And your headlines for today include
WWE NXT 2.0 Superstar released! Not due to Budget cuts
Current main roster champions tease making an appearance for NXT 2.0
Huge update on Chris Jericho and MVP’s altercation – Who started it, WWE and AEW’s responses
Interim AEW World Championship match set for Forbidden Door event this month
AEW star reportedly injured – looked rough during latest Dynamite
“He can drop dead!” WWE Hall of Famer is completely against Ric Flair wrestling again
Naomi gets fans talking with first tweet since WWE suspension
Toni Storm reveals romantic storyline WWE planned that never made it to TV
John Cena explains how he wasted a lot of his time as part of WWE And more!
We’re kicking today with NXT 2.0, which has seen several chan ges to its roster in recent months, and now another Superstar from the paint-splattered brand has been released.
Dave Meltzer was the first to break the story that Troy Donovan, aka Two Dimes, has been released, and will no longer be working as an associate of Tony D’Angelo.
Unlike most releases however, which come due to budget cuts, it’s explained that Donovan’s release came after a WWE company policy violation, but there is no word on what this violation was.
Whatever it was, it must have been pretty serious for WWE to immediately release him, instead of suspend him or freeze his contract.
Bearing in mind that WWE suspended two Superstars recently for walking out of a show and spoiling plans for the main event, Dona von must have done something bad to get immediately cut.
It was just last week that it was reported that D’Angelo suffered some kind of injury at an NXT Live event, and while there’s no word on when he’ll be back, Troy ‘Two Dimes’ Donavon won’t be with
him the next time we see him.
Speaking of NXT 2.0, the paint splattered brand has welcomed several Superstars from the main roster, as part of a WWE rule for at least one main roster Superstar to be involved at all times.
This is why we’ve seen Dolph Ziggler, AJ Styles and Natalya all appear on NXT 2.0, and now a pair of champions may be ready to make the move.
On last week’s show, Grayson Waller cut a promo on Solo Sikoa, saying he did not care about the latter’s family or ‘Blood Type’ a nod to his family in The Bloodline.
In response, Sikoa’s brothers The Usos fired back, and teased coming to NXT 2.0 to deal with Waller personally.
Waller responded in kind, saying that the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions can’t make decisions for themselves, and will need to ask Roman Reigns’ permission if they can work on Tuesday nights.
Despite being a member of the legendary Samoan wrestling family, Solo Sikoa, as his name suggests, has done things on his own, but he may soon be getting some serious back up by his big brothers.
Last week, it was reported that WWE’s MVP and AEW’s Chris Jericho had an altercation at a hotel in Texas, related to a falling out between the two competitors.
This altercation led to Chris Jericho infuriating the former U.S. Champion, telling him “I don’t fight jobbers” and now more details have come out about what exactly went down.
After requesting explanations from both wrestlers, Fightful Select gave an update saying that MVP has many friends in AEW, and was at the hotel to visit people he was close to.
When Jericho appeared, MVP approached him to discuss the issues between them, and both sides agreed that MVP wanted to settle things and be friends again.
From here, the stories get twisted, as one side argues that it was MVP who encouraged them to settle their dispute with a fight, leading to the “I don’t fight jobbers” line.
However, another source claims that MVP did no such thing, and that the two had an “extensive talk” that did not leave either man satisfied.
It was also explained that the two have had a tense relationship for some time due to their different political beliefs, as Jericho has made no secret that he is a supporter of former U.S President Trump
with his wife even attending the January 6th riot.
One of the most interesting details from this is that it was an anony mous AEW worker who told WWEs head of talent relations John Lauriniatis about MVP’s behavior, saying it was unprofessional.
However, Lauriniatis, was said to be indifferent after learning that the altercation between MVP and Jericho ended without incident or violence.
The anonymous AEW worker opted not to disclose Jericho’s beha vior to the company, and Fightful says that AEW were not directly informed by anyone, only learning about through reports online.
At this time, there’s been no word on MVP or Jericho receiving any punishments by their respective companies, but we’ll keep following this story for updates, as the two wrestlers remain firmly not on the
the same page.
At Forbidden Door later this month, AEW will crown an interim World Champion, following CM Punk's recent injury announcement on Rampage.
Last week, Jon Moxley earned his spot in the title match with a victory over Kyle O'Reilly, and now his opponent has been decided.
At New Japan's Dominion event, Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Hirooki Goto, and will face Moxley on June 26th.
Interestingly, Tanahashi had been the original opponent for CM Punk before his injury, with many saying this is a sign he'll be the one leaving Forbidden Door with the gold.
Whoever holds the interim AEW World Championship when Punk is healed will face the Chicago-Made wrestler in a title unification match, but time will tell if Moxley becomes the first two-time
Champion, or if Tanahashi takes AEW's top prize to New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Speaking of AEW, last week’s Dynamite saw the company continue on the road to Forbidden Door, but one wrestler did not have a good time last Wednesday.
According to a report from Fightful, Red Velvet seems to be dealing with some kind of injury, and the Baddies member was being carted around after the show and unable to walk.
No explanation has been given as to what kind of injury Red Velvet has suffered, or when she’ll be back to being 100%.
Red Velvet may not have the same star power as say CM Punk or Bryan Danielson, but it’s a shame to see any wrestler get hurt, and we’re sending her our best wishes at this unfortunate time.
Next month, Ric Flair will compete in his final ever match, as part of the end of July Starrcast 5 events.
A lot has been said about Flair’s decision to wrestle at 73, but not everyone is on board with the Nature Boy having one last match before calling it a career.
Sitting down with Sportskeeda, former WWE personality Gerald Brisco was asked about seeing Flair wrestle again, and he made it clear he’s not a fan of Ric wrestling again:
“I’m concerned, not as a foe or anything, but I’m concerned as a lifelong friend. He’s one of my longest running friends. You look around during our era and there’s not many left… My thoughts and
prayers are with Ric Flair. He’s got a damn pacemaker and it worries me. I’ve talked to doctors and a certain bump in the wrong direction, or a certain chop or something like that, and that thing can dislodge
and he can drop dead.”
Not only will Flair wrestle next month at Starrcast, but he hopes to have at least one extra match, as he recently called out Vince McMahon for a match at Summerslam.
Ultimately, Flair is fixated on having at least one last match, and we can only hope that his decision to wrestle again won’t be one that the Dirtiest Player in the Game lives to regret.
In May, Sasha Banks and Naomi walked out of a Monday Night Raw taping, forcing WWE to change both their short term and long term plans.
Not only did WWE have to scrap their plans for the main event, but also had to cancel plans for both the Raw and SmackDown Women’s Championship, and both Banks and Naomi have since been suspended.
Neither woman has issued an official statement on the matter, but this past weekend, Naomi posted her first tweet since being suspe nded, and it’s an interesting one to say the least.
On Twitter, the former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion shared an inspirational video, highlighting five things people need to hear today.
Some of the points seemed related to what happened last month, such as #4, which says that sometimes, you have to let other people down to make yourself happy.
Fans were quick to respond by suggesting that this video was related to her walkout, and even WWE interviewer Samantha Irvin noticed how important rule #4 is.
There’s still no word yet on when, if ever, Banks or Naomi will return to WWE TV, but her first tweet post-suspension has certainly had fans speculating on her future.
In July 2021, Toni Storm had her main roster call up, but had had enough just five months later.
Storm shocked fans by requesting her release in December, and the ex-Superstar has opened up about plans that didn't make it to air.
Speaking on Talk is Jericho, Storm discussed being called up and how WWE just threw ideas around with no plans:
They put me in a debut match. That seemed to go well. It seemed like something was going to happen and nothing really did. There was bits and pieces here and there, like, ‘Oh, you’re in love with
Rick Boogs and the love triangle with Dolph Ziggler,’ and that never really went anywhere. Just bits and pieces here and there."
Storms time on the main roster was short lived, and while she's yet to have that big win in AEW, the New Zealand born wrestler seems more comfortable wrestling for Tony Khan.
And we’re ending today with one name who stayed with WWE through thick and thin and that’s John Cena, who was the face of the company for around a decade.
As part of the company, Cena had some major moments, including a total five WrestleMania main events, but even the 16-time WWE World Champion has his share of regrets.
John even went as far to say that he felt like he wasted the fans’ time during those early days, as what he did both in the ring and out of it lacked the speed and urgency expected of a WWE Superstar.
He did admit that a saving grace of this early period was that because it wasn’t working out for him, Cena was forced to come up with some thing better, hence the beloved Dr. of Thuganomics gimmick.
On June 27th, exactly 20 years after his debut, Cena will return to WWE TV on that night’s Raw, and while Big Match John has had plenty of haters over the years, none were more critical of his work than John himself.