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Former WWE Star Makes Surprise Debut In Impact Wrestling

August 1, 2021 • Admin

You might remember him. There are a lot of talented wrestlers in the world today but there are only so many spots for them on the biggest stage. WWE has let a lot of wrestlers go over the last year or so and some of them have popped up elsewhere. That can make for some interesting debuts when they show up in another promotion, which was the case again this weekend. Matthew Rehwoldt, formerly known as Aiden English in WWE, made his Impact Wrestling debut at their Homecoming event on Saturday. Rehwoldt and Deonna Purrazzo teamed up to win the Homecoming Tournament, earning the titles of King and Queen of Impact. After debuting with WWE in 2012, Rehwoldt was released from the company on April 15, 2020. A vignette aired announcing his debut with the company at last week’s Slammiversary event. Rehwoldt is a surprise addition. Check out his time in the ring: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] ..

Wrestling World Reacts To Bray Wyatt’s WWE Release (And They Aren’t Happy)

August 1, 2021 • Admin

Can you blame them? There are a lot of wrestling promotions in the world outside of WWE but thanks to the power of social media, it can be easy to hear from a lot of them. That is the case when something either good or bad happens and it often can include some rather interesting opinions. The same thing took place again this weekend after WWE made a big change. This weekend, WWE released Bray Wyatt, reportedly due to more budget cuts for the company. The move came out of nowhere and surprised quite a few people, as Wyatt, a former three time World Champion, was dropped from the roster in a hurry. You do not see changes like that take place every day and as you might expect, a lot of wrestling personalities have weighed in on the situation. Since Wyatt has been released, wrestling personalities have offered their opinions on Twitter. This includes current and former WWE stars, including Alexa Bliss, who worked with Wyatt in his most recent television run. The majority of the comments ..

Backstage News on Bray Wyatt’s Release

August 1, 2021 • Admin

The biggest news story of the day, by far, has been the sudden release of Bray Wyatt by WWE earlier today. But what is the reason for his departure from the company? According to a report from F4WOnline, Wyatt was told by John Laurinaitis that his release was due to budget cuts and not something that he had done. He was, in fact, preparing to return in August to a Monday Night Raw show on August 9. PWInsider is reporting that the reaction within the company was one of complete disbelief at the news. Wyatt’s licensing has been huge in recent years, with The Fiend had been a massive hit for both t-shirts and action figures. One idea being tossed around is that WWE President Nick Khan and CFO Kristina Salen are so “obsessed” with the company not being even red on the financial ledgers, that even after the most recent financial quarter, there had to have been a push to cut costs. It had also been noted that Wyatt’s relationship with Vince McMahon’s was very “hot and cold” at times. The..

WWE Accused Of Pushing AEW/Domino’s Pizza Story

August 1, 2021 • Admin

I think I’d call that interfering. For the first time in a very good while, there is another wrestling promotion on the national stage which is doing rather well. It is the first time that WWE has had anything close to their level for a very long time now and that makes for some interesting changes. It also makes WWE do more than a few different things, including some possible sabotage. Earlier this week, Nick Gage vs. Chris Jericho headlined AEW Dynamite. During the match, Gage used a pizza cutter on Jericho’s forehead. At the same time, a Domino’s Pizza ad aired in the picture in picture. This has caused some issues from Domino’s, as they were not pleased with what was airing during their commercials. It seems that things might be a little more complicated than that. Since Wednesday, rumors have been circulating that WWE has been spreading the story of Domino’s issues to various media outlets. According to Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com, there were stories of WWE pushing the Domino’..

John Cena In Huge Match After This Week’s SmackDown

August 1, 2021 • Admin

You don’t get many like this one. As we approach Summerslam, it is time for WWE to start making some of the final preparations. There are all kinds of things left to cover on the show but some of the bigger ones have been covered. This week, the show’s main event was set, but the match still has some work to be done. Some of that was taken care of after the cameras stopped rolling. According to Wrestlinginc.com, the dark match after this week’s SmackDown saw John Cena teaming up with Dominik Mysterio and Rey Mysterio to defeat the Usos and Roman Reigns. Cena hits Reigns with an Attitude Adjustment, followed by another one to Jimmy Uso before the pin. This is the same match with the same ending that has been taking place at live events. Cena has been busy since he came back. Check out what he has been up to, plus some classic Cena: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] Opinion: This is one o..

VIDEO: WWE Star Completely Changes Character In Interview

August 1, 2021 • Admin

That’s certainly new. There have been countless gimmicks and characters in wrestling over the years and some of them do not stand out all that well. Some of them are going to work because of one trait or personality quirk which stands out and that is the case with a current WWE star. Now though, some of the biggest things which set him apart have been dropped in an interesting way. Following this week’s edition of SmackDown, 24/7 Champion Reginald was asked about his background. Reginald responded by saying that he was not really from France, but rather St. Louis, Missouri and that his name was Reggie. He also did not have his accent, saying that he answered an ad to be Carmella’s sommellier and was asked to speak French. Reggie said that he has been a wrestling fan for years and would do anything to get into WWE, hence doing whatever Carmella wanted. Reggie won the 24/7 Title his first in WWE, on the July 19 Monday Night Raw. This was a different one. Check out the interview plus wh..

BREAKING: Bray Wyatt Gone From WWE

July 31, 2021 • Admin

That’s the big one. WWE has been changing their roster in a lot of ways as of late and some of them have been a lot bigger than others. There have been wrestlers coming and going from the company all over the place and it can be fascinating to see who goes where and when. That seems to be the case again and this time around, it is about as surprising of a release as you could get. WWE has announced that Bray Wyatt has been released from the company. There is no reason given for his release at the moment. Wyatt has not wrestled since WrestleMania 37, when he was defeated by Randy Orton in the opening match of Night Two of the show. His last appearance came the following night on Monday Night Raw, where he said he was leaving to find a fresh start. Wyatt is a former three time World Champion in WWE, having won the WWE Title once and the Universal Title twice. WWE has come to terms on the release of Bray Wyatt. We wish him the best in all his future endeavors. https://t.co/XIsUbaMUZ7 pi..

REVIEW: Bash At The Beach 1997: Celebrity Edition

July 31, 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? Bash at the Beach 1997 Date: July 13, 1997 Location: Ocean Center, Daytona Beach, Florida Attendance: 7,851 Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, Dusty Rhodes It’s 1997 and the unofficial anniversary of the NWO being formed. This was in that weird period for WCW as everything was setting up for Sting vs. Hogan, but at the same time it took forever to get there because we waited 9 months between Sting’s moment of showing he was WCW and the actual match. The main event here is Luger/Giant vs. Hogan/Rodman. As ..

Details On Natalya’s Injury, Including Surgery

July 31, 2021 • Admin

That’s a relief. Injuries can be devastating to both wrestlers and wrestling companies. They can derail plans, but far more importantly they can derail careers. A wrestler might never be the same after an injury and it can stop everything they are doing at a moment’s notice. Finding out how bad things are can be a rather scary process, but we might be getting some good news this time around. Natalya suffered some sort of a leg injury during this week’s edition of Monday Night Raw. Her knee gave out during a tag match and she did not return to the ring. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Natalya suffered an ankle injury, but an MRI revealed that the damage was “better than expected”. Natalya is expected to be out for a few weeks, meaning that WWE will not have to vacate the Women’s Tag Team Titles. On Friday, Natalya tweeted out a photo of her ankle in a cast, revealing that she has had surgery to repair the unspecified injury. There is no word on when she will be back in ..

WWE Did Not Tell Wrestler They Had Been Traded

July 31, 2021 • Admin

They need to work on their communication. A company as big as WWE is going to have a lot of wrestlers on its roster, which can be a good and bad thing. On one hand, the company has all kinds of wrestlers to pick from and they can do a lot of different things. At the same time though, it can be easy to lose track of some of them, which seems to be the case again. According to Fightful Select, WWE has moved Slapjack, better known as Shane Thorne, to SmackDown from Monday Night Raw. However, Thorne was not told about the move and only learned about it when other wrestlers told him that he was listed on the internal SmackDown roster. Thorne has not wrestled on television since the April 9 SmackDown, though he did participate in a battle royal dark match after last week’s SmackDown. Thorne is worth another look. Check out what he can do when he is around: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] Op..

Former WWE Star Getting Back Into Wrestling

July 31, 2021 • Admin

One more time? Every now and then, athletes from other sports come into wrestling to try their hands at something else. It can make for some rather interesting results as you never know how something like this could go. There have certainly been some successful results, but others have not gone so well. This time around, someone who did not do so well the first time is trying again. During an appearance on In This Corner with Cyrus Fees, former UFC Heavyweight Champion and WWE star Cain Velasquez announced that he was returning to AAA in December. Velasquez said that he still loved both AAA and WWE but he needed to develop his skills to a higher level before he could wrestle for WWE again. There is no word on if WWE is interested in bringing him back in the future. Velasquez has only wrestled four matches in his career, with two each in AAA and WWE. His only televised match in WWE was at Crown Jewel in 2019 when he lost to Brock Lesnar in a WWE Championship match. Velasquez was relea..

Again: SmackDown Star Moved Back To Monday Night Raw

July 31, 2021 • Admin

Move over. There are so many wrestlers on the WWE roster that you can only find so many places for them. As a result, WWE has its wrestlers split into multiple rosters, with Monday Night Raw, SmackDown, NXT and NXT UK. Those rosters are not knocked into stone though and every now and then you see someone moved elsewhere. That was the case again this week, though it was a bit of a strange situation. Reckoning’s WWE.com profile once again lists her as a member of the Monday Night Raw roster. This comes after she was moved to SmackDown, though she never actually wrestled on the show. Reckoning, better known as Mia Yim, has not wrestled since December 2020. There is no word on why she has been absent from television, or if she will be known as Reckoning or Yim when she returns. She is worth having around. Check out what might be coming to Monday Night Raw: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] ..

WATCH: Surprise Return On SmackDown Sets Up Likely Summerslam Title Match

July 31, 2021 • Admin

That should do fine. With Summerslam less than a month away, it is time to start getting everything ready for the biggest show of the summer. That means WWE needs to really hammer home some of the build, which could include more than a few big matches. Some of them might even need to be bigger than others, with one of the most important being set up this week. Sasha Banks made a surprise return this week on SmackDown, saving Bianca Belair from a two on one attack at the hands of Carmella and Zelina Vega. Banks and Belair teamed up to defeat Carmella and Veta in the main event, only to have Banks turn on Belair after the match was over. This was Banks’ first appearance since the SmackDown after WrestleMania 37, when she had no comments on losing her SmackDown Women’s Title to Belair at WrestleMania. It’s the latest chapter. Check out how we got here: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] Opi..

Blockbuster Main Event Official For Summerslam

July 31, 2021 • Admin

We have a main event. Summerslam is in less than a month and that means it is time to get ready for what might be the biggest show of the year. For the first time ever, Summerslam is going to be taking place in an NFL stadium, meaning there are going to be tens of thousands of people in attendance. That show needs a headliner and now they have just that. This week on SmackDown, John Cena vs. Roman Reigns for Reigns’ Universal Title was officially confirmed for Summerslam. Reigns and Finn Balor were signing the contract but Baron Corbin interrupted by attacking Balor. Cena ran out to prevent Corbin from signing the contract himself and then signed, with the match being made official. This comes after Reigns had declined a match with Cena last week. They do have a history together. Check out Reigns vs. Cena over the years: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] Opinion: This was a matter of ma..

SmackDown Live Coverage And Results – July 30, 2021

July 31, 2021 • Admin

Smackdown Date: July 30, 2021 Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee We’re less than a month away from Summerslam and things have been getting interesting around here again. Last week, John Cena challenged Roman Reigns for Summerslam. That was a no, but Finn Balor issued his own challenge and got a yes. There is no word on when that takes place, but it should be pretty soon. Let’s get to it. Here is John Cena to get things going. We look at a recap of last week with Reigns, Cena and Balor, complete with Reigns’ missionary position line. Cena: “If you can find someone who can keep missionary position interesting for two decades, keep them in your life. It’s going to be worth it, I promise.” Cena talks about how he isn’t going to change anything and it wouldn’t make sense. Steve Austin wouldn’t come back as Sasquatch Steve Houston, or the Rock wouldn’t come back as Too Small Johnson. Cena: “Roman Reigns has to change every two years beca..

RUMOR: Backstage Reaction To CM Punk Likely Joining AEW

July 30, 2021 • Admin

Can you blame them? The wrestling world has been changing a lot in recent months and that has been a good thing in a lot of ways. Several wrestlers have been moving from one promotion to another and now it seems like we are going to be seeing more even bigger names doing the same. One in particular has caught the attention of the locker room he is about to be joining. In an interview with Wrestlinginc.com, Bodyslam.net’s Cassidy Haynes the AEW locker room is excited over CM Punk possibly debuting for the company. No one is said to have any bad feelings about Punk, though there is no word on how interactions between Punk and Colt Cabana, an AEW producer, could go. Punk and Cabana went to court over issues stemming from Punk being sued by WWE. There is no word on when Punk will be debuting for the company, though he is expected to appear at one of their upcoming Chicago shows. This could be interesting. Check out the Punk who might be coming to AEW: [This post contains video, click to..

Impact Wrestling Results – July 22, 2021

July 30, 2021 • Admin

Impact Wrestling Date: July 22, 2021 Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee Commentators: Matt Striker, D’Lo Brown We are finally done with Slammiversary, which wound up being a heck of a show with a lot of surprises. Kenny Omega retained the World Title by defeating Sami Callihan but New Japan’s Jay White showed up to end the show in a big surprise. It’s time to start the long form crawl towards Bound For Glory so let’s get to it. We open with a long recap of the title matches at Slammiversary. Opening sequence, with a new version of the theme song. Chris Bey vs. Rohit Raju Shera is here with Raju and this is fallout from both of them losing Ultimate X. Feeling out process to start with Raju grabbing a headlock. That goes nowhere as Bey takes him down, followed by both of them catching a boot to the ribs at the same time. Back up and they run the ropes until Raju sweeps the leg to take him down. Raju is sent to the apron, where he manages to snap the back of the neck over ..

Main Event Results – July 22, 2021

July 30, 2021 • Admin

Main Event Date: July 22, 2021 Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Byron Saxton We’re back to the low slow this week and that could mean more than a few things. I’m curious to see how much this show has changed now that the fans are back to energize the company, which should be a nice thing to see for a change. Then again, I’m almost scared to see what we could be getting again. Let’s get to it. Opening sequence. Angel Garza vs. Drew Gulak They grapple around to start with Gulak getting the better of things off a headlock. Garza slips out and takes Gulak down instead, setting up a quick chinlock. Back up and Gulak hits a slam into a clothesline for two as frustration is setting in. It’s time to start kicking away at Garza’s knee and we hit a wacky hold to put Garza in more trouble. Garza fights up and hits a flapjack, followed by the running forearm. That’s enough for Garza to TAKE OFF HIS PANTS and the Wing Clipper finishes Gulak at 5:20...

RUMOR: WWE Quietly Releases Hall Of Famer

July 30, 2021 • Admin

So long. There are a lot of people on the WWE roster and each of them plays a role. Some of those roles might be a lot more notable than others, but there is often something for most of the people to do. This includes some retired wrestlers who are doing something other than getting in the ring again. WWE has quite a few of them, but now they have one less. According to Whatculture.com, Jeff Jarrett was released from WWE in April 2021, though it was not announced at the time. Jarrett has been looking for independent bookings outside of WWE, though it is not clear how long his no compete clause could last. Jarrett had been working for WWE as a producer, though there is a chance that he could be brought back into the company somewhere down the line. Jarrett has had a nice career. Check out some of his better moments: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] Opinion: This is a bit of a surprise, ..

WWE RUMOR: Future Plans For Karrion Kross Include Another Debut

July 30, 2021 • Admin

They have a plan for that. Every now and then, WWE will do something that leaves fans and even other wrestlers rather confused. The company will make some kind of a decision that seems completely bizarre on the surface with very few apparent reasons for what is going on. That was the case earlier this month and now we know a bit more about the thinking. Earlier this month, NXT Champion Karrion Kross made his main roster debut on Monday Night Raw and lost to Jeff Hardy in less than two minutes. Kross returned the following week and defeated Keith Lee, though the original plans called for Kross to lose to Hardy again, as Hardy is quarantining over a positive Coronavirus test. It turns out that WWE has a long term plan for Kross on Monday Night Raw. According to the Mat Men Wrestling podcast, the original plan for Kross was to have him lose over and over until Scarlett, his manager in NXT, would debut to put him back on track. Scarlett has not appeared or been referenced on Monday Night..