Raw
Raw Results
- Rhea Ripley w/ Nikki A.S.H. def Shayna Baszler w/ Nia Jax – **¼
- Viking Raiders def Jinder Mahal & Veer w/ Shanky – *¾
- Damian Priest © def Sheamus & Drew McIntyre (WWE United States Championship) – ***½
- Karrion Kross def Humberto Carrillo – **
- Nia Jax def Charlotte Flair – *½
- Omos w/ AJ Styles def John Morrison – *¼
- AJ Styles w/ Omos def Xavier Woods – **¾
- RK-Bro © def MVP & Bobby Lashley (Raw Tag Team Championship) – **¾
Damian Priest starts off the show this week as he talks about how happy he was to win the United States Championship at SummerSlam and how he is going to be a fighting champion unlike Bobby Lashley who walked out during the tag match last week. Damian Priest then wants to know who is going to answer the US Championship open challenge, that person would end up being Sheamus. Sheamus agrees with Priest about Lashley (since he was Lashley’s partner last week) and he is glad that Priest is issuing open challenges because he wants to take back his gold. Drew McIntyre then comes down and talks about how he would love to see Priest kick Sheamus’ ass but he wants to give the fans something new which is him as United States Championship seeing as that is the only title he has never held before.
Bobby Lashley and MVP come out and MVP says that Lashley would love to come out and issue an open challenge every week but he has already beaten everyone on the Raw roster so there it would be pointless. MVP then says that Lashley would love to answer this open challenge and become both the WWE Champion and the WWE United States Champion. RK-Bro then makes their way down and Orton says that everything MVP just said sucks and then calls Lashley a greedy SOB who wants something that he can’t have. Lashley grabs the mic and says that he doesn’t have to go for the US Championship in order to become a double champion as he would be just as happy to take those tag titles off of RK-Bro, Riddle then challenges MVP and Lashley to a match for the titles and they accept. Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville come out and make two big matches for tonight as Priest will defend his US Championship against Drew McIntyre and Sheamus in one match and RK-Bro will defend their tag titles against MVP & Bobby Lashley in the other match.
At one point I started thinking the entire locker room was going to come out for this open challenge as we had person after person coming out during this segment when they could’ve just done it in two separate segments since the Raw Tag Team Championship match had nothing to do with the US Championship match. This would be the first occurrence of WWE not delivering what they advertised last week as we were supposed to see Sheamus vs Lashley since Lashley walked out on Sheamus last week, but I guess Vinnie Mac changed his mind since then.
Our first match of the night sees Rhea Ripley take on Shayna Baszler with Nikki A.S.H. and Nia Jax in their respective partner’s corners. Nia Jax gets on the mic before the match and promises to crush both Rhea and Nikki just like she will crush Charlotte later tonight, this doesn’t sit well with Shayna who starts arguing with Nia and this allows Rhea to attack her from behind. I thought the first portion of this match was a little slow but picked up after the commercial break. Nia takes Nikki out and ringside, but Rhea is still able to pick up the win after reversing a pinning combination into one of her own. Nia hits the ring and lays out Rhea after the match which pisses off Shayna as storms off back to the locker room.
How many times are we going to see the tension between Nia and Shayna and Shayna walking out before they break up for good, it feels like they have been teasing this break apart for the past year and they are still teaming up it’s long past time to either shit or get off the pot when it comes to these two.
We get a meaningless tag match that everyone will have forgotten about by the time this comes out, as the Viking Raiders defeat Jinder Mahal and Veer.
We then get the triple threat match where Damian Priest defends his United States Championship against Sheamus and Drew McIntyre. This was by far the match of the night and got a lot of time for a TV match as they almost went 30-minutes. I would highly recommend everyone check out this match as it is very good. Priest picks up the win after hitting the Reckoning on Drew McIntyre and after the match, they shake hands.
We get a replay of Goldberg vs Lashley from SummerSlam and then we get an exclusive where they interview Goldberg outside of his house as he is getting ready to leave and he says he is going to need knee surgery and Gage is all jacked up after what Lashley did to him. Goldberg says that once he heals he is coming for Lashley and screw championships he is coming for Lashley’s soul. We will be seeing Goldberg in October at the Saudi Arabia show for that rematch that nobody wants to see.
It’s time for our weekly Reggie, R-Truth, & Tozawa segment, and this week Truth was wearing a blonde wig while Tozawa was dressed in a dog costume and just like always Reggie got away. It really struck me this week while he was dressed in a dog suit just how bad I feel for Tozawa as this guy was one of the most talked-about and hyped up guys on the indies around 10 years ago and now we never get to see him wrestle which is a crime as he is so talented and deserves so much better than what he is doing now.
Up next, we get the advertised Eva Marie vs Doudrop match but Doudrop attacks before the bell and hits Eva with the crossbody, and after the attack, Eva acts like she is really hurt and the referee decides not to have the match take place. Doudrop gets on the mic and announces herself the winner. At least we got some interaction between these two which is more than what we got from the other two matches that were advertised to happen this week.
Karrion Kross beats Humberto Carrillo in a match that was more competitive than I expected it to be and at this point, I realize that Kross is going to be just another guy and the killer we saw in NXT is a goner if he was still that killer he would’ve destroyed Carrillo in a minute but this actually lasted four minutes and Carrillo got in just as much offense as Kross did, but at least they did give Kross the win as he chokes out Carrillo with the Krossjacket.
We then go to our next match which is Charlotte Flair vs Nia Jax and this was something else, to say the least, as neither woman seemed to want to give anything to their opponent which resulted in a few stiff shots from both women and it even looked like the match might have turned into a shoot at one point after Nia dropped Charlotte on a back suplex attempt. All of the hostility between the two women made the match feel very sloppy especially towards the end. Nia hits Charlotte with a powerbomb to pick up the win clean as a sheet. The fact that Nia got a perfectly clean win is surprising as it seems like they could be setting her up to be Charlotte’s next opponent which is strange as I thought for sure that spot was going to Alexa as she came out after Charlotte’s promo last week, but there was no sight or mention of Alexa on the entire show even though she tweeted that she was backstage and when someone asked her about it all she replied with was the shrug emoji. Hopefully, the Alexa situation is just a case of them not using her for one week and not a case of Covid.
John Morrison is backstage and he talks about how Miz backed out of the match they were supposed to have this week and then he goes on a tangent about how he told his acting coach he would prove he is the bigger man, and that is why he asked for a match with the biggest man he knows. The camera pans over to Omos who tells Morrison it sucks to be him and then walks off. This made zero sense why would an acting coach care if someone is the bigger man or not and how is having a match against Omos going to prove that he is the bigger man between himself and The Miz. This would’ve been a whole lot better if he had just said he wants to prove he doesn’t need The Miz and he will prove that by taking on the biggest challenge possible. Morrison is able to land some kicks early on and is able to evade Omos on several occasions, but in the end, he can’t overcome the power of the bigger man as he is put away with the Choke Bomb.
Xavier Woods makes his way to the ring and we go right into an AJ Styles vs Xavier Woods match which is really good even though they just got 7 minutes. As nice as it is to see New Day together I like the fact that Xavier is getting time to shine on his own as he has never really gotten that in WWE as it wasn’t long after he debuted before New Day was formed. I really do hope that he is at least a part of the King of the Ring tournament coming up in October and while I can’t see them doing it I would love to see him win it as he has been talking about King of the Ring for the past year or longer.
We have the main event coming up next as RK-Bro defends their Raw Tag Team Championship against MVP & Bobby Lashley. This was another good match which seems to be a common theme tonight as it seems like there were more must-see matches on this show than usual. In the end, we see Styles and Omos get involved as they were at the commentary table but Riddle dropkicks Omos through the ropes and Orton hits Styles with the back suplex onto the commentary table. Riddle hits a corkscrew moonsault on MVP to pick up the win for RK-Bro. After the match, Lashley takes Riddle down with a Spear but Orton takes Lashley out with an RKO and that is how the show comes to an end.
While we got some really good matches on this show it didn’t feel like any stories got moved forward and if anything I was left in confusion as it felt like a lot of what was done last week was erased this week and I’m still not sure what direction they are going in heading into Extreme Rules as it seemed like last week we were getting a Lashley vs Sheamus feud but this week Orton hits him with an RKO, but yet Orton still has unfinished business with Styles & Omos so who is getting the title show at Extreme Rules? We also saw Nia get a clean win over Charlotte on this show, but last week they teased Charlotte facing Alexa, so there is confusion there as well. I guess we might get the answers to all of these questions next week on the show.
NXT
NXT Results
- Sarray def Mandy Rose w/ Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne – **¼
- Kyle O’Reilly def Duke Hudson – **½
- Imperium def Drake Maverick & Grayson Waller – *¼
- LA Knight def Johnny Gargano w/ In-Dex – ***
- Raquel Gonzalez def Jessi Kamea w/ Franky Monet & Robert Stone – *½
- Roderick Strong w/ The Diamond Mine def Ikeman Jiro – **¼
- Tommaso Ciampa def Ridge Holland w/ Pete Dunne, Danny Burch, & Oney Lorcan – ***¼
We open the show and go straight into the first match as Sarray takes on Mandy Rose who is accompanied by Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne. Mandy backs Sarray into the corner and then retreats to the ropes when Sarray comes after her, Mandy gets a waistlock takedown and then rubs Sarray’s face into the mat and then does pushups as she is not taking Sarray seriously at all. Sarray finally gets enough as she nails Mandy with a forearm and follows that up with a takedown into a double stomp and then a dropkick. Sarray hits a fisherman’s suplex which gets her a near fall and then she rolls under a clothesline before landing a spin kick for another 2 count. Sarray tries for a dropkick off the top but comes up short and Mandy capitalizes with mounted punches and then after some boots in the corner she hits a suplex for a 2 count.
Sarray tries to make a comeback but Mandy hits her with a fallaway slam and moments later she locks Sarray in a cobra twist, but Sarray rolls out of it and locks in a Muta lock only for Mandy to poke her in the eye to make her break the hold. Sarray comes back with a series of forearm shots which results in a slap from Mandy, but when Mandy runs to the ropes Sarray hits her with a running dropkick and that is followed up with the running dropkick to a seated Mandy Rose which sends her through the ropes to the floor. Mandy covers her face as Gigi and Jacy run over to check on her and then Jacy grabs a towel to put over Mandy’s face as she has had enough. Gigi and Jacy help Mandy to the back as Sarray picks up the win by count-out. Later in the night, we see Sarray laid out on the floor as Gigi and Jacy walk out of the room.
I thought this was a pretty good match and Mandy looked good in her first match back in NXT and I like her being the leader of this new little group with Gigi and Jacy. It looks like things between Sarray and Mandy are going to continue after this given what happened later on the show.
We get a promo from earlier in the day where Tommaso Ciampa talks about how he is pissed at what Pete Dunne and his crew did to them after the Ridge Holland vs Timothy Thatcher match last week and he realizes they are trying to take over NXT, but he is NXT so tonight he fights for his home and he fights for his friends and tonight he dedicates his match to Thatcher. He tells them a motivated Ciampa is a scary Ciampa.
We then go to our second match of the night as Kyle O’Reilly takes on Duke Hudson after their altercation last week. O’Reilly gets cornered by Hudson but he lands a punch and then fires away with strikes to Hudson in the corner until he is forced to back away and when he looks to go back he is nailed with a punch from Hudson. O’Reilly dodges a stomp and picks the leg of Hudson but before he has a chance to do anything Hudson smashes O’Reilly’s head into his knee and then places him on his shoulder but O’Reilly turns it into a sleeper hold only for Hudson to sling him off which doesn’t feel good on the injured ribs of O’Reilly. Hudson walks, but O’Reilly looks to lock in the heel hook on a standing Hudson, only for Hudson to use his leg strength to break free. Hudson targets the ribs of O’Reilly as he nails him with multiple knee strikes and then locks in a reverse bearhug. O’Reilly breaks the grip of Hudson and then locks in a cobra twist but is quickly slammed to the mat with a hip toss.
Hudson sends O’Reilly into the corner sternum first and then he mocks him by playing air guitar before landing several stomps to the midsection of O’Reilly. O’Reilly comes back with strikes but every time he moves it affects his ribs and this allows Hudson to send him into the ropes but O’Reilly catches him in a schoolboy for a 2 count. O’Reilly tries for a discus forearm only to get caught and hit with a gutbuster which has O’Reilly writhing in pain as the show goes to a commercial break. Hudson stays in control throughout the picture-in-picture commercial break as he continues to work over the ribs and as we come back from the commercial we see O’Reilly fight out of a surfboard and then he tries for a back suplex, but Hudson elbows him in the back of the neck and goes for a back suplex of his own but O’Reilly lands on his feet and nails Hudson with a flurry of strikes before taking him off his feet with a leg sweep.
O’Reilly lands a running forearm in the corner and then takes Hudson down with a dragon screw and just as O’Reilly is starting to gain momentum he is taken back down with an axhandle. Hudson tries to catch O’Reilly in a tilt-a-whirl but O’Reilly counters into a guillotine choke only for Hudson to get back to his feet and drives O’Reilly into the corner. Hudson lifts O’Reilly up to his shoulder and lands a knee to the face followed by a clothesline in the corner and a belly-to-belly suplex which gets a 2 count. O’Reilly rolls out to the apron and dodges a running boot and then he hits a dragon screw using the ropes, O’Reilly goes up top and lands a knee drop to the leg and then locks in the heel hook right in the middle of the ring and Hudson has no choice but to tap out.
This was a fine match and I am really starting to like Duke Hudson as he has a great look and I’m sure he has a bright future in the company as he does a good job working the WWE style and O’Reilly was great as he always.
We see Wade Barrett throw an In-Dex t-shirt into the crowd which Beth Phoenix gifted him and then we get the entrance of the new NXT UK Champion Ilja Dragunov. Ilja Dragunov cuts a promo where he wants everyone to see that he is alive before he returns back to the UK and he feels better than ever because he survived the most intense battle of his life! Dragunov wants to know who has the will, passion, soul, and struggle it takes to take the NXT UK Championship from him. Dragunov once again states that the Ring General is dead and long live the Czar! This was as intense of a promo as you would expect from Dragunov and it’s no surprise he is returning to the UK given that he is the new champion, but I want to know if we are going to get Walter on NXT because I want that damn Walter vs Joe match.
We go from the current NXT UK Champion to a former NXT UK Women’s Champion as Kay Lee Ray has a sitdown interview with Arash Markazi where she says she is here to stay because the NXT’s women’s division needs a boost. KLR then runs down some of the women in the division most notably Ember Moon and then says she is here because Regal knows what she is capable of and she is going to dominate the division. Later in the night, Ember is interviewed and she says she was just hanging out enjoying her birthday when she heard KLR bringing her name up, she understands that KLR wants to make a statement off her but she has never been in the ring with Ember Moon and she will take away her ability to talk crap if KLR doesn’t keep her name out of her mouth. Ember challenges KLR to a match for next week which ends up being made official.
Carmelo Hayes is interview backstage and as he is talking about what championship he is going to challenge for he is approached by Elektra Lopez warns him not to go for the North American Championship as that is for Santos Escobar to win. The rest of Legado del Fantasma walk up and after Escobar puts over Hayes he tells him once again that the North American Championship is his, but since Hayes is new he will let him off the hook this time and then tells him to be wise and stay out of his business and Legado del Fantasma walks off as Hayes doesn’t look pleased with what just happened.
Up next is a tag match with Imperium taking on the team of Drake Maverick and Grayson Waller. We get an inset promo where Waller is very confident and bordering on cockiness which worries Maverick who wants him to be more serious.
Waller starts things out with Aichner and despite Waller’s best efforts he is dominated by Aichner, but when Barthel is tagged in we see him make a bit of a comeback with punches only for Barthel to back him into the corner, and then he hits him with a butterfly suplex. Waller reverses a whip and tries to make a comeback but Barthel just kicks him down to the mat and hits him with some penalty kicks before applying a chinlock. Waller fights out of the chinlock and hits a jawbreaker and then we get hot tags on both sides. Maverick takes Aichner down with a dropkick to the knee followed by a basement dropkick and then he sends a charging Barthel out of the ring with a low bridge. Aichner tries for a back suplex but Maverick lands on his feet and as he backs into his corner Waller tags himself in only to be taken down immediately with a boot from Aichner. Barthel pulls Maverick out of the ring and sends him into one of the metal structures at ringside. Imperium hit Waller with the European Bomb to pick up the easy win.
This was a quick way to get Imperium a win after their tag title loss a couple of weeks ago. This was my first time seeing Grayson Waller seeing as I don’t watch 205 Live and after this match, I still have no clue what he is capable of.
We go backstage where Indi Hartwell is pleading with Johnny Gargano to give Dexter Lumis a chance and right after saying he will think about it, he turns around and is face to face with Lumis and Gargano tells him to act normal just for once.
We get a promo from Pete Dunne and his crew where Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch are pissed about MSK not answering their challenge for a tag title match from last week. Pete Dunne and Ridge Holland are focused on Tommaso Ciampa as Dunne tells him he needs to prove himself against Ridge Holland before he runs his mouth. Holland tells Ciampa that he and Thatcher can motivate each other while they are recovering in their hospital beds.
Up next we get LA Knight vs Johnny Gargano and Gargano is accompanied to the ring by In-Dex and while they are on the stage Gargano goes for the no-look high five and when Lumis tries to extend his hand Gargano pulls away freaked out and he becomes just as freaked out when he sees Indi doing the same crawling mannerisms as Lumis in the ring.
Knight slams Gargano as soon as the bell rings and then goes to work on the arm but Gargano escapes and we have a bit of mat wrestling with Gargano in control, but as soon as Knight gets to his feet he throws Gargano away planting him face-first into the mat. We get a headlock, shoot-off, and shoulder block spot followed by the drop-down and leapfrog spot which ends with Gargano trying to lock in the Gargano Escape, but Knight gets to the ropes. Knight comes back with some punches and kicks but when he sends Gargano into the ropes he is taken down with a hurricanrana and then Gargano gets a la magistral for a 2 count.
Gargano takes Knight back down with a dropkick and then he lands some chops in the corner before going to work on the arm with over-the-shoulder arm breakers until Knight grabs the hair and sends Gargano into the ropes where he drops him with a back elbow. Gargano passes Knight out to the floor as he charges at him and then he takes Knight down with a tope suicida. As Gargano beats the crap out of Knight on the ramp we see Indi staring lovingly at her fiance Dexter Lumis. Gargano throws Knight back in the ring and avoids an elbow drop when he tries to slide into the ring. Gargano looks to go back to the arm, but Knight nails him with a punch and then attempts a gun stun but he doesn’t walk back far enough as Gargano’s face hits the top rope. Knight hits a suplex followed by a slingshot shoulder block as Knight is in full control as we go to the commercial break.
Knight is still in control as the commercial comes to an end until Gargano counters a neckbreaker attempt into a backslide for a 2 count and is then taken down by a jumping neckbreaker by Knight. Knight works over Gargano in the corner with shoulders to the gut and then charges in, but Gargano is able to get out of the way and make a momentary comeback until he sends Knight into the ropes and drops his head which allows Knight to slam him back down to the mat. Knight misses on a knee drop and Gargano catches him with a rolling kick. Gargano hits Knight with a swinging STO out of the corner which causes Knight to roll out to the floor and when Gargano looks for another tope he is stopped with a forearm, Knight goes for another slingshot shoulder block but Gargano slides out of the ring to avoid it. Gargano spikes himself on the mat when he hits the slingshot spear which gets a 2 count.
Gargano fires away with mounted punches in the corner and when Knight carries him out of the corner he catches him with a sunset flip for a 2 count and then Gargano lands a superkick. Gargano runs off the ropes and Knight catches him with a pop-up slam for a 2 count. Knight waits for Gargano to get to his feet and we get an exchange with both men trying to hit big moves with the other man blocking and then Gargano goes for the Gargano Escape, but Knight counters it into a pin for a 2 count. Knight backdrops Gargano to the apron and knocks him off but he is caught in the loving arms of Dexter Lumis which freaks out Gargano as he jumps out of his arms very quickly, but when Knight tries to hit Gargano from behind Lumis pushes him out of the way. Gargano rolls Knight back in the ring and Lumis once again wants to do the no-look high five and this time Gargano looks like he is going to do it, but just as they are about to touch hands Knight grabs Gargano and hits the snapmare driver for the win.
This was a really good match with an underwhelming ending as I didn’t care for Gargano getting beat off of a distraction as they could’ve saved that Lumis spot for after the match, also it didn’t make much sense that Gargano would go from being weirded out moments before to being fine with Lumis doing the no-look high five moments later.
MSK goes into Regal’s office and tells him they accept Lorcan and Burch’s challenge for a tag title match and Regal makes that match official for next week.
We get a video that tells us that Mei Ying will make her in-ring debut next week.
We go to our next match which sees Jessi Kamea take on the NXT Women’s Champion Raquel Gonzalez.
Raquel powers Jessi into the corner and then biels her across the ring and she follows that up with a knee to the gut and an attempted suplex but Jessi escapes and tries to pick the leg, but Raquel comes down with a clubbing blow across her back. Raquel places Jessi on the top rope and despite Jessi trying to fight back, Raquel hits a side slam and then hits the twisting senton for a 2 count when Jessi reaches the ropes. Jessi rolls out to the apron where she lures Raquel in as she dodges a running boot and drops Raquel’s leg across the top rope. Jessi tries to go for the leg and then does some strange-looking leg sweep followed by a basement spinning heel kick. Jessi tries to work on the leg, but Raquel pushes her off and lands a dropkick. Raquel drops Jessi across the top rope with an inverted powerbomb. Jessi blocks a waistlock with a stomp to the foot and then lands a kick to the head, but Raquel stays on her feet and nails Jessi with a clothesline and then finishes the match with the one-armed powerbomb. After the match, Raquel and Franky Monet have a staredown while Robert Stone checks on Jessi.
I don’t know what was up with Jessi, but she was not on her game tonight as she was super sloppy and was all over the place. I guess we are getting a Raquel vs Franky match down the line which is nice, but I would prefer Franky to get a few more wins under her belt before we see that match.
We get a sit-down interview with Samoa Joe which was conducted by Wade Barrett. Joe is first asked his expectations for both his reign as NXT Champion and the future of the NXT brand. Joe says his expectations for his reign is that he wants to reestablish a precedent for what it means to be NXT Champion which is for someone to represent himself in the utmost fashion in all aspects of the business. Joe talks about how he didn’t have time to relax and chill before his big NXT Championship match as he was in Vegas helping with tryouts and then he had to take a red-eye flight back to Florida and with no sleep but the precedent demanded he be there because he needed to win the NXT Championship because the precedent needed to be set. Barrett then asks Joe if becoming the first 3x NXT Champion has changed his perspective on anything. Joe says that it has taught him that legacy is important such as the legacy of the former holders of the NXT Championship and now he will carry on that legacy in every way and he will make it to where every champion after him will have to live up to the precedent he sets and the path he paves. Joe wants to know who is going to be the one to come after him and seize their destiny.
It’s no surprise that Joe cut a killer promo as that is what he does, but given the way, NXT looks to be going this importance that Joe is looking to give the NXT Championship will probably fade away within a month once Vince has the champion losing every week. If for some reason you decided to do a drinking game during this promo for every time Joe said precedent because if you did, then you may need help getting around.
The Diamond Mine comes to the ring for Roderick Strong’s open challenge and we see that The Diamond Mine has two new members as the two men who were training with Strong last week have become members of the faction, we are told they are the Creed brothers. Strong’s open challenge was answered by Ikeman Jiro who wants to get a piece of Strong as he looks at Kushida as a hero.
Strong starts the match firing away with chops and lifts Jiro into a fireman’s carry but he escapes and counters a hip toss with an arm drag and then busts out a hurricanrana. Strong rolls to the floor for a breather and then moves out of the way of a potential plancha but Jiro lands on his feet only to be hit with a hip toss into the steps and his back connects with the corner of the steps. Strong rolls Jiro back in the ring and target the back with stomps and a backbreaker. Strong applies a seated abominable stretch and once Jiro fights back to his feet and reverses a whip into the corner and then looks for a move off the middle rope, but Strong grabs his leg and pulls him off sending Jiro crashing to the mat. Strong goes back to the seated abdominal stretch as we see Malcolm Bivens giving the Creed brothers tips on the outside. Jiro gets to his feet and passes a charging Strong into the corner and then connects with a series of blazer punches. Strong reverses a whip into the corner, but when he charges in Jiro slides out to the apron and hangs Strong throat first on the top rope and then hits a slingshot Arabian press moonsault for a 2 count and then he catches Strong in a small package for another near fall. Strong hits a jumping knee strike out of nowhere and then hits two End of Heartaches to put Jiro down for the 3 count.
This was nothing more than a match to showcase Roderick Strong and to get him another win ahead of his future match against Kushdia for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship.
We go backstage for an interview with both the team of Kacy Catanzaro & Kayden Carter as well as the NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Io Shirai & Zoey Stark as we will see these two teams compete next week for the tag team titles. Kacy & Kayden talk about how they are a true team both in and out of the ring, unlike the champions. Zoey talks up everything Io Shirai has done and says she would take a bullet for Io, but that feeling is not returned as Io doesn’t like any of them but since Zoey is on her team they will win. While I highly doubt that my favorite tag team in NXT will win the titles next week it is nice to see them being given that opportunity as they have felt like complete afterthoughts for so long and I hope that they continue to get opportunities once Vince takes over the brand, but given that the brand will now be controlled by a 70+-year-old egomaniacal madman who the hell knows.
Cameron Grimes is being interviewed in the back when Grizzled Young Veterans walk up and tease Grimes about getting the replica version of the Million Dollar Championship and then they ask what kind of replica title will he bring with him next week. Grimes grabs the title and says it feels heavier than the replica and then drops it on the foot of Gibson.
It’s finally time for the main event as Tommaso Ciampa takes on Ridge Holland who comes to the ring with his crew.
Holland pushes Ciampa into the corner but Ciampa grabs a headlock and takes Holland down to the mat but that doesn’t last for long as Holland drives him into the corner and then throws him across the ring with a belly-to-belly suplex. Holland continues his attack in the corner with a big forearm, but when he goes to grab Ciampa after he rolls out to the apron he is dropped throat-first across the top rope. Ciampa hits Holland with a running knee in the corner and looks to go for a second one but Lorcan & Burch pull Holland out of the ring. Ciampa comes over but is distracted by Dunne and his crew and just when it seems like Ciampa is fixing to get sent into the fencing he slides out the back and shoves Holland into it instead. Ciampa lays Holland across the commentary table and hits him with a running knee lift. Ciampa gets back in the ring and catches Holland as he tries to get back on the apron which brings him back into the ring. Ciampa has words with Dunne and then runs to the ropes but Holland pounces him across the ring as the show goes to a commercial.
Holland stays in control throughout the picture-in-picture commercial break as he works over the midsection and as the commercial ends Ciampa tries to make a comeback which results in a slugfest in the middle of the ring that sees Holland drop Ciampa with a big right hand. Holland sends Ciampa hard into the corner but Ciampa explodes out of it with a clothesline and then he nails Holland with a jumping knee. Ciampa hits Holland with a series of clotheslines in the corner and then after getting a head of steam he hits one more clothesline which takes Holland down. Ciampa sets up for the Fairy Tale Ending but Holland uses his power to lift Ciampa and hits him with an Alabama Slam, the referee doesn’t let Holland capitalize after this big move as he wants to check to make sure Ciampa is okay.
Holland lands a couple of forearms to the lower back of Ciampa but when he goes for a third Ciampa lands a back elbow and then we get another strike exchange as both men are on wobbly legs until Ciampa starts to fire up as he goes crazy with rapid-fire punches that back Holland into the ropes. Ciampa nails Holland with a big slap and Holland is out on his feet as he leans on Ciampa who hits the air raid crash for a 2 count. Ciampa slides out to the apron and is looking for something, but Holland lands a headbutt that drops Ciampa to the floor. Holland lifts Ciampa over his shoulder and rams him into the fencing at ringside and then grabs his club looking to do to Ciampa what he did to Thatcher, but Ciampa is able to move out of the way. Ciampa and Holland take their fight to the ring apron where Holland lifts Ciampa up but he slides out and is back in the ring. Ciampa nails Holland with a series of knees and then he hits Willow’s Bell which is enough to put the big man down for the 3 count. After the match, Dunne and his crew hit the ring looking to attack Ciampa, but MSK comes out and we get a brawl on the outside between them and Lorcan & Burch with MSK coming out on top and then they hit the ring which causes Dunne & Holland to retreat. Ciampa and MSK stand tall as the show comes to an end.
This was a fine episode of NXT but nothing really wowed me like some weeks and given that NXT is set to go in a new direction I have a bad feeling shows like this could be a lot more common, especially if the show becomes the exact same as Raw and SmackDown and doesn’t have its own feel to it like NXT has had since 2014.
NXT UK
NXT UK Results
- Jack Starz & Dave Mastiff def Dan Moloney & Andy Wild – **
- Emilia McKenzie def Amale – **¼
- Teoman w/ Rohan Raja def Nathan Frazer (NXT Heritage Cup Championship Tournament Quarterfinal Match) – ***
We start this week’s show with some action from the women’s division as Nina Samuels takes on Blair Davenport. Blair doesn’t want to wait on Nina to finish her entrance as she knocks her off the turnbuckle to the floor and then sends her into the barricade a couple of times before throwing her into the ring where she hits Nina with the falcon arrow. We get the green lights and logo from Blair’s entrance as she looks to set up for the Kamigoye but before she can hit it referees and Sid Scala run out to stop her. Scala gets in her face and tells her to get to the back, but she isn’t gonna be told what to do as she hits Scala with a standing Kamigoye which is followed by a falcon arrow. Blair finally decides to leave as one of the NXT UK coaches enters the ring.
This was a great segment to make Blair look like a badass and with one segment I am instantly interested in what happens next with Blair which is more than I can say for a lot of the women in NXT UK’s women’s division.
We get a recap of the Jinny vs Aoife Valkyrie No DQ match from last week and that leads into a Jinny video where she talks about how she survived the match against Aoife and how she promised that Aoife would not survive. Jinny says that we have witnessed the fall of Aoife Valkyrie courtesy of Jinny.
We get a video from Symbiosis where they talk about how a 6-man tag match has been set up for next week where it will be Symbiosis vs Saxon Huxley and two partners of his choosing and how Huxley doesn’t have friends. Dennis says that Huxley may have beaten him a couple of weeks ago but he got lucky and then says Symbiosis is greater than the sum of its parts. I’m sorry but no matter who many edgy-looking vignettes he gets I will never take Eddie Dennis as a serious threat to anyone, thankfully T-Bone and Primate are intimidating looking, or else this Symbiosis group would be a total joke.
It’s time for some tag action as Dan Moloney & Andy Wild are set to face the team of Jack Starz and Dave Mastiff.
Mastiff grabs a headlock on Wild and we get the shoot off into the ropes and shoulder block spot and then Mastiff catches Wild in a northern lights suplex for a 2 count. We then get some quick tags between Mastiff and Starz as they isolate Wild on their side of the ring until Wild hits a big forearm on Starz and makes the tag to Moloney. Moloney tries for a backslide but Starz kicks out and then Moloney targets the arm until Starz escapes an armbar and nails Moloney with a flying shoulder block and a dropkick. Mastiff is tagged in and he hits Moloney with a slam followed by a senton splash and then Starz connects with a slingshot splash for a 2 count. Starz tries for an O’Connor roll but Moloney holds onto the ropes and thanks to a distraction from Wild we see Moloney land a dropkick for a 2 count. Wild tags himself in and looks to capitalize on the work that Moloney did as he tries for a backslide but Starz blocks only to be thrown across the ring with a belly-to-belly suplex for a 2 count.
Wild sends Starz into the corner but Starz fights out and tries to make a tag, but Wild cuts him off so Starz slides through his legs and lands a dropkick which sends Wild into the corner and allows both men to make a tag to their respective partners. Mastiff comes in like a freight train as he nails a running back elbow and a rolling Samoan drop followed by an avalanche in the corner and a backdrop, and just so he doesn’t feel left out Mastiff gives Wild a backdrop as well. Mastiff tags in Starz and then throws Moloney on the top turnbuckle which causes him to fall down in a tree of woe, Starz gains momentum by running off the ropes and hits a running headbutt. Mastiff is tagged in and he hits a cannonball in the corner which is enough to pick up the win.
This was a fine match and I like that we are seeing more chemistry between Starz and Mastiff but I still feel like this is leading to a heel turn for Mastiff down the line.
We go to Pretty Deadly posing and dancing next to a little waterfall when Gallus walks up and it appears that they have trimmed their beards since the last time we saw them. Mark Coffey ends up shoving Lewis Howley into the water and that was all that happened, I guess that is our next tag title program.
We are then shown a graphic that tells us that next week we will see the match replayed next week with added insight, not sure if they are going to show the entire match or not but I wouldn’t mind if they did because that would be less work for me.
It’s time for our second women’s segment of the show and this time we actually get a match as Amale takes on Emilia McKenzie who she must go through in order to get another match against Meiko Satomura.
Emilia picks the leg of Amale and twists her ankle and then ties up the legs before transitioning into a front facelock, but Amale escapes and grabs a headlock only for Emilia to land a dropkick and a twisting neckbreaker for a 2 count moments later. Amale reverses a whip into the corner, but Emilia dodges a charging Amale only to get caught and nailed with a knee to the head and a bicycle kick which sends Emilia out to the floor. Amale throws Emilia back in the ring and stomps a mudhole in her and then whips her back into the corner and follows up with a clothesline in the corner for a 2 count. Emilia fights out of a chinlock and hits a back suplex for a 2 count. Amale elbows out a waistlock and then slams Emilia back down to the mat by her hair and moments later she hits her with a clothesline. Emilia fights out of a cobra clutch only to be hit with a ripcord shoulder block by Amale for another 2 count.
Emilia counters a suplex attempt into a small package for a very close near fall. Amale takes Emilia down once again with a running back elbow and goes right back to the cobra clutch which Emilia fights out of for a second time and then she catches Amale in a backslide followed by a la magistral but neither is able to get her the win. Emilia goes for a cutter but Amale pushes her away and then hits a shotgun dropkick that sends Emilia flying across the ring. Amale hits a face wash kick in the corner and then looks for her sitout spinebuster, but Emilia counters it into a schoolgirl for the win.
I guess Amale’s hopes of getting a rematch with Meiko Satomura are now dashed with this loss, but at least she had a good showing in this match against Emilia who also looked good in the match.
We get a replay of Blair Davenport’s attacks from the beginning of the show and then see Sid Scala getting checked out by the trainer and he is wearing a neck brace.
We see footage from earlier in the week where Ashton Smith and Oliver Carter walk in on Saxon Huxley destroying the locker room and they tell him that they will be his partners next week against Symbiosis.
We get a video to hype up next week’s Heritage Cup tournament match which will see Sam Gradwell take on Wolfgang.
It’s time for the main event as Nathan Frazer takes on Teoman in a Heritage Cup Championship #1 Contender Tournament Quarterfinal Match.
Round 1: We get a very long lockup with both men jockeying for control but neither are successful, Teoman grounds Frazer with a wristlock and despite Frazer’s best efforts he is unable to escape the hold for quite a while, but once he does we get a strike exchange and then Frazer drops Teoman with a dropkick as the round comes to an end.
Round 2: They feel each other out and then we get another strike exchange until Teoman goozles Frazer but Frazer breaks the grip and then hits Teoman with a running forearm which sends Teoman to the outside where Frazer goes for a tope suicida but Raja shoves Teoman out of the way and takes the impact. Teoman sends Frazer into the steps and then throws him back in the ring where he hits a running forearm which is enough to pick up the first fall.
Round 3: Teoman drops Frazer with a kick to the gut as soon as the round starts, but despite Frazer trying to fight back Teoman takes him to the mat with an arm wringer followed by a kick to the shoulder and another forearm shot which gets him a 2 count. Frazer catches Teoman with a headscissors which sends him back out to the floor, Frazer tries for a baseball slide but Teoman pulls the ring skirt away and traps Frazer between it and the ring which allows him to have his way with Frazer. Teoman throws Frazer back in the ring and lands a double stomp to the back. Teoman looks to hit another running forearm but Frazer is able to get out of the way and takes Teoman down with a running elbow. Frazer goes up top but sees Teoman coming at him so he jumps over him and as Teoman goes up top Frazer hits him with a weak springboard dropkick which barely affects Teoman. Frazer takes a moment to regroup and then he hits a springboard hurricanrana which sends Teoman flying across the ring as the round comes to an end.
Round 4: The round starts with a forearm exchange in the middle of the ring which Frazer wins, but once again Teoman targets the arm, but Frazer isn’t going to let him take control this time as he drives him into the corner only to be pushed away and then Teoman connects with a dropkick off the middle rope to the back of Frazer’s head, but it is only enough to get a 2 count. Frazer breaks a waistlock and then slides between Teoman’s legs and catches Teoman coming off the ropes with a snap small package which gets the 3 count to tie the match at 1-1.
Round 5: As soon as the round starts Frazer catches Teoman with a sling blade followed by a twisting suplex for a 2 count. Frazer favors they injured arm which prevents him from immediately following up, but once he does he looks for another suplex but Teoman goes back to the arm only for Frazer to reverse a whip into the ropes moments later and he ducks under a handspring back elbow from Teoman and then Frazer goes for the moonsault into the final cut, but Teoman reverses and hits a one-armed twisting suplex for a very close 2 count.
Teoman is exhausted as he tries to lift Frazer and then Frazer drives Teomoman into the ropes and he topples out to the floor and then Frazer finally connects with the tope suicida on Teoman that he was looking for earlier. Frazer is in total control as we reach the final minute of the round, Frazer hits a springboard elbow drop for a very close 2 count. Frazer goes up top and goes for the Phoenix Splash but Teoman moves out of the way and then he hits Frazer with his flipping stunner which he calls Nazar to get the 3 count which wins him the match 2-1.
The show ends with Teoman and Rohan Raja celebrating Teoman’s win and we see that Teoman will face the winner of next week’s Sam Gradwell vs Wolfgang match in the semi-finals.
I was not expecting Teoman to be the one coming out with the win as Frazer seemed like a favorite to win the entire tournament given that he has been booked pretty strong for quite a while and seemed like he would be a great challenger for Bate to defend his Heritage Cup Championship against.
I thought this episode of NXT UK had a hot first segment and the main event was solid but everything in the middle was forgettable, but with that being said at least they gave me something to look forward to as I want to see what happens with Blair Davenport and what happens after she attacked Sid Scala.
SmackDown
SmackDown Results
- The Street Profits def The Usos via DQ – **¼
- Rick Boogs w/ King Nakamura def Dolph Ziggler W/ Robert Roode – *½
- Cesaro def Seth Rolins via DQ – **½
- Sami Zayn def Dominik Mysterio – **
- Roman Reigns © w/ Paul Heyman def Finn Balor (WWE Universal Championship) – ***¾
We get a recap of last week’s main event segment and then The Usos comes to the ring as they are kicking off the show with a match against The Street Profits. The Usos talk about how the Profits stuck their nose in the Bloodline’s business last week just so they can make a name for themselves, but what they did was disrespect the Tribal Chief and the Bloodline. The Street Profits come out and they ask The Usos what they are doing in the ring without their permission slips from Reigns and then say they are fixing to get their asses whooped.
This was a fine match that was ruined with a DQ finish and not even a good one as it came out of nowhere when The Usos wouldn’t get out of the ring. After the match, they continued to brawl and Ford takes The Usos out with a plancha. I’m sure we are going to see these teams against each other 3,000 over the next few months.
Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman were watching what happened backstage and Reigns tells Heyman to bring The Usos to him. Heyman leaves the locker room and walks into an ambush interview from Kayla Braxton and then his phone rings and the ringtone is Brock Lesnar’s theme music and after trying to ignore it he finally answers and tells the person on the other end that the timing is awkward and after listening to the person on the other end he tells him he will deliver the message and then hangs up. Heyman goes to walk off and runs into a janitor who turns out to be Big E who laughs hysterically while holding his Money in the Bank briefcase. The chemistry between Paul Heyman and Kayla Braxton was really great here as the joy on Kayla’s face seeing Paul Heyman having to juggle both of his clients is fantastic.
Becky Lynch comes out to the ring and wants to know why she didn’t get any “you deserve it chants” last week which instantly gets the crowd to start chanting “you deserve it”. Becky talks about her win over Bianca Belair at SummerSlam and then puts her over for how athletic she is and then brings up that Bianca is the only woman other than herself to win a WrestleMania main event match. Becky doesn’t understand why she has been painted as the bad guy for how she won the title at SummerSlam. Becky says that when Sasha couldn’t make it at SummerSlam they called the biggest name they could think of and from the moment she left she had been preparing to get her championship back and it’s Bianca’s fault that she wasn’t ready. Becky says that just because she has been away from the game for a while doesn’t mean she has forgotten how to win. Becky says Bianca can pretend she is the best but we all know that’s a lie.
Bianca comes out and explains how that championship meant more to her than just a title as it etched her name in the history books. Bianca says she came so far and accomplished a lot just for it all to come to an end in 26 seconds, and she will admit that she was hurt and embarrassed. Bianca says she will never make excuses for herself nor will she build herself up by tearing another woman down but she is going to make Becky understand why they call her the EST of the WWE. Bianca says she will bounce back because she is the toughest and when she wins her title back she will be known as the greatest and that’s just the facts.
Bianca says that she earned her rematch last week just like she has earned everything else in her life. Bianca says that Becky should do like Roman Reigns and defend her title tonight. Becky laughs at her and tells her she doesn’t give a damn what Roman Reigns does and then tells her no as she leaves the ring. Later in the night, Becky runs into Pearce and Deville and they make the match official for Extreme Rules and next week there will be a contract signing.
I thought this was a really good segment as both women killed it on the mic and I have no doubt their match will be a highlight of this year’s Extreme Rules show.
The Dirty Dawgz are walking backstage as Dolph Ziggler is in action next, but he stops in his tracks as he sees Toni Storm standing around and he wants to know if she is going to check out his match tonight and she says she is, but she’s rooting for Rick Boogs. We get a really quick match that sees Rick Boogs defeat Dolph Ziggler after hitting a Pumphandle Slam. While I would prefer Toni Storm to be wrestling if I have to settle with her being the valet to Boogs and Nakamura for a while then I guess that is better than nothing as Toni Time is never a bad thing.
We get an interview with Seth Rollins where he talks about how tonight is the perfect opportunity for a new beginning and after watching his match with Edge back repeatedly he has found Edge to be an inspiration. Rollins says that he figured out what led to Edge winning the match at SummerSlam and he will use that in order to win his match against Cesaro tonight. Rollins says he is a visionary and a revolutionary that only gets better with time.
We get a really good match between Rollins and Cesaro that sees Rollins hit several of Edge’s signature moves, but once again the match is brought down with another DQ finish as Rollins hits a charging Cesaro with a chair. After the match, Rollins continues his attack as he locks Cesaro in the crossface using the crossbar of the chair and then he hits Cesaro with the Curb Stomp. Rollins grabs a couple more chairs and sets up for a con-chair-to but before he can smash Cesaro’s brain in, Edge runs out to make the save and Rollins retreats. Later in the night, we get an interview with Edge who had hopes his feud with Rollins was over but then again if he had lost the way Rollins did he would be acting the exact same way. Edge says this has to end and then he challenges Rollins to a match next week on SmackDown and by the end of the night the match would be made official.
I can’t wait to see Edge vs Rollins II as their match at SummerSlam was the best of the night so I have no doubt that they will tear the house down next week in New York if they get enough time, but with that said I do feel like we are being set up for another wonky finish as I think this feud is going to last until at least Extreme Rules so they can have a gimmick match to blow off the feud.
We go back to the locker room of the “Tribal Chief” where Paul Heyman informs him they have a big problem as Brock Lesnar is going to be at SmackDown next week which doesn’t sit well with Reigns. Reigns asks Heyman how he knows Lesnar will be there next week and Heyman admits he just talked to Lesnar for the first time in a year and then Reigns asks Heyman how does he know Lesnar is in Saskatchewan tonight and not in the arena but Heyman has no answer for him.
Happy Corbin makes his entrance to the arena and when an interviewer walks up to him he throws her the keys as if she were the valet parking his car. It’s time for another edition of the KO Show and tonight his guest is Happy Corbin. Corbin comes out all smiles as he is happy to be on the show and then he thanks KO because if it were not for him he wouldn’t be where he is today with his expensive suits and watch. Corbin realizes that KO is mad because he wants his $100 back but unfortunately he left his wallet in his car, however, his guest might have it. KO is confused as he had no clue that Corbin was going to introduce his own special guest, but nonetheless, Corbin introduces Logan Paul as his guest.
Paul thanks KO for inviting him to the show but KO said he had nothing to do with that as he wouldn’t subject the fans to that. KO calls Paul one of the most useless self-centered pieces of crap to ever step into a WWE ring and Corbin is just the same. Paul then offers KO his $100 back as he said it looks like KO could use it, but KO said he doesn’t need Paul’s money but he does need him to leave his ring and never show his face in WWE again. KO swats the money out of Paul’s hand and this leads to a shoving match and just when it looks like they are fixing to come to blows Corbin attacks KO and hits him with a chokeslam to end the segment.
I wouldn’t be surprised if we get a Paul & Corbin vs KO and a partner match coming out of this or just a straight-up KO vs Paul match. I love this Happy Corbin character and think he is doing a great job in the role.
We get a message that tells us to check out Carmella who is posing in front of a giant fan blowing her hair all around but as the camera pans over we see Liv Morgan watching her as she is giving off the vibe that she thinks this is completely ridiculous.
We get a rematch from last week as Dominik Mysterio is taking on Sami Zayn, this was another short match that saw Zayn trying to leave at one point but Rey comes out and backs him towards the ring which allows Dominik to take him out with a tope con hilo. Dominik gets unintentionally distracted by his father who he tells to go to the back. Dominik gets back in the ring near the corner and Zayn immediately hits him with a Helluva Kick to pick up the win. I really wish they would hurry up and have Dominik turn on Rey because we see it coming one hundred miles away but it’s taking them forever to get there.
We go to the back where Sonya is on the phone when she is interrupted by Naomi who is checking back with her after last week about having a match, but Sonya tells her she forgot and to check back with her next week.
It’s now time for the main event as Roman Reigns defends his Universal Championship against Finn Balor. Finn Balor is attacked by The Usos during his entrance as they send him into the steps repeatedly and then they roll him back into the ring where they look for the splash, but before they can hit it The Street Profits run down to make the save and they chase The Usos into the crowd.
Roman Reigns comes to the ring as the medics are still checking on Balor but he isn’t going to let this stop him as he tells them he is ready to fight and the match is on. Reigns and Balor have one hell of a match with quite a few near falls which I bit on as I really thought Balor had it won on a few occasions even though I know there are plans for Reigns as champion and there was no way they were going to takes the title off Reigns. The finish comes when Reigns hits Balor with a sneaky low blow as he lifted his shoulder to escape a pin and then Reigns hammers Balor with punches before locking in the guillotine choke where the referee has no choice but to call for the bell and the reign of the “Tribal Chief” continues to roll on. The show ends with Reigns and Heyman walking up the ramp as we see the red light and hear a heartbeat which seems to be teasing the appearance of The Demon Finn Balor.
I thought this episode was carried by the main event as it was a really great match, while the rest of the show was pretty lacking as we got a couple of really quick matches with DQ finishes which is a great way to bring down the quality of any show. I also didn’t like that we didn’t have a women’s match this week as I would’ve much rather seen that than a rematch between Sami Zayn and Dominik Mysterio. I feel that other than this main event this show was just a holdover for next week’s big show at Madison Square Garden where we will see a rematch between Edge and Rollins, a contract signing between Becky Lynch and Bianca Belair, and an appearance by Brock Lesnar, so next week’s show will be a can’t miss.
In the News
I talk in the Raw section about how there were three advertised matches going into this week’s show and none of them actually happened and it seems like that change in plans can be solely contributed to the boss man as sources told PW Insider that Vince was at his absolute worst on Monday with one source saying it was the loudest and angriest they had ever seen McMahon. The source says McMahon hated all of the plans and ideas being given to him for the show and as of 6 PM there was no plan for the episode and eventually, McMahon just wrote the show himself and that was the version of Raw we got to see on Monday.
Ringside News is reporting that while it is unlikely The Rock will appear at WrestleMania 38 it is almost certain that he will be wrestling at WrestleMania 39 when WrestleMania takes place in Los Angeles, CA.
On her Twitch stream Paige stated that she is planning to make a comeback to wrestling, but wants to keep it as a surprise whenever she does return, she also stated her contract with WWE is set to run out in mid-2022.
Those within NXT are keeping details on the upcoming rebranding of NXT close to the vest as not even the top talent are aware of what changes are exactly being made. There was a report that Vince McMahon and Bruce Prichard were going to be taking total control of NXT, but other reports are stating they will only control the presentation side of the show as Triple H and his crew will still be in charge of the booking and day-to-day duties, but given that it’s Vince that could quickly change as once he starts putting his fingerprints on something he won’t stop until he completely changes it into what he wants it to be.
It looks like WrestleMania 38 will continue the streak of having the show take place over 2 days as the reception to the WrestleMania 36 & 37 shows have been very positive.
More info is coming about what happened during the Charlotte vs Nia Jax match this past Monday on Raw as PWInsider reports that a communication breakdown led to the two women shooting on each other, but they eventually got back on track and were able to finish the match. Meltzer reports that sources within WWE say that Charlotte was more to blame for the match devolving into a shoot.
It looks like the WWE’s expansion into Japan could be a no-go as Japanese publication Gamebiz reports that a government bulletin revealed a “Public Notice of Dissolution” for WWE’s Japan GK division.
WWE welcomed yet another new class into the PC this week and unlike most classes in the past, there are no names from the indies included. One of the more notable names from this class is Joseph Fatu who is the newest member of The Bloodline to sign to the company as he is the younger brother of The Usos. Another name that stands out is Bobby Stevenson as he is the brother of Olympic Gold Medalist Gable Stevenson who is also on WWE’s radar as sources say Vince is really wanting to sign him to a contract.
I reported a few weeks ago that the reason for Asuka not being used was because they had nothing for her, but it looks like that isn’t true as the reason for Asuka’s absence as she posted a pic on Twitter which shows her getting dental work done after she had a tooth knocked out in a match against Shayna Baszler this past February. It also appears that Asuka has some kind of arm injury as her arm was in a sling in the pic.
John Cena is slated to be the next guest on Broken Skull Sessions according to WWE Network News.
In some very sad and unfortunate news, Shannon Spruill who is better known as Daffney Unger passed away on Thursday at the age of 46. Daffney sadly committed suicide after appearing on her Instagram Live where she was very upset and was threatening to harm herself. My thoughts, prayers, and condolences go out to the family, friends, and fans of Daffney as she truly seemed like such a sweet soul and has left this world far too soon and she will be dearly missed. If you would like to see some of the outpourings of love that Daffney got following her passing you can check that out here Highspots also released one of their 3-hour interviews they did with Daffney for free so that fans of Daffney can watch just how full of life she was and just how awesome she was, you can check that out here
If you or someone you know is thinking about causing harm to themselves please get help immediately even if you are not sure if they are serious or not because it’s better to be safe than sorry. Here is the number for the suicide prevention hotline in case you or someone you know ever needs it: 800-273-8255
Coming up this Week
Raw:
- Nia Jax vs Charlotte Flair
- Tag Team Turmoil
NXT:
- MSK © vs Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan (NXT Tag Team Championship)
- Zoey Stark & Io Shirai © vs Kacy Catanzaro & Kayden Carter (NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship)
- Carmelo Hayes vs Santos Escobar
- Kay Lee Ray vs Ember Moon
NXT UK
- Sam Gradwell vs Wolfgang (NXT Heritage Cup Championship Tournament Quarterfinal Match)
- Symbiosis vs Saxon Huxley, Ashton Smith, & Oliver Carter
SmackDown:
- Brock Lesnar appearance
- Edge vs Seth Rollins
- Becky Lynch and Bianca Belair Contract Signing
As always if you have any feedback to give whether it be positive or negative please feel free to contact me on Twitter @MTW3589.
