NEWS

Before we get into this week, a quick stunning surprise to me: with this, I will have completed my seventh year of this column. That does not seem remotely possible and I wound up liking it a heck of a lot more than I expected to. It is a different style of writing than I am used to doing and it has been a lot of fun. I’ll be continuing it for a good while, as it lets me look at wrestling in another way. Thanks for reading along for the last seven years (seriously, that should not be possible) and with that out of the way, let’s get to it this week.
The Coronavirus pandemic has changed just about everything involving wrestling at one point or another over the last year and a half. The good thing is that things are about to get back to normal though, at least in WWE, as the fans will be back in less than a month. That change is a long time in coming, and since the wrestlers are basically going to be starting over in a sense, it would be smart if WWE started doing something involving th..

The anticipation builds. There are only a handful of wrestlers over the years to become the face of WWE. You can probably count the wrestlers who accomplished this feat on one hand and that puts them in a pretty elite group. It means a lot to see one of them making an appearance, and now it seems that WWE is getting ready for such a return from one of its biggest stars ever.
John Cena appeared on the Tonight Show on Wednesday night to promote F9: The Fast Saga. During the interview, Cena was asked about whether he would return to WWE. Cena confirmed that he would be returning and was looking forward to his next match, though he did not give a specific date. When asked why he posted a WWE logo to social media in May, Cena said that he was simply feeling nostalgic.
Cena has been a part of WWE for over twenty years, beginning with his time in the Ohio Valley Wrestling developmental territory in 2001. He debuted on SmackDown in 2002 and went on to become a record tying sixteen time World..

Rain check? It can be very frustrating to see a wrestler appear so promising and then have everything fall apart for one reason or another. This could be anything from an injury to storyline issues to a personal situation, but what matters at the end is that they are out of the ring for whatever reason. That is the case with a certain WWE star and it might be even longer before we see a return.
Sonya Deville was a guest on this week’s edition of WWE’s The Bump where she discussed her return to the ring. Deville mentioned that she loves being in the ring but also loves being a leader. As a result, she does not see a return to the ring taking place anytime soon, as she has been sharing power with Adam Pearce on Monday Night Raw and SmackDown. This comes after rumors of Deville training at the Performance Center surfaced earlier this month.
Deville has been out of the ring as she has been dealing with legal fallout from a man invading her home in August 2020. As a result, Deville has no..

Back where she belongs. While WWE is the most high profile wrestling promotion in the world, they are not the only one around. The advent of the internet and streaming technology has made it a lot easier to see far more wrestling than at any point before, which has allowed more promotions to become a bit more prominent. Now one of them is getting a big name back in the ring.
Former WWE Women’s and Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion Mickie James has released a video on Instagram, announcing that she will be returning to the ring at the NWA 73rd Anniversary Show on August 29. No opponent has been announced. This will be the day after the all women NWA Empowerrr show, with James serving as executive producer. If James does not wrestle before the Anniversary Show, it will be her first match since the Women’s Royal Rumble on January 31.
James is quite the worker. Check out her announcement and her time in the ring:
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There’s a reason for that. Last weekend was a big stretch for WWE, as they presented three Hell In A Cell matches over the course of three days, with a fourth following on the Monday thereafter. That is quite the schedule for the company and it was not exactly something people saw coming. There was a good reason for what WWE did though and now it is a lot more clear.
According to PWInsider.com, the idea behind WWE having so many Hell In A Cell matches in such a short amount of time was to drive up interest in the company before fans return in July. The matches included the first ever Hell In A Cell on SmackDown and the first on Monday Night Raw since 1998. WWE will be holding its first event with a full capacity of fans in over fifteen months with the July 16 SmackDown. There is no word on if NBC or FOX insisted on having the Cell matches.
I’d call that a busy week. Check out the four Cell matches in four days:
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That’s not a good sign. While he might not be everyone’s favorite in the world of wrestling, there is no one in the industry as powerful or influential as Vince McMahon. A good or bad word from him can change a wrestler’s career trajectory and that has been the case countless times over the years. It seems to have been the case again as of late and not in a good way.
Several WWE wrestlers have been released from their contracts with the company over the course of the year. Some of these have been a lot more surprising than others, including Peyton Royce, who had been a fairly big star during her time with Billie Kay in the IIconics. However, she was released on April 15, along with several other WWE names. Now we might know what caused the sudden release.
During the latest episode of her Off Her Chops podcast with Kay, Royce talked about a meeting that she had with McMahon shortly after the IIconics were sent to different brands. Royce had an idea to present to McMahon, who brushed i..

205 Live
Date: June 18, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness
We’re back to the cruiserweights and as of late, we are getting to see some fresh talents, which can make for some interesting matches. The same problems continue to abound, including the completely obsession with old vs. new. That was the case last week but now we seem to be on the way to Asher Hale vs. Ari Sterling. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Asher Hale vs. Grayson Waller Waller, dressed a bit like a boxer sans gloves, seems rather into staying hydrated and bails into the ropes to start. They go to the mat for some grappling with Hale easily getting the better of it, sending Waller to the ropes again. Hale tells Waller to come get him before sending him to the apron. A legsweep takes Waller to the floor and there’s the big dive to the floor.
Back in and Waller crotches him on top, setting up some rights and lefts. Waller ties him into the Tree of Wo..

Main Event
Date: June 17, 2021
Location: Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Kevin Patrick
We’re coming up on the Cell and that means things are likely going to be focusing on the pay per view. As is becoming the norm around here, you can’t really guess what you might be seeing and that is a welcome change after the years of monotony. Maybe we might even get something interesting this week. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Mace/T-Bar vs. Lucha House Party Mace throws Gran Metalik down to start as commentary points out the difference in size. Lince Dorado comes in with a middle rope hurricanrana and a double dropkick puts Mace in the corner. T-Bar isn’t having that and pulls Dorado to the floor for a clothesline. Back in and Dorado manages a faceplant on Mace but T-Bar takes out Metalik to avoid a hot tag. The alternating stomping ensues in the corner but Dorado manages to slip away and make the hot tag to Metalik. Everything breaks down and it’s Feast Your..

Impact Wrestling
Date: June 17, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Josh Matthews, D’Lo Brown
We are done with Against All Odds and the big story is Kenny Omega retaining the World Title over Moose, with Sami Callihan appearing after the match. Don Callis fired Callihan, which seems like it could be quite the story on the road to Slammiversary. There is about a month to go before the show and that means there is time to set things up. Let’s get to it.
The opening recap looks at Don Callis and Kenny Omega taking over the company and people getting worried about it. Omega retained the title over Moose at Against All Odds but almost got taken out by Sami Callihan. Callis interrupted it and fired Callihan, sending things even further into chaos.
Moose comes up to Scott D’Amore and says he got screwed out of the title at Against All Odds and wants a rematch. D’Amore is too worried about an Anthem representation showing up here to deal with things, because th..

What could have been. Stables are an easy idea to present in wrestling as they are a concept everyone can understand. You take a bunch of wrestlers, give them a similar theme, and put them together to see what they can do instead of being on their own. That has worked for a long time now and NXT has tried it again this week. Now we know a bit more about the team.
The Diamond Mine made their debut at the end of this week’s NXT, following weeks of vignettes. The stable, comprised of Roderick Strong, Hideki Suzuki and Tyler Rust, with Malcolm Bivens as their manager, attacked Kushida to end the show. According to Fightful Select, the team has been in the plans for months now, even before Strong took a hiatus from NXT TV. Other members were considered for the team, though Tessa Blanchard and Parker Boudreaux were never considered despite rumors suggesting they were.
This could be cool. Check out the team’s debut and its members on their own:
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Ring of Honor
Date: June 16, 2021
Location: UMBC Events Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman
We are well on the way to Best In The World and that means it is time to start getting a card together. That is in theory at least, as Ring of Honor doesn’t not usually run on the same schedule that most promotions use. We are also on the way towards Survival of the Fittest, meaning it is time for at least one more qualifying match. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Quinn McKay welcomes us to the show and recaps the first Survival of the Fittest qualifying matches. We also run down the card, including the Tag Team Titles being defended. That will be under Pure Rules, so we go over the tag version of the rules.
Eli Isom is ready to beat Dak Draper to advance to the Survival of the Fittest finals. They have met before and went to a time limit draw. Isom knows he could have won in five more minutes, so Draper needs to bring everything he had plus more to wi..