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The next step. Roman Reigns has ruled over WWE for the better part of two years now and it is hard to fathom that changing. Having defeated just about anyone who could give him a realistic threat, Reigns is almost out of viable challenges. That does not leave WWE many options, but it seems that their best bet is to go back to the well, which is exactly what they are doing here.
This week’s SmackDown featured a main event of Reigns defeating Riddle to retain the title. Following the win, Brock Lesnar made his return and laid out Reigns with an F5 to end the show. After the show was over, WWE announced that Reigns will defend the Undisputed WWE Universal Title against Lesnar at Summerslam in a Last Man Standing match. This will be a rematch from WrestleMania 38, where Reigns defeated Lesnar to unify the company’s two World Titles.
Opinion: This is just what WWE does with Reigns these days, as you can almost feel the Lesnar match coming in no matter what. That gets more than a little ti..

Smackdown
Date: June 17, 2022
Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee
Say it with me: and then everything changed. Vince McMahon has stepped back as WWE CEO and Chairman of the Board due to his affair but he is still going to show up this week for…something. I have no idea what that means but we also have Riddle challenging Roman Reigns for the Universal Title. Let’s get to it.
Here is Vince McMahon to open things up. He is glad to be here in Minnesota and talks about the Then, Now, Forever and Together WWE signature. Welcome to Smackdown. Then he leaves.
Opening sequence.
Here is Riddle to talk about his history with Roman Reigns. We get a highlight package on RKBro vs. the Bloodline and Riddle talks about how much he misses Randy Orton. Riddle dedicates the match to Orton and wants him back, even playing Voices.
Happy Corbin vs. Madcap Moss This is the Last Laugh match, which doesn’t seem to be a stipulation. Corbin knocks him into ..

Add it to the list. We are less than a month away from WWE’s next pay per view with Money in the Bank. The show will be built around the show’s namesake matches and those will take up a bunch of time. There are other matches that need to be covered though and that includes some title matches. One of those has been added to the card and it should be a pretty big showdown.
WWE has announced that there will be a Tag Team Title match featuring the Street Profits challenging the Usos at Money in the Bank. This is the result of the Usos losing a Champions Contenders match on Monday Night Raw, earning them a title match at some point in the future. The match will be for both the Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Titles, both of which the Profits have held before.
Opinion: You knew this match was coming at some point and it is the kind of thing that makes sense. There are not many teams ready to challenge the Usos but the Profits certainly fit the mold. Let the two teams get in there and do their t..

There’s the fallout. There is no one as powerful in the wrestling world as Vince McMahon. He has run the largest wrestling promotion in the world for about forty years now and no one is close to his level of influence. However, there are some things that can slow McMahon down and now we are one of the biggest imaginable, as McMahon has lost quite a bit of power.
Earlier this week, WWE announced that McMahon was under an internal investigation for an alleged affair with a WWE employee. The affair saw McMahon pay the woman $3 million to keep the story quiet, along with possibly doubling her salary once the affair began. On Friday, WWE announced that McMahon will be stepping away from his duties as CEO and Chairman of the Board, with his daughter Stephanie taking over until the end of the investigation. Vince will still maintain his creative duties with WWE.
Opinion: That’s about as big of a bombshell as you could get, as the idea of Vince not being in charge is one of the most hard to ..

NXT UK
Date: June 16, 2022
Location: BT Sports Studios, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Andy Shepherd
It’s a fallout show, as the big story is finding out what is up with Treat Seven walking out on Tyler Bate and Moustache Mountain. That should be a heck of a promo as we get closer to what could be a heck of a showdown. Hopefully the rest of the show can live up to the hype so let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Tiger Turan vs. Josh Morrell Turan takes him down with a hammerlock to start and grabs a wristlock. Morrell can’t flip out so Turan puts on an armbar to keep Morrell in trouble. That’s reversed into a wristlock but Turan flips him right back for a standoff. There’s a suplex to send Morrell down and a high crossbody gives Turan two….but Morrell is hurt and we’re going to stop it at 3:04.
Result: Tiger Turan b. Josh Morrell via referee stoppage (3:04)
Blair Davenport is coming back from injury.
Myla Grace vs. Lash Legend Grace hammers away to start and Legend..

Welcome back. Impact Wrestling has been around for a very long time, though unfortunately for it, a good bit of the history is not the most well received. There are several ideas and concepts through the company’s history that have been popular though. Now, one of those more popular ideas is back for a televised reunion, or at least in the short term.
This week on Impact Wrestling, Aces & Eights made a return to help D’Lo Brown fight off Honor No More. Garrett Bischoff and Wes Brisco appeared for the team in a lowing effort before helping Brown clear the ring. Aces & Eights was active in Impact Wrestling, from 2012-2013 and had several members, including their leader Bully Ray, who wound up winning the World Heavyweight Title on two occasions. There is nothing to suggest that this is any more than a one off appearance.
Opinion: I know Impact Wrestling is one of the most mocked promotions in the world, but they have done some great things over the last twenty years. The company has an..

The extra fallout. One of the biggest wrestling stories of the week has been allegations against Vince McMahon of an extramarital affair with a WWE employee. The WWE Board Of Directors is investigating the matter but it is not clear what will happen to McMahon in the long run. However, there might be some issues with some upcoming McMahon side projects due next year.
According to Wrestling Observer Radio, a pair of McMahon related projects may be undergoing major changes due to the scandal. One would be the McMahon biography due out next spring, as the book is mostly done but will now need to have a new section written. The other issue is the upcoming Netflix biography series, which Nextflix may now not want to air due to the allegations against McMahon. Neither the book’s author or Netflix has commented on their product’s future.
Opinion: The McMahon scandal is only just starting and it could be a long time before we know where everything is going to fall. It certainly shows just ho..

It’s after a long time. There are a lot of people involved in making a wrestling match work, including some who do not get a ton of attention. One of the most important people involved is the referee, who is not often going to get noticed in a match, to the point where some promotions do not even bother naming them. Now one of the more prominent names in refereeing is stepping away from the ring, at least somewhat.
During the latest edition of the Refin’ It Up podcast, Brian Hebner has announced that he is retiring from full time refereeing. Hebner announced that the upcoming Impact Wrestling Slammiversary weekend will be his last, including the pay per view and television tapings. Hebner made it clear that no one has caused him to step away, while saying that he is a single father and wanting to spend more time with his family.
Opinion: I know a referee might not be the most important or well known part of a wrestling show but they can mean quite a bit. Hebner has been a pretty good..

He would be missed. We are coming up on one of the more interesting wrestling shows in a good many years with AEW’s Forbidden Door. The show will include a series of matches between AEW and New Japan wrestlers, including some title matches. While several big names have been mentioned, it seems unlikely that one of the will be on the show due to a special circumstance.
Over the last two weeks of AEW Dynamite, Hangman Page has called out Kazuchika Okada for a match at Forbidden Door. However, according to Wrestling Observer Radio, Okada is unlikely to be at the show as his wife is expected to give birth around the same time as Forbidden Door (June 26). Okada’s status for the show is not yet clear but it will be established by next week.
Opinion: This is the kind of thing that could shake up the pay per view quite a bit, as Okada is one of the names that you almost must have to make the show work. He is one of the faces of New Japan and without him, the show will feel like it is lacking..

There’s a story to be told. Wrestling is one of the most unique forms of media in the world as you do not get to see anything like it elsewhere. The wrestlers are larger than life characters and their fans will follow them through some pretty ridiculous stuff. That can make for some excellent moments, but also some tragic ones. Now we might be seeing another look at one of the worst ever.
According to Deadline, Zac Efron is scheduled to start in an upcoming film about the Von Erich wrestling family called the Iron Claw. There is no word on when the film will be released or which of the Von Erichs Efron will be portraying. The Von Erich Family has suffered several losses over the years, including multiple suicides. Kevin is the only original member still alive.
Opinion: This is something that could be interesting, but at the same time it could be one of the most depressing films in recent memory. The Von Erichs are about as tragic of a wrestling story as there has ever been and I don’..

There are certain phrases that we as fans like to throw around, occasionally not entirely knowing what we’re talking about. That can create some problems, as sometimes we spend so much time trying to check off a list that we don’t see what we have right in front of our eyes. One thing that we often forget is that there are people whose job it is to walk us through what we’re seeing on a show and point us in the right direction. That is what we’ll be looking at this week.
The commentary team is one of the most important parts of a wrestling broadcast but they often get ignored for the most part. You might remember one or two things that they say, but it is rarely poignant and more often than not, the focus is on something that doesn’t sound so great. Part of that is due to the fact that commentary talks A LOT these days, and that is where things can become a bit problematic. This week we’re taking a trip into the time machine and looking at about a minute of history that shows you the ..

That’s some serious flattery. Wrestlers are larger than live characters and you get to see them doing things that might not make the most sense but are still very entertaining. It can be a lot of fun to see wrestlers do their signature things over and over, but it can also make for some rather strong parodies if done right. That was the case this week and it is worth a look.
Over the last few weeks, Sami Zayn has attempted to join the Bloodline. This has included Zayn trying to help the team as often as he can, often to less than successful results. On Saturday night, Zayn was facing Drew McIntyre in a match in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Later in the match, Zayn imitated Roman Reigns’ Superman Punch and spear through a table for a near fall. Zayn went on to lose the match.
This is pretty awesome. Check out what Zayn pulled off in tribute to Reigns:
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Opinion: This is the kind of thing that can be a lot of fun in wrestling, as only a small number..