Here's more wrestling news for June 18th 2022
And your headlines for Afternoon include
WWE Superstars were suspicious of McMahon before investigation was announced
Real reason why WWE were burying Stephanie McMahon prior to her being made CEO
WWE’s promotion of Stephanie considered “optics play” by many c lose to situation
Reason for Troy Donovan’s WWE NXT 2.0 release revealed
WWE wants to ‘clone’ Sasha Banks after the Boss’ release
Cody Rhodes spotted at American Nightmare Training facility
Rhodes gives gruesome update on his condition after torn pectoral
Three more names confirmed for Money in the Bank ladder matches
Sheamus opens up on how much longer he believes he can wrestle And more
We’re starting off with WWE, and yesterday, in one of the biggest shifts in wrestling in decades, Vince McMahon stepped down as WWE CEO, due to the investigation into him.
McMahon is alleged to have had an extra-marital affair with a paralegal, who was hired in 2019 and departed the company earlier this year.
Plenty has been said already about the investigation and McMahon stepping down, and while the WWE Superstar are wisely not speaking to the media right now, they too have a view on the situation.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that while the majority of the roster did not have any idea about the alleged $3 million hush money payment, one person was aware, but told no-one about the situation.
Some in WWE had been suspicious of a relationship between McMahon and the woman after she received a promotion in April 2021, which doubled her pay to $200,000 a year.
The investigation into McMahon is ongoing, and there’s no word on when it will end, but it seems some in WWE had at least an inkling of what was allegedly going on behind closed doors.
In Vince McMahon’s place, Stephanie McMahon will serve as Interim CEO and Chairwoman of WWE, despite some interesting things being said about her just a few weeks ago.
After Stephanie announced her leave of absence from WWE last month, reports came out of WWE executives ‘burying’ her, saying she had underperformed in her duties as of late.
WWE has never publicly stated which major backstage players took shots at McMahon, but their may be a method to this madness.
As Meltzer wrote in the latest Newsletter, one person with “extensive knowledge” said that WWE wanted to protect their image, and their stock price:
To the outside world, the idea of Vince McMahon’s daughter and the heir apparent to the top position in the company leaving the company she’s worked for her entire adult life would sound like
something is wrong with the company. So they leak out that she underperformed at her job and her father pushed her out so that would explain that there wasn’t anything wrong, she was just not good at her job.”
With no sign of the investigation ending soon, Stephanie will be in charge of WWE for the foreseeable future, and we imagine some people are regretting what they said just a few weeks back about
about the Chairwoman of WWE.
Stephanie McMahon is now running the company in what’s being seen as a huge move by WWE, but that isn’t how many close to the situation feel.
According to sources who spoke to CNBC’s Alex Sherman, many close to WWE and the investigation are seeing Stephanie’s promotion as an “optics play,” and that it’s the company’s way of saying that
Vince McMahon has no plans on stepping down.
The belief is that having a McMahon as the chair of the company is telling everyone in WWE and out of it that this is still Vince’s business, and that he will one-day resume his role as CEO and Chairman.
Stephanie’s appointment is historic for a lot of reasons, not least that it’s the first time the company has been passed down to a child of Vince, but to many, this is more of a PR move than anything else.
Earlier this month, Troy Donovan, aka Two Dimes, was released by WWE under some peculiar circumstances.
Rather than being cut due to the budget, it was said that Donavon was released due to a “policy issue,” and we now know what that was.
In the Wrestling Observer, Meltzer clarified that Donovan was fired due to a failed drug’s test, but didn’t state what substance was in his system.
Donovan was told by WWE Head of Talent Relations John \Laurinaitis that if everything’s clear in a year then he should apply for a job to return.
Given the ongoing investigation which named Laurinaitis, Big Johnny may not have a job with WWE himself in a year’s time, but Two-Dimes may one day be able to work for the company again.
This week, it was reported that WWE has released Sasha Banks, and according to one source, her departure from the company happened some weeks ago.
Neither WWE or Banks have publicly confirmed her reports, but the promotion is already looking to who will take her place.
That’s according to Andrew Zarian on the Mat Men Pro- Wrestling podcast, who explained:
In their minds, they could clone Sasha with somebody else and have her fit that role, and no problem. It’s now a role you’re playing. It’s a role with mid-level actors. Everybody’s a mid-level actor, except
for a Roman Reigns, or a Brock Lesnar, or a Cody Rhodes. Those guys are the stars
It’s worth stating that WWE does not intend to give another person the name Sasha Banks, but are looking at which female Superstar that could be elevated to the Boss’ level.
Bar something huge happening soon, it seems Banks is leaving WWE one way or another, but her departure may mean good news for someone else on the roster.
In June, Cody Rhodes fought through a torn pectoral muscle to defeat Seth Rollins, defeating the Architect in the main event of Hell in a Cell.
It was a gutsy performance by Rhodes, who WWE have said is expected to be out for nine months, but the American Nightmare isn’t taking things easy.
This week, the Nightmare Factory training facility shared a photo from their latest seminar, and Cody can be seen working with the young wrestling prospects.
Rhodes can be seen sporting a sling to keep his arm protected, and while the caption said that the students were studying old tapes, we can’t imagine Cody did anything too physical in the ring.
WWE has said that Cody is expected to be out for nine months, but those outside the company expect it to be far less, and no matter when he’s back, the former TNT Champion remains hard at work.
Speaking of Rhodes, the Raw Superstar has been keeping fans up to date with his condition, and has provided another image of his recovery.
At Hell in a Cell, fans winced when they saw the bruising on his pectoral, but that’s now spread across his body.
On social media, the American Nightmare showed that the majority of his bruising has now drained down into his ribs and hips, saying that there’s lots of blood under there.
Whatever comes next for Cody, we know he won’t be wrestling anytime soon, but his positive attitude even in the face of this injury has been very impressive.
Rhodes won’t be competing at next month’s Money in the Bank Premium Live Event, and he’ll be joined by Roman Reigns, Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar as names who won’t be on the show.
Nevertheless, WWE is going ahead with their popular event, and more names have been confirmed for the men’s Ladder match.
On last night’s SmackDown, Drew McItyre and Sheamus fought to a double disqualification in their qualifying match, and Adam Pearce declared that both men will be in the match.
The pair have joined Seth Rollins in the Men’s match, but there’s plenty of spots still available between now and July 2nd.
For the women’s side of things, Raquel Rodriguez defeated her fellow NXT Women’s Champion alum Shayna Baszler, and the former will join Lacey Evans, Liv Morgan, Alexa Bliss and others in their ladder match.
Even without their top Superstars, Money in the Bank is always an exciting night, and we’ll have to see who walks away with a guaranteed title match in just a few weeks time.
And we’re ending today with Sheamus, who has had an incredible run in WWE, having beaten John Cena for the WWE Championship mere months into his main roster debut.
A former WWE Champion, tag champion and United States Champion, Sheamus is also one of three men to win the King of the Ring, Royal Rumble and Money in the Bank briefcase.
Speaking on the Five Count Radio Show this week, Sheamus discussed his career, and is optimistic for how long he has left:
“This June 30 I celebrate 13 years in WWE and I feel like I have 13 years left in me to be honest. I’m still having fun… As long as I’m having fun, as long as I’m having fun doing what you want to do,
mate, you want to go as long as you possibly can, you know? And that’s what I’m doing.” Earning a spot in this year’s Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder
match, Sheamus could soon be back in the World title picture, and expect to see plenty of the Irish Superstar over the next decade if everything goes according to plan.