Zelina Vega Returns To WWE on SmackDown, Enters Money In The Bank Match

Seven months after being released, Zelina Vega returned to WWE television on the latest edition of SmackDown.

Zelina Vega is back on the WWE payroll seven months after she parted ways with the company.

Vega made her surprise return on the most edition of SmackDown after Sonya Deville revealed that Vega would be entering the upcoming Women’s Money In The Bank ladder match.

As you might recall, Zelina Vega was released by WWE in November of 2020 following a dispute regarding her personal Twitch channel which occurred soon after the company introduced new policies regarding employees’ use of third-party sites.

“I’m sad and I’m completely heartbroken,” Zelina said of her release shortly after it was made official. “Obviously, this isn’t the last that you are gonna see of me…I love you all though and I’m really really thankful to every single one of you. If I go down as someone who stood up for themselves, so be it. I’m still thankful, I’m not angry. I’m just heartbroken because doing this, being a wrestler is all I ever wanted to do. I don’t really know what to say, there’s so many things I want to say but I don’t know how.”

Following her release, there were rumors that Vega could be heading to AEW, which heated up after AEW’s president Tony Khan confirmed that he had been waiting for her 90-day non-compete clause to lapse before reaching out to her.

Vega’s real-life husband Tommy End (aka Aleister Black) was released by WWE last month as a result of budget cuts necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Vega, real name Thea Trinidad Büdgen, started out on the independent and had a stint with Impact between 2011-2013. She made sporadic appearances for WWE before signing a contract in 2017. She performed on the NXT brand as an in-ring performer as Andrade’s manager. Andrade captured the NXT Championship under Vega’s guidance.

Vega has signed a long-term deal with WWE.

PWInsider has since revealed more details regarding Vega’s deal and how it came about. Apparently, the returning star has penned a long-term deal and won’t just be sticking around for a little while providing all goes to plan. She was also backstage on SmackDown last week but not used. Kudos to WWE for managing to keep Vega’s imminent return under wraps.

Vega has since tweeted a reaction to her own return. “I’m back. I’m going to be in the MITB ladder match. ..and I will win. Period. Everything else is irrelevant,” Vega tweeted. Presumably a message to anyone who might want to know the finer details of how her return came about and how long it has been in the works that she isn’t going to be talking about it publicly.

Vega was spotted at the WWE Performance Center two months ago, fueling rumors that she might have struck up a new deal with the company. However, her husband Aleister Black has been released since then and there has been no mention of a Vega return since, official or otherwise. Clearly, Black’s release didn’t sour the repaired relationship between WWE and Vega.

While it was never confirmed that a disagreement over the new regulations was why Vega left, that’s assumed to be the case as Vega tweeted that she supported unionization as news of her release made headlines. That is now all water under the bridge and it will be interesting to see if Vega’s work on Twitch continues now that she is once again under a WWE contract.

Source: The Sportster

WWE SmackDown Preview 7/2/21

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX will feature more build for the upcoming Money In the Bank pay-per-view.

WWE has announced a Last Man Standing Money In the Bank qualifier for tonight’s show with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. The winner will join Big E as the second blue brand entrant confirmed for the Men’s MITB Ladder Match. There will be two spots open for the men’s match after that. RAW Superstars confirmed for the match are Riddle, Drew McIntyre, Ricochet and John Morrison.

WWE Hall of Famer Edge will also be on tonight’s show as a follow-up to last week’s attack on WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns.

WWE noted that Reigns will respond to Edge’s return during tonight’s show. Edge vs. Reigns has been announced for Money In the Bank, with the title on the line.

Mercedes Martinez Reportedly Suffers Concussion On WWE NXT

Mercedes Martinez reportedly suffered a concussion on Tuesday’s WWE NXT show.

As noted, Martinez was legitimately knocked out during Tuesday’s mixed tag team match, which saw Xia Li and Boa defeat Mercedes and Jake Atlas. Li delivered a roundhouse kick to Martinez, which knocked her out and caused some blood to come from her mouth. Martinez immediately went down and the referee stopped the match.

Li and Boa won the match due to referee stoppage, and the finish was reportedly a shoot. Martinez was taken to a local hospital for further evaluation, but was said to be doing better by Wednesday morning.

It was noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that Martinez suffered a concussion from the kick. There is no word on how long it might be before Martinez is medically cleared to compete, but she will likely be out of the ring for a few weeks, if not longer.

Martinez has not commented on what happened as of this writing, but has re-tweeted a few clips and tweets from the match.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Martinez was taken to a local hospital

Paul Wight Responds To Shaq’s Challenge For AEW Match

A match between NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal and Paul Wight [fka The Big Show] has been rumored for years. But aside from a brief encounter during the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 32, the two giants have never truly locked horns inside the squared circle.

As reported earlier, Shaq told PopCulture.com in a recent interview that his match with Wight could happen “really, really soon” in AEW

“I hear Paul Wight is still talking trash,” O’Neal said. “So I’m going to work out really hard this summer and maybe we can do something really, really soon.”

Shaq added that nothing would prevent the match from happening this time around.

“There shouldn’t be any problems for us getting together now,” O’Neal said of his potential match with Wight. “Last time there was a lot of bureaucracy and red tape. Now there is no red tape. I’m still kind of sore from that table so I’m going to work out during the summer, pump these muscles up and I’ll be waiting for you, Mr. Paul.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Former WWE Star ‘The Patriot’ Del Wilkes Passes Away At

Former WWE star ‘The Patriot ‘ Del Wilkes — most famous for his 1997 feud with Bret Hart — has tragically passed away at the age of 59.

Former WWE Superstar ‘The Patriot’ Del Wilkes has tragically passed away a the age of 59 according to a report from Mike Mooneyham in the Charleston Post & Courier.

Wilkes was born and raised in South Carolina and has a successful college football career in his home state as one of USC’s Gamecocks. When his football career came to an end, he pursued professional wrestling and went on to work for WCW and WWE, and All Japan Pro Wrestling.

To wrestling fans, Wilkes is best known for his two stints in WWE. Wilkes first began working with WWE in 1991 but parted ways with the company the following year. He rejoined WWE in 1997 but left again in 1998.

Wilkes often performed as his patriotic alter ego ‘The Patriot’ who wore a mask emblazoned with the stars and stripes and carried the American flag. Wilkes also used a rousing entrance theme that would later be repurposed for another American hero, Kurt Angle.

In 1997 while performing as his patriotic alter ego, Wilkes challenged the anti-American Bret Hart for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship at Ground Zero: In Your House where Hart forced him to submit with the Sharpshooter.

In a 2019 episode of his Something To Wrestle With podcast, WWE executive Bruce Prichard spoke about how Wilkes’ relationship with WWE came about.

“I called Del,” Prichard revealed. “His deal in Japan was coming to an end, and he was getting ready to renegotiate. I said, ‘Before you do that, come up and talk to us.’ So, Del came up, and Vince really liked him and thought, ‘With this Patriot gimmick, with everything we have going, this may be one of those situations where we can bring a guy in, slide him right in on top,” he added. “He had the look. He could work. And let’s try it out. And that’s how Del came in at the time, and Jim Cornette was a big proponent for Del. Jim also was a Del Wilkes fan and thought The Patriot coming in would also be a good opponent for Bret. So, that’s how all that happened.”

WWE Comments:

Del Wilkes, known to WWE fans as The Patriot, passes away

WWE is saddened to learn that Del Wilkes, known to WWE fans as The Patriot, has passed away at the age of 59.

Before making a name for himself in the squared circle, Wilkes was a standout on the football field for the University of South Carolina, where he earned the distinction of being voted a consensus All-American. After making the switch to sports-entertainment, Wilkes competed all over the world before arriving in WWE in 1997 as The Patriot.

A Superstar quickly on the rise, The Patriot proudly donned the red, white and blue of America in the midst of a rivalry with The Hart Foundation, leading to a memorable match against Bret Hart for the WWE Championship at In Your House: Ground Zero just two months after his WWE debut.

WWE extends its condolences to Wilkes’ family and friends.

Wilkes began wrestling in 1988, and had runs with WWE, WCW, AWA, promotions in Japan, and more. He is a former two-time WCW World Tag Team Champion, and a former AWA World Tag Team Champion. Wilkes last wrestled for WWE in October 1997, losing to WWE Hall of Famer Jim Neidhart on Shotgun Saturday Night. He was released in early 1998.

Wilkes leaves behind a wife of more than 40 years, named Cathy. He retired from pro wrestling due to a triceps injury, shortly after leaving WWE. Wilkes had worked for the past 16 years as a car salesman in Columbia, South Carolina, but still made the occasional wrestling-related signing or appearance.

Sources: The Sportster and Wrestling Inc.

Impact Wrestling Preview 7/1/21

Tonight on Impact on AXS TV:

* Don Callis’ team (Impact World Champion Kenny Omega and The Good Brothers) challenges Tommy Dreamer’s team (Sami Callihan, Moose and Chris Sabin) in a six-man tag team main event

* Eddie Edwards vs. Satoshi Kojima

* Chris Bey vs. Petey Williams

* TJP & Fallah Bahh vs. Rich Swann & Willie Mack

* Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo will take on her former ally Kimber Lee in a non-title match on Before The Impact at 7 PM ET.

Rebel Dislocates Her Knee On AEW Dynamite

Rebel dislocated her knee on Wednesday night while competing in a tag match alongside Britt Baker.

Rebel dislocated her knee towards the end of a match on Dynamite this week, forcing her to watch on from the sidelines as her partner picked up the win.

It’s shaping up to be a bad week for freak injuries in women’s wrestling. Tuesday night on NXT, a stiff roundhouse kick to the head appeared to knock out Mercedes Martinez and resulted in the match coming to a premature end. 24 hours later, Rebel suffered a knee injury that meant she couldn’t finish her match on Dynamite.

Unlike Martinez, Rebel was competing in a tag team match. That meant her partner Britt Baker could take the reigns and finish the match by herself. The AEW Women’s Champion even managed to win, beating Nyla Rose and Vickie Guerrero by forcing the latter to submit to her finisher, the Lockjaw. It might stop Guerrero from screaming excuse me for a week or two as well.

As for Rebel, AEW officials tended to her at ringside before she was helped to the back. Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp provided updates on her condition, revealing that Rebel was in good spirits backstage despite dislocating her left knee. A pretty painful injury by all accounts but it sounds like Rebel handled it like a trooper.

https://twitter.com/SeanRossSapp/status/1410450506124869640

As for how long the injury will keep Rebel on the sidelines, that is yet to be revealed. Dislocations can be simple or they can be tricky. If the incident did no additional damage then it might have been as simple as popping it back in, although that would have likely been incredibly painful. However, it may have damaged ligaments or otherwise which could mean Rebel is out of the ring and maybe even off TV for a while.

Source: The Sportster

Jim Ross Comments After Signing Off Show With “WWE Dynamite” Botch

Jim Ross, once again, misspoke during an AEW show when he signed off Wednesday’s program by calling it a live episode of “WWE Dynamite”.

Jim Ross is taking a lot of heat from wrestling fans… again. For the second time since joining the AEW commentary crew (really, the second time in a few months), he’s made the painful mistake of accidentally calling AEW by the name of his old employer. Again, he’s aware he messed up and on Wednesday night, following the show, he responded to folks who figured he should probably just quit.

To sign off Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite, Ross said, “There’s nothing in your life that will top seeing a live WWE Dynamite.” As you can imagine, the comments immediately came flooding in.

This is not the first time he’s made this mistake. It wasn’t that long ago he accidentally called Kenny Omega the WWE Champion. At the time, fans poked fun suggesting mistakes just happen. Since this is the second time he’s done it, fans have been a bit more critical.

Ross responded to all the heat on social media. He wrote, “Yep I apparently made an untimely error tonight at shows end. No excuses. And I’m not quitting.” His response suggests a couple of things. First, he seemed to have no idea he’d said what he said until he either saw it on social media or someone from AEW pointed it out for him. Second, he’s either beating all the critics to the punch or he’s responding to people saying he’s no longer someone that should be a part of the AEW announce team.

These mistakes are going to happen. When you’re Ross and you worked at WWE as long as J.R. did, it’s actually a bit surprising the slip up hasn’t happened more often. All it really takes is for something to cross your mind and out it comes. That said, does there come a point when AEW needs to do something about this?

As AEW fills the roster with more former WWE talent, it’s likely to happen again. And yes, he’ll take heat for it. At the end of the day, does it really hurt anything? It’s not ideal, but the video clip has gone viral. There’s always a silver lining.

Source: The Sportster – JIM PARSONS

AEW Dynamite Preview 6/30/21

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite episode airs on TNT at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida.

* Jungle Boy vs. Jack Evans

* AEW World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks vs. Eddie Kingston and Penta El Zero Miedo. (If Kingston and Penta win, they earn a title shot)

* Rebel and AEW Women’s World Champion Britt Baker vs. Nyla Rose and Vickie Guerrero

* Miro (c) vs. Brian Pillman Jr. (AEW TNT Championship)

* MJF vs. Sammy Guevara in the main event

* Chris Jericho on commentary

Mercedes Martinez Reportedly Taken To Hospital After WWE NXT Match

Mercedes Martinez was reportedly taken to a hospital for evaluation after taking the stiff roundhouse kick from Xia Li on last night’s WWE NXT episode.

As noted, Li and Boa defeated Martinez and Jake Atlas in mixed tag team action after Li hit Martinez with a roundhouse kick. Martinez went down, and had some blood coming from her mouth, while the match ended via referee stoppage. There had been speculation on Martinez possibly being knocked out.

In an update, Fightful reported that Martinez was checked out after returning backstage, and was then taken to a local hospital for further evaluation.

Martinez has not commented on her status as of this writing, but Atlas did make a post-show tweet where he called her a “TRUE badass” and shared a backstage photo.

“A TRUE badass. This ain’t over. Payback is a b***h. [sparkles emoji],” he wrote in the tweet seen below.

https://twitter.com/JakeAtlas_/status/1410069596435062787

Source: Wrestling Inc.