Here's your wrestling news For June 16th 2021
And your headlines for today include
Samoa Joe Is Back In NXT Alongside William Regal; Takes Out Adam Cole!
Piper Niven’s WWE RAW Debut Almost Didn’t Happen!
Mia Yim Calls Out ‘Disgusting’ Body Shaming Of Piper Niven After WWE RAW!
AEW Is Reportedly In MAJOR Debts!
WWE Is Discussing Brock Lesnar’s HIAC Return; TWO Possibilities ( Including A Repeat Of 2018 Booking )
Are Planned!
Released WWE Superstar Is Getting Help From WWE To Rehab Dislocated Arm!
John Cena Hints At Finally Turning Heel In WWE!
Triple H Comments On William Regal Staying In WWE NXT!
Renee Paquette And Jon Moxley Welcome Their Baby Girl To The World And more!
We’re starting off today with NXT and last night, William Regal made the shocking announcement that he
teased at the end of TakeOver: In Your House. On the show, Regal cut a heartfelt promo
as he was prepared to reign as General Manager, and was visibly emotional before being cut off by Karrion Kross.
The NXT Champion berated Regal, urging him to quit, but before that could happen, Samoa Joe made his return to WWE
and NXT, and despite being offered the GM role by Regal, will instead serve as some sort of enforcer, ensuring Regal
gets the respect he deserves. An ideal spot for Joe, who’s yet to be medically cleared to compete, the rule
was made that Joe can only get violent if physically provoked first, an angle that worked well for ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin
in 2003, when he was the co-General Manager of RAW alongside Eric Bischoff. It didn’t take long for Joe to get physical
as he interrupted a backstage brawl between Kyle O’Reilly and Adam Cole later in the show, and when pushed by Cole,
Joe put him to sleep with the Coquina Clutch. Later teasing feuds with Johnny Gargano
and Pete Dunne, the decision to bring Joe back has completely freshened up NXT in terms of management, and until the former
U.S. Champion can wrestle again, fans can enjoy him in this fantastic new role.
Over to RAW, and on this week’s show, Eva Marie returned to the red brand, but despite being booked to face Naomi,
it was Piper Niven who defeated the Glow. Being called-up from NXT UK, Niven wasn’t given a name during RAW, though will
reportedly be called Doudrop, and her debut on the red brand nearly didn’t happen.
Fightful Select reports that Niven was that the plan during the weekend was for Niven to debut alongside the returning Eva Marie,
but that plan was subsequently nixed. Fightful’s report didn’t explain why Niven’s debut was cancelled, though there’s plenty
of stories of Vince McMahon tearing scripts up, but obviously, plans changed again, and she debuted as originally scheduled.
WWE’s plan for the pair is that Niven will win matches whilst Eva Marie will take credit for them all, but this entire story was
only greenlit, for the second time, at the last second.
Piper Niven’s call-up to RAW was great news for her, especially as with Eva Marie, she’ll be guaranteed screen time, but she
sadly faced a lot of backlash after her debut this week. On social media, people mocked and
body-shamed Niven for how she looks, and whilst this sadly isn’t anything new for the Scottish Superstar, Mia Yim had something
to say. Targetting those harassing Niven, the former Reckoning said that this body shaming is
digusting, adding that people are bold behind their screens, and that it costs nothing to be kind.
We’ll have to see what WWE has in store for Piper and Eva Marie, though a new women’s pairing does mean they could
go for the Women’s Tag Team Titles in the not so distant future.
AEW news next, and since their start in 2019, the company has proven themselves to be a formidable alternative
to WWE, with logical storylines, consistent viewerships and solid buy rates
Not everything is as perfect as it seems though, as it’s been reported that the company remains in debt in 2020, and
has no profits to their name. This lack of profit is being chalked up to their video-game department, which has
received an eight-figure investment, meaning at least $10,000,000 has been spent.
This huge investment isn’t the only reason 2020 wasn’t profitable, as there was no revenue from ticket sales, leaving AEW
dependment on the television rights fees from TNT. Speaking to Forbes this week, Tony Khan
discussed the financials of the company, saying he expects AEW to be profitable in 2021, despite the eight-figure investment
in video-game development. AEW released their first game, a Casino Mobile game this year, to positive reviews,
with their GM game expected this year, ahead of their platform game in 2022, and hopefully it won’t be long before AEW
turns a profit.
Back to WWE and on RAW, Jimmy Smith has impressed fans as the show’s newest commentator, replacing the much
maligned Adnan Virk. With that said, Smith is still learning the ropes, and this week, let something slip
that he didn’t want fans to hear. During the show, Smith tried to say Kofi Kingston’s name but got a little tongue tied,
as you can hear what he said now:
Fans had a great time with this slip of the tongue, poking fun at Smith online, whilst he and Kofi have remained silent on the
matter. Ever-the-professional, Smitch carried on like nothing happened, but some fans were
not so easy to forget this moment, which’ll live on forever thanks to Social media.
For the past few years, WWE’s Hell in a Cell event has been a questionable Pay Per View, as both the 2018 and 2019 shows ended in
controversy. Three years ago, fans saw Brock Lesnar invade the Cell, his first appearance since
losing to Universal title to Roman Reigns at that year’s Summerslam, and attacked both Reigns and his challenger Braun Strowman.
Causing a no-contest in a match which is sold as the most brutal match in WWE where the only way to win is via pinfall
or submission, this finish didn’t make sense, and whilst a repeat wouldn’t go down well, it isn’t out of the question in 2021.
Lesnar isn’t guaranteed to be back this Summer, but when he does return, it’s almost a certainty he’ll be back in the
RAW main-event scene, and we wouldn’t be surprised if WWE brought the Beast back in the most infuriating way.
Lesnar invading the Cell this Sunday, attacking both Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre wouldn’t go down well with
fans, but a no-contest could allow WWE to get around the clause that if McIntyre loses, then he can’t challenge for the
WWE Championship as long as Lashley is Champion. A Lesnar return would show his intentions
of winning back the title he last held in April 2020, all the while setting up a massive triple threat for a live crowd,
either at Money in the Bank, or more likely, Summerslam. With that said, Lesnar may not target both
men, as fans will remember that it was McIntyre who dethroned him for the title at WrestleMania 36.
Instead of attacking both men, Brock may get his revenge on McIntyre by costing him the match, which’d ensure he’d never
have another title opportunity against Lashley. What follows could be a non-title rematch
between Brock and Drew, or perhaps the long-awaited Lesnar-Lashley match with the Scotsman out of the way.
It’s even possible that Lesnar just targets Lashley, costing the Almighty the WWE title, possibly setting up a
non-title feud between the two. After all, Lashley hasn’t exactly been subtle with him wanting a match against
the Beast, and plans for that match could finally be put in motion at Hell in a Cell.
Last November, Chelsea Green’s SmackDown debut went horribly wrong when she suffered a wrist
injury, and was released from WWE in April before ever getting a second chance on the blue brand.
Speaking this week on her Green With Envy podcast, the former Superstar discussed getting back in the ring,
revealing that she had an injury scare over the weekend, whilst training with Santana Garrett.
Saying she heard a nasty pop sound in her left arm, Green said she was convinced she’d broken it, and it hurt just
as badly as her November injury. Interestingly, Green was able to reach out to WWE, who have allowed her to come to
the Performance Center and see their physical therapist, and thanked WWE for doing this despite her being released.
Green added that she’ll be at the Performance Center for the next few weeks, as it’s far cheaper than standard
U.S. Healthcare, and with the former Superstar saying she’ll return to wrestling on July 14th.
We’ll have to see where she goes next, as Green has teased joining her fiancé Matt Cardona in Impact, but for now,
she’ll be hanging around WWE’s performance Center, despite no longer being a Superstar.
As one of WWE’s biggest ever stars, John Cena was the face of the company for well after a decade, and is expected to
return very soon. Last seen at WrestleMania 36 last year, Cena is expected to return in time for
Summerslam, where he’ll be challenging Universal Champion Roman Reigns. Unlike Reigns, Cena never turned heel
when he was on top of WWE, despite fans calling for a turn for years, but that turn may soon happen.
Speaking to Chris Van Vliet this week, Cena was asked if his villain role in the new Furious 9 is the closest we’ll get to
Cena heel turn, and he responded: I think this is the beginning to showcase the fact that it’s possible. As WWE invests
and builds its roster, it has a wealth of talent and truly has many anchors to the ship now. Certainly Roman being a very,
very marketable and definitive star. “I think the reason for me not to explore that side is because WWE didn’t feel
confident they had any alternative. And I respect that business choice, I really do. But now with them really laying
their foundation for the future, setting up life for the next decade or so, maybe… maybe. I don’t know.”
Cena returning in July as a heel would certainly excite fans, and hopefully bring back some older fans at a time when
WWE is struggling in the ratings, and we’ll find out next month whether WWE is ready to finally pull the trigger on a
Cena heel turn.
More from NXT now, as William Regal is staying in NXT as General Manager, but will now have Samoa Joe by his side.
One man who saw Regal’s heartfelt promo is Triple H, and on Twitter, the Game said how Regal will continue to
make NXT bigger and better. The British legend has been part of NXT for years, and will continue to be there
with Samoa Joe by his side, much to the delight of the WWE’s COO.
And we’re ending with some great news for AEW’s Jon Moxley and Renee Paquette, as the two are now parents
On Twitter, Renee confirmed that their baby daughter has been born, adding that she’s absolutely incredible, and hat due to
to becoming a mom, she’s taking a break from hosting Oral Sessions, but has a series of guest hosts lined up, including
her husband. Last month, Renee announced that their daughter’s name would be Nora, a tribute
to Paquette’s grandmother Eleanor, and the official WWE on FOX Twitter sent out their own congratulations to Renee.
As for Moxley, he was recently written off TV, with an “indefinite injury,” caused by the Young Bucks, and whilst both he
and Renee will return to AEW and Oral Sessions respectively, their focussing all their attention on their baby daughter
This is great news for the happy couple, and we’d like to send our own congratulations to the two at this joyous
time.