Here's your News for September 16th 2020
And your headlines for today include
WWE Reportedly Has ‘No Plan In Place’ For Keith Lee On Raw!
Zelina Vega’s WWE Raw Women’s Title Match At Clash Of Champions Could Be In Jeopardy!
What Really Happened During Awkward Finish Of WWE Raw Women’s Title Match This Week?
Why WWE Takes Away So Many Superstars’ First Names?
Is WWE Bringing Back The Concept Of Authority Figures / General Managers?
Jeff Hardy Says This Is His ‘Last Chance To Get It Right’ In WWE
Most Shocking Plans For Aalyah Mysterio Is Revealed!
Is Former Universal Champion, the new stable of WWE Retribution?
Sasha Banks New Avatar! What’s NEXT For Her?
WWE Receives A Challenge From Another Company
Why Is Tom Philips Absent From RAW For 2 Straight Weeks?
And more.
We’re kicking off today with news from Keith Lee, as the former NXT Champion has had some mixed
booking lately. Despite a victory over Randy Orton at Payback, Lee lost to the Viper the
next night, and on this week’s RAW, Lee showed a much-more intense side, brawling with Drew McIntyre
throughout the show, but still failed to earn a title match, due to interference by Retribution.
On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer explained WWE’s plan, or lack thereof, for the Limitless One, saying:
“I didn’t sense at all that he’s going heel, but they’re just running by the seat of their pants when it comes to
Keith Lee. You can tell. There’s no plan in place at all other than he’s still on the list of people they are
pushing as opposed to the other guys who are no longer on the list.” Whilst Lee may not be receiving
consistent booking lately, at least he’s being booked, which is more than many Superstars can say,
and we’ll see where his character goes after this week’s intense outburst.
Speaking of RAW this week’s show seemed to make clear that Asuka will defend her title at Clash of
Champions against Zelina Vega, but they didn’t confirm the match. On the show, Vega stepped away
from managing Andrade and Angel Garza, and immediately followed that up by slapping Asuka, saying she
was ready for the Empress. PW Insider explained the situation saying:
The post-bout promo with Zelina Vega was, as of last night, to set up Asuka vs. Vega which will likely take place
at Clash of Champions but that wasn’t 100% set in stone as of last night. Vega hasn’t had much of a chance to
wrestle in WWE so far, and pitting her against Asuka will certainly give her a chance to showcase her skills,
especially if she’s able to topple the reigning RAW Women’s Champion
RAW also had a Women’s title match between Mickie James and Asuka, and though it was believed that
the match was cut short because Mickie was injured, that’s not the case. Instead, it’s being revealed
that the match ended in controversy because of bad officiating, and PW Insider have revealed the original
ending saw James tapping to the Asuka lock, but instead, the ref rang the bell early and told the
ring announcer that James couldn’t continue. James was actually fine though,
and what happened is that she sold her war with Asuka so well, that those backstage thought she was
actually out, and the ref was instructed to end the match. The post-match segment that saw
Zelina Vega confront Asuka, went as planned, and it’s now expected that the two will compete on Pay-Per-View.
With that in mind, sources have said that James Vs. Asuka will likely happen again soon as the company
plans to capitalise on the controversial finish, which all boils down to Mickie selling being too realistic.
Now, it’s no secret that WWE will alter a Superstar’s name when they’re called-up, and whether that changes
happens overnight or after someone’s been around for a while, there’s always a reason behind it.
Two prominent Superstars who had their first names cut are Antonio Cesaro and Alexander Rusev,
and on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer explained that this was Vince McMahon’s call, saying:
“[Vince said] ‘if we call him Alexander Rusev, people are gonna start gonna calling him Alex and Alex is not a
good name for a heel.’ That’s the real reason so that’s why they dropped the first name. The same
thing happened with Cesaro. The reason why they dropped [the name] Antonio Cesaro was because Vince
said people are going to start calling him Tony and Tony is not a heel name so we gotta drop the first name.”
The term Junior has also been cut from several wrestlers over the years, such as Angel Garza, who was
previously Garza Jr, and Rey Mysterio Jr, who lost the Jr part when he came to WWE.
It turns out that Vince, who is a Junior himself, was called that name for decades and hated t, so he always
kills it when he can. WWE will likely keep changing names whenever they see fit, as everything
happens in WWE for a reason, and although most of the time, that reason is Vince McMahon,
that doesn’t mean it’ll make 100% sense to everyone.
Speaking of name changes, one person who knows all about that is Dabba-Kato.
Fans may remember Kato previously working as Babatunde in NXT and at the Greatest Royal Rumble,
as Babatunde is his real first name, and Meltzer explained that the company changed his name
because they can own it. Now, if Kato leaves WWE, he won’t be able to take his ring-name with him,
and even if Babatunde becomes a star in AEW, Impact or any other promotion, Dabb-Kato will always
be tied to the RAW Underground.
We’re entering the Thunderdome next, as the WWE’s deal with the Amway Center runs until the end of October,
and the company is already looking at new hosts. WWE’s contract with the Center
means that the company can’t bring in live-fans, something they eagerly want to do, especially as AEW have
live-fans back at the Daily’s Place, and are even selling ticket packages which confirm they’ll be in the
ampitheater until early-November. According to WrestleVotes, WWE is trying to secure an outdoor venue
of their own, with the warmer weather of Southern States being preferred, and we’ll have to see what the future
holds as we get closer to WWE’s deal with the Amway Center expiring.
One person who won’t be in the Thunderdome or the Daily’s Place is Jeff Cobb, as he’s signed with New
Japan Pro Wrestling. On Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer noted that Cobb even turned down a
deal with AEW to work for New Japan, explaining that Cobb’s goal has always been to work with New Japan, never
WWE or AEW. Meltzer added that Cobb’s time in ROH was a stepping-stone to New
Japan, and now that he’s achieved his long-term goal, we’ll have to see where his career goes from here.
Back to WWE now and fans may remember WWE doing away with authority figures when The McMahons
said the fans are the new authority, but in recent weeks, Adam Pearce has been something of an Authority
figure on WWE programming, though that isn’t the plan. In recent memory, Pearce has had
plenty of TV time, including being part of Bray Wyatt’s ambulance transformation, where he busted his
hand, and being tasked to get the signatures for Payback’s Universal title match.
Since then, Pearce has remained on TV, as he’s been tasked to keep Retribution at bay, a job he’s not done
well.but Ringside News is reporting that he’s not a GM or an authority figure, but is being described as
“someone from ‘management’ who can make decisions.” A writer close to the situation said that
WWE isn’t bringing back any authority figures, whether they be a GM, Constable, Sheriff or any other title
previously used, but Pearce is someone else who can represent an official stance while not being
a referee. As a veteran of wrestling, Pearce has taken every opportunity given to him,
and fans of the five-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion will get to see plenty more of him on WWE TV.
Over to SmackDown now, as Jeff Hardy’s new deal with WWE means his old theme No More Words will be
coming back, something that Hardy is grateful to have. Speaking to BT Sport, Hardy spoke
about how he knows he’s lucky to have this chance with WWE, especially after his previous battles
with addiction, and admitted that things aren’t all perfect now. He said:
I’ve done sober runs in the past. I’ve never completely committed to it and surrender to the whole idea of me
having a problem, but that’s a huge part it. Getting in trouble with the law is no fun and I hope and pray that’s
over because I said it when I first came back, ‘this is my last chance to get it right,’ and that is so true.
Hardy went on to thank God for the happiness he is currently enjoying, and revealed the secret to his success,
Living day to day just one day at a time has been huge for me. I think that’s a great way to live even outside
of recovery because you never know what tomorrow holds.” Hardy is certainly getting a focus
as Intercontinental Champion, and though we don’t know how long his new contract is, though WWE prefers
3-or-5 year deals, it’ll be quite some time before fans see the Hardy Boyz reunite.
Back to RAW, and the Mysterios have been on a roll as of late, thanks to Dominik’s impressive main-roster
debut, but his sister Aalyah has also caught the eye of the company’s top brass.
This week, Aalyah showed sympathy to Murphy, after he was attacked by Seth Rollins, and fans were quick to
speculate whether we were watching the start of a romantic angle. While speaking on the Aalyah situation,
Dave Meltzer noted that it’s likely she’ll get hooked up with Murphy saying:
“I guess it's the idea that, well, we can see what it is. Somehow Aalyah is getting hooked up with Murphy.
That's the end result of all this. She is getting hooked up with Murphy.” Meltzer added that Aalyah’s storyline
won’t stop with Murphy, as there’s plans for her to be indoctrinated by Rollins, and that his attack on Murphy
was a plan to gain sympathy from the 19-year-old. This would eventually lead to Aalyah
taking Seth and Murphy’s side against her own family, and for a show that was once dominated by
McMahon-family squabbles, it seems that fans will soon get to watch the Mysterio family collapse, much to the
and Monday Night Messiah. Over to AEW now, and Miro has received his first official t-shirt.
Design liked a Marvel comics cover, the shirt has ‘The Best Man’ in the Bulgarian flag colours, and with how
popular the former US Champion has already become in AEW, we expect this new shirt, which he’s
called his all-time favourite shirt, to be the first of many. Now, on last week’s RAW talk, Kevin
Owens spoke about his frustration with his current position on the red brand, and according to Aleister Black,
this sounds like a rallying cry. On RAW Talk this week, Black pointed out that flashing lights happened during
his match with the Prizefighter, similar to the flashing lights that usually signal Retribution’s arrival, and pointed a
finger at Owens as the group’s leader. As a former NXT champion who feels undervalued on the main roster,
Owens having a legion of gold brand Superstars behind him would make a lot of sense, as despite his NXT glory
days, he’s been overlooked on the main roster now for quite some time.
Of course, there’s the chance that Owens is just a red herring, as it wasn’t too long ago that fans
believed the Miz was connected to the group before Retribution became a RAW exclusive team, and we’ll have
to wait and see what happens next with Retirbution. We’re taking a trip to a galaxy far far
away next, as The Mandalorian Season 2 trailer dropped this week, with a familiar face.
Eagle-eyed fans could spot SmackDown’s Sasha Banks in the trailer at the 49-second mark, and
mysteriously disappears when the titular hero and pop-culture sensation ‘Baby Yoda’ are walking into a port.
It was even teased that the Boss could be part of a Jedi Order this season, and whilst we don’t know
much more than that, this role in the Star Wars Universe, which will clearly be more than her being an extra,
is a huge first gig for the former Women’s Champion. Now, WWE introduced a new
mandate recently that prohibits Superstars having third-party businesses, and though WWE
were planning to open their own personalized video service similar to cameo, Pro Wrestling Tees has beat
them to the punch. According to Heel By Nature, Pro Weestling Tees has registered a
trademark for a new service called shoot, which will allow fans to pay for personal videos from their favourite
wrestlers. Creative Ventures Inc, the company behind PW Tees, registered the
trademark on September 9th, and with plenty of wrestlers on Cameo already, we’ll have to see how many
of them make the jump to shoot, or if they’re allowed to use both services.
And we’re ending today by looking at RAW’s commentary team, which this week saw both Tom Phillips
and Samoa Joe missing, and whilst WWE explained they had the week off, it still wasn’t a great sign.
After Dolph Ziggler filled a spot on the first-hour and MVP commentated during the second, it’s clear that
WWE wanted to keep a three-man team going, and on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted
that the fact that Tom Phillips has been gone for two weeks isn’t a good sign.
If Phillips absence is down to the ongoing global situation, then WWE isn’t going to share that information,
and we’ll have to wait and see when, if ever, he comes back to the RAW announcer’s table.