Here's your wrestling news for August 23rd 2021
And your headlines for today include
Adam Cole Officially Done With WWE NXT; The Young Bucks Tease Reaching Out To Adam Cole!
Samoa Joe Makes History At NXT Takeover 36!
Bray Wyatt Seemingly Enjoyed Fan’s Fiend Sign At WWE SummerSlam
WWE Confiscated Bray Wyatt Sign During WWE SummerSlam; Bray Wyatt Reacts!
Bianca Belair Breaks Silence On 27-Second Loss To Becky Lynch At Summerslam!
Reason why Vince McMahon wanted Becky Lynch to squash Bianca Belair at WWE SummerSlam!
MAJOR Details Concerning Becky Lynch’s WWE SummerSlam Return; Becky Lynch Gets Huge Character Change After WWE
Return!
WWE Reportedly Changed Plans For Roman Reign vs Brock Lesnar Match! Roman Reigns Reacts!
GREAT Gesture By Brock Lesnar After WWE SummerSlam!
THREE Career Ending BOTCHES At WWE Summerslam!
Andrade and JTG were at SummerSlam 2021! And More!
We’re kicking off today with Adam Cole, who lost to Kyle O’Reilly at TakeOver 36 in confusing fashion.
In April, the former Undisputed Era brothers went for other 40 minutes, and the pair were expected to do similar in last night’s 2-out
of-3 falls collision. Instead, the final fall in the steel cage was underwhelming, as the third match lasted
a few minutes before Cole tapped out to a Heel Hook from the handcuffed O’Reilly.
What should’ve been an epic collision to mark the end of an era, instead ended with a dud, an unfortunate way to end the story,
the Undisputed Era, and seemingly, Cole’s time as an NXT Superstar
Adam Cole entered NXT TakeOver 36 with a very short-term contract, as his original deal with the company expired in July.
Now, the former NXT Champion’s time in the gold brand is over, as Ringside News reports that Col didn’t sign any extension or new
contract before TakeOver, and as of midnight last night, became a free agent.
PW Insider later confirmed this news, making Cole’s loss to Kyle O’Reilly his final match in WWE.
Before his departure, Cole had had a meeting with Vince McMahon, and writers had been told to come up with ideas for him on the
main-roster, but it was also reported that WWE didn’t make a huge push to re-sign him, and hadn’t offered any long-term deal.
We’ll have to see what Cole does next, as the popular theory is that he’ll join his girlfriend Britt Baker in AEW, but for now,
he’ll be waiting out his non-compete clause ahead of the inevitable talks with Tony Khan.
There’s no confirmation on where Cole will go next, but immediately after his loss, the Young Bucks made it clear they want him i
in AEW. On Twitter, the AEW World Tag Team Champions changed their bio to a like to
a YouTube video, titled ‘The Most Infamous Seances in History.’ Their header photo has also changed,
as it’s now Matt Jackson and Kenny Omega in Ghostbusters outfits with Nick Jackson as a ghost, from the trio’s bit as the Ghostbutsters
at a 2016 New Japan event. On Being the Elite, Cole was killed off at the end of episode 54, titled Curtain call in
reference to the 1996 MSG incident, and it’s clear that the Bucks would like to resurrect their old friend as AEW’s next signing.
More from NXT TakeOver, as Samoa Joe and Karrion Kross headlined the show with a physical match, all over the NXT Title.
In his first match since his unfortunate concussion in early 2020, Joe didn’t hold back, and ended Kross’ reign to become
the new NXT Champion. Not only did Joe win the title, he won with the Muscle Buster, a move that had been
previously banned on the main roster, after it ended the career of Tyson Kidd, who now works as a backstage producer.
With this victory, Joe is the first-ever three-time NXT Champion, in a historic ending to NXT TakeOver 36.
Summerslam news next, as Bray Wyatt obviously didn’t compete at last Saturday’s show, but his presence was felt at the
biggest party of the Summer. Since his release, chants of ‘We want Wyatt’ have broken out during RAWs, especially
during Alexa Bliss matches, and her match against Eva Marie was no exception.
There was also a fan at Summerslam who brought a Wyatt sign to Summerslam, featuring the Fiend on the Oakland Raiders logo.
On Twitter, Wyatt who now goes by Windham, retweeted a tweet of the sign, as he enjoyed the fact that the crowd are still on his side.
Wyatt may have enjoyed the sign, but the security in Allegiant Stadium did not, as during Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said:
Did you hear they were confiscating Wyatt stuff? There was a big Wyatt sign that I saw during the Big E and Baron Corbin match and
then they panned away really quick. I was told they took it from the guy, which actually, I was told, got heated, but the guy did eventually
give it up.” Wyatt remains massively popular with the WWE Universe, nearly a month after his
shocking firing, and we doubt confiscating signs will cause the We Want Wyatt chants to quiet anytime soon
One person who did appear at Summerslam is Bianca Belair, who lost the SmackDown Women’s title to the returning Becky Lynch.
Not only did Belair lose, but she lost in a 27-second squash match, a decision that has undone all of Belair’s momentum over
the past year. Speaking to Denise Salcedo on the Summerslam after-party’s red carpet, Belair broke her silence
after this crushing lost, saying: “I'm just trying to collect my thoughts. Everything happened too quickly. I was
ready to fight Sasha Banks, and Becky came out, which was an amazing moment. I'm happy to be a part of that, but I lost my title, and
and right now, I'm just emotional. I feel defeated. It was bittersweet.” We’ll have to see how Belair bounces back
on this week’s SmackDown, but for now, the former Champion is clearly unhappy with how things went down last Saturday.
Belair isn’t the only one unhappy with what happened, as fans have been vocally frustrated with the decision to have the EST
lose the gold. It’s not the title loss itself that’s angered fans, but the way it happened, as Lynch’s 27
victory over Belair has undone a ton of momentum she’s gained over the past year.
We now know who’s responsible for this booking, as Mike Johnson of PW Insider reports that this title change came from
the very top of WWE: "We are told it was 100% a Vince McMahon call and the title switch to Lynch was
specifically to make her return even more spectacular. It should be noted that the quick nature of the match (27 seconds)
was seen by a number of fans as taking the wind out of the sails of Bianca Belair, but we are told that even though some in the
company expressed that concern, the idea was that the moment was about Lynch per Vince McMahon's vision of the PPV.”
Vince McMahon wanted Lynch’s return to be a big deal, and he certainly achieved his goal, and all it cost was the momentum of this year’s
Women’s Royal Rumble winner, who will now begin the slow climb back to the top of SmackDown’s women’s division.
We previously reported that Lynch wasn’t expected back until October, and had been worked into plans for the next WWE Draft,
but circumstances beyond WWE’s control caused her early return. A member of creative told Ringside News
that Lynch’s return was an example of WWE calling an audible, and she was brought in once they knew that Sasha Banks was
unable to make the show. The source added that WWE had about eight days’ notice that Banks wouldn’t be at
Summerslam, but continued to promote the show as if she’d be competing, up until the SmackDown Women’s title match was about to start
This eight-days window also gave them time to bring Lynch back, and print the Las Vegas shirt The Man rocked during her return.
Lynch was already slated to be in attendance for Summerslam, as she has been travelling with Seth Rollins to many WWE events recently
, and now the company will have to figure out what to do next with the new SmackDown Women’s Champion, who returned months
ahead of schedule.
Lynch’s return was a huge deal at Summerslam, but led to some very disgruntled fans, but that’s apparently all part of the plan for the new
Champion. According to PW Insider, Lynch is slated to turn heel and be the top heel of SmackDown,
initially feuding with Belair. Given the response her title win has gotten, it makes sense that WWE would turn The Man
heel, as the company is aware of how the fans have reacted. It’ll be interesting to see what a Heel Lynch
can do, especially after being so popular for so long, and we’ll have to tune in on Friday to see the start of the Heel-Lynch era
Summerslam 2021 ended with Brock Lesnar’s return, and the Beast Incarnate has set his sights on Universal Champion Roman Reigns.
No match between the two has been confirmed yet, but fans can expect one soon, and it’ll be sooner than initially planned.
During Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reported that the original plan was for Lesnar Vs. Reigns at WrestleMania 39 in 2023, but
that’s no longer the case. It stands to reason that their anticipated rematch could take place in October,
when WWE returns to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel 2021.
If the Lesnar-Reigns feud does conclude in October, then that’ll leave November’s Survivor Series Pay-Per-View to mark the start of the
rumoured Reigns Vs. Rock feud, but as always, all plans are subject to change, especially with part-time Superstars
Roman Reigns is no stranger to the Beast, as they’ve faced off multiple times on Pay-Per- View, but the Tribal Chief wasn’t expecting
to see Lesnar at last Saturday’s show. It took Reigns a few days to break his silence, but on Twitter, the Universal Champion shared
some photos of their confrontation, saying that inevitably, they all come to acknowledge their Tribal Chief.
Today marks day 358 of Reigns’ incredible tenure as Universal Champion, and with Brock Lesnar on the hunt for the Universal title,
it’ll be interesting to see how the new Roman Reigns, and how Paul Heyman factors into this interesting situation
Reigns isn’t the only one who’s changed in the past year, as Brock seemed genuinely happy to be back, and that happiness
carried on after the show. In a rare sight, Lesnar was seen interacting with fans on his way out of the ring, leading
speculation that he’ll be a babyface going forward. Lesnar, who infamously doesn’t like
interacting with others, was seen greeting fans and seemed happy to do so, a far-cry from the usual stoic Beast crowds are
A face Lesnar Vs. Heel Reigns dynamic would be a fresh take on a feud fans have seen before, and we’ll have to wait to see what
Reigns and Heyman have to say on Friday’s SmackDown
Summerslam was an especially huge night for Damian Priest, who captured the United States title from Sheamus, his first title on the main roster.
One of the best matches on the night, the bout wasn’t perfect, as at one point, Priest dove out of the ring to attack Sheamus, but the Celtic
Warrior failed to catch him, causing Priest to land badly on his hip with his head bouncing off the ground.
Priest had to take a few moments to get his breath back before continuing and despite this botch, the Archer of Infamy was able to
get back in the swing of things, and become the new United States Champion.
Priest had a much better night than Nikki A.S.H, who not only lost the RAW Women’s Title to Charlotte Flair, but also suffered a nasty injury
during the match. When Flair went for her twisting moonsault to the outside, she hit Rhea Ripley, but her
lower-back collided with Nikki’s head, pinning her between the barrier and herself. As a result, Nikki looked disorientated but
regained her composure, and was impressive last Saturday, before ultimately losing her title to the Queen.
The penultimate match between Goldberg and WWE Champion Bobby Lashley also saw a huge botch, as the Hall of Famer hurt his leg
during the match. The spot when MVP hit Goldberg in the leg with his cane was always part of the plan, but the
very-real injury happened long before this spot between the two. When Lashley tried a jack-hammer, only for
Goldberg to counter before trying a jack- hammer of his own, the former Universal Champion’s leg gave way, long before MVP’s
attack on his leg. Goldberg and botches are becoming increasingly common, as fans haven’t
forgot his disaster with the Undertaker from 2019. Botching more and more in matches fans
don’t think he should be in anyway, this should be a sign to WWE to stop using Goldberg, or at least stop handing him World
title opportunities, and we’ll have to see if the company sees this for themselves.
Summerslam saw a lot of big names appear, but one who didn’t show up was the Big Guy Ryback.
Despite claiming that he would be there, the former WWE star watched the show from home, but there were some interesting
names inside Allegiant Stadium. AEW’s Andrade El Idolo was present at the show, watching as his fiancé Charlotte Flair
captured the RAW Women’s Title, and former WWE Superstar JTG was there too, as he shared a photo of himself with Sonya Deville
and Mandy Rose. JTG last competed in WWE in 2012, two years before his 2014 release, and joined the NWA
earlier this year, and both he and Andrade had a great view of the action in the ring at the biggest party of the Summer
And we’re ending today with more Andrade news, as the AEW star was seen celebrating with his fiancée after Summerslam.
On her Instagram story, Charlotte uploaded a clip of their celebration, and Andrade can be heard saying “congrats to my champion” to
Charlotte. Now, Charlotte is a 12-time Women’s Champion, much to the dismay of fans who believe she
gets undeserved title runs, and odds are this run will be far better, and longer, than her 24 hour reign last month