NEWS

Hopefully it works. Every wrestler has some kind of medical issues, even if they are minor problems. At the same time though, there are some wrestlers who have major issues that have to be dealt with in one way or another. Some of these are things that could end a career if not corrected, along with changing someone’s life in a bad way. One wrestler is dealing with just such a problem.
AEW’s Anthony Ogogo has released a video on Twitter, announcing that he is undergoing eye surgery to fix a deviated septum. Ogogo blames the injury on Billy Gunn sending him into the barricade and promises to get even with Gunn no matter what. There is no word on how long Ogogo will be out of action with the injury. Ogogo’s most recent match, the fifth of his career, took place on the June 4 edition of AEW Dynamite.
Ogogo is a former British Olympic boxer who was forced to retire due to his eye injuries. Ogogo is blind in his left eye and has had ten operations on his eyes over the years. As mentioned ..

There is another. We are just over two weeks away from Money In The Bank and that means things are starting to pick up steam in WWE. There are a lot of wrestlers who are starting to get ready for the show, especially the two namesake ladder matches. A spot in that match can mean a lot and that means the spots are going to fill up fast. Now we have one less spot open.
This week on SmackDown, Kevin Owens qualified for the Men’s Money In The Bank ladder match by defeating Sami Zayn in a Last Man Standing match. The match makes Owens the sixth entrant in the match and the second from SmackDown, joining Drew McIntyre, John Morrison, Ricochet, Riddle and Big E. Owens has been in three previous Money In The Bank ladder matches but has never won.
Owens has a history at Money In The Bank. Check out his time at the show:
[This post contains video, click to play]

[This post contains video, click to play]

[This post contains video, click to play]

Opinion: This is the kind of thing that yo..

Welcome back. The WWE roster has changed several times in the last year, with all kinds of wrestlers leaving the promotion. Those changes have made quite the impact, as the roster has been shaken up, cut down and expanded again at times, all for a variety of reasons. There was one case that was a little different than the rest, and now that one has been reversed.
Zelina Vega made a surprise return to WWE during this week’s SmackDown. Sonya Deville announced Vega as the second SmackDown woman in the Money in the Bank ladder match, joining Carmella. Following the announcement, Liv Morgan came out to complain about Vega being put in the match and slapped her in the face. This led to a match between the two, with Morgan winning.
Vega was released from the company in November due to issues over her third party promotions, including her Twitch channel. There is no word on if the situation will change now that Vega has returned to the company. Prior to her return, Vega’s most recent match i..

Put it on the card. We are less than a month away from not only Money In The Bank, but also fans returning at full capacity to WWE events. That is going to make things all the more interesting in a hurry for both the company and the fans at home. Since WWE is going to want to put on something special, it means that there are going to be some major matches added to the pay per view. One of them was added this week.
This week on SmackDown, an I Quit match was set for Money in the Bank as SmackDown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair challenged Bayley. Belair said that Bayley is in her head and needs to take it to an extreme to get rid of her. Bayley accepted the match, offering to leave WWE and quit competing should she lose. This will be their third straight pay per view match, with Belair winning at WrestleMania Backlash and at Hell In A Cell, with the latter in the show’s namesake match.
There is a history here. Check out how we got to this match:
[This post contains video, click to pla..

They’re going home. WWE has been around for a very long time now and that means there are certain things that are going to be important to their history. It makes sense to have the company focus on those things more intently than others and it means something to see them back in play. That is going to be the case again later this year, with WWE heading back to their home.
WWE has announced that they will be returning to Madison Square Garden for SmackDown on September 10. This will be their return to the arena following the Coronavirus pandemic, which canceled several planned shows for the venue. It will be WWE’s first event at Madison Square Garden since December 26, 2019 and their first SmackDown at the venue since September 10, 2019.
This is home for WWE. Check out what has happened there before:
[This post contains video, click to play]

[This post contains video, click to play]

[This post contains video, click to play]

Opinion: This is the kind of thing that just feels rig..

Smackdown
Date: July 2, 2021
Location: Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee
We are two weeks away from the return of fans and that means things might be picking up around here. The big story coming out last week’s show saw the return of Edge as he attacked Roman Reigns. The Money in the Bank title match has since been set so it is time for some heavy talking. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of Roman Reigns having no one left to challenge him, leading to the return of Edge.
Here is Edge to get things going. Edge talks about how Wrestlemania was supposed to be the big culmination to his story. Winning the Universal Title ten years to the day of vacating the World Title would be a heck of a story, but then it didn’t happen. That rocked him so he took some time away. Edge has thought about the match since and even watched it back, which he never does. He could complain about a lot of things from that match, just like 2006 Edge would.
Now it’s 20..

Main Event
Date: June 24, 2021
Location: Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Byron Saxton
It’s back to the land of random as this show continues to be all over the place. You never know what you’re going to see around here and I can’t believe I’m saying this after watching this show for so many years. I’m not sure what to expect this week and I like that feeling. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Bronson Reed vs. Drew Gulak Non-title. Gulak can’t do much with the huge Reed to start as he gets thrown down a few times. Reed lifts him up for a piledriver and then throws him down instead. There’s a rather heavy headlock to set up a knockdown into a backsplash as it’s all Reed so far.
Gulak’s trip to the floor lets him snap Reed’s arm across the top but an Irish whip doesn’t work. Another shot to the arm works a bit better but Reed calmly gorilla presses him. Gulak jawbreaks his way to freedom and starts in on the arm again, only to have Reed crush him. A supl..

When the boss comes around. Vince McMahon has more power in wrestling than he knows what to do with and every now and then you get to see him doing something out of nowhere. It can be interesting to see what happens when McMahon feels like changing things, which seems to be the case this week. Now that McMahon is done with his idea, we know a few more details.
McMahon visited the WWE Performance Center to scout talent this week. According to PWInsider.com, McMahon was joined with Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis, Bruce Prichard and WWE President Tony Khan to meet with staff and observe talent. While the wrestlers and staff at the Performance Center were worried about McMahon showing up, the situation was described as “a breath of fresh air”, as the situation was nowhere near as bad as expected. There is no word on any decisions or changes that McMahon made or plans to make.
McMahon is kind of a big deal. Check out some of his decisions over the years:
[This post contains vi..

It isn’t something you hear about every day. There are certain wrestlers who work together very well no matter what situation they are in together. Those matches will be repeated over and over because the promotion knows that they have something with them, which is certainly the case in WWE. Now we know a reason why one of the wrestlers liked working with another and it is as unique as you can get.
Samoa Joe recently appeared on Out Of Character With Ryan Satin and discussed his feud with AJ Styles. During the interview, Samoa Joe revealed that he liked choking Styles unconscious with the Koquina Clutch because he liked the smell of Styles’ hair. According to Samoa Joe, Styles uses a mixture of hair conditioners that contain lavender and lilac, though he does not like when Styles uses the shea butter. Here are his comments, with transcription courtesy of Fightful:
AJ [Styles] always has impeccably smelling conditioner in his hair. It’s always very pleasant for me. I get a little lave..

Restock the shelves. The biggest WWE story of the year has been all of the names who have been released from the company. That is the kind of thing that you do not see take place very often but this year has seen the roster shaken up in a way not seen in years. Several WWE wrestlers are now gone from the company, but this time they have added some new ones.
WWE has announced that three new signings have reported to the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. The new signings are:
Feicheng Wang, who was trained by former WWE coach Hartley Jackson and Japanese wrestler Alexander Otsuka. Sean Tan, who wrestled in Singapore under the name Trexxus in the Pro Wrestling Southeast Asia promotion. Jie Yin, a CrossFit athlete and an indoor rowing champion. He placed second in the CrossFIt China Open and has competed in the Asia CrossFit Championships. There is no word on when any of the three will have their first matches or appear on NXT television.
You might need to get used to them. Check ..

It’s the long term plan. In comparison to other promotions, AEW has not been around for very long. However, in the just over two years AEW have been around, the promotion has built up a nice reputation in a few areas. One of these areas is their pay per views, which have been rather well received for the most part. They have another one coming up and now we know what the plan is for the top of the card.
This week on AEW Dynamite, the Dark Order suggested that Hangman Page receive the next shot at the AEW World Title, though Page seemed hesitant to accept. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, the plan is to have Page accept being #1 contender with the title match taking place at All Out on September 5. AEW is taking its time as the title match will not be held for over two months so they want to wait a few more weeks before officially making the announcement.
The story has been put together. Check out some of the pieces:
[This post contains video, click to play]

[This post contai..

That could be worse. Injuries are the kind of things that happen to everyone at some point or another in wrestling. That does not make it any better, but one of the worst parts is waiting to find out how long someone could be out of action. Every injury is different, which was the case this week as two wrestlers were hurt on back to back days. Now we know a little more about both.
According to Wrestling Observer Radio, Mercedes Martinez suffered a concussion during this week’s edition of NXT when Xia Li kicked her in the head. The match was stopped as a result of the injury, as Martinez was not able to stay down to be covered. There is no word on how much time Martinez could miss because of the injury, as concussions can take different amounts of time to heal.
The other injury this week took place on AEW Dynamite, when Rebel suffered a dislocated kneecap during a tag team match. Rebel was breaking up a pinfall attempt when her knee went out, causing her to miss the rest of the match ..