>Here's more wrestling news for June 10th 2022
>And your headlines for Afternoon include
>Bray Wyatt did ‘more harm than good’ claims WWE sources
>When will WWE have the Roman Reigns-Riddle title match >nixed from Money in the Bank?
>Davey Boy Smith Jr. Reveals bizarre ring name for cancelled >WWE return
>WWE Hall of Famer praises Riddle as “World Championship >material” if he makes some changes
>Colten Gunn says school teacher thought Billy and Chuck angle >was real
>EC3 Claims to have turned down offers to make Control Your >Narrative work
>NXT UK Superstar announces engagement to Australian indie >wrestler
>Huge matches added to Impact Wrestling’s Slammiversary card
>WWE announces two Money in the Bank qualifiers for Smack >Down – Superstar’s first match in over a year And more
>We’re kicking off with WWE, who shocked everyone last July >when they released Bray Wyatt, and the three-time former World >Champion hasn’t competed anywhere else since.
>A lot has come out about Bray’s relationship with the company >since his release, with an alleged bad attitude and a near $4 million >contract being just part of WWE’s decision to cut ties with him.
>On this week’s Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer discussed >the former Superstar, and how he’s remembered now nearly a >year away from the company.
>According to Meltzer, many people within WWE believe that >Bray did “more harm than good” over his final two years, >when he was at his most popular.
>The belief is that Bray’s Fiend character was so dominant and >beat opponents so decisively that Wyatt damaged a lot of talent >who WWE would have to spend a lot of effort on to build back up.
>The irony of this is that WWE had a problem with Bray beating >opponents so decisively, then maybe they should’ve stopped >booking him to do just that, as Wyatt did not have creative control.
>Ultimately, WWE did not appreciate how they booked Bray, >which is apparently his fault, so don’t expect the former Fiend >to return to the company anytime soon.
>Yesterday we reported on Roman Reigns, who is expected >to miss the upcoming Money in the Bank Premium Live Event.
>Reigns had been scheduled to face Riddle at the show, but that >was when the July 2nd event was planned to happen at Allegiant >Stadium, with the decision to pull the Tribal Chief happening
>following the move to the much-smaller MGM Grand Arena
>It turns out that WWE hasn’t given up on Riddle’s shot at the Undis >puted WWE Universal Championship, and on his show, Meltzer >explained that the new plan is for the match to happen on TV.
>This is an interesting move to say the least, given that Reigns’ new >lucrative contract will see him wrestle far less, and it had naturally >been assumed that his days wrestling on Raw or SmackDown were over.
>This match could come as soon as tonight, as Riddle has >promised to show up to SmackDown and has said he will ‘ >hunt’ The Bloodline.
>Of course, we can’t rule out WWE changing all plans, as the >company is no stranger to doing, but we may be seeing the >Head of the Table back in the ring very soon.
>In 2021, WWE brought back Harry Smith, the son of the British >Bulldog after a decade away from the company.
>Despite a lot of buzz with fans, Smith never returned to WWE TV, >and was released last November as part of the company's >never ending budget cuts.
>This week, Smith spoke to ITR Wrestling, and explained how >WWE had big plans for him, including a brand new name for >his return:
>"I was going to be debuting on SmackDown and they were going >to call me ‘The Stampede Stud.’ It just never happened, it wasn’t >my fault. I showed up more than in shape. I saw Vince and he
>was like ‘oh you’re looking good kid.’"
>Smith added that everyone in WWE was on board with him, >even filming vignettes of him talking about his legendary father, >but plans changed after he tested positive.
>Ultimately, The Stampede Stud never got his moment in the >son, and while Smith has since joined the NWA, things could >have been much different in WWE.
>One name who fans can see each week is Riddle, who's >received a major push since being called to the main roster.
>Already a former US and RAW Tag Team Champion, Riddle is >now in a feud with The Bloodline, and could be the one to dethrone >Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
>That's at least what Mark Henry believes, as on Busted Open >Radio, the World's Strongest Man had praise and advice for >the Original Bro:
>"Championship material. That’s what he is. World Heavyweight >Championship material... Now you can have Riddle not do the >scooter. You can always have Riddle dial stuff back and say,
>you know what, it says it in the Bible. Once I was a child and >did childish things and then I grew up and act as a man and >put away childish things.”
>We can’t see WWE dialing back on Riddle’s character, as what >they’re doing with him is clearly working, and we’ll have to see if >the Original Bro wins the big one as Henry has predicted.
>Now, Billy Gunn has had a lengthy and impressive career in >wrestling, from working as Rockabilly to being one of the >veterans of AEW.
>In 2002, Gunn was part of the Billy and Chuck tag team with >Chuck Palumbo, a pseudo couple that played on homosexual >stereotypes to shock and offend fans.
>The big reveal in late ’02 was that the team was never gay, and >that we’re acting this way as a publicity stunt, and some people >were really suckered in by WWE’s storytelling.
>Speaking to Insight with Chris Van Vliet this week, AEW’s Colten >Gunn discussed his dad’s tenure with Palumbo, and how a >school teacher was genuinely convinced:
>“I was in 5th grade and the teacher I had in 2nd grade asked >me, ‘How is your other dad?’ I’m like, ‘What?’”
>The Billy and Chuck tag team earned WWE an award from GLAAD >for representation, which was promptly taken back when it turned >out the character weren’t representing the LGBTQ+ community
>at all, in one of the most unique tag teams of the early 2000s.
>Now, like many Superstars, EC3 had a solid run in NXT that >did not translate when he was called up to the main roster >in WWE.
>Now, the former 24/7 Champion has started his own promotion, >Control Your Narrative, and it turns out that EC3 has had to say >no to a lot of opportunities to do so.
>During this week’s Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, EC3 said >he has had to turn down offers from multiple promotions to get >Control Your Narrative up and running, but didn’t list any of the
>promotions who reportedly made him an offer. >Whatever the future holds, EC3 is committed to Control >Your Narrative, which has been the subject
>of mockery from fans so far, so we’ll have to wait and see >if the former Superstar can make a success of his new >promotion.
>We’ve got some fantastic news from NXT UK’s Xia Brookside >who has gotten engaged this week.
>Brookside, the daughter of WWE Performance Center Coach >Robbie Brookside showed off her new ring on Twitter, with a >series of photos alongside her fiancé, Sean Kustom.
>Kustom, an Australian, is also a wrestler, and has been working the >united Kingdom independent scene for some years now, and we’d >like to offer our congrats to the happy couple on their engagement.
>Over to Impact Wrestling now, as the company’s big Slammi >versary event will take place later this month, with some >huge matches being confirmed this week.
>On this week’s edition of Impact, it was announced that a >Monster’s Ball match will take place on the June 19th event >between Moose and Sami Callihan.
>On Twitter, Callihan noted how this will be his first match in >nine months, and is ready to end things with Moose.
>It was also confirmed that former WWE stars will face off at >Slammiversary, as Impact Digital Media Champion Rich >Swann will defend against Bryan Myers.
>Interestingly, Swann won the title last month against Myers’ friend and >occasional tag-team partner Matt Cardona, so we’ll have to see if the >former Curt Hawkins can get the job done this month at Slammiversary.
>And we’re ending today with WWE Money in the Bank, as the >company will start preparation for the show’s titular ladder >matches.
>On Tonight’s SmackDown, Drew McIntyre will face off against >his former friend and nemesis Sheamus, with a spot in the >Men’s Ladder match on the line.
>Perhaps more importantly, Xia Li will face Lacey Evans on >tonight’s show as well, with the winner advancing to the >Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder match on July 2nd.
>This will mark Evans’ first match in over a year following her >return from maternity leave, just as long as WWE doesn’t >change plans for the former U.S. Marine.
>Evans has certainly had an interesting time since returning to >SmackDown as a babyface, including a move to Raw, a heel >turn, and a move back to SmackDown.
>The Sassy Southern Belle was reportedly in line for a title run >before her pregnancy in early 2021, and barring yet another >change of plans, perhaps tonight will be the start of that title
>victory finally happening.