Here's more wrestling news for July 28th 2021
And your headlines for Afternoon include
Samoa Joe Set To Return To The Ring At NXT TakeOver 36!
Braun Strowman Posts Cryptic Tweet Amid Interest From WWE And AEW!
WWE Introduces New Robot Mascot On RAW!
Released WWE Superstar Pulls Out Of Indie Show & Buries Company In The Process!
Identity Of Jinder Mahal’s Attorney On WWE RAW Revealed!
Reason Why The Young Bucks Were Missing From AEW Dynamite Fyter Fest Night 2!
Vince McMahon Allegedly Did Nothing When A WWE Superstar Told Him To "F*** Off" Backstage!
WWE Hall of Famer Cleared To Wrestle!
TWO BIG Names In Wrestling Blasts Goldberg For Just Showing Up For The PayCheck & More!
We’re starting off with Samoa Joe, who after over a year out of action, is finally returning to the ring.
On last night’s NXT, it was confirmed that Joe will challenge NXT Champion Karrion Kross for the title, and that’ll take place
at NXT TakeOver 36 on August 22nd. This match has been brewing since Joe returned in June, confronting Kross,
and got taken to the next level when Kross attacked Joe following the former’s successful title defence over Johnny
Gargano. After attacking NXT General Manager William Regal, Kross was seemingly
on the firing line, but Joe instead resigned as Regal’s assistant to become an in-ring competitor again, and the TakeOver match
was made official. This’ll be Joe’s first match since the February 10th 2020 RAW, where he
teamed with Kevin Owens an the Viking Raiders to lose to Seth Rollins, Murphy and AOP.
In his time away, Joe was moved to RAW’s commentary team, released, and brought back to NXT, and we’re pleased to see
the Samoan Submission Machine has made a full recovery following his lengthy concussion issues
Last month, Braun Strowman was released from his WWE contract, and the former Universal Champion hasn’t been quiet since
his departure. Released due to budget cuts as WWE didn’t want to pay his $1.2 million a year contract,
Strowman was a surprising name to be cut, and on Twitter this week, said he had “choices choices choices” in a Tweet.
Strowman certainly does have choices, as there’s been talk that WWE want to bring him back to avoid seeing him in AEW, and AEW’s
Mark Henry, who got Braun his job in WWE, said he’s high on his list of guys he wants to sign to the All-Elite promotion
Outside of wrestling, Strowman has teased joining the world of Bareknuckle boxing, and said how he planned to enter the male
bodybuilding world shortly before his WWE departure, as the former Universal Champion clearly has a lot of choices to make
Over to RAW next, as WWE is trying anything they can to get fans to tune in, and this week, that included a red Robot make an appearance
during the show. We don’t have a name for the robot yet, but he did show up this week, and some fans
are calling him RAWbot. This bot is similar to the one that the NFL uses for FOX, but it’s different enough to
set it apart. We’ll have to see how long this Robot sticks around, as Vince McMahon and his team
have been trying out a ton of ideas as of late, and for now, the RAWbot is the company’s latest attempt to turn those
dwindling viewing figures around.
If you’ve been to a wrestling show, you’ll know that the card is always subject to change, and that’s especially true for
this Sunday’s New Breed Wrestling event. This week, Renee Michelle tweeted that she won’t be on the show, and neither
will Deonna Purazzo, who made a much louder statement with her announcement.
On Twitter, The Virtuosa said that any fans who bought tickets should ask for a refund, and that any talent should avoid the
company at all costs. We’re uncertain what went down between NBW and the Knockouts Champion, but
something has clearly peeved Purazzo. Perhaps more stars will pull out of the show before it happens this Sunday, and we
imagine losing both Purrazzo and Michelle is going to put a dent in public interest.
Back to RAW, as this week’s show saw Jinder Mahal bring his attorney to the show, which ended with his legal
representative eating a Claymore kick by Drew McIntyre. We now know that Mahal’s attorney was
played by Arjun Singh, also known as Geek Singh, who appeared on the June 26th edition of AEW Dark, where he lost to
to Angelico. You never know if Vince McMahon might like a character and bring it back, and it’s possible,
albeit unlikely that Singh could return as Mahal’s attorney during this ongoing feud with the Scottish Superstar.
Even if that doesn’t happen, Singh at least has a taste of being in WWE thanks to his appearance in Kansas City, and any
mainstream exposure like that will only help him as he looks to be booked on the independent scene.
AEW news now, as last week’s Fyter Fest Night-2 saw a lot of action, but the company’s World Tag Team Champions were conspicuous
by their absence. Even when Kenny Omega, Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows brawled with Adam Page
and the Dark Order, the Young Bucks didn’t show up, and now we know why.
According to Dave Meltzer, Nick Jackson was present at the show, but remained backstage, and Matt wasn’t there due to
family issue. On this week’s Dynamite, the Bucks and Omega and the Good brothers will face
Page and the Dark Order, and we’ll have to wait and see who picks up the win.
For decades, Vince McMahon has run the WWE with an iron fist, being the decision maker on all matters in the company,
but not everyone lives in fear of the almighty WWE Chairman. It’s no secret that in the 1990s, Shawn
Michaels had his share of demons, and that ultimately led to explosive confrontations with McMahon backstage.
That’s according to Vince Russo, who spoke with Sportskeeda this week, saying:
When you stand up to him [VINCE], he does nothing. I saw it with Shawn for years. Shawn would tell Vince to f*** off to his
face, and Vince didn't know how to react. He didn't know what to say… now it's like he is a wise old grandpa, and he's got
these 20-year-old kids that when he walks in a room, they pee their pants… There is this fear of God from him and
I'm like, guys, he is a wrestling promoter.” Nowadays, the relationship between McMahon and Michaels is on much friendlier
terms, but Russo clearly believes that far too many Superstars show Vince McMahon far too much respect
More from NXT next, as Samoa Joe isn’t the only huge name who’s recently been cleared to compete for the gold brand.
Speaking to Renee Paquette on Oral Sessions, WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix discussed her husband Edge’s
miraculous return to the ring, and whether she’ll be one-day making a comeback herself. She said:
“I am [medically cleared]. Once a wrestler, always a wrestler. I’m not going to lie about it. I’m good. I feel like you couldn’t have
done this and wanted to do this your whole life without always having that little bug. I get so happy to be in the conversation of
somebody that today’s stars would look forward to facing.” As a former Women’s and Divas Champion,
Beth impressed fans with his six-year full- time run in WWE, and has been impressive in her one-off in-ring appearances in the
years since. In recent years, Beth has said she felt insignificant when she left WWE in 2012
but now feels her contributions helped shape the current generation of female Superstars, and there’s no shortage of
of dream matches available if she did make an in-ring return.
Earlier this month, Bill Goldberg returned to challenge WWE Champion Bobby Lashley for a Summerslam match, a bout the
Almighty has already refused. Despite this, a title match between the two is expected for Summerslam, despite the
backlash from fans who believe Goldberg is too old and underserving of a title opportunity.
It’s not just the fans who feel this way, as on his ‘For the Heat’ radio show, Eric Bischoff called out WWE’s decision to rely on the
former WCW World Champion. He said: Goldberg shows up; he wrestles two matches a year because he signed a
contract a couple of years ago for a massive amount of money, and all he’s got to do is show up and work
matches. He doesn’t care whether he wins or loses. He is just showing up for the paycheck.
Bischoff also said that the match result is obvious, as he’s confident Lashley will retain, but perhaps WWE will surprise
everyone on August 21st, when the Hall of Famer and the Almighty inevitably collide at Summerslam.
Bischoff isn’t the only big name intereed in this match, as Booker T has also weighed in on the upcoming WWE title match between
Goldberg and Lashley. On his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker had a far softer view on the match than Eric,
saying that Lashley should be pleased he gets to get in the ring with a WWE Hall of Famer, and added:
"The Goldberg thing. I don't know what the match is going to be like. Me, personally, I'm not trying to pick a winner or anything,
but if I was picking one, it'd be Bobby Lashley. The match shouldn't last very long.” Booker also insinuated that Brock Lesnar
could return after the match, and target whoever holds the WWE Championship at the time.
It’ll be interesting to see who eventually wins, as Lashley’s momentum would be helped by the win over Goldberg, but having the
Hall of Famer lose both matches in 2021 would devalue his star-power. Whatever the case, this will be a huge match
worthy of Summerslam, even if many fans and many people in the industry don’t want to see it happen.
And we’re ending today with Triple H, who turned 52 yesterday, and received plenty of birthday wishes from fans, celebrities
and other wrestlers. Even former WWE personnel such as Renee Paquette, Batista and Cathy Kelley
wished him well, as did one of AEW’s newest signings. On Twitter, Andrade El Idolo wished the
Game a happy birthday, and thanked him for everything he’d done for his career. If you’re wondering, the Game shares his
birthday with Dolph Ziggler and AEW’s Adam Page, and there’s clearly no hard feelings between the King of Kings and the former
NXT Champion.