Here's your wrestling news for July 23rd 2021
And your headlines for today include
Why Daniel Bryan Picked AEW Over WWE?
Great News For All Female WWE Wrestlers!
CM Punk To AEW Is A ‘ 100% Done Deal’; Punk’s Reaction ; Tentative Debut Date & More!
Yet Another Famous Name Added To AEW Roster!
Video Wall And Stage Collapse At Rolling Loud Festival Ahead Of WWE SmackDown Matches!
WWE SummerSlam To Air In Movie Theaters!
Karrion Kross Entrance Re-Shot During NXT Tapings ; Interesting Reason Behind The Re-shoot!
WWE’s Reason For Karrion Kross Losing RAW Debut Match!
WWE Executives Sell Off Tons Of Company Stock!
WWE Has Exciting Plans For Big E’s Money In The Bank Cash-In!
Lana joins the cast of The Surreal Life & More!
We’re starting today with Daniel Bryan, who has reportedly signed a deal to join All Elite Wrestling.
Arguably the biggest signing for AEW ever, Bryan left WWE in April this year, and the s igns of his departure for AEW had been
there for a while, including WWE dropping all plans for merchandising and licensing with him involved.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer explained that it was ultimately Bryan’s desire to work in Japan that tipped
things in AEW’s favour, saying: “There were a lot of factors that are going into whatever decision he would make —
it was New Japan, AEW, and WWE. He didn’t consider anybody else. He has loyalty to WWE and Vince McMahon, and he has a
lot of friends in WWE. In the end, the company who had the relationship with New Japan would be the favorite to get him.”
WWE President Nick Khan has been trying to ger a deal with New Japan going, but that hasn’t gone far yet, and it was clearly
too late to stop Bryan from joining AEW. In comparison, New Japan’s IWGP U.S. Title changed hands on this week’s AEW Dynamite
and Bryan may soon be competing for the gold himself, in either company
There had been some hope that Bryan would return to WWE, and some fans speculated on his return when the former
WWE Champion’s name was referenced in segments between Roman Reigns and Edge.
It now appears that WWE were never close to re-signing Bryan, as Wrestle Votes mentions that it’s been months since his
name was last brought up by creative. Bryan’s future in WWE had been up-in-the- air since his April 30th banishment from
SmackDown at the hands of Roman Reigns, and despite hopes that this meant he’d be moving to RAW, NXT or a new role in WWE,
that was never the case.
Back to WWE, and the King of the Ring tournament is one of the company’s oldest traditions, but despite the company’s
Women’s evolution, there’s yet to be a queen crowned. That’s going to change very soon according
to Wrestling Inc, who report that a Queen of the Ring tournament will be announced very soon, and will happen in 2021.
The obvious favourite to win this tournament would be the Queen Charlotte Flair, especially as a tournament victory could earn her
another Women’s title opportunity, but it could be so much more interesting if a different women dons the crown later this year.
Earlier this week, it was reported how CM Punk is in talks with AEW, and the Best in the World isn’t denying reports of his
impending debut. Instead, Punk is continuing to tease the idea that he’s joining, as he posted a
a short clip in Instagram Stories, where he uses the song Sirius, by the Alan Parsons project.
Football fans may know the song as it’s used by the Chicago Bulls, and fans didn’t take long to point out how the All Out
Out Pay-Per-View he’s expected to appear at will be in Chicago too on September 5th. When asked, Punk hasn’t shot down the
rumours of joining AEW, and in the Wrestling Observer Forum, Dave Meltzer confirmed that there’s thing going on behind the scenes,
and that if Punk isn’t signed, then there’s at least an understanding between them.
Meltzer added that there has been talks about certain dates, which is an indications that things are pretty far along, or that he’s
already signed. Ringside News later confirmed that talks are going ahead very quickly between AEW
and PUNK, and called the idea of Punk joining a quote “done deal.” A source close to the situation said that
an agreement has been made, and that they’re “waiting until they are in person to sign the contract.”
With Daniel Bryan rumoured to be debuting at the Grand Slam Dynamite special on the 22nd, September 2021 could be the biggest
month in AEW’s history, if the two former WWE World Champions actually debut as expected.
Punk is more-than-likely to be All-Elite very soon, but as one of wrestling’s biggest stars of the past 15-years, it’s no wonder
that AEW wasn’t the only company who wanted his services. Fightful Select notes that Ring of Honour also
took steps to bring Punk back, and that Marty Scrull sent out feelers to Punk in January 2020, but those talks didn’t go far at all.
Another interesting note is that the report stated that the general idea was “opponents and general plans were more important than
dollars offered” for CM Punk. With a net worth of approximately $10 million, money is not a concern for Punk, meaning he
can choose where he wants to go based on the caliber of matches he could have. What Punk does when he joins AEW In
September remains to be seen, but the Best in the world evidently believes that the best matches he can have are in Tony Khan’s
company.
2021 has already been a huge year for AEW, and bringing in Punk would be the biggest acquisition they could make, but the company
needs to work fast to make his contract official.
During his podcast, Andrew Zarian explained why AEW is in a hurry to sign Punk, saying:
“I would say that that there is more urgency […] the CM Punk thing is taking a little bit longer, but you kinda got a month and a half, because
you definitely want him for Chicago [for All Out] because if this is it then you want him on that show before Chicago.”
AEW All Out 2021 on September 5th is now just 44 days away, and would be the perfect place for Punk to make his debut for the company.
By comparison, signing Bryan is said to be much easier for AEW, especially as it’s reported that he’s already inked a deal with
the company. On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said that AEW had four big signings planned
for 2021, and given that we’ve already seen Andrade and Malakai Black join, the debuts of Bryan and Punk would complete AEW’s
epic signings for 2021.
Punk and Bryan aren’t AEW’s only big signings, as Thunder Rosa is officially part of the company.
That was confirmed this week, despite their being some time left on her NWA contract, and Ringsie News has learned that Tony Khan
bought out Rosa’s contract from the NWA. Thunder Rosa first entered AEW as NWA Women’s Champion, and quickly became a
fan favourite, and now she’ll be with the all-elite promotion on a full-time basis.
SmackDown news, as tonight’s show will be a historic split-site broadcast, with most of the show happening in Cleveland, and a
handful of matches at the Rolling Loud Festival in Miami Gardens, Florida. As one of the largest music festivals in the
world, appearing there is a huge win for WWE, but the Superstars who attend should keep an eye on falling debris.
The local NBC affiliate in Miami reports that a giant video wall and part of the stage collapsed this week at the Hard Rock stadium
as crews assembled it for the three-day event. At around 6pm local time, festival organisers
were seen covering the destroyed area in a black tarp, and on Twitter, informed fans about the accient, adding that everything
will be fixed by the time the festival begins.
Fortunately, no-one was injured and the show will go on as planned.
Tonight’s matches from Rollins Loud include SmackDown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair defend against Carmella and
Intercontinental Champion Apollo Crews Vs. Big E in a non-title bout, and hopefully there won’t be any more accidents when the stage
is constructed correctly
Summerslam news next, as the WWE and Stephanie McMahon have insisted that this year’s event will be as big, if not bigger than
WrestleMania 37. Not only will a full crowd be watching at the Allegiant Stadium on August 21st, and fans
alog with fans will be watching from their homes via Peacock and the Network, but the show will also be streamed live in
selected movie theatres. That’s part of a partnership between WWE and Iconic Events Releasing, and Summerslam
will air live in movie theaters for the first- time ever in 33 different states.
Fans can find the closest cinemas to them by going to WWEliveintheaters.com, and it’ll be interesting to see how this new way of
viewing plays out as the world continues to get back to normal.
Now, on this week’s RAW, NXT Champion Karrion Kross made his red-brand debut, and the baffling decision was made for him
to lose to Jeff Hardy in two minutes. Needless to say, fans weren’t happy about this decision, and this bad booking has
followed the Champion back to NXT. Bodyslam.net reports that during Kross’ entrance last night, loud Hardy chants
were hurled in his direction ahead of a segment between Kross and Samoa Joe.
The chants were such a problem that fans were asked to stay around after the show to re-shoot the whole scene, and one fan in
attendance claimed that they were lied to by WWE, who’d promised them something special after the show when they tried to
leave. That ‘something special’ was Kross’ entrance once-again, this time without the Hardy chants
from the crowd. WWE wants Kross perceived a certain way in NXT, and doesn’t want some fans to ruin
his image, which makes the decision to have him lose to Hardy on RAW all the more bizarre.
Clearly, fans haven’t forgot about Kross’ loss on RAW, and though fans still think the logic makes no sense, we now at least have a
reason as to why it happened. During the Mat-Men Pro-Wrestling podcast, Andrew Zarian revealed WWE’s reasoning
for the los, saying: You know what the justification is? He cheated, so it’s a cheap win, but he’s a
former World Champion, so like it just shows you the lack of consistency with their champions. Jeff Hardy is a mega, mega star.
He changed the industry for smaller guys. He created a new time of wrestler… “I asked about it and they said, ‘I don’t know why
everyone is freaking out about this. It was just one step in the direction we have for Karrion Kross, and this is leading into
something.” Zarian added that now that Kross has a loss on RAW, the plan for him is to destroy
everyone in frustration, which at least gives some reasoning behind this week’s decision.
Fans may not have liked the loss, but it could lead to something big for the NXT Champion, but the decision for Hardy, who’s been little
more than a jobber in 2021, to win is yet to be explained.
Despite releasing a ton of staff in the name of budget-cuts, WWE is making record profits right now, and now several top executives
have made even more money by selling their stock. Recent SEC filings show that Vince McMahon,
Nick Khan, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon were just some of the names who sold s tock, valued at $46.88 a share.
Vince McMahon unloaded the most shares, 17,465 shares to make $850,196. Nick Khan sold off 14,404 shares to make $652,459.
Triple H sold 4,410 shares to pocket $214,678
Kevin Dunn and CFO Kristian Salen also sold off a lot of shares too, but don’t take this as the sign of a sale, as everyone involved has
has plenty of stock left in WWE.
Back to the ring, and in a recent interview, Big E made it clear he plans to cash-in Money -in-the-Bank on Roman Reigns, and it appears
that this is the plan from WWE. Andrew Zarian reports that according to his sources in WWE, there are big plans
for Big E, and during his podcast, alluded to a successful cash-in by the former New Day star.
Outside of Battle Royals and Royal Rumbles, the last time Big E and Reigns faced was in a 6-man tag at Survivor Series 2017,
where the Shield toppled the New Day. Big E will be looking to avoid a similar fate whenever he cashes in, and after the
dominant year of the Tribal Chief, cashing in on an exhausted Reigns may be the only way to take the title off him.
And we’re ending with Lana, aka CJ Perry, who was released from WWE this year, but she won’t be joining her husband Miro in
AEW just yet. This week, it was announced that Perry is joining VH1’s ‘The Surreal Life,’ which is a
reboot of the original show that ran from 2003-2006. Similar to Big Brother, the show features
celebrities co-existing under one-roof, or at least trying to co-exist, and Perry will be joined by the likes of Dennis Rodman, Stormy
Daniels, Frankie Muniz and other celebrities. The show will premiere in the fall of 2021, meaning that if Perry does indeed join Miro in
AEW, it won’t be happening until very late in 2021, at the earliest.