Here's your wrestling news for June 3rd 2021
And your headlines for today include!
WWE Release Six More Superstars! Where Will They Go Next?
“Horrible Management Of Talented People!” WWE Blasted For Latest Cuts
Smackdown Superstar Fires Back At Fan Saying He Should Lose His Job!
WWE Tease Brock Lesnar’s Return On Latest Raw!
“The Match Is Pretty Much Made” WWE Hall Of Famer Calls For Retirement Match In AEW!
WWE Set New Terrible Record With This Week’s Raw!
AEW Star Calls Out Two WWE Releases For A Match And more!
We’re starting today with WWE has spent the past few months releasing employees, which started with the April 15th main-roster cuts, and now even
more names have been cut from the company. Yesterday, WWE released several main-roster Superstars, including Braun Strowman, Aleister
Black, Lana, Buddy Murphy, Ruby Riott and Santana Garrett. News of these releases was first reported by
fightful son rasp but later to conform by WWE themselves, in the latest wave of mass releases from the company.
Arguably the two biggest names cut are Braun Strowman and Aleister Black, as Strowman is not only a former Universal Champion, but only
recently competed for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania-Backlash.
As for Black, he only recently returned to WWE TV after months away, and was expected to receive a huge push, feuding with Big E.
Now, any plans for Black are over, and in a statement, the former NXT Champion said his release came out of left field, as they’d just started
his new character, but thanked the WWE Universe for their support. Strowman also thanked everyone who helped in this
chapter of his life, and in her own statement, Lana said she’ll never forget the love fans showed her, whether she was in a tank or going through a table.
Buddy Murphy said he’s excited to see what the future holds after working with some of the best talent in the world, but now all of this week’s releases
will need to find themselves outside of WWE, after their non-compete clauses end later this year.
It wasn’t just the released Superstars who have commented on this latest wave of cuts, as several Superstars, both past and present have
also weighed-in. WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley was one of the first people to respond, saying that for Ruby
Riott, the best is yet to come. Foley also had praise for Braun Strowman, saying he was shocked by the former Universal
Champion’s release, and that he’s a can’t miss signing for AEW. The Hardcore legend also addressed how Braun
has previously said that he’d never want to work for another company asides WWE, but unless he’s set for life at 37, he might want to
explore his options. SmackDown’s Seth Rollins said how today, he feels broken-hearted, whilst Matt Cardona,
who was cut from WWE in April 2020 was far more positive, saying these releases will be fine, as long as they work hard, be themselves,
and have fun. Renee Paquette, who left WWE on her own terms last year, called out WWE for what she called
horrible management of some really talented people.” It’ll be interesting to see where these six released Superstars go next, and we can only hope that
WWE’s releases are over for the time being.
We mentioned how Braun Strowman was perhaps the most surprising release to fans, but those inside the company were not shocked to see the
Monster Among Men let go. Fightful Select reports that talent close to the situation weren’t surprised to see Strowman
released, as he signed a monster deal in 2019, reportedly worth over $1 million per year. Sources claim that Strowman’s 2019 contract
was signed at the last minute, and that he was said to be very private about negotiating contracts with the company.
There’s no word on whether Strowman requested his release, but his 2019 deal, which was set to expire in 2023, will see the Monster
Among Men continue to get paid during his 90- day non-compete clause. With WWE trying to cut costs, a million-dollar deal
deal was something WWE didn’t want to pay, and now the former Universal Champion will look to find a similar deal outside of the company.
One Superstar who wasn’t cut from WWE this week was King Corbin, but many believe the King of the Ring should’ve lost his job too.
One fan tweeted that they’re cancelling WWE, including their tickets for WrestleMania 38 because the company fired Braun Strowman
and not Corbin, which got a response from the SmackDown Superstar. Replying, Corbin said he’ll never understand why
people act this way, and that nobody should ever want someone to lose their job and livelihood.
Corbin may be a heel on-screen, but he has a good point here, as no-one should take glee in someone losing their job during these
unprecedented times.
AEW news now, and reigning TNT Champion Miro knows what it’s like to be released from WWE, and now his wife Lana has gone through the
same process. On Twitter, the Best Man fired out a tweet that many believe was a reference to his wife’s
release, and a shot at WWE, saying: You can’t soar with the eagles if you’re hanging with the turkeys
Miro is no stranger to this sort of treatment from WWE, as the AEW star was released last April as part of cost-cutting measures, despite
the company’s record profits. Lana leaves WWE having never held gold, despite a lengthy storyline last year against then-Women’s
Tag Champions Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler, which fans expected would end with her winning a title, and time will tell if she joins her
husband in the All-Elite promotion.
Now, Brock Lesnar hasn’t been seen in WWE since his WrestleMania 36 loss to Drew McIntyre, and the Beast’s contract expired after that show.
Since then, there’s been speculation on when Lesnar will return, with the consensus being he’ll be back when fans return too, and now
WWE may be planting the seeds of his comeback. On this week’s RAW, both Drew McIntyre and Kofi Kingston discussed the Beast, with McIntyre
pointing out that he has a win over Lesnar, before WWE Champion Bobby Lashley asked why they were discussing somebody who doesn’t
even work in WWE? It’s no secret that WWE script everything that Superstars say, meaning someone backstage
wanted Lesnar’s name to be used on TV, over a year since he left. It’s also no secret that Lashley wants a match with
Lesnar, and that this was one of the reasons the Almighty returned in 2018, as this week’s RAW could’ve been the start of the build to that match.
If Lesnar’s plan is to return alongside fans, he won’t be waiting much longer, and with McIntyre-Lashley confirmed for Hell In A Cell, fans can expect the Beast
to be back on the road to Summerslam.
AEW news now, and at Double or Nothing, Mark Henry made his debut for the company, after making it clear for years that he wants to do more
in the wrestling industry. The WWE Hall of Famer will serve as an analyst on the upcoming AEW Rampage, as well as in talent
relations, but he could soon be stepping back in the ring. On his own Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T
discussed Henry’s recent weight-loss, as he made it clear before joining AEW that he was wanting one more match, and suggest a possible
opponent for the World’s Strongest Man: “The match is pretty much made right there – the Big Show vs Mark Henry. Maybe that’s the
off match for – I’m not going to send both of these guys out to pasture or anything like that, so I don’t want to get ahead of myself. I know that’s
the match they can have.” Henry and Show, now Paul Wight do have a history, as they had a highly underrated feud in
2011, and whilst Henry has said he’s looking to work with younger talents, a last showdown with the Giant could be in the cards for AEW’s
newest signing.
Back to WWE, and this week’s Monday Night RAW saw Drew McIntyre defeat Kofi Kingston in a #1 contender’s main event, which drew an average
1418 million viewers to the USA Network. That’s according to Nielsen via PWTorch, and is a 12.5% drop from last week’s 1.621 million,
making this week’s show the lowest audience in RAW history. Monday’s show also drew the second lowest
figure in the 18-49 demographic with a 0.44 rating, only behind the December 14th 2020 show that went up against a major NFL game.
This week’s show saw a 24% drop in viewers from hour one to hour three, the fourth-biggest drop in RAW history, as 1.536 million fans turned
in in hour one, which rose to 1.549 million in hour two, before plummeting to 1.168 million. We’ll We’ll have to see how WWE tries to turn things
around, as this record was one the company didn’t want to set with this week’s Monday Night RAW.
More release news, as last month, it was reported that Tom Phillips had been let-go by the company, and that has now been confirmed.
On Twitter, Phillips acknowledged his departure, which came after 9 years with WWE, and his release was first reported but never confirmed
on May 27th. Phillips said he’s excited for the future, and will reveal more about his release on the latest
Sports Media Podcast, but for now, all we know is that the former RAW Commentator is gone from WWE.
One person who’s not going anywhere is Universal Champion Roman Reigns, who continues to dominate SmackDown each and
every week. The Tribal Chief, alongside Paul Heyman and Jey Uso have been a thorn in the side of Adam
Pearce, and this may lead to a match between the two. Speaking to Give Me Sport, Pearce discussed
the proposed match against Reigns at the Royal Rumble, which saw Pearce replace himself with Kevin Owens, and said that had WWE had offered
him a match with Reigns, he wouldn’t turn it down. Before a handful of matches this year, Pearce’s last pre-WWE match was back at ROH: Death
before Dishonor 12 in August 2014, but it may be just a matter of time before he laces up his boots again, this time against the head of the table.
And we’re ending today with more news from the WWE’s recent releases, as it hasn’t taken long for speculation that at least some of the six Superstars
will be heading to AEW.
On Twitter, FTW World Champion Brian Cage commented on these releases, saying:
"Everyone talking about the match that could be made after wwe releases....im over here just wanting del sol, Lee, and
End is in reference to Tommy End, Aleister Black’s pre-WWE name, and we imagine the Dutchman would be a perfect fit in AEW.
Black isn’t the only former Superstar on Cage’s radar, as he said he’d also want to face his “buddy” a clear reference to Buddy Murphy.
After years of being mis-used in WWE, both Murphy and Black could do big things in AEW, and we’re sure there’s plenty of fans who’d
love to see them tear it up in Tony Khan’s promotion.