Here's your wrestling news for June 24th 2022
We are starting off today with WWE as it’s been just one week since Vince McMahon stepped down as CEO of WWE due to the ongoing investigation into an alleged affair and hush money payment.
After the Wall Street Journal published their now infamous article, four more law firms launched their own investigations into WWE and their business practices, and now that number continues to grow.
According to Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics, two more firms have now joined in, bringing the total number of investigations into WWE to seven.
Pomerantz Law Firm and Moore Kuehn, PLLC are the latest to start an investigation, believing that WWE withholding information from their investors cost them big money.
WWE did not disclose to investors that McMahon was being investigated until the Wall Street Journal article, at which point WWE stock dropped significantly.
While seven investigations are ongoing, there’s so far been no formal lawsuits, but they may be coming soon enough for the former CEO of the company.
This Sunday, AEW and New Japan will host their Forbidden Door event, but the show will have to go ahead without multiple big names.
Bryan Danielson, Kenny Omega and Interim AEW World Champion CM Punk are all out of the show due to injuries, which has forced Tony Khan to change plans.
While speaking on Busted Open Radio, Khan discussed the show, and how circumstances beyond his control forced him to change plans:
“CM Punk got injured. AEW had to find a new main event now that the original plan of Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. CM Punk could no longer go forward… Moxley vs. Tanahashi is a dream match the fans
have been calling for, for years, And the TV was ready to go, we had a lot of great matches planned in the weeks leading into Forbidden Door. A lot of those matches involved CM Punk “
and a number of other stars who are injured.”
Forbidden Door will still be a huge night for both companies, with several massive matches planned, but there are some things even Khan and his vast fortune simply can’t control.
While Bryan Danielson won’t be competing this Sunday, his match with Zack Sabre Jr. will go ahead, with a mystery opponent replacing the American Dragon.
Danielson hasn’t confirmed who will be replacing him, only that it will be someone incredibly gifted, and one interesting name could be filling his spot.
On Twitter, Johnny Gargano tweeted that he will also be in Chicago this Sunday and will be attending The Chicago Card Show.
Unsurprisingly, this got fans speculating that he will be the one to face Sabre Jr. though Gargano tried to dispel these ideas.
In a follow-up tweet, Gargano said that the timing is “ridiculously coincidental” and planned months in advance, but admitted that if he was trying to cover up his debut this is what he would say.
Ultimately, time will tell whether Gargano is the newest member to the Blackpool Combat Club, but Tony Khan will have to pull someone big out to make up for the missing Bryan Danielson.
Speaking of injuries, Rhea Ripley is out of action for the time being, and has been pulled from Money in the Bank 2022.
Ripley has since disclosed that an injury to her brain and teeth has caused WWE to pull her from the event but there is good news for the Australian Superstar.
On the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said how Ripley isn’t expected to miss much in-ring time, and while she won’t wrestle at Money in the Bank, she’s expected back “very soon.”
Although Bryan Alverez pointed out that it was also claimed that Bryan Danielson wouldn’t miss much time, Meltzer countered back, saying that Bryan has had dozens of concussions, and Ripley has
had nowhere near the same amount.
No matter if it’s Ripley’s 1st or 50th concussion, it’s important to take it seriously, though fans can expect the former Raw Women’s Champion back in the not so distant future.
More injury news now, as yet another star from AEW is currently on the shelf.
PW Insider reports that Skye Blue is dealing with an undisclosed injury, one that kept her out of action for nearly a month now.
Blue’s last match was at the June 3rd episode of AEW Dark, where she came up short against Marina Shafir.
While Blue isn’t technically All Elite, at least not yet, she has been a regular for the company, having 38 matches for AEW thus far, the majority of which being on Dark or Dark: Elevation.
Blue may not be a star the same size as Danielson, Omega, or Punk, but she does bring something to AEW, and we’re wishing her a speedy recovery following this undisclosed injury.
At WrestleMania 35, Kurt Angle lost to Baron Corbin, in what was billed at the time as the Olympic Gold Medalist’s farewell match.
Given the history of retirement matches, and how few wrestlers actually stay retired fans were suspicious that Kurt would never wrestle again but that will be the case.
On the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast, Kurt discussed the double knee surgery he had recently, and said that due to the issues in his knees, he can never wrestle again.
Angle was released from WWE in 2020, but has made a few appearances for the company since then, and was meant to do some thing with RK-Bro this year before those plans were scrapped.
It’s hard to think of anyone who took to pro wrestling faster than Kurt, who went from debuting to WWF Champion in under a year.
Kurt himself has said that he wishes his retirement match had been against John Cena, as the latter debuted against Angle in 2002, but now, there is no chance for the completely retired Olympic Gold Medalist.
The COVID-19 pandemic was a disaster for the entertainment industry. Between the pandemic and stiff competition from other promotions, WWE had to get creative about getting more attention
especially since fans weren’t in attendance. Happy Corbin revealed one such strategy that went awry, when he made an appearance on
Mornings with Matt and Bob. The incident in question was the Money in the Bank 2020 event, during which he chucked Rey Mysterio off the top of WWE Headquarters.
The Money in the Bank 2020 event featured a twist on the classic #1 contender’s match, wherein the men and the women competed together in a race to climb to the top of the WWE Headquarters.
Corbin claims that it was one of the craziest Money in the Bank matches, Speaking on KLBJFM, what really happened and why he threw Mr. 6-1-9 off the WWE HQ.
“I got it in my head, ‘Well, if [Rey is] one of the greatest ever, let’s see if he can fly. We happened to be on top of a ten-story building and I sent him over into the darkness. Someone legit called the
police that [Corbin] murdered Mysterio. I have that mask on my wall at my house right now. That was one of the craziest Money in the Bank matches because the ring is on top of headquarters,”
Fortunately, things didn’t end as badly as they could have, and Rey Mysterio lived to fight another day and although Police arrived a few minutes while the match was going on, Kevin Dunn and the
rest of the crew took care of the situation
Here’s hoping that Corbin does not get it in his head to see if any other wrestlers can fly. Former WWE NXT Superstar Parker Boudreaux (FKA Harland)
made his MLW debut in the Battle Riot match, which is MLW’s version of the Royal Rumble, during Thursday’s Battle Riot IV event at the Melrose Ballroom in New York City.
Boudreaux entered at #40 but didn’t last very long in the battle royal. The final four wrestlers in the match were Killer Kross, Real1 (Enzo Amore), Jacob Fatu and Sami Callihan. Fatu would eventually
win the Battle Riot by eliminating Real1.
With the victory, Fatu secured a future title shot against MLW World Champion Alex Hammerstone.
And we are ending today with some hall off fame news
Alberto Del Rio (AKA Alberto El Patron) may be blacklisted from all major wrestling promotions currently, including his old stomping grounds AAA, but that hasn’t stopped the former WWE
Champion from dreaming of a future WWE Hall of Fame induction.
In a recent interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling, Del Rio stressed that he will eventually get justice and will be inducted in hall of fame alongside other legends of the business.
Del Rio Said
“I would love to be there and walk into the scenario and just grab the microphone and from the top, look at my dad, my mom, my beautiful children, my girlfriend, my family, and to finally put an end to
this amazing career with my name out there in the stars with the legends of our sport, I know one day it will happen. Of course, the decision is not mine. But I know someday, I will get my justice.”
When asked to delve into the factors that might be hindering his potential induction, Del Rio alluded to the charges of aggravated kidnapping and sexual assault leveled against him by an ex-girlfriend
last year. Del Rio would then point out how despite all charges being dropped in December 2021, he’s still being blacklisted unjustly.
“People need to stop being stubborn or ignorant,” Del Rio said. “ And if you want to see the truth, it’s out there. Not just said by me but by the most important departments of investigation in the United
States that are telling you – this man never did absolutely anything. It was just one person – a horrible person affecting his life. That’s it. Leave him alone. So, one day I’m gonna be there [in the WWE Hall of Fame].”
This isn’t the first instance of Del Rio making a case for a WWE ' Hall of Fame induction. Earlier this month, he tweeted out his list of accomplishments in WWE – two reigns each as WWE Champion
and World Heavyweight Champion, victory in the only 40-man Royal Rumble in 2011 and two stints as United States Champion. Del Rio also won the Money in the Bank Ladder Match in 2011.
WILL THE WRESTLING GODS AACCEPT DEL RIO’S WISH? ONLY TIME WILL TELL