In today’s video, a top AEW star on their way to WWE.
Yet another covid outbreak in WWE.
And a WWE star already getting buried following a heel turn.
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One year into the Dynamite era on TV, AEW have gone from strength to strength - consistently
beating NXT in the ratings head to head on Wednesday nights, putting on some of the best
matches of the year, and effectively debuting a number of new stars like Eddie Kingston.
It’s all amazing in All Elite Wrestling… unless you’ve got a vagina.
While nearly every singles or tag dude wrestler has a storyline or faction on the show, the
women’s division has frequently been an afterthought, with nobody getting any feuds
on the level of the men, and pay-per-view title matches being thrown together last minute.
One excuse for this is that a lot of AEW’s Japanese female talent, like former women’s
champion Riho, have been unable to work in the US during the pandemic, and that top division
stars like Kris Statlander are out injured until next year.
But that’s no excuse for one of the best lady wrestlers they’ve been using for the
last several months to possibly now be on their way to WWE.
Last night, Thunder Rosa lost her NWA Women’s Championship to Serena Deeb.
Rosa just lost to AEW Women’s Champion Shida in a very well received match at last month’s
All Out pay-per-view, and the feud appeared to be building to a rematch, this time for
Rosa’s NWA belt.
But despite then beating Kimber Lee, and defeating Diamante and Ivelisse while tagging with Shida
on Dynamite, Thunder Rosa disappeared from AEW.
Rosa then told WrestleTalk’s Denise Salcedo she was sitting by the phone waiting for them
to call, but she hasn’t heard anything.
And possibly, during that time, WWE might’ve given her a ring instead.
Dave Meltzer has reported both AEW and WWE are very interested in Rosa.
But Rosa now dropping the NWA title - who has a working relationship with AEW, Tony
Khan has even announced new champion Deeb is defending it against Leyla Hirsch tonight
- implies WWE have signed her instead, as they would require her to stop working independent
dates.
The excuse of AEW not having enough female talent to use appears unfortunately very hollow.
Rosa isn’t the first signing to slip through their fingers.
Both Jordynne Grace and Deonna Purazzo chose IMPACT Wrestling.
Tessa Blanchard is still a free agent, although she comes with her own baggage.
And it’s also being reported WWE have snapped up another top star - with Tokyo Sports revealing
Meiko Satomura has been signed to NXT UK to work as a player-coach, i.e. being both an
on-air wrestler and a behind the scenes trainer.
Satomura had previously reached the semi finals in the 2018 Mae Young Classic tournament,
and she’s expected to travel to England in November for the next set of NXT UK TV
tapings at BT Sport.
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It’s not just signing the best female talent from under AEW’s noses that NXT has going
for it.
They also have Halloween Havoc’s Spin the Wheel, Make a Deal!
Unfortunately, the wheel landed on ‘Another Covid Outbreak’.
Why was that even an option?
The Wrestling Observer is reporting the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida had
another outbreak of COVID-19 last Friday, and, as per company precautions, anyone who
was at the facility - whether they tested positive or negative - now have to quarantine
for two weeks.
Dave Meltzer adds that none of NXT’s top stars tested positive, but the quarantine
measures will take out several people scheduled for tonight’s Halloween Havoc special, and
“aspects of the show are going to have to be changed.”
This is the fourth reported outbreak of coronavirus at WWE venues, and comes just one week after
local officials instructed a Strike Team to investigate the Performance Center, Full Sail
University and the site of the Thunderdome, the Amway Center, for possibly not adhering
to safety guidelines.
The Performance Center, recently rebranded as the Capitol Wrestling Center, has been
admitting select groups of fans in plexiglass pods, who have to undergo testing procedures,
since TakeOver 31 earlier this month.
When news of their venues being under investigation first broke, WWE issued the statement: “WWE
is not open to the public, but rather operating on a closed set with only essential personnel
in attendance” - and of their “10,000 PCR tests to WWE performers, employees, production
staff and crew resulting in only 1.5 percent positive cases as compared to the current
national average of more than 5%.”
Which, as Bryan Alvarez pointed out, is still 150 positive cases, far more than originally
reported, and a number that doesn’t include the families affected when the positive cases
return home.
Coincidentally, on this same day, DXT head producer Road Dogg announced he’s quitting
Twitter, after arguing masks weren’t effective to prevent spreading Covid against former
WWE agent Shane Helms.
It’s unknown how the latest decision will effect WWE’s plans to move out of the Thunderdome
and start touring again with fans in attendance.
Dave Meltzer has noted WWE’s deal with the Amway Center is up next month, and the NBA
are scheduled to start playing there for its next season.
But with everything so “up in the air”, no concrete plans are being made.
What is definitely a good move in hindsight, though - given that one of WWE’s outbreaks
came when NXT talent crossed over into the Thunderdome to be Retribution extras - is
that there are no plans to include NXT in this year’s Survivor Series pay-per-view.
WWE already announced on Monday the major matches were all Raw vs SmackDown, champion
vs champion bouts.
Because it’s the one night a year when Raw and SmackDown stars go head to head in direct
competition.
Apart from Raw’s Street Profits vs SmackDown’s Cesaro and Nakamura.
Raw’s Braun Strowman vs SmackDown’s Roman Reigns the other Friday.
And Raw’s Miz vs SmackDown’s Otis at Hell in a Cell just this past Sunday.
What are the rules?
I don’t know, and I doubt WWE do either, because Tucker, who turned heel on SmackDown’s
Otis, is still listed as a SmackDown wrestler, but was definitely drafted to Raw.
And is getting buried on Main Event.
Tucker turned heel on his Heavy Machinery tag partner Otis on Sunday night, losing him
his Money in the Bank briefcase.
It was problematic for many reasons.
Tucker was just drafted to Raw.
Otis is still on SmackDown.
And the Miz now has a Money in the Bank title shot in 2020.
But reports started to emerge yesterday that Tucker had quietly been moved back to SmackDown
to continue his feud with Otis.
Because Survivor Series is the one time a year for Raw and SmackDown stars to go head
to head.
But PWInsider is reporting WWE.com’s roster page is simply out of date, and Tucker is
most definitely a Raw star.
This presumably sets up a Raw vs SmackDown match for Survivor Series with Tucker vs Otis.
But Tucker’s new serious character following his heel turn isn’t off to a good start.
Because likely revealing what WWE management actually think of his future chances, he was
beaten by Humberto Carillo at the Main Event tapings before this week’s Raw.
Beaten by Humberto Carillo.
On Main Event.
Vince high on Tucker backstage reports incoming.
Let’s have a look at the other stars who get regularly beaten on Main Event.
Gran Metalik.
Ricochet.
Drew Gulak.
Akira Tozawa.
Mustafa Ali.
And Humberto Carillo.
It could be worse, Tucker.
You could be in Retribution.
On Monday’s Raw, The Hurt Business effectively squashed Retribution in an 8 man tag elimination
match.
But Retribution did get the first pin, rolling up MVP when he was distracted by Mia Yim’s
Reckoning character having some kind of fake seizure in the ring - for it all to be revealed
as a dastardly trick.
It was an angle that wasn’t just lame, it was one many also found rather insulting - seemingly
cheaply exploiting a serious medical issue.
Reckoning herself has replied to this criticism on Twitter:
“Not a seizure.
Not an epileptic.
A “Possession”.
To clarify, I would never fake a medical condition like those.”
An apparent break of kayfabe that was immediately undermined by her follow-up tweet:
“It worked” - with a gif of Rihanna enjoying some popcorn.
Retribution’s criteria for ‘worked’ there being ‘got decisively beaten’.
Which figures.
What did you make of Retribution’s not a seizure angle?
Let me know in the comments down below.
Personally, I don’t think Reckoning’s argument holds up, as supernatural possession
has never been a part of Retribution’s anti-establishment gimmick.
To end on some good news, new New Japan president Takami Obari has told Tokyo Sports their biggest
show of the year WrestleKingdom will once again take place over two consecutive nights
on January 4th and 5th, which, circumstance permitting, is set to have the largest live
audience for a wrestling show since the pandemic began at 20,000 fans.
The Tokyo Dome has a capacity of 50,000, but that is of course limited due to social distancing
measures.
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