Fans will have to wait to see WALTER vs. Ilja Dragunov II a bit longer than next week on WWE NXT UK.
WWE announced today that WALTER has suffered an injury to his left hand and is unable to defend his NXT United Kingdom Championship against the challenger on the show.
WWE did a storyline where they blamed the injury on a backstage altercation between WALTER and Dragunov that wasn\’t shown. The company said that details about the injury are sketchy at this point, but the medical staff has deemed the injury to be \”severe\” and WALTER isn\’t fit to compete next week.
It was added that more information on the situation will be revealed on next Thursday\’s NXT UK. During the latest episode of NXT UK, there was an in-ring press conference segment with WALTER and Dragunov shown before the news of WALTER’s injury.
Fans were looking forward to this match as the original bout was one of the best to take place in 2020. That title contest went down last October that saw WALTER go over to retain the title. Since that time, Dragunov has struggled with temper issues in storyline but continued to progress in order to get it under control.
Dragunov became the number one contender to WALTER\’s title when he defeated Rampage Brown and Joe Coffey in a triple threat match on NXT UK in June.
BREAKING NEWS
WWE medical staff has confirmed @NXTUK Champion @WalterAUT has suffered a severe injury to his left hand and has been deemed unfit to compete for his scheduled rematch with @UNBESIEGBAR_ZAR.
The betting odds for most of the matches that will take place at the WWE Money in the Bank pay-per-view event have been released.
The card for the show that takes place this Sunday (July 18, 2021) from Fort Worth, Texas at Dickies Arena is close to being finalized as only 6 matches have been announced with WWE expected to likely confirm a pre-show contest and perhaps more matches on SmackDown this Friday.
Roman Reigns is a major favorite to retain the Universal Title over Edge while Bobby Lashley is favored to retain his WWE Title against Kofi Kingston. There are no odds available just yet for the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match, but Big E is the favorite to win the men’s match.
There are no titles favored to change hands. The favorites to win are listed as – while the underdogs are listed with +. Odds call for all three titles to change. Here are the betting odds, courtesy of Bet Online:
WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns (-500) vs. Edge (+300)
WWE Champion Bobby Lashley (-1100) vs. Kofi Kingston (+700)
Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match – Ricochet (16/1) vs. Matt Riddle (11/2) vs. John Morrison (16/1) vs. Drew McIntyre (4/1) vs. Big E (7/4) vs. Kevin Owens (8/1) vs. Seth Rollins (5/2) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (12/1)
WWE Raw Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley (-140) vs. Charlotte Flair (even)
WWE Raw Tag Team Champions AJ Styles and Omos (-400) vs. The Viking Raiders (+250)
The July 13, 2021 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
Dakota Kai def. Ember Moon.
Tyler Rust def. Bobby Fish.
Sarray def. Gigi Dolin.
Santos Escobar def. Dexter Lumis.
Duke Hudson def. Ikemen Jiro
Kayden Carter & Kacy Catanzaro def. Jessi Kamea & Aliyah.
Karrion Kross def. Samoa Joe to retain NXT Title
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Dexter Lumis vs. Santos Escobar
WWE booked Dexter Lumis vs. Santos Escobar. The match ended with Escobar hitting his finisher to Lumis.
This marked Escobar’s first match since Legado del Fantasma lost to NXT Tag Team Champions MSK and former NXT North American Champion Bronson Reed in a “Winners Take All” match at “Takeover: In Your House” on June 13th. Regarding his last singles match, it was the 2 of 3 Falls match on May 11th where he dropped the NXT Cruiserweight Title to Kushida.
After the match, Hit Row came out to address Escobar\’s previous promo about them. They talked some trash. However, there was no physical interaction.
Cameron Grimes\’ butler duties for Million Dollar Champion LA Knight began on this show.
Just last week at the Great American Bash special, Knight defended the title against Grimes. As a result of the loss, the stipulation called for Grimes to become butler.
So what happened on this show? Grimes showed up to Knight’s mansion late. Knight demanded that Grimes get a makeover. They trimmed his beard and hair before putting him in a tux and gloves. Knight also had Grimes mow his lawn with a pusher mower. The segments ended with Grimes delegating his duties and ended up by the pool.
Ember Moon vs. Dakota Kai in a singles bout was booked.
Moon defeated Kai by disqualification on NXT\’s go-home show for TakeOver: In Your House last month when NXT Women’s Champion Raquel Gonzalez interfered.
Gonzalez retained her NXT Women\’s Championship by defeating Moon at TakeOver: In Your House. Two weeks ago, Io Shirai & Zoey Stark defeated Gonzalez & Kai and Shotzi Blackheart & Moon in a triple threat tag team number one contender\’s match.
The match ended with Kai going over. Post-match, Xia Li came out and challenged Gonzalez for the title. A date wasn’t given for the bout.
Ikemen Jiro vs. Duke Hudson in an NXT Breakout Tournament Match took place. For those who may not know, Hudson is Brendan Vink\’s new WWE in-ring name.
The match saw both stars work hard. Hudson had a strong style to him and dominated the majority of the match as he didn’t let Jiro out of his jacket. Hudson went over to advance to the second round.
Sarray vs. Gigi Dolin (Priscilla Kelly) in a singles match took place.
On Monday, WWE released a video where Sarray accepted a challenge from Dolin for a match on the show after it was left unknown who Sarray would be facing.
Just two weeks ago, there was a backstage segment where Sarray asked NXT general manager William Regal for a match against Toni Storm and he said he would take it under consideration, but Storm cut a promo stating that Sarray isn\’t on her level.
The reason for that match not happening is due to Storm being called up to the main roster and placed on SmackDown.
Sarray and Dolin both made their NXT debuts earlier this year. The match saw Mandy Rose walk out and appear on the stage to watch the action. Sarray went over. Rose never got involved, but intriguing.
NXT Champion Karrion Kross vs. Johnny Gargano headlined the episode. Samoa Joe was the special guest referee for the bout.
The match saw Kross dominate most of it. Kross was going to use the steel steps, but Joe stopped him. Kross won with his running forearm shot. Joe and Kross had a staredown before Kross choked out Joe.
WWE set up this bout last week during a face-to-face segment after Kross and Gargano brawled throughout the show that took place two weeks ago including an angle where Kross tried to run Gargano over with his car as they fought in the parking lot.
Joe ended up making the save for Gargano as he pulled him aside to avoid being hit.
Kross has been NXT Champion since defeating Finn Balor for the title at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver this April. Since that time, he’s made various title defenses.
He’s also wrestled in dark matches at WWE main roster shows in recent weeks and appeared on Main Event three weeks ago where he beat Shelton Benjamin.
Gargano previously held the title from April 2019 to June 2019.
Karrion Kross was successful in his latest title defense as the NXT Champion when he put the title on the line in a match on Tuesday’s episode of NXT against Johnny Gargano.
This served as the main event of the show from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center on the USA Network. Samoa Joe was the special guest referee.
The match saw both stars work hard with Kross being booked as the monster. Near the end, Kross was going to use the steel steps, but Joe stopped him. Kross won with his running forearm strike. After the match, Kross choked out Joe to end the show.
The title match was announced during a face-to-face segment with Kross and Gargano last week after the two stars had been brawling over the past few weeks.
Kross’ previous title defense came in a fatal 5-way match against Gargano, Pete Dunne, Kyle O’Reilly, and Adam Cole in the main event of WWE NXT TakeOver: In Your House event.
Kross won the NXT Championship from Finn Balor at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. Since that time, he’s made one title defense and that also came against Balor.
AEW will hold a Dynamite episode on Wednesday, September 22nd at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, Queens, NYC, which is titled Dynamite: Grand Slam.
The pre-sale for tickets will be this Wednesday. Pwinsider.com reports it will be just for 24 hours on Ticketmaster.com in advance of this Friday\’s official on sale date.
The pre-sale will last from 10 AM – 10 PM EST. The reason for that is due to tickets going on sale for the US Open Tennis at the same stadium on Thursday.
This will not only be AEW’s first-ever stadium show, but also the first-ever professional wrestling event at the stadium. Weather conditions won’t be an issue as the stadium has a retractable roof. AEW will air a live Dynamite episode in addition to taping matches for Dark Elevation and Dark before Dynamite then the Rampage episode after.
The likes of Eddie Kingston, MJF, Santana, Ortiz, Alex Reynolds, John Silver, Max Caster, Kris Statlander, Trent Beretta, and more are from the area.
This venue is the largest tennis stadium in the world as it sits 23,000 for tennis. As the event gets closer, All Elite Wrestling will be announcing matches for the show, which is likely to be loaded.
It’s been known via various reports that John Cena is headed back to WWE, but exactly when he would make his return has been unknown.
That has changed as Fightful Select reported today that Cena is scheduled to appear on WWE programming over the next two weeks. The working plan for Cena is for him to appear on the July 23 episode of WWE SmackDown, if not sooner than that.
The July 23rd edition of Friday Night SmackDown takes place from Cleveland, Ohio at the Rocket Mortgage Field House. (Tickets)
Of course, plans change, pal, but that\’s the working plan as of this writing.
John Cena\’s WWE Return
Cena will be part of the cast of the new “Argylle” movie. The project will start filming in Europe this August and released next year.
Dave Meltzer reported on Tuesday\’s Wrestling Observer Radio that Cena\’s movie commitments are \”not a hurdle\” for him to appear at SummerSlam. Cena is expected to clash with Universal Champion Roman Reigns at summer spectacular on Saturday, August 21st.
John Cena\’s last WWE television appearance took place at WrestleMania 36, when he battled Bray Wyatt in the Firefly Fun House match.
Samantha Tavel, better known as Candy Cartwright, has decided to drop her sexual assault lawsuit against Matt Riddle.
TMZ reported today that they’ve obtained court documents that show Tavel filed for a dismissal on Monday, but it’s unclear if the two sides reached a monetary settlement.
Tavel\’s attorney, John Chwarzynski, did issue a statement to TMZ by stating, \”The parties have put this in their past and are focused on the future.\” As of this writing, Riddle\’s attorney has not issued a comment.
Tavel first filed the lawsuit last October against Riddle, WWE, EVOLVE Wrestling, and Gabe Sapolsky where she was looking to get 10 million dollars from each defendant.
This past March, WWE, and Sapolsky were dismissed from the lawsuit while Riddle\’s attempt to dismiss was denied. Tavel alleged that Riddle began sexually assaulting her in April 2017 while they were in the parking lot after an EVOLVE event. She also alleged Riddle bragged about this to former EVOLVE owner Gabe Sapolsky.
Although Riddle denied the allegations, he did confirm an affair with Cartwright. Throughout the legal process, WWE never took Riddle off TV. He will take part in the men\’s Money in the Bank ladder match on Sunday at WWE Money in the Bank.
Monday’s edition of WWE Raw averaged 1.609 million viewers with a 0.43 rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic. This is up from last week’s 1.472 million viewers and the 0.41 rating.
Last Monday\’s Raw set a new all-time low for viewership since the show premiered in 1993.
This week’s show was the go-home edition of Raw for Sunday’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view event. The show did have to go up against the MLB home run derby on ESPN.
Here’s the rest of the viewership breakdown for Monday Night Raw, courtesy of Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics:
P18-49: 560,000 (-4%)
M18-49: 331,000 (-12%)
F18-49: 229,000 (+11%)
P18-34: 197,000 (-2%)
M18-34: 98,000 (-19%)
F18-34: 99,000 (+23%)
P35-49: 363,000 (-5%)
M35-49: 233,000 (-7%)
F35-49: 130,000 (-2%)
non-P18-49: 1,049,000 (-1%)
This episode featured Asuka vs. Naomi vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Nikki Cross, Ricochet vs. John Morrison in a falls count anywhere match, WWE Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Xavier Woods in a non-title match, AJ Styles vs. Ivar, United States Champion Sheamus vs.Humberto Carrillo, and Omos vs. Erik.
SmackDown Viewership
The episode drew an average of 1.881 million viewers in the overnight ratings, up from the previous week that did 1.741 million viewers. In the 18-49 demographic, it did a 0.48 rating, which was up from the 0.46 rating the week before. The final ratings were 1.986 million viewers, up from last week’s 1.861 million viewers.
WWE has added a new match to the Money in the Bank PPV as AJ Styles and Omos will defend their Raw Tag Team Titles against The Viking Raiders at the show.
Fans may recall that the match was originally announced for next Monday’s Raw episode in front of fans from Dallas, Texas.
This week’s Raw saw Omos make his singles debut with a win over Erik while Ivar defeated Styles in singles action. This is where the match date was announced.
WWE presents the Money in the Bank pay-per-view event on Sunday, July 18, 2021 from Fort Worth, Texas at Dickies Arena that will air on Peacock.
Updated WWE Money in the Bank Card
WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Edge
WWE Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Kofi Kingston
Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match – Ricochet vs. Matt Riddle vs. John Morrison vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Big E vs. Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match – Competitors announced thus far: Asuka, Naomi, Alex Bliss, Nikki Cross, Liv Morgan, Zelina Vega, Natalya
WWE Raw Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair
WWE Raw Tag Team Champions AJ Styles and Omos vs. The Viking Raiders
Sonya Deville has not worked a match in nearly a year, but that could be changing soon. Fightful reports that \”Daddy Deville\” is expected to return to the ring soon, and it could be imminent as long as all things go according to plan. WWE\’s creative team is said to be particularly hopeful that she\’ll be back in action.
Deville has been seen training inside of the squared circle as of late. It should be noted that Deville has indicated in interviews that she\’s happy with her current role as an on-air authority figure with Adam Pearce.
Some within WWE have had glowing reviews of Deville, the handling of the last year, and the way she\’s worked her role.
It was added there has been a significant push to have Deville involved in the Women\’s Money in the Bank match. Something for fans to look out for is her working the contest as the report stated at one point, she was penciled in for it.
Asuka, Naomi, Alex Bliss, Nikki Cross, Liv Morgan, Zelina Vega, and Natalya have qualified for the match thus far, which leaves one spot left.
Deville was last seen in action when she worked a No DQ, Loser Leaves WWE match against Mandy Rose at last year\’s SummerSlam.
Fans will have to wait a little bit longer than expected to see what changes WWE has in place for Raw and SmackDown in the way of a Draft.
Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men Pro Wrestling Podcast originally reported that this year’s Draft would take place on August 30th for Monday Night Raw and the second night on the September 3rd edition of Friday Night SmackDown.
However, Zarian reported today that the show has been pushed back by a month as the new possible dates for it are October 1st & 4th or October 4th & 8th.
The plan is still for there to be two nights so that way both Raw on the USA Network and SmackDown on FOX get a bump in the ratings.
WWE has yet to announce the news but will do so when those dates get closer. NXT Champion Karrion Kross, Toni Storm, Blackheart, Scarlett, Odyssey Jones and former NXT North American Champion Bronson Reed have been brought to recent TV events for WWE officials to check out.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been preparing for months to get into top shape for his next role as “Black Adam” and in the last week of production, he gave fans a sneak peek of the costume.
The Rock took to his Instagram account on Monday to share the photo. He also wrote the following in the caption:
“On set. BLACK ADAM. This image of Black Adam from behind gives you a tactile sense of the absolute massive scale and size of our movie. You also see a little of the intricate and beautiful textured detail of Black Adam’s body suit. (this is not your typical DC or Marvel padded muscle suit) And finally you get a glimpse of the enormous and appropriate destruction.
As we all know, superheroes have a code of justice and don’t kill the bad guys. But, Black Adam does. The hierarchy of power in the DC UNIVERSE is changing. Antihero. Man in black. Protector of his people.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CROH7YVLD_F/
The director of the film will be Jaume Collet-Serra, who also worked with Rock for “Jungle Cruise.”
This upcoming film will be a spinoff of Warner Bros. and New Line’s “Shazam!,” which premiered in 2019. It will be released on July 29, 2022.
ROH presented their second pay-per-view event, Best in the World, of the year on Sunday night (July 11, 2021) from the UMBC Event Center in Baltimore, Maryland.
The main event saw ROH World Champion Rush vs. Bandido. After a back and forth encounter, the shocking finish came when Bandido pinned the longtime champion to win the title.
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) July 12, 2021
Three other titles were on the line – ROH TV Champion Tony Deppen vs. Dragon Lee, ROH Pure Champion Jonathan Gresham vs. Mike Bennett, ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions Shane Taylor, Moses & Kaun vs. Dalton Castle, Dak Draper & Eli Isom, and ROH Tag Team Champions The Foundation (Tracy Williams & Rhett Titus) vs. Violence Unlimited (Homicide & Chris Dickinson).
Lee won the TV Title after hitting a running knee strike to the head while Violence Unlimited became the ROH Tag Team Champions.
ROH Final Battle Quick Results
Rey Horus defeated Demonic Flamita
PCO and Danhausen beat “The Bouncers” Beer City Bruiser and Brian Milonas
Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe defeated PJ Black and Brian Johnson
EC3 beat Flip Gordon
Shane Taylor, Moses, and Kaun defeated Dalton Castle, Dak Draper, and Eli Isom to retain the ROH Six-Man Tag Titles.
Josh Woods beat Silas Young in a Last Man Standing match.
Brody King beat Jay Lethal
Jonathan Gresham defeated Mike Bennett to retain the Pure Rules Championship.
Dragon Lee beat Tony Deppen to win the ROH TV Title.
Homicide and Chris Dickinson defeated Jonathan Gresham and Rhett Titus in a Fight Without Honor to win the ROH Tag Titles.
Chelsea Green has arrived in ROH. She did so by appearing at Sunday’s Best in The World PPV and announcing her participation in the tournament to crown a new Women’s Champion that starts on July 30th.
Green was released by WWE due to budget cuts and able to get out of her non-compete clause early. Fightful Select reports Green isn\’t under contract with ROH for now but will work the TV tapings this week.
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) July 12, 2021
Green signed with WWE NXT in 2018 after a run in Impact Wrestling. Green made her main roster debut back on the November 13th, 2020 edition of SmackDown when she competed in a Fatal Four-Way match to determine the final member of the Women’s Team SmackDown at Survivor Series. Those involved in the bout were Natalya, Liv Morgan, and Tamina. The finish saw Morgan pin Tamina.
In the match, she suffered a wrist injury and had to get surgery done. As a result, she was put on the shelf. She signed a contract extension with the company during her time away from the ring.
Green had been making progress towards an in-ring return since before the Royal Rumble in January and it was reported that she had been cleared to make a return. However, the decision was made to cut her.
ROH holds its Best in the World pay-per-view tonight (Sunday, July 11, 2021), which marks the second PPV of the year.
Ring of Honor is slated to hold the show from Baltimore, Maryland at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena. The main event will see ROH World Champion Rush vs. vs. Bandido. Three other titles will be on the line including ROH Six-Man Champions Shane Taylor, Moses, and Kaun vs. Dalton Castle, Dak Draper, and Eli Isom.
ROH Best in the World can be purchased via traditional pay-per-view and the FITE app. The show will be four hours long with the first hour airing for free at 7 pm ET on ROH Facebook Live, FITE TV, and traditional PPV while the main card will begin at 8 pm ET.
Final ROH Best In The World Card
ROH World Champion Rush vs. Bandido
ROH TV Champion Tony Deppen vs. Dragon Lee
ROH Pure Champion Jonathan Gresham vs. Mike Bennett
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions Shane Taylor, Moses, and Kaun vs. Dalton Castle, Dak Draper, and Eli Isom
ROH Tag Team Champions The Foundation (Tracy Williams & Rhett Titus) vs. Violence Unlimited (Homicide & Chris Dickinson)
Brody King vs. Jay Lethal.
EC3 vs. Flip Gordon.
Josh Woods vs. Silas Young – Last Man Standing Match
The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe) vs. PJ Black & Brian Johnson
Pre-Show
PCO and Danhausen vs.The Bouncers.
Demonic Flamita vs. Rey Horus.
Matt Taven will host a Trending With Taven segment.
WWE has announced a few new names for the Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match at the upcoming Money in the Bank PPV.
Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Baron Corbin in Money in the Bank qualifying matches took place.
Nakamura went over to advance to the match and Corbin’s storyline misery continued while Rollins cashed his ticket with the curbstomp to Cesaro.
WWE presents the Money in the Bank pay-per-view event on Sunday, July 18, 2021 from Fort Worth, Texas at Dickies Arena that will air on Peacock. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming week. Here is the updated card:
Updated WWE Money in the Bank Card
WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Edge
WWE Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Kofi Kingston
Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match – Ricochet vs. Matt Riddle vs. John Morrison vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Big E vs. Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match – Competitors announced thus far: Asuka, Naomi, Alex Bliss, Nikki Cross, Liv Morgan, Carmella, Zelina Vega
WWE Raw Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair
After weeks of having NXT stars work dark matches, WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Natalya and Tamina faced NXT stars Tegan Nox and Shotzi Blackheart on this week’s edition of Friday Night SmackDown from Tampa, Florida at the Yuengling Center on FOX.
Blackheart got the win for her team by pinning Natalya by hitting her with the Ballpit finisher. There’s still no word yet as to whether this marked their official main roster debuts.
This was expected as the news was reported earlier in the day. This comes at a time where NXT Champion Karrion Kross, Toni Storm, Blackheart, Scarlett, Odyssey Jones and former NXT North American Champion Bronson Reed have been brought to recent TV events for WWE officials to check out.
Nox returned to the ring at Monday’s Raw TV event when she wrestled a dark match against fellow NXT star Toni Storm. The following night on NXT, she made her return to TV as she was revealed the person behind the battery charging vignettes. She continued her program with Candice LeRae after being sidelined with a torn ACL.
Kross and Reed are on WWE’s short list for main roster call-ups, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
On Friday’s episode of SmackDown, WWE named Bayley’s replacement in the match and that’s Carmella. It happened when Sonya Deville announced the news. It was also noted that this match is no longer slated to take place at Money in the Bank, but rather moved to next week’s SmackDown episode.
Fightful Select reports Bayley was training with another WWE star this week and that her \”knee popped.” The media outlet was told the staff has been told it\’s a torn ACL, but that’s not confirmed by WWE.
It was said that her injury may have actually caused plans to change for incoming talent and two wrestlers on the roster were openly frustrated that the company\’s lack of depth left them scrambling to find an appropriate replacement. One person said \”they did it to themselves,\” before noting that Bayley helped carry the company during the COVID-19 pandemic and did everything that was asked of her.
The injury was said to be a freak accident that happened while chain wrestling at WWE\’s mandatory return to road Performance Center training.
Chris Jericho had an interesting moment in Miami on Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite when a fan tried to rush the ring to attack the former AEW World Champion and MJF.
Cornette tweeted, “Got news for you dips**t, the ring is sacred ground for US, and even if you and a lot of others THINK you can kick the s**t out of the Young Bucks, I would have turned you into a tennis racket popsicle, & you’re lucky someone there didn’t gut you like a fish. And you’re blocked.”
Jericho also ripped the fan by writing, “Do you really think @TheJimCornette would condone this you fu**in loser? Jimmy would’ve shoved a tennis racket up your ass and smashed your car windows.”
Speaking of Jericho, Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the top AEW will be missing some Dynamite episodes later this year.
He’ll be on tour with his rock band Fozzy in England, Northern Ireland, Wales and Ireland from November 30 to December 12. According to that schedule, he’ll be missing the December 1st and 8th episodes of AEW Dynamite.
AEW made a big splash during its first show back on the road by having Malakai Black, formerly known as Tommy End and Aleister Black, make his promotional debut on Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite from Miami, Florida at the James L. Knight Center.
It happened in the second hour of the show when Cody Rhodes, who had beaten QT Marshall in a Strap Match earlier in the night, did a promo segment with Arn Anderson in the ring.
The lights went out with Black appearing and hitting his signature swinging kick finisher to Anderson then to Rhodes. He had some makeup on his face and a contact lense in his right eye to change up his look.
Black’s real-life wife, Thea Trinidad (Zelina Vega), just returned to WWE Friday Night SmackDown last week.
Malakai Black had posted a creepy vignette on his Instagram account earlier in the day where he teased his new name. He was released by WWE last month due to budget cuts. While most WWE talent are subject to 90-day non-compete clauses, Black only had to sit out for 30 days.
He\’s been rumored to be AEW bound, despite a push from people in WWE to bring him back.
Monday’s edition of WWE Raw averaged 1.472 million viewers with a 0.41 rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic. This is down from last week’s 1.570 million viewers and even with the 0.41 rating.
Just last week after WWE faced strong NBA Playoff competition as the game did over 5 million viewers, Raw ended up with its third-lowest total viewership on record and the second-lowest 18-49 audience last week. It was also the second-lowest viewed episode of the year.
The lows got lower as Monday\’s Raw set a new all-time low for viewership since the show premiered in 1993.
Here’s the rest of the viewership breakdown for Monday Night Raw, courtesy of Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics:
P2+ (total viewership): 1472 (-12%)
P18-49: 536 (-14%)
M18-49: 340 (-22%)
F18-49: 195 (-16%)
P18-34: 173 (-10%)
M18-34: 1f06 (-20%)
F18-34: 67 (-24%)
P35-49: 363 (-8%)
M35-49: 235 (-10%)
F35-49: 128 (-3%)
non-P18-49: 936 (-12%)
Raw featured Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods vs. Bobby Lashley & MVP, Miz TV with Raw\’s men\’s Money in the Bank ladder match participants (Ricochet, John Morrison, Riddle & Drew McIntyre), Ricochet vs. John Morrison, a storyline medical update from Charlotte Flair, and more.
SmackDown Viewership
The episode drew an average of 1.741 million viewers in the overnight ratings, down from the previous week that did 1.859 million viewers. In the 18-49 demographic, it did a 0.46 rating, which was down from the 0.54 rating the week before. The final ratings were 1.861 million viewers, down from last week’s 1.971 million viewers.
The July 6, 2021 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
MSK def. Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher to retain tag team titles
LA Knight def. Cameron Grimes to retain Million Dollar Title
Zoey Stark & Io Shirai def. The Way to win women’s tag team titles
Adam Cole def. Kyle O\’Reilly.
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
NXT Tag Team Title Match
Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher challenged NXT Tag Team Champions MSK on this episode.
The match saw the champions dominate Ciampa throughout the match. Before the commercial break, Lee hit Thatcher with a moonsault off the middle rope. MSK rolled up Ciampa for the win to retain their titles.
Ciampa & Thatcher became the top contenders to MSK\’s titles by defeating The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) in a tornado tag match in the main event of a recent episode of NXT. Last week, there was a face-to-face segment with the teams.
MSK won the NXT Tag Team Championships in a triple threat match against The Grizzled Young Veterans and Legado del Fantasma (Raul Mendoza & Joaquin Wilde) at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver this April.
Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher challenged NXT Tag Team Champions MSK on this episode.
Women’s Tag Team Title Match
Io Shirai and Zoey Stark challenged NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae.
Shirai & Stark became the number one contenders by defeating NXT Women\’s Champion Raquel Gonzalez & Dakota Kai and Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon in a triple threat tag team match on NXT last week when Shirai pinned Kai after hitting a moonsault.
The match was a lot of fun with the challengers bringing the fight to the champions. The charging battery hit 100% and it was revealed as Teagan Nox, who stood at the top of the stage. Starks hit her finisher to Heartwell for the win.
Nox has been out of action since last year when she suffered a torn ACL. WWE had an angle where LeRae attacked Nox to write her off TV.
Io Shirai and Zoey Stark challenged NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae.
Million Dollar Title Match
Cameron Grimes vs. LA Knight with the Million Dollar Title on the line and the stipulation that if Knight won, Grimes must become his butler, took place.
Knight defeated Grimes in a ladder match at NXT TakeOver: In Your House last month to win the strap and to become the first Million Dollar Champion since 2010.
On the post-TakeOver: In Your House episode, Knight turned against \”Million Dollar Man\” Ted DiBiase and attacked him. Grimes made the save. Last week, Grimes challenged Knight to a Million Dollar Championship match and while Knight initially declined, he agreed with the stipulation in place.
The match ended when Knight hit a DDT on the title outside of the ring so the referee couldn’t see it. Knight hit his finisher back into the ring to win the match.
Cameron Grimes vs. LA Knight with the Million Dollar Title on the line and the stipulation that if Knight won, Grimes must become his butler, took place.
Face-to-Face
NXT Champion Karrion Kross and Johnny Gargano did in fact meet face-to-face on this show. NXT authority figure Samoa Joe was there to make sure things don\’t get out of hand.
Over the weekend in a promo, Kross told Gargano to leave his family at home for the segment and that he\’ll leave Scarlett at home as well.
Kross and Gargano brawled throughout last week’s show including the parking lot. Kross put Gargano in the Kross Jacket and then tried to run him over with his car, but Joe moved Gargano out of the way before Kross could hit him.
The segment started with Gargano saying that Kross sucks and he’s been living rent free in Kross’ head. He said the reason Kross tried to hit him with his car last week is due to his fear that Gargano will expose him. Kross listed the things he thinks of every morning then knocked Gargano for wearing Candice LeRae’s jeans.
Next week, Kross will defend the NXT Title against Gargano with Joe being the special guest referee.
Isaiah “Swerve” Scott and Hit Row hosted a championship cypher after Scott beat Bronson Reed to win the North American Title last week.
There was a freestyle rap from each member of Hit Row. They all had moments to shine before doing an entire song in the ring. They were actually pretty good.
Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly in a singles match was the biggest bout on the card.
The match was a brawl with rules in place. Cole targeted the left knee of Kyle throughout the match. Cole hit panama sunrise on the floor for a near fall. Kyle caught a superkick and hit a brain buster before missing a knee drop off the top rope. Cole hit the last shot for a near fall. Cole got the win with the panama sunrise then the last shot.
At TakeOver: Stand & Deliver this April, O\’Reilly defeated Cole in an unsanctioned match. Both stars were then both involved in the fatal five-way match at TakeOver: In Your House that saw Karrion Kross defeat O\’Reilly, Cole, Pete Dunne, and Johnny Gargano to retain the NXT Championship.
They got into a brawl on the June 15th episode of NXT that led to NXT General Manager William Regal making the match happen.
Just one week after announcing this year’s NXT Breakout Tournament, WWE has announced the competitors.
WWE did so during the NXT Great American Bash episode with the names of the eight wrestlers:
Trey Baxter: Formerly known as Blake Christian, who faced Kushida on the June 15 NXT episode
Carmelo Hayes: Formerly known as Christian Casanova, who wrestled Kushida on the June 1 episode T and Adam Cole on the June 22 episode.
Andre Chase: Formerly known as Harlem Bravado who defeated Guru Raaj on the July 2 episode of 205 Live to qualify for.
Josh Briggs: A former EVOLVE Champion.
Ikemen Jiro: He has worked on 205 Live since making his debut in May.
Joe Gacy: He beat Desmond Troy on the July 2 episode of 205 Live to qualify for it.
Odyssey Jones: Formerly known as Omari Palmer, who has worked NXT dark matches as well as wrestled Robert Roode in a dark match last week at SmackDown.
Duke Hudson: Formerly known as Brendan Vink, who hasn\’t wrestled since May 2020 on Raw.
The tournament will begin on the July 13 episode of NXT with Jiro vs. Hudson. Next week’s show will also feature NXT Champion Karrion Kross defending the title against Johnny Gargano.
WWE raised the stakes for the feud between Cameron Grimes and LA Knight in their second match.
Grimes challenged Knight for the Million Dollar Title on Tuesday’s episode of NXT: Great American Bash. The stipulation to go along with the bout was if Knight won, Grimes must become his butler.
The match was in the first hour and they traded signature moves before going into various quick pin attempt spots. Knight hit a DDT onto the title and this led to a near countout spot, but Grimes got back into the ring. Knight hit his finisher for the win.
The two wrestlers previously worked a ladder match at the WWE NXT TakeOver: In Your House event where Knight won the title. WWE first introduced the title by DiBiase as an unofficial title in 1989 and it was most recently featured on WWE television in 2010 when Ted DiBiase Jr. held it.
On the post-TakeOver episode of NXT, Knight turned against \”Million Dollar Man\” Ted DiBiase by attacking the legendary pro wrestler.
It will be interesting to see where this program goes next week on NXT. Heading into this bout, Grimes was listed as the favorite to win the bout even though Knight hadn\’t held the title for that long.
MSK put up the WWE NXT Tag Team Titles on the line when they faced Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher on Tuesday’s episode of NXT: Great American Bash.
The match allowed both teams to get their spots in for the opening bout. MSK rolled up Ciampa for the win to retain their titles. This was an interesting finish as Ciampa and Thatcher were favored in the betting odds to win the titles.
Ciampa & Thatcher became the top contenders to MSK\’s titles by defeating The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) in a tornado tag match on a recent episode of NXT.
MSK became the champions when they won it in a triple threat match against The Grizzled Young Veterans and Legado del Fantasma (Raul Mendoza & Joaquin Wilde) at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver this April.
Their previous title defense came in a winners-take-all six-man tag match at the WWE NXT TakeOver: In Your House event when MSK teamed with then-North American Champion Bronson Reed to retain by beating Legado del Fantasma (Santos Escobar, Raul Mendoza & Joaquin Wilde).
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