Here's your wrestling for June 3rd 2022
And your headlines for today include
Warner Bros, Discovery Executives Expected To Be Unhappy With Language On AEW Dynamite
Cm Punk Confronted MJF After Profanity-Filled Promo On AEW Dynamite
AEW Removes MJF From Their Roster Page & Online Store
Tony Khan Broke A Promise To Never Work AEW Talent
Thunder Rosa Sent Home Sick Before AEW Dynamite This Week
John Cena Says Current WWE Superstar Needs An Attitude Adjustment
WWE Superstar Dolph Ziggler Was Backstage At AEW Dynamite This Week
AEW Criticized For Making Adam Page’s AEW World Title Reign A Joke
Scarlett Bordeaux Scheduled MLW Debut Status
WWE Superstar Liv Morgan To Make Acting Debut In A Star- Studded Film
Braun Strowman Shows Off Huge Body Transformation After Strict New Diet And more!
We’re kicking off today with MJF, who cut an incredible promo on this week’s Dynamite which saw him lash out at AEW and Tony Khan.
As part of the segment, MJF used several expletives that fans would never hear in WWE, which may have got the Salt of the Earth in some trouble.
On the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer discussed MJF’s choice of language, and said that while the roster didn’t have a problem with the profanity, some of AEW’s TV network partners
may take umbrage with his comments: “They [Warner Bros. Discovery executives] had a big party last night after the show and everybody
seemed happy, but I wonder how many of them will be like, you know, just as an example, like TSN in Canada. Some of those swear words got through on live television, and they’re not going to be happy with that.”
Anyone who’s caught a lot of cable TV lately has noticed that langua ge has become more adult across the board, with the USA Network even approving F-Bombs for the promotional ads for season one of Chucky.
While AEW may push themselves as a more edgy alternative to WWE it’s worth remembering that like the competition, they too have to answer to their Network partners, and it remains to be seen
how Warner Bros. Discovery will feel about this verbiage being used by AEW stars on their programming.
The Salt of the Earth didn’t hold back against the promotion he works for or his boss, which had fans feeling a sense of déjà vu.
On the June 27th, 2011 Raw, CM Punk cut his infamous pipebo mb on WWE, saying that the company would be better after Vince McMahon’s dead and like MJF, expressed a desire to leave the
company he was working for at the time.
When Ringside News conducted a poll, it was determined that the majority of fans, 61.7% of those asked, found MJF’s promo to be far superior to Punk’s pipebomb from eleven years ago.
MJF has never been afraid to let his voice heard, but this week’s promo was on a whole different level, and we’ll have to see what the future holds for him now he’s had a pipebomb moment of his own.
MJF went as far as to beg Tony Khan to fire him during the incredible promo, and while that hasn’t happened yet, fans will be seeing less of him, at least online.
Fans are still undecided whether this is a work or a shoot, but whatever the case, AEW is trying to distance themselves from the self proclaimed salt of the earth.
In the latest move in the MJF Vs. AEW saga, the company has completely removed the 26-year-old wrestler from their roster page, as well as his merchandise from AEWShop.com.
MJF isn’t listed in the Alumni section either, which at this time only holds the profile for Cody and Brandi Rhodes, who left in February this year.
As if that wasn’t enough, MJF wasn’t included in any YouTube videos that AEW released last night nor was he in any of the publicity photos sent out from Dynamite.
Despite statistically being the second biggest draw in AEW, MJF’s current contract is nothing compared to the deals former WWE Superstars are getting, and whether this is a work or a shoot,
you won’t be seeing as much of MJF from AEW themselves.
MJF’s situation is certainly proving to be entertaining for the fans, but it has put Tony Khan in a difficult position, forcing him to break a promise to his talent.
When Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful spoke to AEW wrestlers, their opinions varied, with most of them saying that this has always been a work, or is at least a work now given how long he was given to speak.
However, at least one wrestler said they’d be “frustrated for many reasons” if they found out it’s all a work at this point.
Ross added that Khan made a promise to never over work talent, but that is a promise he had to break recently when MJF no -showed a fan fest Meet and Greet:
Tony Khan had indicated to numerous talent over the years and indicated that overworking talent isn’t something they should expect there. Also, there were talent at MJF’s scheduled meet and greet
who ended up having to stay and do extra work in order to make up for the MJF no-show who weren’t clued in of a potential work
For what It’s worth, MJF has debunked the claim that this is all a work, as Sapp notes:
A longtime friend of MJF’s claimed that MJF was adamant to them backstage that the situation wasn’t a work. However, that talent also said that it reeked of desperation on screen to make
something happen, and they don’t believe Tony Khan or AEW would allow that on television without a payoff or a plan.
MJF is claiming that his problems with AEW are real, but the roster isn’t entirely convinced, and time will tell what happens next in his saga against Tony Khan.
MJF was just one of several big names who appeared on this week’s post-Double or Nothing Dynamite, but AEW Women’s World Champion Thunder Rosa didn’t appear.
At the Pay Per View, Rosa retained her title against Serena Deeb, which made her absence all the more strange, and now we know what happened.
According to a new report from PW Insider, Thunder Rosa was in Los Angeles for the show, but was feeling unwell backstage.
After consulting with AEW’s medical team, the decision was made to keep her off the show, which in all likelihood was the best decision to make.
It’s unclear what medical issue caused Rosa to take a step back, thou gh PW Insider reported that she wasn’t injured during her match with Deeb, and we’re wishing the AEW Women’s World Champion a speedy
recovery
A medical issue may have been the deciding factor in keeping Thunder Rosa off AEW TV this week, but it wasn’t the only problem she faced backstage.
That’s according to a source who told What Culture that in addition to this medical issue, Rosa was frustrated at Dynamite, as AEW repor tedly had little to no plans or her despite her win at Double or Nothing.
The source, who wished to remain anonymous, said that Rosa was made to feel that her title defence at AEW’s biggest show of the year “didn’t happen at all,” which left her feeling upset and confused.
Thunder Rosa’s win at Double or Nothing was one of the biggest nights of her career, but it looks like AEW had little to no plans to address her victory, even if she hadn’t gone down with a medical issue.
Over to WWE next, as United States Champion Theory has accomplished a lot over the past year, but there’s one name he’s hungry to face.
After winning the U.S. Title, Theory didn’t waste any time In taun ting John Cena, claiming that he’s already a better champion than Big Match John, a five-time U.S. Champion in his own right.
Theory has even teased a match with Cena at Summerslam, and it now looks like John is on board.
when Cena was asked who his favourite current WWE Superstar is, he said it was Theory, but added that the U.S Cham pion is the Superstar most in need of an Attitude Adjustment.
Ever since Theory returned to the main roster last year, there’s been comparrisons to Cena, with Vince McMahon reportedly seeing the young Superstar as a future top star like John.
With Cena and Theory both interested in facing off, it seems a match between the two will happen, as long as the 16-time WWE World Champion can get time off from his busy Hollywood schedule.
Over to AEW next, as this week’s Dynamite was the first event after Double or Nothing, and had quite the interesting guest list backstage.
It’s not uncommon for interesting names to appear backstage at an AEW show, but very rarely does a current WWE superstar show up to Tony Khan’s promotion.
Fightful Select reports that Dolph Ziggler attended this week’s show to meet up with friends, and was said to be well-liked by everyone he came across.
Ziggler’s brother is AEW wrestler Ryan Nemeth, so while it makes sense that the Show Off was there to see his brother, it’s still wild that a current WWE Superstar was backstage at an AEW event.
Ziggler has threatened to leave WWE in the past, but has never followed through, and with his last match being two months ago, where he lost the NXT Title to Bron Breakker, time will tell what he does next.
During this week’s AEW Dynamite, Hiroshi Tanahashi confronted AEW World Champion CM Punk, seemingly confirming a match between the two at Forbidden Door.
Not long after, it was reported that the IWGP World Heavyweight Cham pion Kazuchika Okada would be defending his title on the night against ‘Hangman’ Adam Page, but that no long appears to be the case.
Dave Meltzer was the one to report the match, but in a tweet, retracted the claim, saying that the card is being kept secret.
It appears that, at best, some wires were crossed here, but we’ re confident that an excellent title match will happen at Forbidden Door no matter who Okada faces.
It now appears Hangman Page won’t be challenging for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Forbidden Door, in another blow for the former AEW World Champion.
Page’s reign with that title ended last week at 197 days, but much of his reign left a lot to be desired.
While speaking on his Drive Thru podcast, Jim Cornette criticized the run, saying:
“They did the only thing they could do [make Punk the Champion], because it was a joke. Six, seven, or eight guys in the company [are] moreover known, moreover qualified than Adam Page as the
champion. They had three years, they blew it, they blew it from the start.” With the Okada match not happening as initially planned,
the future remains unclear of Hangman Page, as the world title reign that was in the works when AEW got started in 2019, didn’t seem to live up to many people’s expectations.
Last year, after having 0 televised matches for the company, Scarlett Bordeaux was released by WWE, and she’s since been getting back in the ring.
After her non-compete clause expired, the Smokeshow has wrestled for WrestlePro, but is now set to make her MLW debut.
On June 23rd, Bordeaux will be at the Battle Riot in New York City, which will also feature a taping for MLW Fusion.
In their statement, it was confirmed that MLW is working on finding a suitable opponent for Scarlett, in what will be arguably her biggest match since being cut by WWE.
Back to WWE, and Liv Morgan’s star continues to grow on Raw, and she’ll now be reaching an even wider audience in a brand new movie.
The news was broken by Deadline that Morgan has landed a role in the upcoming dark comedy thriller ‘The Kill Room’ and will share the screen with some big names.
Academy award winner Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman are just two of the big names attached to the film, alongside Joe Maganiello and Maya Hawke.
The film will focus on a money laundering scheme that goes awry with Morgan playing the role of an art purist.
There’s no word yet on a release date or how much time Morgan will need off for shooting her scenes in the film, but this is certainly a huge opportunity for the young Raw Superstar.
And we’re ending today with the Titan Adam Scherr, who has somehow got even more jacked than before.
On Twitter, the former WWE Universal Champion showed off his ripped physique, and said the new diet he started four weeks ago is to thank for the transformation.
Scherr said that his new diet requires eating 8lbs of fish a day, and while we here at Slat Rock enjoy a bit of sea food, that’s probably too much for any of us.
Nevertheless, Scherr’s physique can’t be denied, as the ex-Superstar continues to make a name for himself outside WWE.