Tonight’s WWE NXT episode on the USA Network will be the go-home show for next Tuesday’s Great American Bash special.
Author: John Bass
WWE RAW Preview 6/28/21
Tonight’s WWE RAW will feature more build for the upcoming Money In the Bank pay-per-view.
* Elias vs. Jaxson Ryker in a Strap Match
* Second Chance Money In the Bank Qualifier: Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyre vs. RAW Tag Team Champion AJ Styles
* RAW Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley, Dana Brooke and Mandy Rose vs. WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Natalya and Tamina Snuka, and Charlotte Flair
* Kofi Kingston will come face-to-face with MVP to build to Kingston vs. WWE Champion Bobby Lashley at Money In the Bank
AEW Star Trent Reveals He Underwent Neck Fusion Surgery
AEW Star Trent revealed on Twitter that underwent neck fusion surgery on Saturday.
His last match was on the April 21, 2021 episode of AEW Dynamite against Penta El Zero Miedo. He lost that match.
Last December, Trent revealed he had a partially torn pec, which kept his out of action for several months. He made his surprise return during on the March 31, 2021 AEW Dynamite during the Arcade Anarchy Match.
WWE Announced More Releases On Friday
WWE announced some more releases this past Friday due to budget reasons.
I wasn’t able to get the information posted until now. So if you hadn’t heard yet, below are the stars that was released.
– Fandango
– Tyler Breeze
– Sunil Singh
– Samir Singh
– Killian Dain
– Marina Shafir
– Chase Parker
– Matt Martel
– Ariya Daivari
– Tony Nese
– Arturo Ruas
– Curt Stallion
AEW Dynamite Preview 6/26/21
Saturday night’s AEW Dynamite episode airs on TNT at 8/7c from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. This week’s show was preempted on Wednesday due to the NBA Playoffs.
* MJF and Sammy Guevara prepare for their June 30 main event match
* Ethan Page vs. Bear Bronson
* The Bunny vs. Kris Statlander
* Matt Sydal vs. Dante Martin
* Powerhouse Hobbs vs. “Hangman” Adam Page
* Kenny Omega defends the AEW World Title against Jungle Boy
WWE SmackDown Preview 6/25/21
Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX will feature fallout from last Sunday’s Hell In a Cell pay-per-view.
- Universal Champion Roman Reigns to hold a victory celebration
- Intercontinental Champion Apollo Crews goes to war with Big E in a Money in the Bank Qualifying Match
- Cesaro & SmackDown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair take on Seth Rollins & Bayley
- It’s believed that tonight’s SmackDown will feature the first blue brand Money In the Bank qualifying matches
Montez Ford Reportedly Undergoes Surgery
WWE SmackDown Superstar Montez Ford reportedly underwent surgery this week.
Ford took to Twitter this week and posted a photo from a hospital room, which you can see below. This came after WWE did an injury angle with he and Otis on the June 11 SmackDown episode. WWE issued a storyline injury update after that show, noting that Ford suffered a partial rib fracture and torn intercostal cartilage. Ford’s wife, SmackDown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair, then appeared on The Bump a few days later and noted that Ford was recovering from the broken rib at home, but he did not suffer any additional storyline injuries in the attack from Otis.
In an update, it looks like the injury angle with Otis was done as a cover story as Ford underwent surgery this week. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Ford underwent a voluntary surgery this week, one that was not related to any kind of injury, and not something that should keep him out of action for any significant length of time.
Ford reportedly underwent the surgery on Thursday of this week, which was the day after his 3rd wedding anniversary with Belair.
There is no word yet on when Ford will be back in action.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
“NJPW Strong” Set To Have First Live Audience This Summer
New Japan Pro-Wrestling has announced NJPW Strong will have its first matches ever in front of a live audience on Monday, August 16.
NJPW announced the Fighting Spirits Unleashed 2021 series will see fans welcomed to the Thunder Studio in Long Beach, California.
Nine matches are planned to take place at the event. Limited tickets will be on sale, Wednesday, June 30 at 10 AM PDT.
Wrestlers that are scheduled for the event include NEVER Openweight Champion Jay White, STRONG Openweight Champion ‘Filthy’ Tom Lawlor, Juice Robinson, Lio Rush, Shota Umino, Ren Narita, Fred Rosser, and Karl Fredericks.
NJPW Strong premiered in August 2020 on NJPW World and FITE.
Below is NJPW’s full announcement:
After announcing the return of US fans to matches for the ‘Resurgence’ event, New Japan Pro-Wrestling today announced the ‘Fighting Spirit Unleashed 2021’ series. The series will see fans welcomed to Thunder Studio in Long Beach for the ‘NJPW STRONG’ brand’s first matches ever in front of a live audience on Monday, August 16.
Premiering in August 2020 on NJPW World and FITE, NJPW STRONG began without a live crowd, but has quickly become critically acclaimed and a favorite of fans around the world. The Friday broadcast has seen the introduction to NJPW fans of STRONG Openweight Champion ‘Filthy’ Tom Lawlor, ‘Mr. No Days Off’ Fred Rosser and ‘The Man of the Hour’ Lio Rush, as well as the appearance of popular stars active in Japan like ‘The Flamboyant’ Juice Robinson and NEVER Openweight Champion ‘Switchblade’ Jay White, all of whom will be in action at Fighting Spirit Unleashed 2021.
Nine matches are planned to take place at ‘Fighting Spirit Unleashed 2021’ for future broadcast on STRONG, with extremely limited tickets on sale on Wednesday June 30 at 10AM PDT. New Japan Pro-Wrestling have been staging events with fans in attendance in Japan since July 11 2020, all with the safety of fans, staff and wrestlers taken as top priority. As a result and to prevent the spread of COVID-19, masks will be required during the event when not eating or drinking.
Fans not in attendance can watch NJPW STRONG every Friday night at 10e/7p on NJPW World and FITE.
NJPW STRONG: FIGHTING SPIRIT UNLEASHED 2021
Monday August 16, 2021 Doors: 6:30PM Start: 7:30PM
Thunder Studio
20434 South Santa Fe Avenue, Long Beach CA 90810
Ticket on sale: Wednesday June 30, 10am PDT
General Admission (standing): $60
Ringside C: $80
Ringside B: $100
Ringside A: $120
Tickets on sale Wednesday June 30:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fighting-spirit-unleashed-2021-in-los-angeles-tickets-160161644791
*Attendees will be asked to wear a mask during the event when not eating or drinking.
* Sales price includes tax* Other fees such as service/processing fees will be charged* Please be advised that event-day tickets may sell out early. Thank you for your understanding.
*Thunder Studio is a *closed studio set*. There is *no* entry to or exit from the venue after the event starts even if you hold a valid ticket. Thank you for your understanding.
Participating wrestlers
NEVER Openweight Champion: ‘Switchblade’ Jay White
STRONG Openweight Champion ‘Filthy’ Tom Lawlor
‘Flamboyant’ Juice Robinson
‘The Man of the Hour’ Lio Rush
Shota Umino
Ren Narita
‘Mr. No Days Off’ Fred Rosser
‘The Alpha Wolf’ Karl Fredericks
‘Wild Rhino’ Clark Connors
‘Young Gun’ Hikuleo
More names and match card TBA.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Financial Expert Insists WWE Is Making Moves To Sell The Company
Talk about WWE potentially being sold has come and gone in waves. At one point, it was believed there was real potential Vince McMahon was gearing up to sell the company, emphasized by the fact big contracts were cut from the talent payroll. In other weeks, the talk has quieted. What’s really going on?
According to one financial expert, all signs point to WWE gearing up for a sale, eventually. Laura Martin of Needham says that, yes, the extremely popular sports entertainment brand looks like it is going to be sold and Vince is making shrewd business moves to prepare for that sale.
Martin insists that WWE is lining their ducks up in a row, citing the WWE licensing deal of the WWE Network to Peacock as the biggest indicator a sale is coming. Martin explains: “The US OTT rights fees alone generated over 100% of 2020’s total OTT Network’s revs, so international fees are just gravy, and cutting out all OTT Network costs implies that this new strategy has much higher ROICs than running a direct-to-consumer business.”
For those that don’t understand what that means, the fact WWE got out of the business of running the business of streaming it’s product to consumers, then let another company have the rights to do so was a smart financial move — if the objective is to be sold. US OTT refers to over-the-top media service. (WWE Network). “ROICs”, refers to Return on Invested Capital. Essentially, WWE has cut out the costs of running the network and made a huge chunk of money by selling the rights to the content. The decision looks good to outside potential buyers.
The article goes on to say that three-quarters of WWE’s revenue will come from their Peacock deal for WWE’s OTT Network rights. It makes them a much lower risk for whomever buys the company because those deals are in place and guaranteed.
When WWE might sell was not part of the article, but it sure sounds like WWE might be thinking about doing something sooner than later. As of now, it seems to more of a “some day” situation than an “imminent” one.
For fans, it probably won’t change all that much, at least not right away. It would be hard to imagine whoever bought the company moving out the people in charge as their first order of business.
Source: The Sportster
Dates For The 2021 WWE Draft Revealed
The 2021 WWE Draft will reportedly be held after SummerSlam. The previous two drafts were held in October
The dates for the upcoming 2021 WWE Draft are reportedly set.
According to a report from Andrew Zarian of Mat Men Pro Wrestling Podcast, the WWE Draft will be held on the Aug. 30 and Sept. 1 episodes of Monday Night Raw (in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) and Friday Night SmackDown (in Jacksonville, Florida), respectively. These are the final two dates for WWE’s 25-city tour that will commence with the July 16 episode of SmackDown at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
Earlier this month, Zarian reported that the draft would be held after SummerSlam, set for Aug. 21 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. The last two drafts have been held in October. Previously, the WWE Draft was usually held in April after WrestleMania weekend.
Instead of the draft format, WWE ran a Superstar Shake-Up every year from 2017 to 2019, with a handful of wrestlers switching brands. But instead of simply moving a small number of superstars around, the format changed in 2019 after SmackDown moved to Friday nights on FOX. All of the main roster talents enter the draft and are either selected by Raw or SmackDown. Those who aren’t drafted become “free agents” and can sign with any promotion.
It has been reported that major changes will be coming to WWE after they return to performing in live crowds. On top of the WWE Draft, it sounds like we’ll see Hall of Famer Edge and John Cena return for SummerSlam season.
Post-SummerSlam is the ideal time to run this year’s WWE Draft. As noted above, the draft usually took place following WrestleMania, so why not run it after another marquee pay-per-view like SummerSlam? It will lead to more more excitement and anticipation towards the end of the summer holidays. The draft is exactly what WWE needs to shake up the product, and they have no reason to wait until October this year.
Source: The Sportster
