Here's more wrestling news for August 11th 2021
And your headlines for Afternoon include
Matt Riddle Says He Didn’t Get Along With John Cena At First!
Shaquille O’Neal Was Lied To While Training For Match On AEW Dynamite!
What Is Keith Lee Upto Now?
Former WWE Star Kelly Kelly Reveals She Suffered A Miscarriage!
Releases WWE Wrestler Says She Would ‘Never Fit The Mold Anywhere’ !
Ric Flair Wants One Last In-Ring Run!
Jimmy Havoc Unrecognizable In Recent Photo After Leaving Pro Wrestling Business!
Zelina Vega Re-Signed With WWE So She Could Be Closer To Malakai Black And more!
We’re kicking off today with Riddle, who is known for having issues with some of wrestling’s older stars, such as Brock
Lesnar and Bill Goldberg. With his laid-back Original Bro character, Riddle has gotten over with fans, but John Cena
reportedly wasn’t a fan of the former NXT Tag Champion when they first met. Speaking to Sportskeeda this week, Riddle
discussed his relationship with the 16-time World Champion, saying how they didn’t see eye to eye at first, as John didn’t understand
what a bro was, but he does now. After this week’s RAW, Cena was able to get Riddle and Randy Orton to hug it out, and we’ll
have to see if the pair ever team-up in the future. On TV, we’ve already seen Cena and Riddle share a moment where they bro’d out on the
post Money-in-the-Bank edition of RAW, but this friendly relationship didn’t exist when the pair first met.
Over to AEW now, as Shaquille O’Neal i mpressed fans when he wrestled for the company, a match that only came around
thanks to some stretching off the truth. That’s according to QT Marshall, who spoke to Digital Spy this week, and admitted that
he lied to O’Neal about just how safe, or rather unsafe, the match with Cody Rhodes would be. Marshall explained:
He said something about maybe going through some tables and I told him, ‘Oh it won’t be that bad, we’ll put a really thick pad underneath,’
which was not true. I just didn’t want him to back out of it. So it was a lot of fun, as soon as he came in the back, right away, he said, ‘
You lied to me! There was no pad under there!’ That’s wrestling, welcome to wrestling.
That match from the March 3rd Dynamite saw Shaq and Jade Cargill defeat Cody and Red Velvet, and with the NBA legend having said
he’d love to have another match this Summer, fans may not have to wait long until we see another table spot, one without any pads
underneath.
More from RAW now, as Keith Lee only recently returned to the red brand after a lengthy hiatus, but his return hasn’t gone well so far.
In his return, Lee lost to WWE Champion Bobby Lashley, and his victory over Karrion Kross angered fans and now Lee’s matches aren’t
even making TV. Prior to this week’s RAW, Lee appeared in a dark match, defeating Chico Adams, and this
follows on from the dark match he had before last week’s SmackDown. WWE’s booking of Lee this year has been
strange to say the least, as he started off 2021 by challenging for the WWE title, and was seemingly destined to become U.S. Champion
earlier this year, but now his matches aren’t even making it to TV on a three- hour show.
We’ve got some sad news to report now, as this week, former WWE Divas Champion Kelly Kelly revealed that she recently suffered a
miscarriage. On Instagram, Kelly shared the devastating news, saying that she and her husband
Joe Coba had had their prayers to be parents answered, and had been discussing baby names and telling friends and family that she
was pregnant. On Sunday, Kelly was rushed to hospital, as she felt like something didn’t feel right, and it
was a few hours later that it was confirmed that they’d lost the baby. Calling the grief unbearable, Kelly explained
her actions to share the news on social media, hoping she can help anyone else who’s suffered a miscarriage, and show that they’re
not alone. It’s especially brave of Kelly to be so open about this devastating news, and we’re
sending our best wishes to her and Joe at this especially difficult time.
Back to WWE as last week, Mercedes Martinez was one of the 13 released from NXT, despite her skills as a veteran of the ring being often
utilised on TV. Last year, Martinez was meant to be a member of Retribution, but as she told PW Insider, she
made it clear to WWE that she wanted out, a request that was ultimately granted. Taking to Twitter to discuss her release,
Martinez said she never thought she’d make it to WWE, adding that she wouldn’t change a thing in her 20-year career that
ultimately led to NXT. Martinez also thanked Triple H for the opportunity given to her, but added that she
never felt like she fit the mold, but that didn’t stop her from staying true to herself. The former NXT Superstar ended by
saying that the love of the fans hasn’t gone unnoticed, and said that fans shouldn’t count her out, and that the best of her is still
yet to come. Martinez is looking forward for the next chapter of her life, and she’s not the only one,
as many fans can’t wait to see what the twenty year veteran of the ring does next in her storied career.
Speaking of departures, Ric Flair chose to leave WWE last week, as he believed that the company’s booking had hurt both him, and
his daughter Charlotte. Undoubtably one of the greatest wrestlers ever, the world is wide open for the Nature
Boy now, and fans may be seeing Ric lace up his boots one more time. On his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T
stated that Flair has big plans outside WWE, which include a return to the ring: “I talk to Ric Flair on a regular — usually
on a regular occasion, I don’t know how often I’m going to see him now, but Ric Flair told me, he said, ‘Book, I’m never going to retire.’ He said
‘If I could be in that ring right now, that’s where I’d be.’ So I think Ric Flair may be looking at one last run.”
Flair’s last official match came on the September 12th, 2011 Impact, where he lost to Sting, but after a decade away, Ric may soon be proving
once more why he’s the dirtiest player in the game.
Booker certainly believes that Flair will wrestle again one day, and this week, Flair himself has teased having one last match.
On Twitter, the 16-time World Champion uploaded a photo from the gym, flexing his bicep, as he certainly looks ready to wrestle again.
In the caption, Flair referenced the horrific plane crash from 1975, that nearly ended his career and life, as well as the health scare
from four years ago, saying that neither could stop the Nature Boy. Since leaving WWE, Flair has already had
invitiations, one from the NWA to attend an upcoming show, and one from Evil Uno to join AEW’s Dark Order, and wherever he
he goes next, Flair looks ready to wrestle again.
Now, last year, several wrestlers across various promotions faced claims of misconduct with fans and female talent
and Jimmy Havoc was one of the many to face such claims. In June, Havoc quietly entered rehab to
deal with his various problems, and was quietly released from AEW, and the former wrestler is now a new man, and it shows
On social media, a photo is going around of Havoc nowadays, as the former AEW performer looks unrecognisable, and is now
delivering packages for the DPD courier service. Havoc started his career in 2004 in the UK,
before receiving his North American break in MLW, and was known for his brutal deathmatch style.
Many fans are sharing a side-by-side photo, comparing Havoc now to his wrestling days, and it seems that he’s also put on weight as well.
Following the claims made against him, Havoc has given up any plans for a return to any wrestling promotion, as the British wrestler
has now found a way to earn a living outside of the ring.
And we’re ending today with Zelina Vega, who hasn’t had much luck since returning to WWE, as she’s 0-3 in matches since her comeback
in July. Vega was released last November, meaning it’s been nearly a year since her last victory in
the ring, and now more details have come out as to why she returned. Speaking on Talk is Jericho, Vega’s husband
Malakai Black discussed his own release, and how his status as a contracted WWE Superstar had a huge effect on his wife’s
decision. He said: “When (the release) happened, Johnny Ace (John Laurinaitis) called me and even he was
confused. My wife was crying because she knew. She was about to come back and one of the main reasons she wanted to come
back was because I was there, which was more or less the driving force, other than the promises they made her,
Black and Vega are obviously very close, and she was even backstage for the July 28th edition of Dynamite, which makes it all
the more worse that part of her decision to return was to spend more time with her husband that never transpired.