NEWS

Smackdown
Date: August 20, 2021
Location: Footprint Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Pat McAfee, Michael Cole
It’s the go home show for Summerslam and for once, the show is actually tomorrow night. I wouldn’t expect much in the way of wrestling tonight, but the talking should be more than enough to make something interesting. John Cena and Roman Reigns are here and that should be about all you need. Let’s get to it.
Here is Edge to get things going. After a video on Edge vs. Seth Rollins, Edge is sitting in a chair to talk about how Rolling teased stomping him back in 2014. Edge knows that the stomp could end his career and his way of life. It’s true that Rollins is an all time talent, but Rollins has driven him to a place where his blood runs black. Edge can see clearly on this day, and he knows that he has to break and humble Rollins. At Summerslam, Edge is going to burn him down.
Dominik Mysterio is all fired up but Rey Mysterio wants him to calm down and stay focused. That..

You mean that could happen? Despite it not being as popular as it once was, it is hard to argue against WWE being the most powerful wrestling promotion in the world. The company has more money than it knows what to do with and that has been the case for a very long time now. That being said, nothing lasts forever, and a major change seems like it could happen one day.
WWE President Nick Khan appeared on the Recode Media podcast and said that WWE would be willing to participate in a discussion about selling the company n the future. Khan made it clear that WWE is not actively looking for a buyer or putting itself on the market but they are open for business on anything and everything. WWE has been primarily owned by Vince McMahon since he purchased the company from his father in 1982.
WWE has sold things before. Check out some of their selling points in history:
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What could have been. There is a long history of wrestling interacting with more mainstream celebrities. It makes sense for the two worlds to come together as it can be interesting to see how things go. WWE has done this several times over the decades and continue to do so to this day. They were trying to do the same for this year’s Summerslam but it did not exactly work out.
Despite its efforts, WWE will not be able to bring in three celebrities for Summerslam. According to PWInsider.com, WWE was hoping to have Mike Tyson narrate the opening video to the show, which will focus on Roman Reigns vs. John Cena. There is no word on if WWE will be able to land another celebrity to narrate the video. Tyson is a WWE Hall of Famer, who has also appeared for AEW.
According to Fightful Select, WWE was also hoping to bring in Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B for the show but neither will be attending. WWE wanted Megan Thee Stallion to appear in some capacity with Bianca Belair but was told that ..

It’s something else. There are some very talented wrestlers in WWE today and some of them have a set of skills outside of the ring. While you might not get to see them every time, the rare glimpses that you get to see can often make you want more. This time around, we are going to get to hear another sample of a WWE star’s abilities outside of the ring.
Monday Night Raw star MVP has announced that he will be releasing a new single, called Still Balling, on Friday August 20. The song will include content from MVP’s collaborator Dwayne Swayze. It will be available across all platforms. MVP has dabbled in music over the years, with first single, Holla To Da World, being released in 2011. His song Return Of The Ronin served as his Impact Wrestling theme song.
MVP has done some music before. Check out the announcement, what he has done in the studio and in the ring:
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Woo indeed. There are very few wrestlers who have been around for as long as Ric Flair. While some might not be as fond of his as others, there is no way to deny the level of impact and success that Flair has had over the years. He has worked just about everywhere at one point or another and will likely wind up in AEW sooner than later. However, he is going to be heading back home as well.
The NWA has announced that Flair will be appearing at the NWA 73rd Anniversary Show on Sunday August 29 in St. Louis, Missouri. This comes after the NWA extended an offer for Flair to appear at the event, which Flair has accepted. There is no word on what he will be doing at the show. Flair is at least a ten time NWA World Champion (depending on which reigns are being counted) and held the title over 3,000 days combined.
I think you can call him a legend. Check out the announcement plus some of Flair’s classic NWA moments:
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You don’t want to be on his bad side. While he might not be what he once was, there is no one in the wrestling world on the level of Vince McMahon. After being in power for the better part of forty years, McMahon is still the most powerful person in the industry. Anything he decides can change wrestling, including the careers of individual wrestlers. That was the case with a recently released star.
Former WWE producer Freddie Prinze Jr. discussed Bray Wyatt’s issues in WWE during an appearance on the Ringer Wrestling Podcast. Prinze Jr. said that Wyatt had issues with McMahon and Kevin Dunn, which led to his departure from the company. The problem came from McMahon and Dunn seeing Wyatt one way and Wyatt seeing himself in another. This is said to be what led to Goldberg defeating Wyatt at Super Showdown in 2020. Wyatt was ultimately released from WWE in June, with his most recent match being a loss to Randy Orton at WrestleMania 37.
This was a big loss for WWE. Check out what Wyatt h..

At least it’s a reason. WWE has made some interesting decisions when it comes to bringing up their wrestlers from NXT. It has not made a lot of sense a good bit of the time, as WWE seems to be out of their minds at times. However, that is not always the case as sometimes you will find out the reason behind WWE’s moves. That is the case this time around and it is some not so great news.
Back in July, NXT Champion Karrion Kross debuted on Monday Night Raw and immediately lost to Jeff Hardy. This was not the only bad thing for Kross, who was also missing his signature entrance but also his valet Scarlett. The two had been a regular pairing in NXT but now she was nowhere to be seen. Scarlett has yet to debut and is not in NXT either. There is a reason for that.
According to PWInsider Elite Audio, Scarlett is not cleared to appear on WWE television for reasons that are not clear. It is unknown if Scarlett has a medical issue or what is specifically wrong with her. There is no word on when..

As they should be. There have been all kinds of big name releases from the WWE roster over the course of the last year and a half and that means things are going to be shaken up around the wrestling world. While WWE’s roster has been depleted, other promotions are going to have some very impressive additions. Now we might be seeing some of those take place.
According to Fightful Select, Impact Wrestling is interested in bringing in Cassie Lee and Jessica McKay, formerly known as Peyton Royce and Billie Kay in WWE. There has not been a deal reached yet and it is not clear how far along negotiations have gone. The two have also drawn interest from another unnamed wrestling program which is due to debut in the fall. Both women were released from WWE in April of this year.
Whoever signs them is getting a treat. Check out the two of them in action:
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Opinion: ..

NXT UK
Date: August 19, 2021
Location: BT Studios, London, England
Commentators: Andy Shepherd, Nigel McGuinness
It’s title week around here as Pretty Deadly is defending the Tag Team Titles against Moustache Mountain. That alone should be enough, but we also have Stevie Turner getting a Women’s Title shot against Meiko Satomura. Throw in the last push towards the UK Title match between Walter and Ilja Dragunov (in America) and we should be rolling this week. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Women’s Title: Stevie Turner vs. Meiko Satomura Satomura is defending and has Emilia McKenzie in her corner. Turner goes at her to start and is headlocked takeovered down in a hurry. Satomura grabs a double underhook and survives being driven into the corner. The arm cranking is on so Turner bails to the rope and kicks Satomura in the face over and over. A big kick to the face drops Satomura to one knee but she is back up with a running forearm in the corner.
The STF doesn’t go on and Turner ..

Impact Wrestling
Date: August 12, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: D’Lo Brown, Matt Striker
We’re on the way to Emergence and that should make for a good pay per view, as tends to be the case around here. Other than that, it is time to crown a new #1 contender and I’m curious to see where they go. Impact has a lot of choices available for the title shot at the moment and that is a good place to be. Let’s get to it.
The opening recap looks at AEW Dynamite, which set up Christian Cage vs. Kenny Omega for the Impact World Title tomorrow night on Rampage.
Opening sequence.
Tenille Dashwood vs. Taylor Wilde Dashwood has Kaleb With A K (in a neck brace) in her corner. Wilde works on the wrist to start and they trade a battle of wristlocks. Dashwood gets sent into the corner and grabs a frustrated headlock. That’s reversed into a hammerlock as the technical exchange continues. A headscissors sends Dashwood outside so Wilde tosses her back inside for a slam..

It’s Summerslam week and due to the amount of Coronavirus pandemic messing with everything in the WWE’s world, it very well may be the biggest show of the year. This would not be the first time that Summerslam is (arguably) bigger than WrestleMania, this this time might be a little bit different. Saturday’s Summerslam may be the first time when the show is that big and also follows its own identity.
Something I have talked about before (ok probably several times) is the idea that Summerslam is the gimmickless of the major pay per views. The Royal Rumble is all about the Royal Rumble, Survivor Series is all about the elimination and WrestleMania is WrestleMania. That leaves Summerslam with pretty much nothing more than the fact that it is a major show which happens to take place in August.
This year’s card has no major gimmicks attached (you have one triple threat match and a match where the villain’s lackeys are barred from ringside, with the rest of the matches being straight single..

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?
Invasion of the Bodyslammers
Hosts: Lord Alfred Hayes, Slick
Commentators: Bobby Heenan, Jim Ross, Randy Savage
Oh how I love the WWE Network. Back in the day, I had this on tape and watched it so many times that I can probably tell you the commentary from memory. I’ve always wanted to review it but it’s kind of hard to find. Well either that or I’m too lazy to actually look it up. This is from early 1993 so don’t expect the best action in the world. Let’s get to it.
Hayes and Slick are in a bowling alley where S..