NEWS

Smackdown
Date: May 28, 2021
Location: Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee
It’s a tag team show this week as the Usos are reuniting to face the Street Profits, marking their first match as a team in about fifteen months. Other than that, the Mysterios are defending the Tag Team Titles against Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode because this feud must continue due to reasons. Let’s get to it.
The Usos are ready for their first match back but here is Roman Reigns to interrupt. Reigns wants to know their endgame, with Jimmy saying the goal is to win. They want the Tag Team Titles next to Reigns’ Universal Title so they’ll have all the gold. Reigns is behind them and says good luck. Jimmy leaves and Jey looks worried, so Reigns asks if Jimmy is doing the talking for Jey now. Jey says he’s with Jimmy tonight but he’s with Reigns too. Reigns says he should go tell Jimmy, so Jey leaves too.
Street Profits vs. Usos Before the match, the Profits talk about how ..

When worlds combine? WWE is the biggest and most powerful wrestling promotion in the world, but they are not the only wrestling company around. There are several other strong wrestling promotions in the world, with some of the biggest outside of North America in Japan. WWE has wanted to establish a foothold in Japan for a long time and now they might have a better chance.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE and New Japan Pro Wrestling are in discussions for WWE to become the exclusive American partner for New Japan in America. These discussions have been taking place since March or early April, though it is not clear how far along the discussions have gone. The deal would see WWE wrestlers appearing in New Japan as well. Part of the reasoning behind the deal would be to help prevent stars from signing elsewhere, as WWE could have a bridge to New Japan as opposed to being on their own.
According to PWInsider.com, there is nothing to suggest that a deal is imminent, mea..

Stick around for a bit. There are several wrestling promotions in the world today but, as has been the case for a very long time now, WWE is the biggest and most influential of all. Being a part of the WWE roster can make someone’s career, even if they are not around very long. Two names who have left the company are now going to try to see what they can do without WWE behind them.
Jessie McKay and Cassie Lee, formerly known as Billie Kay and Peyton Royce as the IIconics in WWE, were interviewed by Busted Open Radio and said that they planned to stay together after leaving WWE. It is not known where the two will be signing in the future, though McKay mentioned that AEW or Impact Wrestling are both potential destinations. Their no compete clauses will end in mid-July.
The pair are former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, having won the titles at WrestleMania 35. Following their loss of the titles, the team eventually split and wrestled on their own. Kay would team with Carmella at Wrest..

Ring of Honor
Date: May 26, 2021
Location: UMBC Events Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman
Last week’s show felt a bit more unique with a nice mixture of stuff so hopefully they can keep it up here. I’m never sure what to expect from this show, but they have been surprising me enough lately. The match quality has been better as well so maybe they can keep that up too. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Quinn McKay is back, thanking everyone for her support and promising to have another match. We get the card run down as well and we’re ready to go.
Matt Taven has been attacked and his ankle is hurt again. The Tag Team Title match tonight might be a little bit in trouble.
Fred Yehi vs. Rocky Romero Pure Rules and the World Famous CB is on commentary. During the entrances, Yehi wonders if he is pure or anti-pure, while Rocky is ready for Yehi. They go slow to start with some grappling on their feet, followed by a bit more on the mat. Yehi takes hi..

NXT UK
Date: May 27, 2021
Location: BT Sports Studios, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Andy Shepherd
Things picked up a lot last week when the Heritage Cup changed hands. Tyler Bate defeated A-Kid to win a heck of a main event, and now we could be in for a few different directions. The big story coming up would seem to be Meiko Satomura challenging Kay Lee Ray for the Women’s Title, whenever that is going to take place. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Nathan Frazer vs. Sha Samuels Noam Dar is here with Samuels. Frazer chops away to start but Samuels hammers him with right hands in the corner. A running clothesline is countered into a Downward Spiral into the corner but a Dar distraction lets Samuels toss him REALLY far off the top. The chinlock goes on, followed by a hard elbow for two on Frazer. Back up and an elbow drops Frazer again as the power is working for Samuels. Dar suggests and receives a slam for two and it’s time for some fishhooking. Samuels runs him..

Any publicity is good publicity right? Wrestlers are not brought up in the mainstream very often and when they are, it rarely winds up going well. Sometimes it can be better than others, but more often than not, the mentions are not the most positive. Every now and then you find a wrestler who has made it into the mainstream in a more positive light, but that was not quite the case this time.
The Late Show parodied John Cena’s apology to China earlier this week on an episode of its show. Earlier this week, Cena referred to Taiwan as a country, which was followed almost immediately by an apology to China in Mandarin, even though the apology did not specify why he was apologizing. The Late Show aired a video, showing Cena’s “full” apology, including captions saying what he “really” said.
You knew something like this was coming. Check out the Late Show’s parody:
[This post contains video, click to play]

Opinion: This is a situation where Cena needs to just take what is coming to him ..

They’re two of the good ones. There are certain wrestlers who seem to be leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of the pack. You can always see the talent, but it is a special kind of wrestler who stays revered even years after they get out of the ring. It can be nice to see wrestlers offering each other some praise and now two of the best ever are doing just that all over again.
Earlier this week, Chris Jericho sent out a tweet talking about how great of an in-ring performer the Rock was during his career. The Rock has since responded, thanking Jericho for the compliments and calling Jericho one of the GOATs (Greatest Of All Time). Rock also mentioned an unspecified incident involving chewing tobacco. Jericho and Rock feuded on and off over the years, including trading the WCW World Title in 2001.
Going down the @YouTube rabbit hole tonight and one thing is clear….he may be the biggest box office draw in Hollywood today, but my goodness, let’s not ever forget how GREAT @TheRock was in t..

I’d call it main event worthy. Wrestling promotions like to hype up the idea of a dream match, even if that might not be how some fans see it. The idea makes a lot of sense: this is the kind of match that you are not going to be able to see anywhere else but it is certainly worth the time and money to see it. WWE might be putting together something pretty close to one for this year’s Summerslam main event.
Adrian Zarian of the Mat Men Podcast has sent out a tweet suggesting that the main event of this year’s Summerslam would be John Cena vs. Roman Reigns, potentially for the Universal Title. The tweet said “You can’t see what you can’t believe”, hinting at a Cena vs. Reigns match. Cena has been rumored to return to WWE in July for a potential Summerslam program.
Reigns and Cena have faced off before, with Reigns defeating him at No Mercy 2017. Cena has mainly moved on to his acting career in recent years, with his last match taking place at WrestleMania 36 in the Firefly Fun House ma..

That would have been a change. There are only so many ways to present a pay per view, which can make for some interesting situations when a wrestling promotion tries to freshen things up. Sometimes it can work rather well with just a few simple tweaks and that might be the case again with one of the bigger shows of the wrestling year, assuming WWE makes a change.
According to the WrestleVotes Twitter account, WWE is considering August 21 as a date for Summerslam. Should that be the case, it would be the first time that Summerslam has ever taken place on a Saturday. However, this date could be going head to head with a Manny Pacquiao boxing match. Other potential dates are Sunday August 22 and Saturday August 7, though WWE would prefer to hold the show on a Saturday. There is no word on when WWE will announce the date of the show.
Update: 8/21 is currently “provisional” according to a source. Pacquiao fight wasn’t official until 5/21, no updates since on document being circulated. 8/2..

The international side. WWE is an international wrestling company, with television airing around the world and, at least before the Coronavirus pandemic, live events around the world. That means they have to keep things moving to make sure the audience is as interested as possible, both in America and around the world. Now they have a new idea to make that work.
According to Wrestling Observer Radio, WWE is attempting to push more international stars, particularly wrestlers from China. This is the reason behind Xia Li receiving a push in NXT and a feud against Mercedes Martinez, who is expected to help season Li. It is also the reason for a renewed push for Jinder Mahal, as well as Mansoor officially becoming a part of the Monday Night Raw roster. There is no word on if other wrestlers will receive such pushes.
These three have some potential. Check out all three of them in action:
[This post contains video, click to play]

[This post contains video, click to play]

[This post con..

Welcome back maybe? WWE has a lot of talented wrestlers on its roster and that can create a bit of a problem. While it is great to have that many wrestlers available, the company also has to spread them out over three different major weekly shows. Sometimes those wrestlers are going to stick with one show, but you do get occasional movement. WWE might be interested in such a change.
According to the WrestleVotes Twitter account, the Monday Night Raw creative team has wanted Finn Balor to return from NXT for months. This comes during the same week as Balor mentioned wanting to move back up to the main roster in an interview with Ryan Satin. Earlier this week, Balor was defeated by Karrion Kross in an NXT Title match. There is no word on if WWE is planning on making such a move.
Balor returned to NXT in October 2019 during the show’s initial move to the USA Network. Since then he has won the NXT Title for a second time, during which he set a record for the most combined days as NXT Cha..

That’s a job for her. Every now and then in wrestling, you see someone who pops off the screen at you. It might be for one reason or another, but most of the time there is a level of charisma to them that you cannot ignore. That can open a lot of doors and it can even make up for a lack of in-ring abilities. It seems that we are seeing that take place all over again.
On May 3, Eva Marie made her return to WWE television after a four year absence. This included the first in a series of vignettes with Eva Marie talking about how she wanted to help other women become stars. According to Fightful Select, the current plans for Eva Marie is not for her to wrestle, but for her to help get over female wrestlers over. There is no word on when Eva Marie will appear in the arena rather than in a pre-taped vignette.
Eva Marie made her WWE debut in 2013 as part of the first season of Total Divas. She would go on to wrestle occasional matches both on the main roster and in NXT, including at Wrestl..