The Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch between World Champion Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley in the main event of this year’s AEW Revolution pay-per-view event didn’t go according to plan.
There was supposed to be a big explosion when the clock counted down to zero, but that didn’t happen as it was a botched explosion or as some have stated, a “dud.”
AEW President Tony Khan talked about the situation in February during an appearance on The Dan Le Batard Show.
“I’ll never let the non-wrestling people…I was trying to be too safe and I let the professionals handle the stuff and they are guys who don’t understand wrestling. A professional pyrotechnic guy. They totally shit the bed. I ended up not paying them. It was like $100,000 they ended up refunding for all the expenses of the match. I ended up not paying for the (exploding) barbed wire deathmatch, which I shouldn’t have. They screwed up royally.”
Khan stated that they put together something great and Omega and Moxley worked hard, but it was forgotten due to the final explosion.
“This is because we used professional pyrotechnic people who are supposed to know. The next time we do this, and I will do it again because the match drew. Everything Jon and Kenny did up until that point was outstanding, it wasn’t their fault it didn’t go off.”
Khan stated that it was a long time ago and they’ve bounced back since then. He pointed out how the next pay-per-view [Double or Nothing] was up and did a big number.
Eva Marie has dealt with criticism from wrestling fans since she broke into the pro wrestling business years ago.
Marie signed with WWE in 2013 to take part in the first season of Total Divas and later started to wrestle in NXT back in 2015 then on the main roster. After she was suspended for a violation of the WWE Wellness Policy in 2016, she never returned to action.
Marie signed a new deal with WWE last year to make her return and that came last month. Marie recently did an interview with TVInsider.com and during it, she spoke about the criticism.
“I love it. That’s what it’s all about. I have the best fans. The WWE Universe is 100 percent the best fans in the world. The fact that I get love and hate, that’s what it is all about. I have no problem playing that villain. I embrace the criticism and all the hatred because I want all those fans to come to a live show and boo me, cheer me, be extremely happy seeing the smile on my face get knocked off by a Becky Lynch or a Bayley or a Rhea Ripley or anybody in the women’s division. If they’re talking, I’m doing my job.”
Marie has been paired with Doudrop, formerly known as NXT UK star Piper Niven since making her live TV return.
For the past few weeks, WWE has been airing mysterious charging battery vignettes on NXT TV. There have been various fan theories as to who could be behind the vignettes. Pwinsider reports the teaser videos will culminate in the return of Tegan Nox.
Nox returned to the ring at Monday’s Raw TV event at the Thunder Dome. She wrestled a dark match against fellow NXT star Toni Storm.
WWE has been trying out NXT stars over the last month including Karrion Kross, Bronson Reed, Shotzi Blackheart, and Scarlett to see if they’re ready for the main roster ahead of the Draft in October.
Nox had been on the sidelines with a torn ACL since last fall. At the time, Dave Meltzer reported that she didn’t suffer the injury while wrestling or even training, but rather when she was doing rehab.
This was the third time that she tore an ACL as she previously tore the ligament in both knees. The first time happened in 2017 and then again in 2018.
Each week the battery has increased power although there\’s no word yet on exactly when it will reach full power and Nox will make her return to NXT TV.
WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon is a fan of Doudrop, formerly known as NXT UK star Piper Niven, who debuted as Eva Marie’s protege a few weeks back.
That same night, the two stars had some tension among them. Pwinsider reports McMahon is said to be “super impressed” with Doudrop, but wasn’t sold on the storyline at first. However, he went forward and gave the OK to continue the angle. Since that time, he’s changed his mind and is glad he did.
McMahon also \”loved it\” when Doudrop later stood up to Marie, specifically the facial expressions she was making. As it stands right now, it’s unclear exactly what WWE has planned for Eva and Doudrop, but it was noted that there will be a lot more development with the two in the coming weeks.
Dewdrop did get a win over Naomi in a singles match then got a win over Naomi and Asuka after they lost to Naomi and Asuka in a Money In The Bank qualifier.
Eva Marie, Doudrop, Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler scored a win over Alexa Bliss, Nikki Cross, Asuka and Naomi in an eight-woman tag team match on Monday’s episode of Raw.
WWE has announced a few things for the upcoming Money in the Bank PPV.
There was a segment on Friday’s episode of SmackDown where it was confirmed that SmackDown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair vs. Bayley in an I-Quit Match will take place at this PPV event. Belair retained the title inside of the Hell in a Cell structure at the pay-per-view event last month.
Also, there was a Last Man Standing Match between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn on SmackDown. The back and forth match ended with going over to earn a spot in the Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match.
Ricochet, Matt Riddle, John Morrison, Drew McIntyre, and Big E have already qualified for the men\’s match while Asuka, Naomi, Alex Bliss, Nikki Cross, Liv Morgan, and Carmella are in the women\’s match.
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 weeks.
Zelina Vega made her WWE return on Friday’s episode of SmackDown as she was revealed as the latest competitor in the Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match.
Vega cut a promo about how she will win the briefcase and cash in the contract to become either the Raw, NXT, or SmackDown Women’s Champion. Liv Morgan came out and voiced her problem with Vega being given this opportunity. It led to a match between the two stars.
Back in May, Vega was at the WWE Performance Center, and at the time, it was reported she wasn’t just a visit, but rather she was being filmed for some reason there. It was added that they had been told “the working plan is for her to return to the company.”
Fightful Select reported today the plan as of three weeks ago was for Zelina to return to the WWE main roster as she was listed on internal documents in June as a female heel on the SmackDown roster. It was said the hope was to have her involved by the time Money in the Bank rolled around.
Last November, she was released by WWE after having issues with the company’s new policy regarding talent making deals with third party companies like Twitch. At the time, Sports Illustrated reported that it was due to her breaching her contract.
There is no update on Vega’s husband, Aleister Black, after he was released by WWE and is currently waiting for his 90-day non-compete clause to expire. The belief is he’ll be headed to AEW although there was some talk within WWE that he shouldn’t have been cut.
The guest for the latest episode of WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s show is set and it’s Kevin Nash who will be appearing.
The guest for the show, “Steve Austin: The Broken Skull Sessions,” was recently revealed by WWE Network News. Nash will be discussing a wide range of topics about his long and successful pro wrestling career. Here is the description:
“Steve Austin and two-time WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash discuss everything from “Big Daddy Cool” and The Kliq to The nWo and the Monday Night War, as well as never-before-heard road stories.”
The episode premieres on WWE’s streaming service, WWE Network, and Peacock on Sunday, July 11th at 10 a.m. ET.
Mick Foley was the guest on the show last month. Ric Flair, Bret Hart, Big Show, Bill Goldberg, and The Undertaker are just some of the other names that also appeared on the show.
After a run in WCW as Oz and Vinnie Vegas, his career took off after being a bodyguard for Shawn Michaels. He became a WWE Champion, Intercontinental Champion, and held the Tag Team Titles twice. Nash then went to WCW where he was part of the nWo and his career continued as a top star. Later on, he had a run in TNA Wrestling.
The trend of WWE bringing in NXT talent to TV events to work dark matches continued on Friday night at SmackDown as a way to get a better look at them ahead of potential main roster call-ups.
Pwinsider.com reports NXT Champion Karrion Kross, Toni Storm, Shotzi Blackheart, and Odyssey Jones were all brought to the show. The matches were Kross vs. Cesaro, Jones vs. Robert Roode, and Storm vs. Blackheart.
Jones, a former college football player, signed in the same February 2019 WWE Performance Center Class that included Reed, Mei Ying, Rachael Ellering, Jordan Myles, Cameron Grimes, Ever-Rise, Dexter Lumis, Nick Comoroto, Brendan Vink, and Ricardo Miller.
He is formerly known as Omari Palmer. He made his NXT in-ring debut at a November 2019 live event where he lost to Lumis and only worked 5 matches after that then the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
This comes at a time where Kross, Scarlett, Blackheart and former NXT North American Champion Bronson Reed have been brought to recent TV events for WWE officials to check out.
Three weeks ago, Kross wrestled Dolph Ziggler at SmackDown while Reed wrestled Roode that same night. The following Monday, Kross and Reed worked the WWE Main Event TV episode where Kross defeated Shelton Benjamin and Reed defeated Drew Gulak. That same week, Scarlett and Blackheart wrestled each other at SmackDown while Kross wrestled Slapjack. Finally, this past Monday, Kross, Scarlett and Blackheart were brought back to Raw to work matches.
Samoa Joe was released by WWE in April due to budget cuts, but Triple H was reportedly “not happy” about the decision and wanted him back in WWE NXT.
That happened as Joe is now the enforcer for NXT General Manager William Regal. He’s also working as a talent scout. Speaking to the New York Post, Triple H stated that Joe’s release was actually more of a transition.
“It wasn’t like he got let go from one part of the company and the other part of the company [hired him]. It’s all one big company,” Triple H said. “Everybody knows what everybody’s doing. There was an opportunity for him to transition, no different than you would say, ‘Well, he was released from this pitching contract and started managing the team and became a coach.’ It’s a similar situation.”
Triple H stated the conversations about Joe’s backstage role were already being discussed even before the COVID-19 pandemic started. He put him over being a smart guy who is very business-oriented and has a level head. Triple H stated that Joe was enamored with the other side of the business.
Triple H likened Joe’s situation to the one he’s been in as they went from in-ring competitors to having a role behind the scenes. He noted that Joe will be a bigger component and that’s in developing talent. He’s excited to see Joe being in this stage of his career and helping develop the next generations of superstars.
Isaiah Scott turned out to be the man to dethrone Bronson Reed as the WWE NXT North American Champion.
It happened on Tuesday’s episode of NXT TV on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center. Scott challenged Reed for the strap in the main event.
After Reed dominated early, Scott took over until the end. There was some outside interference as Reed tossed Top Dolla through the barricade. Once he got back into the ring, he ate a big boot then Scott hit a 450 splash off the top rope for the win.
This marks the first title reign for Scott since he joined NXT.
Reed became the North American Champion when he defeated Johnny Gargano in a steel cage match over a month ago. Reed’s previous title defense came when he teamed up with NXT Tag Team Champions MSK (Wes Lee & Nash Carter) to retain their titles by beating Legado del Fantasma (Santos Escobar, Raul Mendoza & Joaquin Wilde) at the WWE NXT TakeOver: In Your House event earlier this month.
In recent weeks, Reed has been working dark matches on the main roster at Raw and SmackDown TV events just like NXT Champion Karrion Kross.
WWE officials are having these stars do tryouts to see if they want to call them up for the Draft later this summer.
The June 29, 2021 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
Zoey Stark & Io Shirai def. Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez and Ember Moon & Shotzi Blackheart.
Roderick Strong def. Asher Hale.
Cameron Grimes def. Ari Sterling.
Isaiah \”Swerve\” Scott def. Bronson Reed to win North American Title
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
North American Title Match
A late addition to the card was Bronson Reed defending the North American Title against Isiah Scott. This was the main event of the show.
Reed got the advantage in the early going. Scott took over in the middle of the match and dominated the champion. They did some near falls to tease Scott winning. Scott went for a big boot, but Reed hit him with a clothesline. Reed followed up with a big samoan drop.
Top Dolla charged at Reed, who tossed him through the barricade. Back in the ring, Scott kicked him in the head then hit a 450 splash for the win.
Johnny Gargano attacked NXT Champion Karrion Kross in the backstage area. This led to Kross coming out to the ring to cut a promo where he dared Gargano to come out to the ring.
Gargano did just that and said that he’s not afraid of Kross. Gargano said Kross jumped him last week like a coward and this week he will beat him at his own game. Gargano said that he has actual talent unlike Kross. Austin Theory attacked Kross from behind. Kross cleared the ring and was about to throw steel steps on Gargano until security broke it up. Gargano landed a superkick to Kross. There was an intense staredown between Kross and Samoa Joe before Kross walked away.
Later in the show, Gargano and Theory tried to attack Kross in the parking lot, but Kross laid them both out.
The Diamond Mine made their debut as a group last week after the match between Johnny Gargano and Kushida. The group consists of Roderick Strong, Tyler Rust, Malcolm Bivens and another mysterious Superstar.
WWE announced that fans would find out more on this show. So what happened? Strong worked in a singles match.
It was a one-sided win for Strong, who worked even more technical than in the past. Strong won with an arm submission.
Bivens said that Diamond Mine is open for business and this is just the beginning.
Cameron Grimes was back in action against Ari Sterling. Grimes won the short match with his finisher.
Grimes has been feuding with LA Knight that resulted in him losing a ladder match to Knight with the Million Dollar Title on the line. This was done after WWE brought in Ted Debiase and the two NXT stars feuded to become the new Million Dollar Man. Once Knight won the title, he turned on the WWE Hall of Famer.
Post-match, Knight came out and was about to start talking about Ted. Grimes interrupted him and told him to get down to the ring. Grimes challenged Knight to a match for the title. Kight declined his challenge and said Grimes didn’t deserve it. Knight said the title has a lot of power, but one thing is missing. He said that he is the million dollar megatar.
Knight said he’d put the title on the line and if Grimes loses then Grimes becomes his butler. Grimes agreed to it. It will take place at Great American Bash.
Mercedes Martinez and Jake Atlas vs. Xia Li and Boa in a tag team match took place.
Martinez lost Li at NXT TakeOver: In Your House, but after the match, she was attacked by the mystery 1000 year-old-won. Last week after Martinez scored a win, Li and Boa attacked her until Atlas came out to make the save. Thus, this match was booked.
The babyfaces put up a decent fight, but it was Li, who hit a head kick for the win.
Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher did a face-off with NXT Tag Team Champions MSK ahead of their Great American Bash match next week.
The segment saw them sit in chairs and talk trash. Ciampa said that everyone knows that there’s no one like him to elevate a title. MSK said that they respect them and they hear the talk. MSK said that Ciampa and Thatcher are the challengers and they will know why MSK are the tag team champions. MSK slapped the challengers, but Ciampa held back Thatcher.
Ciampa said that tonight MSK got a free one and next week they won’t be so lucky. They had a staredown to end the segment.
Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon vs. Io Shirai and Zoey Stark vs. Dakota Kai and NXT Women’s Champion Raquel Gonzalez took place with the stipulation that the winners will challenge NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell at Great American Bash next week.
This match was booked after a brawl between Shirai & Stark, Gonzalez & Kai, and Blackheart & Moon took place last week. On that same show, Shirai & Stark defeated Aliyah & Jessi Kamea then there was a confrontation between LeRae & Hartwell and Shirai & Stark. Gonzalez & Kai and Blackheart & Moon came out to argue as to why they should get a title shot.
These ladies worked hard in the opening match of the show and everyone had shining moments. Io hit her top rope finisher for the win by pinning Kai.
WWE is bringing back the NXT Breakout Tournament this year. The company held matches before Tuesday’s NXT episode.
There were qualifying matches with the winners earning spots in the tournament. Those bouts were Guru Raaj vs. Andre Chase, and Desmond Troy vs. Joe Gacy. WWE has confirmed that the tournament will start in two weeks.
Chase is the new ring name for indie star Harlem Bravado after he signed with WWE back in February while Raaj (Laxmi Kant Rajpoot) signed with WWE back in January 2020. He made his promotional debut at a February 2020 NXT live event then lost to Finn Balor at the WWE Superstar Spectacle event back in January 2021.
Chase is the new ring name for indie star Harlem Bravado, who signed with WWE back in February. Raaj (Laxmi Kant Rajpoot) signed with WWE back in January 2020 and debuted in six-man action at a February 2020 NXT live event. He also lost to Finn Balor at the WWE Superstar Spectacle event back in January.
Troy is the former Desmond Dejournette, who worked in NXT and the main roster in 2019 and 2020. He signed with WWE in 2018. Gacy, a former CZW Champion and EVOLVE star, signed in the same October 2020.
He was part of the same Performance Center Class that featured Leon Ruff, Josh Briggs, Julius Creed, Curt Stallion, August Grey, Skyler Storie, and referee Jake Clemons.
The first tournament took place in 2019 that featured some notable stars including Angel Garza, Dexter Lumis, Boa, Cameron Grimes, Joaquin Wilde, Isaiah “Swerve” Scott and current NXT North American Champion Bronson Reed.
Jordan Myles, also known as ACH, ended up winning the tournament.
Monday’s edition of WWE Raw averaged 1.570 million viewers with a 0.41 rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic. This is down from last week’s 1.719 million viewers and the 0.49 rating.
Here are the viewership numbers for each demo, courtesy of Brandon Thurston of WrestleNomics:
P2+ (total viewers): 1570 (-7%)
P18-49: 535 (-14%)
P18-34: 342 (-0%)
M18-49: 193 (-16%)
F18-49: 212 (-11%)
M18-34: 124 (-5%)
F18-34: 88 (+9%)
P35-49: 323 (-18%)
M35-49: 218 (-16%)
F35-49: 105 (-20%)
WWE faced strong NBA Playoff competition as the game did over 5 million viewers, which resulted in Raw doing its third-lowest total viewership on record and the second-lowest 18-49 audience. It was also the second-lowest viewed episode of the year.
This episode featured Elias vs. Jaxson Ryker in a Strap Match, Raw Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley, Dana Brooke & Mandy Rose vs. WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Natalya, Tamina Snuka & Charlotte Flair, and Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Raw Tag Team Champion AJ Styles in a Last Chance Money in the Bank Qualifying Match.
SmackDown Viewership
The episode drew an average of 1.859 million viewers in the overnight ratings, down from the previous week that did 1.928 million viewers. In the 18-49 demographic, it did a 0.54 rating, which was the same as the 0.54 rating the week before. The final ratings were 1.971 million viewers, down from last week’s 2.045 million viewers.
It’s looking more likely that WWE is moving away from Baron Corbin’s king character and going towards a new character for him.
WWE has filed a trademark for “Happy Corbin.” This may end up being his new name going forward after going by the name “King Corbin.”
This comes after WWE released a video on social media last week after SmackDown where Corbin was seen unhappy and despondent about losing his crown following a program with Shinsuke Nakamura
In the clip, Corbin was asked if he feels that his career is slipping away from him in addition to it being noted that he lost “hundreds of thousands of dollars” on investments when he was still “a wealthy man” but that is no longer the case.
It should be noted that WWE had King Corbin’s name reverted back to Baron Corbin on the official WWE website following his loss to Nakamura and he’s also changed it on social media. Perhaps, when the storyline reaches the point where Corbin has validated himself again, he will go by this name.
Old school fans may recall WCW doing an angle in the early 90s with Diamond Dallas Page where he “lost everything” to the point where he was homeless and had to rebuild himself.
Seth Rollins announced that he was marrying Becky Lynch on Tuesday.
The former WWE Universal Champion took to his Instagram Stories where he showed photos of the couple somewhere tropical. In one of the photos, he wrote in the caption, “Seems like a fine day to (finally) get married.”
WWE confirmed Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins are getting married today, June 29th:
The WWE couple announced their engagement back on August 22, 2019 then Lynch revealed her first pregnancy on May 11, 2020 and gave birth to their daughter, named Roux, on December 4, 2020.
Lynch previously stated that their wedding was supposed to take place in May 2020, but that was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rollins has been in a program with Cesaro on Friday Night SmackDown over the past few weeks. On the flip side, it’s been reported that the former Raw Women’s Champion is preparing for her in-ring return. She\’s been backstage at some recent WWE shows and spotted training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida to get back into ring shape.
It\’s speculated that WWE is holding off on her return since they will be resuming to live event touring on July 16th. Perhaps her return will lead to another big match being added to SummerSlam to help sell tickets to the stadium show.
WWE held the last Raw qualifying match to determine the final participant from the red brand for the men’s Money in the Bank Ladder match on Monday’s episode of Raw.
Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Raw Tag Team Champion AJ Styles was supposed to take place in a triple threat match with the winner advancing to the men’s ladder match.
WWE did an opening segment where it was revealed that Orton couldn’t make it to the show to work so he was out of the three way bout. Riddle, who is Orton’s tag team partner, said if he won a battle royal to determine who would replace Orton in a triple threat match then he would work the three-way bout on the behalf of Orton. Riddle went over in the battle royal.
The triple threat served as the main event with McIntyre going over when he hit the Claymore Kick to Riddle. He had just finished up a program with WWE Champion Bobby Lashley at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event. As a result of the stipulation for the bout, McIntyre can’t challenge Lashley for the title as long as Lashley is the champion.
Ricochet, Matt Riddle, John Morrison, and SmackDown\’s Big E have already been confirmed for the ladder match. Three more SmackDown stars will be added to the bout in the coming days.
Damian Priest made his return to in-ring action on Monday Night Raw. He did so by competing in an over-the-top-rope battle royal to determine who would replace Randy Orton in a triple threat match later in the show with the winner advancing to the men’s Money in the Bank Ladder match.
Priest has been missing from WWE TV for over a month due to an injury. The final four were Riddle, Cedric Alexander, Priest, and Jeff Hardy. The finish saw Alexander eliminate Hardy, Priest eliminate Alexander, and Riddle eliminated Priest with a kick.
Priest reportedly suffered a back injury before WrestleMania 37, which caused concerns as to whether he could work his tag match with Bad Bunny against The Miz and John Morrison at the pay-per-view event.
It was such a concern that WWE went to the point where they had advertised Bunny vs. Miz in a singles match before going back to the original plans for the tag team match.
Priest ended his feud with The Miz at WrestleMania Backlash where they worked a Zombie Lumberjack match. In that same match, Miz suffered either a fully torn or partially torn ACL.
Priest then disappeared from TV. It was recently reported that Priest would be returning soon and he did just that.
Vince McMahon is headed to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida to scout talent.
WWE\’s Chairman and CEO will be there to visit this week, according to a report at Fightful. Thursday is the most likely date for McMahon\’s visit. This is part of a major scouting effort to replenish the main roster with NXT talent.
WWE has cut various wrestlers over the last few months in addition to having repetitive matches on TV and it appears the company feels like they need some new faces on the main roster. In recent weeks, other top executives that have been at the Performance Center such as Bruce Prichard and John Laurinaitis to scout talent.
NXT talent has been backstage at Raw and SmackDown shows to wrestle dark matches and evaluations by WWE officials. NXT Champion Karrion Kross and NXT North American Champion Bronson Reed competed in matches that were taped for WWE Main Event last week.
Scarlett, who has been Kross’s manager on NXT, wasn’t with him for his dark matches, but she competed in a dark match against Shotzi Blackheart, who is a former NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion with Ember Moon, at last Friday’s SmackDown.
Kross, Scarlett, and Blackheart are all backstage at Monday’s Raw to work matches. The belief is WWE is trying out these wrestlers to see if they want to call-up the NXT stars to the main roster when the Draft takes place after SummerSlam.
Update: NXT stars Shotzi Blackheart and Scarlett are scheduled to work Monday\’s Main Event tapings, which are held prior to Raw going on the air. The news comes courtesy of PWInsider. This will mark Scarlett\’s first televised appearance for WWE.
WWE had wrestlers from NXT wrestle before Friday\’s SmackDown broadcast from the ThunderDome in Tampa, FL.
Prior to SmackDown going on the air, NXT Champion Karrion Kross wrestled Slapjack, while Shotzi Blackheart took worked against Scarlett.
WWE producers were there to evaluate the match and determine the competitors\’ readiness for the main roster.
Kross and NXT North American champion Bronson Reed have been wrestling at the main roster TV tapings over the past week. At last week\’s SmackDown, Kross wrestled Dolph Ziggler while Reed faced off with Bobby Roode.
Kross and Reed wrestled on this week\’s Main Event, which took place prior to Monday\’s Raw tapings. Kross defeated Shelton Benjamin and Reed defeated Drew Gulak. Kross and Reed are on WWE\’s short list for main roster call-ups, according to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
There is a good chance they will be moved to Raw or SmackDown when the next WWE Draft takes place after SummerSlam.
Edge made his return on Friday’s episode of WWE SmackDown in the final segment of the show.
Paul Heyman did a promo about how the WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns had beaten everyone and listed those who he has defeated in his title reign from Kevin Owens to Daniel Bryan to Edge and more. This led to the WWE Hall of Famer coming out to get into a brawl with Reigns.
Both guys got their spots in. Edge hit a spear to Reigns then went to hit Reigns with duel chairs, but Jimmy Uso ran out to make the save and attack Edge. Moments later, Edge speared Jimmy through the barricade and had a staredown with Reigns, who was selling on the stage. Edge yelled that he’s right here to end the show.
It appears that this will be the main event from the SmackDown side for the Money in the Bank pay-per-view event on Sunday, July 18, 2021 from Fort Worth, Texas at Dickies Arena, which will have fans.
Edge was last seen in the triple threat title match with Reigns and Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 37 that saw \”The Big Dog\” retain his championship.
WWE held the first set of SmackDown qualifying matches to determine some of the participants for the Money in the Bank ladder matches.
Sonya Deville announced that Carmella will be in the women\’s match as she is a two-time women\’s Money in the Bank winner. Liv Morgan made it known that she was not pleased with Deville\’s announcement and argued that she beat Carmella last week that she deserved to be in the match as well.
This set up a situation where Deville declared that if Liv defeated Carmella again, she would be added to the match. That happened on this show.
For the men’s ladder match, Big E beat Intercontinental Champion Apollo Crews in a qualifying match.
Raw stars Asuka, Naomi, Alex Bliss, and Nikki Cross have already qualified for the women’s match while Ricochet, Matt Riddle, John Morrison from Raw are in the men’s match.
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 competitors for these matches in the coming weeks.
WWE released 13 Superstars on Friday – Killian Dain, The Bollywood Boyz (Sunil Singh, Samir Singh), Marina Shafir, Arturo Ruas, Curt Stallion, Fandango, Tyler Breeze, Ever-Rise (Chase Parker, Matt Martel), Tony Nese, Ariya Daivari, and August Grey.
WWE President & Chief Revenue Officer Nick Khan led a meeting at WWE Headquarters about the decision to do another round of talent releases. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful reports there were apparently more names set to be released that had not been confirmed.
There were some wrestlers who were “saved” from the chopping block at the last minute.
The 205 Live wrestlers that got cut were on higher contracts than WWE had been giving out for work on that brand as of late. Just like the other talent releases, these cuts were a part of ongoing budget cuts ahead of the company going back on the road next month.
Dain and Nese are under a 90-day non-compete clause while Grey has a 30-day non-compete clause.
Wrestlers who are under the 30-day non-competes will become free agents after Friday, July 25 while those under the 90-day non-compete clauses will be free agents after Thursday, September 23.
WWE had plans in the works for Marina Shafir, but that has been nixed as WWE released her on Friday afternoon.
Pwinsider.com reports that WWE had plans to change her ring name and there were some pitches about the new name in recent weeks in addition to the plans for her. It was said her release came as a surprise.
She signed with WWE back in May 2018 and last wrestled on WWE 205 Live on January 29 when she teamed with Zoey Stark for a loss to Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart in a tournament match for the NXT Women’s Tag Team Titles.
She was seen with her husband, Roderick Strong, several weeks ago on an episode of NXT TV when there was a backstage segment where Strong said he was “done” with the brand. However, this past Tuesday night, he returned as part of The Diamond Mine, but Shafir was nowhere to be seen.
Killian Dain, The Bollywood Boyz (Sunil Singh, Samir Singh), Arturo Ruas, Curt Stallion, Fandango, Tyler Breeze, Ever-Rise (Chase Parker, Matt Martel), Tony Nese, Ariya Daivari, and August Grey were also released today.
Shafir has yet to publicly comment on her release.
The June 22, 2021 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
WWE NXT Results
Adam Cole def. Carmelo Hayes.
Io Shirai & Zoey Stark def. Jessi Kamea & Aliyah.
Johnny Gargano & Austin Theory def. Pete Dunne & Oney Lorcan.
Franky Monet def. Elektra Lopez
Hit Row (Ashante \’Thee\’ Adonis & Top Dolla) def. Ever-Rise (Chase Parker & Matt Martel).
Kyle O\’Reilly def. Kushida
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
The Way Speaks/We Got A Match
Johnny Gargano and Austin Theory came out. Gargano said that they need a new NXT Champion and they don’t need Karrion Kross. Instead, they need him because he’s a respectable family man.
He said that he outclassed Kross at TakeOver: In Your House and everyone knows that he can outwrestle Kross.
This led to Pete Dunne coming out with Oney Lorcan. Gargano said that they are rules for a reason and they are good people so they won’t fight. Gargano and Theory left the ring before Theory told Dunne that he was watching him. Dunne twisted his fingers and Theory sold it.
In a backstage segment, Gargano and Theory want William Regal to do something about so a match was booked. The Way went over clean. Post-match, Kross attacked Gargano.
Adam Cole opened the show with a promo about how he won’t pick his own opponent because he is the king of NXT. He said that he will embarrass Kyle O’Reilly at NXT Great American Bash.
He said that no one will change his mind. This led to Carmelo Hayes coming out. Hayes cut a promo about how if anyone is going to change Cole’s mind, it will be him. Hayes did John Cena’s “Ruthless Aggression” promo spot before slapping Cole. A match broke out.
This was a fun back and forth match with Cole dominating the majority of it with Hayes having bursts of offense. Cole won with the panama sunrise.
This was done to further promote Cole’s match with O’Reilly’ at the NXT Great American Bash special. Originally, WWE had NXT General Manager William Regal state in a backstage segment last week that O’Reilly and Cole would pick each other’s opponents, but that wasn’t the case.
The encore of Franky Monet’s recent World Premiere continued on this show when she battled Elektra Lopez, formerly known as Karissa Rivera, in a singles match.
This marked Monet’s only second match in NXT. She beat Cora Jade in her in-ring debut back on the May 25th edition of NXT.
This latest outing was a short squash match that saw her go over with her finisher.
The Diamond Mind opened up after various vignettes teasing the opening of the Diamond Mine have been airing since April. Little details had came out about what it was aside from unidentified athletes working out at an MMA gym with phrases like \”Pressure Makes Diamonds\” appearing.
So what was it? After the main event, Roderick Strong came out in a hoodie to attack Kushida. Malcom Bivens, Tyler Rust and Hideki Suzuki were with him. Bivens said this is Diamond Mine.
Fans may recall there was a storyline where Strong had announced he was leaving NXT. Well, he\’s back. Questions remain yet answers will be given.
NXT Cruiserweight Champion Kushida vs. Kyle O’Reilly in a non-title match took place.
The match was everything and more that fans had hoped to see. A stiff yet technical bout. Down the stretch, Kyle landed some kicks then went for a leg submission, but Kushida rolled through and went for a pin attempt for 2. Kushida caught him with a head kick only for Kyle to no sell it and land one of his own. Kyle hit a brain buster for a near fall. Lyle rolled him up for the win.
This was done to further promote O’Reilly’s upcoming match with Adam Cole at the NXT Great American Bash special on Tuesday, July 6. After the match, Cole attacked Kyle.
Monday’s edition of WWE Raw averaged 1.719 million viewers with a 0.49 rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic. This is even from last week’s 1.742 million viewers and the 0.49 rating.
To compare, last week’s hourly viewership numbers were 1.761 million viewers in the first hour, 1.782 million viewers in the second hour, and the third hour had 1.685 million viewers.
This was the post-show edition of Raw for Sunday’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event.
This episode featured Lashley facing Xavier Woods in a Hell in a Cell match that ended up as the main event, Ricochet battled AJ Styles, Randy Orton faced John Morrison, and Riddle took on Drew McIntyre in men’s Money in the Bank qualifying matches. Also, Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross reunited to take on Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler and Asuka & Naomi faced Eva Marie and Doudrop in women’s Money in the Bank qualifying matches.
SmackDown Viewership
The episode drew an average of 1.928 million viewers in the overnight ratings, up from the previous week that did 1.853 million viewers. In the 18-49 demographic, it did a 0.54 rating, which was up from the 0.48 rating the week before. The final ratings were 2.045 million viewers, up from last week’s 1.944 million viewers.
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