Here's your wrestling news for June 5th 2021
And your headlines for today include
Andrade El Idolo Makes AEW Debut ; Charlotte Flair Reacts!
Where Is Shinsuke Nakamura-King Corbin Feud Heading?
Is WWE Killing The Best Storyline On SmackDown? Does WWE Even Care?
AEW Books MMA Cage Fight For Dynamite In Two Weeks!
Details On Aleister Black's Backstage Issues, Real Reason Behind His Release!
Why Jon Moxley Is Out Of Action ‘Indefinitely’ ?
Asuka Might Have Leaked Big WWE Secret!
Backstage Details On Lana's Creative Plans And Work Ethic Prior To WWE Release And more!
We’re starting today with AEW and after months of speculation, former WWE Superstar Andrade is officially All-Elite.
During last night’s Dynamite, Mark Henry, a former WWE alum himself, addressed the crowd in the Daily’s Place, before being
interrupted by another former WWE star Vickie Guerrero, who introduced Andrade El Idolo.
In a to the point promo, Andrade promised that he will be the face of AEW, and his debut comes after he promised something huge on
Twitter earlier that day. Though fans speculated that Charlotte Flair was pregnant, that apparently wasn’t the case,
though it could always still be true, and on Twitter, the Queen did react to her fiance’s debut, with a series of emojis to show how
emotional she was. Andrade’s release from WWE in March saw him be let go without a non-compete clause,
and that’s now culminated with him becoming the newest member of AEW.
SmackDown news now, and it’s been a month since King Corbin and Shinsuke Nakamura began their feud over Corbin’s crown, a feud
that even served as the platform for Rick Boogs to debut on the main roster. Though the feud was entertaining at first,
it’s now run it’s course, as the pair seem to be merely exchanging victories and trying to grab the crown, with little substance to the storyline.
This week was Corbin’s turn to win and reclaim the crown, though Boogs tripped him, allowing Nakamura to level the King with a kick and reclaim
the crown. There’s nothing else to the story other than two men trying to grab a piece of headwear, and
we can only hope WWE pulls the plug on this feud soon, perhaps by having a match for the King of the Ring accolade at Hell in a Cell.
The way things stand, neither man wins, but we get the feeling WWE will prioritize Corbin over Nakamura going forward on SmackDown.
It wasn’t just the Nakamura-Corbin feud that showed no development, as despite Roman Reigns’ excellent work in recent months,
this week’s SmackDown saw no progress in the Universal title picture. Cesaro was nowhere to be seen this week,
an odd move considering it’s rumoured he’ll be facing Reigns at Hell in a Cell in under two weeks, whilst Seth Rollins had an interview which
lasted a few seconds. This interview didn’t reveal much, as it’s still unclear if Rollins is going to weasel his way into
the Universal title match at Hell in a Cell, or is he o nly after destroying Cesaro. As for the Tribal Chief, he was preoccupied with
the Usos and the SmackDown Tag Titles, and though he impressed as usual, the Universal Champion should have bigger problems to deal
with. In short, Cesaro should’ve been on SmackDown, and if WWE wants him to headline Hell in a
Cell, and build him up as a credible challenger after already losing to Reigns at WrestleMania- Backlash, it doesn’t make sense for him to miss
this week’s show.
More from AEW, and a huge fight is coming to Dynamite.
On last night’s show, the Inner Circle celebrated their Stadium Stampede victory over the Pinnacle, and after promising that they’d keep beating
the Pinnacle week after week, Jake Hager challenged Wardlow to an MMA Cage fight.
Hager is undefeated in MMA, with a record of 3-0, and whilst Wardlow wasn’t there to accept the challenge, fans can expect these two to throw
down in two weeks time.
Perhaps Aleister Black could soon join AEW, as WWE released him shortly after he returned to WWE TV with a new character, but that
repacking also came with a new entrance fans never got to see. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter,
WWE commissioned new entrance music for Black, as the company had some sort of plan for his new persona, but that didn’t pan out on TV.
Black’s feud with Big E was reportedly never meant to go anywhere, and WWE’s own creative team had been told to stop pitching ideas for the
ideas for the Dutch Superstars. Now outside WWE, there’s plenty of options for the former NXT Champion, and it’s hard to
imagine he’ll be ignored once his 90-day non- compete clause is over. As for his theme fans never heard, perhaps
WWE will save it for someone else down the line, as making songs can be an expensive process, and reusing this theme may be WWE’s
decision if they’re as focussed on cutting costs as they claim to be.
It was in a text to all Superstars, that WWE confirmed Black’s release, amongst others, as due to budget cuts, but that wasn’t the real
reason for the Dutchman’s departure. That’s according to Dave Meltzer who wrote in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his
in-ring style ultimately cost him in the long-run, saying: “There were issues with the writing staff but in
the end, Black and Murphy were both wrestlers where Vince McMahon was said to not understand their style of wrestling.”
In a post-release Twitch stream, Black refuted the idea that McMahon had decided to release him, saying they had a good professional relationship
Meltzer was quick to criticise Black for believing that someone else other than Vince must’ve decided to fire him, as all releases are ultimately
decided on by the Chairman, leading Meltzer to call the former Superstar’s comment “incredibly foolish.”
Meltzer noted that it’s unclear if this cut will affect WWE’s attempts to bring back his wife Thea Trinidad, aka Zelina Vega, but if she does
indeed return, she’ll not be working alongside her husband.
If Aleister Black does join AEW, now is the right time to do it, as the company will be going without one of it’s top stars for the foreseeable
future. Jon Moxley took quite a beating at Double or Nothing, and now the former World Champion
is out indefinitely. During the Pay-Per-View, Moxley took several BTE Triggers, before losing his World Tag Team
title match with the Young Bucks, and the brothers continued their assault on him prior to this week’s Dynamite.
It was on last night’s show that Excalibur said that Moxley is out of action “indefinitely,” after the attack from the Bucks, and it’s unclear when
he’ll return. It’s unclear why Moxley has been given this time off, but the general consensus is that he can
spend more time with his wife Renee Paquette as the pair prepare to welcome their baby daughter to the world.
Moxley will be back one day and aiming for revenge, but for now, Eddie Kingston will have to go it alone as he continues to feud with the
Bucks.
Now, it’s been confirmed that Summerslam 2021 will take place on Saturday August 21st, but the location of the show remains a mystery.
In the past, it’s been reported that WWE wanted Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, which is why the show was moved from Sunday to Saturday,
as the Stadium will be hosting Manny Pacquiao’s return to boxing against Errol Spence Jr on the Sunday.
With that said, it’s also been reported that WWE doesn’t like the idea of being a distant second to the boxing match, and now Asuka may have
accidentally spoiled where Summerslam will go. On Twitter, the former RAW Women’s Champion tweeted a photo of Allegiant Stadium with a
shocked emoji, as it appears WWE will be heading to Las Vegas after all. It’s known that WWE has been planning on
hosting Summerslam in an NFL Stadium, and possible suggestions have included the Hard Rock Stadium in Miama, So Fi Stadium in
Inglewood, California, and Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. It’s interesting that WWE would choose this
stadium, as they won’t be the hottest ticket in town, and whilst the location will be confirmed during the Belmont preshow on NBC
today, Asuka may have already spoiled the surprise.
And we’re ending today with more news from WWE’s recent releases, as Lana was one of the six Superstars cut by WWE earlier this week
as part of ‘budget cuts’ by the company. Joining WWE in 2013, Lana improved incredibly as a character and a wrestler before her departure
which explains why her release has been so shocking. In a report from Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful,
it’s noted that Lana leaving is being seen as a blow to the company, as he writes:
If Lana didn't have anything going on, it wasn't for lack of her trying. We've heard several stories about how she (and Naomi) would
follow up about their creative and constantly try to ensure they were doing something."
The report goes on to add that Lana’s path in WWE could’ve been much different, before plans changed in recent months:
There were significantly different plans for Lana earlier this year before Charlotte's return, but we're told that Vince McMahon personally
assured her that wouldn't be the end of the Lana character and they'd have more for her.
Charlotte Flair’s return last December saw her replace Lana in a women’s tag title match that would eventually be won by Flair and Asuka
but it seems things could’ve been much different for the Ravishing Russian. Instead of the ‘more’ promised by McMahon,
Lana was cut from WWE due to what’s described as budgetary reasons, but with a massive following on social media, and
mainstream appeal, don’t expect Lana to be out of a job for long.