Author: John Bass

AEW Dynamite Preview 6/11/21

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite episode airs at 10/9c on TNT from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. This week’s show was preempted on Wednesday due to the NBA Playoffs.

* Nyla Rose vs. Leyla Hirsch

* Christian Cage vs. Angelico

* Don Callis and Kenny Omega will blow the lid off the conspiracy to get the AEW World Title off Omega

* Cody Rhodes will make a special announcement in a segment with Tony Schiavone

* AEW World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks and Brandon Cutler vs. PAC, Eddie Kingston and Penta El Zero Miedo

* Hangman Page and 10 vs. Brian Cage and Powerhouse Hobbs

* AEW TNT Champion Miro defends against Evil Uno

* Lance Archer will be in action for the first time since his loss to AEW TNT Champion Miro at Double Or Nothing

* Sting and Darby Allin will make an announcement on Allin’s tag team partner for the match against Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page

* The Pinnacle will speak for the first time since their Stadium Stampede loss to The Inner Circle at Double Or Nothing

WWE SmackDown Preview 6/11/21

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX will take place with more build for the upcoming Hell In a Cell pay-per-view.

WWE has announced just one match for tonight’s show and that’s The Street Profits vs. Alpha Academy.

WWE is also teasing that SmackDown Tag Team Champion Rey Mysterio will be out for revenge on WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns on tonight’s show. Reigns attacked Rey and Dominik Mysterio last week in their main event title defense against The Usos, and it’s believed that Rey vs. Roman will be announced for Hell In a Cell.

The Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins and Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens feuds are also expected to continue tonight.

WWE Reportedly Releasing More Wrestlers, Backstage Talk On Contracts And Cuts

WWE officials are reportedly looking at making more releases.

WWE recently parted ways with a number of Superstars, who were told that they were being released as a part of budget cuts. Now word via Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men podcast is that there will be more releases made as the company looks to cut back on contracts.

It was reported earlier this week that there is a push among some in WWE who think Aleister Black should be brought back. Zarian reported on Mat Men that there are a lot of people within WWE who believe the company never really intends on fully releasing some wrestlers, and that some of the cuts are just a contract move so that they can re-negotiate the deals.

This way of doing business is not official, but it is heavily speculated on within WWE, and people are said to be very unhappy with the possibility of that happening, due to the fact that WWE could terminate contracts in the middle of a wrestler’s deal, in order to re-negotiate, just to give that talent less money. It was noted that this isn’t something WWE does often, and this isn’t the first we’ve heard of the practice, but if true it would be a new method of doing business for the company.

It was also said that WWE management does want to cut back on contracts and because of that, more releases are coming. There is no word on exactly when the next round of cuts will be made, or who is being released, but it was noted that this last round on June 2 was not the final list of cuts.

Since mid-April WWE has released a number of wrestlers, and made several office cuts amid corporate restructuring. The following Superstars have been released since the first round of budget cuts on April 15 of this year: Wesley Blake, Bo Dallas, Chelsea Green, Tucker Knight, Kalisto, Peyton Royce, Billie Kay, Mickie James, Samoa Joe, Ruby Riott, Aleister Black, Braun Strowman, Santana Garrett, Lana, and Buddy Murphy. They also released Lars Sullivan, Steve Cutler and Andrade in the months leading up to April, but for various reasons.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Is Hoping To Land The Rock For Survivor Series

A new report claims WWE is hoping to recruit the services of The Rock for Survivor Series, but nothing is yet in place.

WWE is now only a little more than a month away from returning to the road. The first real indicator that wrestling life is about to return to normal. Other than WrestleMania this year, all of WWE’s shows since March of last year have been in empty buildings. Superstars have had to settle for performing in front of thousands of LED screens.

Needless to say, once fans are back in attendance WWE will want to give them as much as they possibly can. That might seem like a slightly contradictory thing to say considering the recent big names releases. However, there are rumors that Brock Lesnar and John Cena will be back soon, and even reports that WWE is tapping up The Rock for a long-overdue return.

That’s according to Dave Meltzer. Meltzer noted in the most recent edition of Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE is currently working on getting The Rock back into the mix for Survivor Series this year, but hasn’t managed to lock him down just yet. Considering the projects The People’s Champ always seems to have on his slate, that’s not in the least bit surprising.

The last time The Rock appeared on WWE TV was for SmackDown’s debut on Fox. It could be argued that the July 16 edition of SmackDown, which will be WWE’s first show back in front of fans, will be a show on equal footing with that episode, if not slightly bigger considering what it will signify. It could be a little short notice for The Rock though, which is why November’s Survivor Series might be the earliest possible opportunity to get him in.

Survivor Series is also the last major WWE PPV before Royal Rumble, the show that is considered to be the start of the road to WrestleMania. With fans clamoring for a Rock versus Roman Reigns match at WrestleMania, Survivor Series could well be the place where WWE plants the very first seeds for that dream match.

Source: The Sportster

Impact Wrestling Preview 6/10/21

With a controversial ending to last week’s main event between Sami Callihan and Moose, the question weighing on everyone’s minds is what will happen to the main event at Against All Odds this coming Saturday? Tonight, on Impact Wrestling, an Impact-AEW Summit will take place to answer this question and resolve any unsettled disputes the two companies might have walking into this marquee matchup before this weekend.

Last week, Moose was brutally attacked by The Good Brothers, giving Callihan the disqualification victory over the number one contender of this Saturday’s World Championship prizefight. Executive Vice President Scott D’Amore thought since Callihan technically beat Moose, it would only be fair to add him to the main event at Against All Odds, turning the singles bout into a Triple Threat Match.

Tonight, at the Summit, former Executive Vice President of Impact Wrestling and Omega’s manager Don Callis, All Elite Wrestling President Tony Khan and D’Amore will sort this matter out and determine if the Impact World Championship event will become a triple threat matchup. Will Callihan receive the opportunity he’s been longing for? And could Omega’s pressure intensify come Saturday?

With Against All Odds just 48 hours away, another qualifying match is set for the Knockouts Championship as Rosemary – the number one contender – will face Havok. If Havok wins tonight’s matchup, she’ll be added to the Knockouts Championship match this Saturday against Rosemary and the current champion, Deonna Purrazzo.

Also scheduled for tonight’s show:

* Go-home show before Against All Odds

* Joe Doering vs. Eddie Edwards

* W. Morrissey vs. Willie Mack in a No Disqualification Match

* Tasha Steelz (w/Kiera Hogan) vs. Kimber Lee (w/Susan)

* Rohit Raju & Chris Bey vs. Petey Williams & Trey Miguel

* Deaner (w/Violent By Design) vs. Crazzy Steve (w/Decay) will kick things off on Before The Impact at 7 PM ET

Mickie James Joins NWA, All-Women’s PPV Announced For August

Mickie James has officially joined the NWA, which has announced their first all-women’s PPV. Tuesday’s episode of NWA Powerrr saw Billy Corgan announce that the first all-women’s show, NWA In Power, will take place on August 28th in St. Louis, Missouri. James, who made her debut on yesterday’s show, will be the executive producer for the PPV. In addition, August 29th will be the date for the NWA’s 73rd Anniversary show which will also be in St. Louis.

James was released from WWE in April as part of the cuts that saw Samoa Joe, The IIconics, Chelsea Green and others released. The NWA Women’s division includes new NWA Women’s Champion Kamille along with former champions Serena Deeb and Thunder Rosa, the newly-signed Kylie Rae, Melina, and Taryn Terrell.

Source: 411Mania

Shotzi Blackheart Confirms Injury

With Shotzi Blackheart off WWE NXT TV for several weeks, fans have wondered if she’s dealing with an injury.

On Tuesday night, Blackheart confirmed via Twitter that she’s injured.

During last week’s episode of NXT, Ember Moon, Blackheart’s tag team partner, called out NXT Women’s Champion Raquel Gonzalez for viciously attacking Blackheart the previous week.

On the May 25 episode of NXT, Moon and Blackheart defeated Gonzalez and Dakota Kai in a tag team bout. After the match, Gonzalez power bombed Shotzi into the Plexiglas barrier, then the ring post, then the barrier again, all while Kai grounded Moon in the corner, forcing her to watch.

It’s likely that the beatdown was done to write Shotzi off WWE TV, as she recovers from her injury. Shotzi didn’t provide any details on the nature of her injury.

https://twitter.com/ShotziWWE/status/1402478317626875905

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Lio Rush Announces His Retirement From Wrestling

Former WWE Superstar Lio Rush has announced that he is retiring from professional wrestling at just 26 years of age.

Rush took to social media to inform fans that he had decided to retire as a result of a shoulder injury he sustained during his AEW debut in the Casino Battle Royale at Double Or Nothing. Rush shared the news of his retirement on Instagram.

“I have written and erased this post so many times purely out of not being able to wrap my head around this. The moment I went home in a sling, I kept saying to myself “this was like any other time I got a little bruise or strain, and I will shrug it off and continue on my new journey”. Once the pain subsided and I started to feel just how uncomfortable it was to feel my arm hanging from my body, I sunk into an immediate and rapidly growing depression because I knew something was wrong,” Rush wrote. Got the news that I’d be taking some time off due to this injury. Me thinking it would only affect my wrestling obligations, I still tried to go on about my days as I knew them. I realized just how much this would affect my everyday life. For anyone who knows me, you know that I work endlessly for myself and my family. It became more and more frustrating every day finding little things that I could no longer do. Like simply putting on a shirt and a much harder fact to deal with, not being able to pick up my newborn son,” he continued.

Rush then said that he was grateful to AEW for wanting to sign him even after they found out that he had been injured, and signed off on an optimistic note, saying he sees the situation as a blessing in disguise.

Lio Rush made his AEW debut during the Casino Battle Royale at Double Or Nothing on May 30th. Rush was under contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling, but AEW president Tony Khan claimed there was “handshake deal” in place between all parties prior to the event.

After a highly-rated stint on the independent scene, Lio Rush signed for WWE in August of 2017. He initially reported for duty at NXT, but was soon moved to the Cruiserweight division where he competed on 205 Live. Rush was then moved to the main roster and was used predominantly as the mouthpiece of Bobby Lashley. He moved back to NXT and had a run as Cruiserweight champion, but in April of 2020, Rush was released from his WWE contract as part of budget cuts stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rush also recently wrestled for MLW.

Source: The Sportster

WWE NXT Preview 6/8/21

Tonight’s WWE NXT episode on the USA Network will be the go-home show for Sunday’s “Takeover: In Your House” event.

* WWE Hall of Famer Ted DiBiase has a priceless announcement for LA Knight and Cameron Grimes

* Fatal 5 Way Face-Off for “Takeover: In Your House” with NXT Champion Karrion Kross, Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, Pete Dunne and Johnny Gargano

* Killian Dain vs. Isaiah “Swerve” Scott

* Oney Lorcan vs. Austin Theory

* Ember Moon vs. Dakota Kai

* Poppy returns to NXT

WWE RAW Preview 6/7/21

Tonight’s WWE RAW on the USA Network will feature more build for the upcoming Hell In a Cell pay-per-view.

It’s likely that WWE will confirm the first Hell In a Cell pay-per-view match that will take place inside the Cell structure this year.

* Shayna Baszler meets Alexa Bliss and Lilly on Alexa’s Playground

* Drew McIntyre and WWE Champion Bobby Lashley sign their contract for Hell In a Cell

* Battle Royal to determine new #1 contenders for RAW Tag Team Champions AJ Styles and Omos: The Viking Raiders (Ivar, Erik), The New Day (Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods), Lucha House Party (Lince Dorado, Gran Metalik), T-BAR and MACE, plus R-K-Bro (Riddle, Randy Orton)