Here's More wrestling news for July 10th 2021
And your headlines for Afternoon include
Malakai Black Reveals Why He Signed With AEW; Reveals Who Knew About His AEW Debut As Malakai Black!
WWE Adds Multiple Matches To Go-Home RAW Before Money In The Bank!
The Newest Arrivals On Smackdown!
"How Many More Days Do I Have?" - Braun Strowman Wants To Get Out Of 'Jail' Soon!
WWE RAW & SmackDown Joint TV Event Announced For Madison Square Garden Return!
Breaking News As Seth Rollins & Matt Riddle Confront Backstage!
AEW Wrestler’s Long Absence Is Revealed!
AEW Star Says Some Fans Wanted Him To Die & more!
We’re starting off today with AEW’s newest signing Malakai Black, who joined this week, 35 days after his WWE departure.
Before his release, Black had only recently returned to WWE TV after months away, and the company planned on a feud with
Big E before he was let go. This week, Black debuted with his new name, attacking Cody Rhodes and Arn
Anderson, and during a Twitch stream, the former NXT Champion explained his reasoning for going All-Elite. He said:
“It was the right move to make for me, my family, my career, [and] the state of mind I’m in. It’s just a really good company. I
I can’t say enough good things about it. They have a bright future. There are a lot of dedicated people and I’m really glad to be
part of it.” In that same stream, Black admitted that only a handful of people knew he was
was debuting, saying that only he, Cody Rhodes, security and a few others were in on it to avoid spoilers of his shocking
debut getting out. With Black now in AEW, it seems his first feud will be with Cody Rhodes, and we’ll
have to see if he gets better treatment under Tony Khan, than when he was on WWE’s main roster.
Over to RAW now, as next week’s show will be the last in the Thunderdome, and WWE is going out with a bang.
During SmackDown, two matches were added to RAW’s show, as Alexa Bliss, Nikki ASH, Naomi and Asuka will face on
in fatal-four-way action, whilst Bobby Lashley will take on Xavier Woods, in a non-title match.
Monday’s show will see Sheamus’ first defence as U.S. Champion when he takes on Humberto Carillo, Ricochet Vs.
John Morrison in a falls-count-anywhere match, and singles action between the Viking Raiders and AJ Styles and Omos.
If WWE gets their way, they’ll never have to return to the Thunderdome again, and we’re interested to see how the company
marks the end of this unprecedented time away from live fans.
Over to SmackDown next, and last night’s show saw some major call-ups or the blue brand, following rumours that NXT was
set to lose some of it’s top stars to the main roster in the coming weeks and months. One huge debut that’s in the works is
Toni Storm, who didn’t appear in person, but the 25-year-old former NXT UK Women’s Champion is on her way to the Blue brand.
Two NXT Superstars who did debut last night are Shotzi Blackheart and Tegan Nox, who debuted as a team on last night’s
show, defeating the Women’s Tag Team Champions Natalya and Tamina. This debut indicates that Blackheart’s
teaming with Ember Moon has quietly ended, and we expect the team of Shotzi and Nox to enter the title picture immediately, even
if they aren’t booked to win the titles. WWE has a long way to go to re-establish a women’s tag team division, especially
after the release o the IIconics, Ruby Riott and Lana, but this isn’t a bad start.
Last month, Braun Strowman was released from WWE, and with a 90-day non-compete clause, the former Universal Champion
won’t be appearing anywhere else until August 31st. This is clearly too long for Strowman to
wait, as on Twitter this week, the monster among men said how he can’t help but think about how much he enjoys beating
people up, and added ‘how many more days do I have to I’m out of jail?”
Strowman has reportedly been charging over $20,000 to appear in other promotions, with several perks on top of this fee
but we’re sure plenty of companies will be willing to pay for the former Universal Champion, who is tired of waiting for his
clause to expire on August 31st.
Earlier this week, it was confirmed that the September 10th SmackDown will air from Madison Square Garden, and the WWE’s
return to their old stomping ground just got even biggest. In a statement, WWE have announced that
the show will be a Super SmackDown, featuring both RAW and SmackDown Superstars on the show.
Interestingly, this will be the first SmackDown after the reported 2021 draft, which is expected to take place on the August 30th
RAW and conclude on the September 3rd SmackDown. Madison Square Garden has said that proof
of vaccinations will be needed to attend the event, and having a packed show with RAW and SmackDown is certainly one way for
WWE to fill the World’s Most Famous Arena.
Since joining WWE, RAW’s Riddle has impressed fans with his work, both as a wrestler and a character, but he’s not
popular with everyone backstage. It’s no secret that Riddle has had issues with both Goldberg and Brock Lesnar,
but last year, there was tension between him and Seth Rollins, when Riddle’s wife mocked and fat-shamed
Becky Lynch on social media. This reportedly led to Rollins refusing to work with Riddle, and during an interview
with TalkSPORT, the original Bro explained how he managed to soothe things over at Survivor Series 2020.
Riddle explained how he tried to talk to Rollins before their Survivor-Series tag match, but the Architect avoided him
and speculated that Rollins left the match early, being brogue-kicked by Sheamus, to avoid interacting with him. He added:
After Survivor Series, because he was there I got to talk to him and I said ‘Hey’ and a camera came up to us to film it and I said
No, don’t come over here, don’t film this. It’s between me and him.’ We talked. I told him – and this is exactly what I said –
I said ‘Hey man, what was said, I don’t agree with it. I thought it was bullcrap. It’s not cool. I just want you to know I
apologise, I apologise on her behalf as well. On top of that I think you’re a great performer and if you would ever have
it in your heart to work with me, I would love that. And, I know you’re taking some time off
because Becky is pregnant, about to have a kid, just want to wish you luck, congratulations, enjoy your time with your
beautiful girlfriend – at the time, now wife – and your beautiful child.’ And he literally looked at me and he goes ‘Holy s***.
I didn’t expect that. Everything I hear from people and what I expected… that was really cool. Thank you.’ And that’s where
we ended it. I said ‘Thank you for listening and giving me the time, bro. I hope we’re good now.’ And I will say this, we’re good
enough to be working together, I don’t think we’re friends. I’ll tell you this, that last curb stomp he gave me at the
Royal Rumble, we’re not friends [laughs]. When I get in the ring with him, he’s going to get it! Put that online! Can we get back
in the ring? I need to repay that curb stomp, bro!” We’re pleased to see that the two talented
performers were able to put this unfortunate matter behind them, and while they’re on different brands right now, a feud between
them is possible if one moves during the 2021 draft later this year.
AEW news, and PAC hasn’t competed in over a month for the company, and now we know why he’s been missing.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Pac hasn’t set-up residence in the U.S. and is currently back in the UK, with travel
being the two nations still proving difficult. Hopefully, Pac will be back soon, as he’s an incredible athlete, though at this time,
there’s no return timetable for the former NXT Champion.
And we’re ending today with JR, who accidentally called AEW’s premiere show ‘WWE Dynamite’ on the June 30th episode,
and this isn’t the first time he’s made a mistake like this. After this botch, Ross said he had no
excuse for the call, and was defended by several people, including Chris Jericho, but not everyone is on JR’s side.
On his podcast this week, JR revealed some of the horrific responses he received after the WWE Dynamite line:
“[People said] I’ve had a stroke, by the way I’ve never had a stroke but that’s been diagnosed on the internet from my faupaux, I
I’ve had a stroke. I’ve had a battle with Bell’s Palsy, I’ve actually had three bouts with Bell’s Palsy. That I have onset dementia,
which wouldn’t surprise me, it’s going to happen to everybody some ways or another. But man I got everything on that
thing from people wanting me to die.” Botch or no botch, there’s never an excuse to wish death threats on another person,
and despite the response from what JR called “a vast minority of defiant” fans, the Oklahoma-native remains the
greatest commentator of all time.