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Boss Return Time? Update On Sasha Banks’ WWE Status

August 30, 2021 • Admin

At least they have a time. There are all kinds of reasons for a wrestler to miss a show, but oftentimes fans are left wondering what is causing the absences. That is the case again at the moment in WWE, as one of their more important stars has been missing in action for the last few weeks. It has led to some changes in the lineups, but now we might know a bit more about when she will be back. According to PWInsider.com, WWE is hopeful that Sasha Banks can return to television at the September 10 Madison Square Garden SmackDown. Banks has been out of action since the August 7 WWE live event, including missing her SmackDown Women’s Title match at Summerslam. There is no word on why Banks has been missing, with the only explanation being that she is not cleared. Banks has not even been back that long. Check out what she can do when she is around: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] Opinion: ..

RUMOR: Likely Main Event For WWE Crown Jewel

August 30, 2021 • Admin

Looks like that’s next. We are in the middle of a pretty busy period for WWE as they are looking at several major events in a row. Summerslam has come and gone and the build for Extreme Rules has already begun. However, there is still Crown Jewel coming up in October, and now it seems that we know where the top spot on the card is head. It just happens to be something we have seen before. According to the WrestleVotes Twitter account, a Summerslam rematch between Goldberg and Bobby Lashley for the WWE Championship is expected to take place at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia. The show will take place in October, but no specific date has been announced. Lashley defeated Goldberg via referee stoppage at Summerslam but accidentally attacked Goldberg’s son Gage after the match. Goldberg did not appear on the following Monday Night Raw. As if it wasn’t obvious, source states WWE is planning on the Goldberg vs Lashley rematch to take place in Saudi Arabia in October. — WrestleVotes (@WrestleVo..

VIDEO: Ric Flair Makes Emotional Appearance At NWA 73rd Anniversary

August 30, 2021 • Admin

A nice stop over. The wrestling world has been changing in a lot of ways over the last few months and that is likely going to continue to be the case for a long time to come. You are going to be seeing various wrestlers moving from one promotion to another, with most of them going to or from WWE or AEW. There are other promotions out there though, and this time someone made a cameo elsewhere. Ric Flair appeared at Sunday’s NWA 73rd Anniversary Show in St. Louis, Missouri in a special segment. During his interview, Flair mainly thanked various WWE names, including Vince McMahon, Triple H and Shawn Michaels for allowing him to be here. He also talked some legends and his memories of wrestling in St. Louis. Flair’s appearance had been advertised in advance, but no other details had been mentioned. This was a special one. Check out part of the promo and some of Flair’s time in St. Louis: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post con..

VIDEO: WWE Star Wants To Be An Actress

August 30, 2021 • Admin

It’s another way to go. Roddy Piper had a great line about acting (paraphrased): “When I was a wrestler, they said I was just an actor. When I was an actor, they said I was just a wrestler.” There is absolutely a connection between wrestler and acting but very few wrestlers have actually managed to pull it off. There has been some success though, and now another wrestler is interested in taking her shot. During a new interview with Entertainment Tonight, WWE’s Alexa Bliss mentioned that as much as she loves wrestling, she would love to try her hand at acting. Bliss said that she would always be at home in WWE but she has been working with an acting coach for the last ten months. There is nothing to suggest that Bliss will be leaving or taking any time off from WWE to pursue acting anytime soon. There is something to this. Check out the interview and some of Bliss’ time in WWE: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains..

Long Retired WWE Star Planning In-Ring Return

August 30, 2021 • Admin

Not so fast? Injuries can be one of the most devastating things in all of wrestling as they can take someone out of action all of a sudden. Some are far worse than others and the very worst can put someone on the shelf for the rest of their lives. However, one interesting trend as of late has been wrestlers returning from career ending injuries. Another wrestler seems to be teasing joining the club. Back in 2018, Paige was forced to retire from in-ring competition due to a series of neck injuries. As a result, her wrestling career was over but she has since returned to various other on-air roles. However, over the weekend, Paige sent out a tweet saying that she was “not done yet”. According to Instinct Culture’s Denise Salcedo, Paige said that she was training for an in-ring wrestling return, but would not be telling anyone when the return would happen so that it could serve as a surprise. Paige has not wrestled since December 2017. I’m not done yet. ?? — SARAYA (@RealPaigeWWE) Augu..

Historic Title Reigns Comes To An End This Weekend

August 30, 2021 • Admin

That’s the big one. Titles are one of the easiest concepts in all of professional wrestling. Any fan can get the idea of putting a championship on the line and seeing who walks out with the gold. A wrestler holding a title for a long time can make their title reign seem all the more important, especially when someone finally takes it from them. That was the case this weekend. Trevor Murdoch defeated Nick Aldis at the NWA 73rd Anniversary Show to become the new NWA World Heavyweight Champion for the first time in his career. In addition, Murdoch had put his career on the line in the match. Murdoch’s win ends Aldis’ second reign at 1043 days, which was more than double the longest reign with the title since 1999. Aldis’ reign was the sixth longest in the title’s history. It’s a big deal. Check out the new champ and a quick look at the historic title reign: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] ..

Update On WWE’s Current Plans For Bianca Belair

August 30, 2021 • Admin

At least they had a plan. There were more than a few surprises at Summerslam but perhaps the biggest was Becky Lynch returning to squash Bianca Belair in less than thirty seconds to win the SmackDown Women’s Title. That was not exactly the kind of thing that you would expect to see, but Lynch is off to the races. That leaves Belair in a bit of a bind, though WWE has a plan for her as well. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the idea behind having Belair lose in such dominant fashion was to build sympathy on her going forward. Lynch was not the original planned challenger and Belair was taken by surprise, which was designed to make fans feel that she did not deserve the loss. Belair has since earned another title shot against Lynch, which will take place at Extreme Rules on September 26. WWE might be on to something. Check out what they are doing with Belair: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video..

WWE RUMOR: Huge Heel Turn Coming Soon

August 30, 2021 • Admin

That’s one way to go. One of the more confusing situations in WWE is the way they bring up wrestlers from NXT. While the wrestlers have a tendency to be rather successful with a character or style in NXT, WWE has a history of resetting things. That has not exactly played out well every time, but now they seem ready to try it again with an interesting combination. According to Wrestlingnews.co, Keith Lee may be in line for a monster heel push. Lee returned from a five month hiatus in July but has not wrestled a match on television since the August 2 Monday Night Raw. Instead, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Lee has been wrestling a series of dark matches before Monday Night Raw and SmackDown in an attempt for WWE to find the right way to use him. There is no word on when Lee will return to television. Lee could make a monster. Check out what he can do in the ring: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contai..

Becky Lynch’s Heel Turn Has A Surprising Inspiration

August 29, 2021 • Admin

There’s a reason for that. Summerslam included more than a few surprises, with Becky Lynch’s return being perhaps the biggest of them all. Lynch made her return after nearly a year and a half away and won the SmackDown Women’s Title in less than thirty seconds. That was quite the turn of events and it seems that Lynch is going to be a villain. A change like that warrants some more information and now we have just that. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Lynch has returned as a heel at her own request. She has been inspired by Roman Reigns’ heel run and the work that he has done in the last year. Since returning, Lynch has turned down a challenge to face Bianca Belair on this week’s SmackDown, but she has been confirmed to face Belair for the title at Extreme Rules. This could be interesting. Check out what Lynch has done since her return [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] Op..

Interesting Detail On Brock Lesnar’s WWE Return

August 29, 2021 • Admin

They didn’t have much time. Summerslam was certainly an eventful show and now comes the interesting part, as we get to see the fallout. WWE has more than a few different choices as they go forward, including some big names back on the roster. This includes the surprise from the end of the show, but now we know a new detail that makes things all the more interesting. Brock Lesnar made a surprise return to end this year’s Summerslam, appearing to confront Roman Reigns after the show’s main event. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE came to terms with Lesnar just before Summerslam, meaning that Lesnar did not have much time to prepare for his appearance. The deal was made due to John Cena leaving WWE, WWE wanting to appease FOX and CM Punk debuting with AEW. As a result of the situation, Lesnar was able to get an even better deal for himself. He is expected to wrestle about eight matches over the next year and a half. It was a comeback to remember. Check out Lesnar’s ret..

WWE Making A Huge Change In How It Scouts Talent

August 29, 2021 • Admin

That’s a change of pace. NXT has been undergoing a complete rehaul over the last few weeks and that seems to be continuing going forward. This could be quite the reshaping over everything and it remains to be seen just how many changes we get out of the whole thing. NXT has come a long way doing things in one way, but now they are making a pretty big switch. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE is no longer looking at independent wrestlers to find new talent. Instead, WWE is allowing AEW to focus on the independent circuit and will focus on finding people with the right look to turn into wrestlers. There will also be more tryouts for athletes, similar to the tryout camp recently held in Las Vegas. However, it is also noted that WWE has changed its mind on this kind of decision before. WWE tryouts are no joke. Check out how they have gone before: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to ..

VIDEO: WWE Announces Two Upcoming Title Matches

August 29, 2021 • Admin

It’s time for the next step. We are over a week removed from Summerslam and that means it is time for WWE to start moving on. The company has done just that with a fresh episode of Monday Night Raw and SmackDown. With less than a month to go before Extreme Rules, it is time to get ready for the next pay per view, and it seems that we have a title match set. It turns out that isn’t all though. Two upcoming title matches have been confirmed, with one taking place on free television and another on pay per view. First up, Finn Balor ended this week’s edition of SmackDown by challenging Universal Champion Roman Reigns to a title shot on the September 3 episode. While Reigns did not agree to the match during the show, WWE officially confirmed the match after the show went off the air. Second, the official YouTube page of the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio has announced that SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch will defend her title against Bianca Belair at Extreme Rules on September ..

AEW RUMOR: Jim Ross To Begin Stepping Away From Full Time Role, Ross Responds

August 29, 2021 • Admin

That would make a change. AEW does not have the deepest history to date but there have been some things that they have done which have gotten them on the map. One of their biggest strengths has been bringing in the right people, many of whom have gotten them some extra attention. Not all of these names have been in the ring, and now one of them is rumored to be changing things up a bit. According to Ringsidenews.com, Jim Ross is planning to move out of his current role as the main AEW broadcaster. This does not mean that Ross will be leaving AEW, as he will still be calling big matches and doing special segments. Ross signed a three year deal in 2019, which will expire in April 2022. However, Ross has responded to the reports, saying that it is “news to him”. It’s news to me… https://t.co/ZlzbuDVWCo — Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) August 28, 2021 Ross has been a big deal for AEW. Check out some of his moments with the company: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains v..

Former WWE/Impact Wrestling Star Announces Surprise Retirement

August 29, 2021 • Admin

It was a strong career. There are certain wrestlers who make an impression on you just based on how they look. That can make for some special moments when you can find someone who can back it up in the ring. You know these wrestlers when you see them and they do not come along that often. That was the case with one in particular, though now she is hanging up her boots. This weekend at the NWA Empowerrr women’s event, Awesome Kong made a surprise appearance and announced that she was retiring from wrestling. Kong interrupted and attacked Taryn Terrell, Jennacide and Paola Blaze before her longtime rival Gail Kim appeared. Kong referred to King as her greatest rival and announced that she was done with wrestling. Her most recent match took place on January 1, 2020 during an episode of AEW Dark. Kong was a force in wrestling. Check out some of her most famous moments: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, clic..

REVIEW: Extreme Rules 2019: Becky And Brock And Brock And Becky

August 28, 2021 • Admin

Welcome to KB’s Old School (and New School) Reviews. I’ve been reviewing wrestling shows for over twelve years now and have reviewed over 6,000 shows. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I’ll be posting a new review here on Wrestlingrumors.net. It could be anything from modern WWE to old school to indies to anything in between. Note that I rate using letters instead of stars and I don’t rate matches under three minutes as really, how good or bad can something that short be? Extreme Rules 2019 Date: July 14, 2019 Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Michael Cole, Renee Young We’re finally wrapping up a long stretch with what feels like a show from one company or another every week for months. This is a show built around violence and a full three matches out of the twelve have some form of gimmick that includes violence. The card doesn’t look bad though and hopefully it works out. Let’s get to it. Kickoff Show..

Big Surprise Free Agent Move Coming For Former WWE Universal Champion

August 28, 2021 • Admin

That would be a big get. The wrestling world has changed a lot in recent months as WWE has let a ton of wrestlers go from the company. That is the kind of thing that is going to shake things up in a big way and it is going to be interesting go see how it all plays out. Different promotions are trying to pick up wrestlers here and there, and now we know where one might wind up. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Braun Strowman is expected to head to Impact Wrestling once his non-compete clause expires. This comes after Impact Wrestling executive Scott D’Amore said “Braun For Glory” during a recent Twitch stream. Strowman was released from WWE on June 2, meaning he would be allowed to appear at Bound For Glory on October 23, if not earlier. It should be noted that Buddy Murphy was teased for this week’s Impact Wrestling but did not appear, meaning Strowman is far from guaranteed. Impact Wrestling could use him. Check out what might be heading their way: [This post contain..

SmackDown Star Unveils An Entirely New Character

August 28, 2021 • Admin

That’s who he is now. There are certain wrestlers who are known by one name and one name only. It is rare for some of those names to change, but every now and then you hear something different and it can kind of throw you off a bit. That being said, sometimes a change is needed and it can make things better. It seems that we are seeing that again at the moment. This week on SmackDown, Baron Corbin officially changed his name to Happy Corbin. The change comes after Corbin ended his unlucky streak by winning money gambling in Las Vegas over the week. As a result, Corbin now has money and a new Bentley, though he was unable to buy Big E.’s Money in the Bank briefcase. This comes after several weeks of Corbin being left destitute by a series of financial setbacks and problems. Corbin has had a heck of a ride. Check out the new version, plus how he got here: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] ..

AEW Makes Major Change To TV Taping Setup

August 28, 2021 • Admin

Mix it up a little. AEW has come a long way in their two and a half years of existence and that seems like something that is going to continue. Things got even bigger with the addition of Rampage earlier this month. However, the promotion has two other weekly shows which don’t get the same attention. It turns out that one of those shows is about to get a pretty big shakeup. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, AEW will be taping Dark in a studio more often than not going forward. Rampage will be taped on Wednesday nights after Dynamite, with Dark: Elevation being taped before the weekly Dynamite broadcast. According to Dave Meltzer, Dark will be taped at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, which served as Impact Wrestling’s Impact Zone for years. AEW will be taping Dark most of the time going forward at Universal Studios in Orlando, open to the public. — Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) August 27, 2021 The shows are worth seeing. Check out a bit of all three shows taped..

Former Champion Makes Surprise Return On SmackDown

August 28, 2021 • Admin

Welcome back. There are so many wrestlers on the WWE roster that it can be hard to keep track of them from time to time. It doesn’t help when a lot of them are left sitting on the sidelines for months at a time. Still though, it can be nice to see one of them make a surprise return, even if it is not in the same way that you might expect. That was the case this week. Naomi made her return to both SmackDown and WWE TV during this week’s show. She did not wrestle though, instead appearing in a backstage segment with Sonya Deville, who said she had nothing for Naomi tonight. Instead, Naomi will appear again on next week’s episode. Naomi has not wrestled since Money in the Bank on July 18, when she was a member of the Monday Night Raw roster. She was quietly moved to the SmackDown roster in the following weeks. It’s good to have her back. Check out what Naomi is bringing to SmackDown: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post cont..

FOX Unhappy With WWE Over CM Punk’s AEW Debut

August 28, 2021 • Admin

They probably should be. WWE is the biggest wrestling company in the world and has been for a very long time now. At the same time though, there are still some people that they have to answer to. One of the most powerful groups that they have to answer to is the television networks that broadcasts WWE programming. It seems that one of them is not exactly thrilled. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, FOX was unhappy over WWE not attempting to make a deal with CM Punk before he signed with AEW and debuted last week. As a result, WWE rushed Becky Lynch and Brock Lesnar back to the active roster, with both returning at Summerslam. Punk has worked for FOX before, as his deal to appear on WWE Backstage was made through FOX rather than WWE. Punk famously walked out on WWE in 2014, with his AEW debut being his first in-ring wrestling appearance in seven and a half years. This comes just after NBC Universal and USA have reportedly been unhappy with WWE as well. They might have som..