Here's your wrestling news for October 8th 2021
And your headlines for today include
Smackdown’s BIGGEST Babyface Problem Is Good News For Roman Reigns!
Vince McMahon Wanted CM Punk To Make Fun Of Stephanie McMahon In Pipe Bomb Promo!
Pat McAfee On Not Being Invited By WWE For Saudi Arabia Shows!
Braun Strowman ‘Keeps Trying To Get His Job Back’ With WWE ; How He Felt After His WWE?
Braun Strowman Gets Offer From Indie Company To Be Their Janitor!
Former Impact Wrestler Arrested; Mugshot Photo Released!
Twitch Data Leak Reveals Insane Payouts For Paige, Adam Cole, & More!
We’re kicking off with SmackDown, and after three years of dominating RAW and two WWE Title reigns, Drew McIntyre’s move to the blue
brand was inevitable. When the post-draft rosters come into effect after Crown Jewel, McIntyre will be SmackDown’s
top babyface, above the likes of Kofi Kingston, Shinsuke Nakamura, Cesaro, Jeff Hardy or Ricochet.
Out of those Superstars, it’s extremely doubtful that anyone other than Drew has a chance of becoming Universal Champion in the next year,
but the likes of Kingston or Nakamura could be cannon-fodder for Roman Reigns at a B-Show Pay-Per-View.
A month-long Reigns-Nakamura feud or Reigns- Kingston story could be fine for the likes of Battleground or a Saudi show, but it’s been years
since either man defeated a top-tier Superstar on Pay-Per-View. As for Cesaro, he was booked strong for the first
half of 2021, culminating in a Universal title match at WrestleMania-Backlash, but after losing to Reigns last May, the Swiss Superman has tumbled
down the card. It doesn’t appear that WWE plans on giving him another title shot, and his solo opportunity against
Reigns last May now feels like a distant memory. Jeff Hardy remains one of wrestling’s most popular Superstars, despite some shaky booking by WWE.
After a one-week cameo In the 24/7 Title picture, a title he failed to win, Hardy has been recently seen putting over Damian Priest in U.S. title
matches, a title he hasn’t held in three years. With Jeff’s popularity, and the Men’s Royal Rumble drawing closer, WWE wouldn’t have to do much to
build the Charismatic Enigma up for a title match with Reigns, but given his booking in recent years, even the most die-hard Hardy fan would
struggle to believe he could topple the Head of the Table. And then there’s Ricochet, who’s been jumping
between low-card and jobber status ever since he was squashed by Brock Lesnar at Super Showdown 2020.
If there’s a silver-ling to his career, is that the draft and the move to SmackDown means he’ll be moving away from the 24/7 title, which can only help his
career. Perhaps the One and Only will be this year’s Cesaro, in that like the Swiss Superstar last year,
WWE will take a guy who’s usually beat, and push him for months to build a credible challenger for Roman Reigns
The difference is that Cesaro, for his bad booking until last year, was at least always praised by WWE as one of the strongest men in wrestling
whilst Ricochet has received no such accolade. It’s going to take a lot of work to get there after years of WWE telling us over and over again that
Ricochet is a loser. The past year has seen WWE work some magic over the SmackDown mid-card, with Cesaro and
Jey Uso both being built as possible contenders, and the blue brand will need to do that again very soon, or face Drew McIntyre being involved in a lot
of Pay Per View title matches, booking that eventually backfired for the Scotsman during his tenure as WWE Champion.
Roman’s biggest threat isn’t a SmackDown Superstar, but rather the free agent Brock Lesnar, and if the reports of WWE wanting to their Saudi
events ‘must-see’ shows, what better way to do that then have Lesnar win the title this month?
If Lesnar doesn’t stand tall at Crown Jewel, then Reigns may indeed be holding the Universal title for another year, which isn’t as horrifying as a
Lesnar part-time reign, thanks to Roman being one of wrestling’s most entertaining stars over the past year.
Barring injury, it may be another year before we consider who could take the title away from the Tribal Chief, as right now, none of SmackDown’s
newest crop of babyfaces, except for maybe McIntyre, are on his level. But who do you think should dethrone the Tribal Chief,
and when should Reigns drop the belt? Let us know in the comments below.
In June 2011, CM Punk cut his infamous pipebomb, where he aired some real grievances with WWE and those in charge.
In one line, Punk referred to Vince McMahon’s “idiotic daughter and doofus son-in-law,” a dig at Stephanie McMahon and Triple H.
Taking a shot at the boss’ daughter almost always leads to some kind of punishment, but as Punk tod Sport 1 Wrestling this week, calling Stephanie
an idiot was more-than-fine with the Chairman: I had to make an outline for Vince and I didn’t say anything I wrote in the outline, I just know
that I needed him to agree and then I went out there and said whatever I wanted. I knew what I wanted to say, I knew I wasn’t stepping over the
line and I knew nobody was going to be pissed at me. The thing with live television is, it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than
permission. If I would have asked him to say all that stuff, he would have been like, ‘Don’t mention Brock, don’t mention Paul Heyman
Those guys, at the time, were persona non Grata. He would have been like, ‘What the hell is Ring of Honor? Don’t mention New Japan.’ I knew
to make it the special piece of art that I wanted it to be, I had to go out there and say all of that. I wrote up a mock draft of it and he
said, ‘Yeah, this is great.’ He asked me to add something making fun of Stephanie. I was like, ‘Okay.’ I went out there and I did it and it was
good so it doesn’t matter.” Under his boss’ orders, Punk went out on Live TV and called Stephanie an idiot to millions of
viewers around the world, in what was an epic moment for Punk, and an awkward moment for the daughter of Vince McMahon.
Later this month, WWE will return to the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh for Crown Jewel, but not everyone is making the trip to Saudi Arabia.
On his show, SmackDown commentator Pat McAfee explained that he won’t be at Crown Jewel on October 21st, and said:
“Yeah, [WWE is] heading over there. I wasn’t invited. It’s a real shame. Good luck.”
I’m not gonna be a part of that. Hey listen, I’m not supposed to be a part of that. I’m happy I’m not going or whatever. But I don’t know how that
whole thing plays out 10 years, 20 years from now, looking back on it. But the shows, everybody said it is insane over there. It’s awesome
Until they get stuck there, and then I got to call Buffalo SmackDown.” McAfee’s line about getting stuck is a reference t
the debacle after Crown Jewel 2019, where the roster were detained before their flight took off, a situation many Superstars compared to a hostage
situation. With so many people stranded in Saudi Arabia, McAfee was flown to Buffalo New York for the
November 1st 2019 SmackDown, which also featured a host of NXT Superstars to fill the card. McAfee referring to the wrestlers getting stuck in
Saudi Arabia as ‘insane’ is apt, as there’s no chance this disturbing situation couldn’t happen again, which explains why the talented
commentator is happy to sit Crown Jewel out
This past June, Braun Strowman was cut from his lucrative, $1.2 million a year contract, in one of the most shocking cuts to any WWE roster.
Strowman’s last match had been a WWE title opportunity at WrestleMania-Backlash, which came a month after his monumental victory over
Shane McMahon at WrestleMania 37. Speaking on Control Your Narrative, the former Universal Champion spoke about his release,
and the toll it’s played on his mental health: “It’s scary, still. I’m not gonna lie. [I] kind of put all my eggs in one basket there for quite a long time.
Did it end how I wanted it to? Of course not. And... I’ve been hearing it a ton. ‘Well you said you’d never wrestle again when you were done with
WWE.’ Well, I was forced to be done. I said I would never wrestle for another company when I took my boots off for WWE. I never took my boots off. I
I never had an opportunity to put them back on to come back to work. And I ain’t gonna lie, it sent me into a pretty bad place.”
Strowman went on to say that although he’s grateful for WWE, and had a blast there, it consumed his entire life, and he’s now trying to make up
for lost time with family and friends. Strowman concluded by saying that all the three- letter companies have reached out to him,
but which company the former Universal Champion ultimately signs with remains to be seen.
It’s been rumoured for some time now that Strowman will debut later this month for Impact Wrestling at Bound For Glory, but the Monster Among
Men may have other plans entirely. When Ringside News was contacted by Strowman’s management agency, they were
told that the former Universal Champion has had talks with WWE, but didn’t answer any questions about whether discussions are still ongoing.
This is completely different to what a source in WWE has said, as a member of creative made it clear that the company isn’t interested
in Braun, saying that if WWE wanted him back “he would have already been in the fold.”
When Ringside News asked again, they were told that any talks between Braun and WWE have been one sided, as WWE hasn’t approached
Strowman, but it’s the former Superstar who’s trying to get his job back. When both the RAW and SmackDown writing
teams were asked, they said there was no interest in Braun, and that’s also what the teams told Vince McMahon, Bruce Prichard and
John Lauriniatis. When asked about this lack of interest by WWE, Strowman’s management agency refused to
to comment, as the former Universal Champion may indeed be debuting for Impact soon, but it’s apparently not his first choice
Strowman may be hoping to be back in WWE rather than Impact, but at least he’ll be wrestling in the Nashville promotion if he joins.
That’s more than what he’d be doing if he signed with Black Label Pro, as the indie promotion fired off a job offer this week to Strowman, but not as
as a wrestler. Instead, BLP called Strowman “a great addition to our janitorial staff” in a response to Strowman’s
claim that every 3-letter promotion has offered him a contract. If Strowman doesn’t join Impact this month,
then it’ll be interesting to see where he eventually shows up, but if Black Label Pro get their hands on the former Universal Champion, he’ll be cleaning
tables, not putting his opponents through them.
Impact isn’t the only possible home for the Monster Among Men, as during a media call to promote the upcoming Fightland event, MLW CEO
Court Bauer was asked about Braun Strowman. Speaking about the former Superstar, Bauer confirmed that MLW has had talks with him,
but that the two parties couldn’t come to terms. Bauer was quick to refute the rumours that Braun a steep asking price, but didn’t explain
why the two sides couldn’t make a deal. Since his WWE release, Braun has had just one match, appearing at EC3’s recent Free
the Narrative event, and after his cringe-inducing angle with Shane McMahon earlier this year, the question of where Strowman will
wrestle next has proven to be his most interesting story this year.
We’ve got some worrying news regarding former Impact wrestler Chris Harris, who was reportedly arrested this week.
PW Insider reports that Harris, a seven-time NWA World Tag Team Champion, was arrested on Tuesday on charges of operating a vehicle under
the influence of alcohol, and was also unable to provide valid insurance for the car. With a $2,500 unsecured bond to his name,
Harris was bonded out of Kentucky’s Kenton County jail the following morning, and will appear in front of a judge on November 2nd for a
pre-trial conference, ahead of his sentencing. In an update, Kenton County Jail released the mugshot of the former Impact wrestler, a
and their record shows that he blew a 0.8 in the blood-alcohol breathalyser, well over the legal limit, making him legally impaired.
Hopefully, whatever sentence he receives will deter Harris from making the same mistake, as he’s greatly lucky that no-one was injured or
worse during his drunken ride
And we’re ending today with Twitch, as the popular streaming service was recently hacked, with tons of private data being made
publicly available. This leak came just days after Facebook Whatsapp and Instagram all shut down, and the
wrestling world has been hit hard by the leak of information. The Verge reports that this data breach included
the pay outs of some wrestlers on Twitch, and the leak revealed the annual pay outs of some streamers.
It revealed that in the last year, Paige earned $478,224 from streaming on the site.
Zelina Vega earned $341,748 from streaming, while Adam Cole, now free from WWE’s rules, earned $318,080.
Interestingly, wrestling’s quintessential gamer Xavier Woods earned just $24,431 streaming, but there’s no word on what his separate Up Up
Down Down channel earns. Impact Wrestling, who broadcast their weekly TV show on Twitch, earned $69,140 in the
past year. After seeing these numbers, it explains why Paige, Vega and Cole was so adamant about
not giving up their channels when WWE implemented their no-third-party-deals rule, as gaming for fans has proven to be a
high-earner for many people in wrestling.