little while. There are all kinds of ways to take someone out of a wrestling show and that can make for some interesting situations. You never know when you might not be seeing someone again for the time being, though sometimes you can tell that someone is going away for awhile. That was the case last week when a certain legend was knocked out of action for the time being.
Last week on SmackDown, Seth Rollins defeated Edge in a Summerslam rematch by using the Stomp. As a result, Edge was stretchered out of the arena with a neck injury and taken away in an ambulance. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, this angle was used to get rid of Edge for several months, as he is only on a part time contract. Therefore, it is easier to write Edge off of television with injury angles to explain his absences.
Edge has been fairly awesome in his most recent comeback. Check out how he was put on the shelf, plus what he has done recently:
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NXT UK
Date: September 16, 2021
Location: BT Studios, London, England
Commentators: Andy Shepherd, Nigel McGuinness
The Heritage Cup #1 contenders tournament continues this week as we reach the semifinals. That’s probably a good thing as tournaments with one match a week take their sweet time getting along. Other than that, we are on the way towards…well absolutely nothing around here, which they might want to address. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Heritage Cup #1 Contenders Tournament Semifinals: Noam Dar vs. Kenny Williams Round one begins with both guys going after the leg and not getting very far. They go to the mat with Dar’s chinlock not working as Williams slips out and grabs a headlock. Back up and Dar goes after the arm, setting up an armbar and then a wristlock. Williams shoves him away to wrap up the round with a bad shoulder.
Round two begins with Williams taking him down and raking his boots over Dar’s eyes. Some kicks to the back and a running dropkick in the cor..

You can’t do one without the other. Monday Night Raw and SmackDown have been the two biggest wrestling shows for a very long time now. The former has been running since 1993 and the latter since 1999. Now that SmackDown is on FOX, its star power has risen even higher. You might not know that if you listen to WWE though, as Monday Night Raw is still presented as the bigger show. That is not sitting well with some higher ups.
During the latest edition of the Mat Men Pro Wrestling podcast, Andrew Zarian said that USA and FOX are wanting Monday Night Raw and SmackDown to be treated equally. Therefore, when something big happens on one show, the other network wants something to happen on their show as well. This may not be immediately, but the next big moment would come shortly thereafter. This comes after Big E. won the WWE Championship this week on Monday Night Raw.
There is a lot here. Check out the full podcast, plus the latest big moments on both shows:
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