Here's more wrestling news for October 2nd 2021
And your headlines for Afternoon include
Was It A Good Decision To Split The New Day ONCE AGAIN on WWE Draft Night 1 ?
Where is WWE SmackDown Women's Champion Headed To?
A Mixed-Gender Feud Is Likely To Start Soon!
WWE Is Having Big Issue Selling Survivor Series Tickets!
WWE’s Opinion About New Controversial NXT 2.0 Gimmick!
USA Network Tired Of WWE Using ‘Scapegoats’ To Excuse Declining Viewership!
Impact Wrestling Digital Media Title New Details Revealed!
CM Punk Recalls Backstage Reaction To WWE “Pipe Bomb” Promo!
WWE Announces Hiring Of Jackie Redmond!
We’re starting off with WWE’s 2021 draft, as once again, the New Day have been split up.
With WWE Champion Big E staying on RAW, and Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods heading to SmackDown, it’s hard to tell what WWE’s
strategy is, if there’s a plan at all. It seems that WWE’s planned feud between the New Day and the Bloodline won’t be
happening, nor will the teased feud between Big E and Drew McIntyre, as the Scottish Superstar is also heading to SmackDown
It was on this week’s RAW that WWE teased the encounter, but it appears the fans will have to keep waiting to see the two lock horns.
The teased feud between the New Day and the Hurt Business is seemingly finished before it ever really got started, as no matter where
Lashley, Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin end up, they won’t have the full New Day to face off with.
At least now Big E has the chance to do things as a singles competitor away from the comedy that comes with being part of the New Day,
but it’ll be quite some time before we know If these drafts on Night 1 will help or hurt WWE in their ongoing war to win back viewers.
There’s still another night of drafting to go, as well as the free agents to be chosen, but if judging from the way SmackDown ended this week,
which saw Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch hold their respective titles aloft, it seems guaranteed that Becky Lynch is heading back to RAW.
The number 1 draft pick in the 2019 draft, it’s worth noting that Lynch never lost the RAW Women’s Title she held for 398 days, but instead vacated
the title to Asuka last year due to her pregnancy. With RAW Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair drafted to SmackDown, the simplest solution
is for Lynch to move to the red brand and the two rivals to switch titles, and although Lynch is practically guaranteed to be back on RAW,
this Becky Lynch is a far different person who left the red brand in May last year.
Later this month, WWE will return to Saudi Arabia, and another huge match confirmed for Crown Jewel.
WWE have announced that on October 21st, SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch will defend against Bianca Belair and Sasha B
Banks in a historic triple-threat match. The history between all three women is well- documented, as Belair dethroned Banks at
WrestleMania, whilst Lynch topped the EST at Summerslam, and their rematch was interrupted by the returning Boss at Extreme Rules.
The odds are against The Man in what will be the first female triple threat match in Saudi Arabia, and time will tell who returns to the U.S.
as the unquestionable top woman on the blue brand.
More from SmackDown, as Seth Rollins made himself right at home when he invaded the house of Edge, and this may be building to one
epic mixed-tag-team match At the start of the segment, Rollins referenced Beth Phoenix, Edge’s wife, and this could be
working towards a tag match pitting Edge and the Glamazon against Rollins and Becky Lynch.
If Lynch and Rollins are drafted to RAW next week, then they’ll both be on the same brand as Edge, and don’t be surprised if WWE saves this match
for Survivor Series next month.
Speaking of Survivor Series, this year’s event will take place in Brooklyn, traditionally a hot crowd for WWE, but fans aren’t exactly queuing
outside the Barclays Center to snag tickets. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that so far, only 6,835 tickers have been sold
disappointing figure considering how close the show is, and it’s worth remembering that fans aren’t the only ones scoring seats
Out of those tickets sold, it’s expected that about 44.8% are now on the secondary markets, with sites like Stub Hub and scalpers listing tickets at
increased price. It was further noted that the fact that nearly half of the tickets sold are going to the secondary
market is “unusually high,” especially for a WWE Pay-Per-View in the New York City market. The current ‘get in’ price for Survivor Series is $52,
but WWE will have a lot of work to do to fill their show up, as despite a possible huge main event between Roman Reigns and Big E,
and the rumoured appearance of The Rock, tickets aren’t selling well at all.
Over to NXT 2.0, as Joe Gacy has been one of the more controversial characters on the rebranded show, satarising left-wing politics
as a ‘conflict resolution specialist.’ On this week’s show, Gacy said he wasn’t ‘ cancelled’ despite his character segments
being pulled from social media, and this may have all been part of WWE’s plan. In the Wrestling Observer Newseltter, it’s reported
that WWE have been very pleased with the character, especially as the gimmick earned NXT 2.0 some mainstream media attention of FOX News.
With the U.S extremely divided when it comes to politics, WWE will have to tread very carefully with this new character, but with this mainstream
potential, neither they, nor Joe Gacy are giving up on this character.
We’ve got some joyous news concerning Toni Storm now, as the SmackDown Superstar is officially engaged.
On Instagram, Storm shared a photo of Juice Robinson popping the question, and captioned the photos “pop the champagne I’m changing
my last name.” Storm and the New Japan star confirmed their relationship in May last year, and we’d like to
future Mr and Mrs Robinson on their happy nuptials
For months, it’s been reported that WWE’s relationship with their Network partners has been strained, with FOX reportedly unhappy
with the viewing figures SmackDown has been pulling in. FOX have also been unhappy with how much
WWE promotes Peacock, a division of NBC- Universal, on SmackDown programming, and things seem only slightly better with the USA
Network. In an in-depth report, Fightful Select notes that USA are very happy with NXT 2.0 so far, and that
contrary to popular belief, they care a great deal about the quality of the product. The USA Network is also aware of viewership
trends, and the decline of said viewership, as the report states: There are several at USA who grew tired of
scapegoats and shortcuts” in the two years before the pandemic, and wanted that to change now that live fans have returned
The report adds that Stephanie McMahon has been a big name In maintaining the connection between WWE and the USA Network, as
as was recently invited to a 1-on-1 discussion with NBCUniversal Chair Mark Lazurus. WWE’s ratings have been declining for some time
now, and the company can’t blame the lack of crowds anymore, and we’ll have to see what the company does next to heal their strained
relationship.
Over to AEW now, as next week’s Dynamite will be the second anniversary of the show, and they’re celebrating in style with a Casino Ladder match.
The winner of this match will get a guaranteed AEW World Championship match, and we now know who’s All In.
During Rampage, a stacked line-up was announced, as Orange Cassidy, Matt Hardy, Pac, Andrade El Idolo, Jon Moxley, Lance Archer and a Joker
card will face-off next Wednesday in the ladder match. Wednesday’s show will also see new TNT
Champion Sammy Guevara defend against recent NXT releasee Bobby Fish, as well as Hikaru Shida face Serena Deeb, and with the Elite taking
on Luchasaurus, Jungle Boy, Bryan Danielson and Christian Cage, the second anniversary Dynamite will be a stacked show.
This month, Impact Wrestling will crown it’s first Impact Digital Media Champion, and every wrestler in the company is an option to be the
very first holder of the title After announcing the title on Thursday, and confirming that a tournament will determine the
inaugural champion, Impact’s Executive VP Scott D’Amore has given an update, saying that both male wrestlers and the Knockouts are eligible
to be champion. Over the next three weeks, a total 12 wrestlers will compete in six single-elimination matches,
with the winners advancing to the tital match that’ll happen at Bound for Glory’s digital pre- show ‘Before the Glory.’
Once the first champion is crowned, the title will be defended on Impact’s digital platforms, as well as TV, Impact Plus specials and Pay-Per-View
and time will tell which man or woman is the first to hold the gold.
On June 27th, 2011, CM Punk cut his first pipebomb, an infamous promo that’d change his career forever.
In the worked-shoot, Punk spoke about his genuine frustrations with the company, such as the fact that The Rock was headlining WrestleManias as
a part-timer, and that the company was filled with a quote “parade of shameless ass-kissers.”
Punk didn’t hold back on that fateful Monday night, and on the AEW Unrestricted podcast, told Aubrey Edwards and Tony Schiavone about what
happened backstage after the pipebomb: I remember walking back up the ramp on the fly, thinking, well, I can’t go through the curtain
because I just did this promo. If I go through the curtain, I’m fist fighting somebody… Backstage is normally just buzzing with people in the hallways
It was empty, and I remember looking around like, ‘geez, what’s going on?’ And I walked past the curtain through Gorilla and everybody in the
company was jammed into the tunnel, waiting to see me come through Gorilla because they figured the same thing
Punk also recalled seeing Chris Masters, who insisted that the former World Champion would surely be fired after cutting the pipebomb,
sign that Punk explains as “we had something.” Even a decade later, Punk’s pipebomb is considered one of the best worked shoots of all
time, as it elevated a talented, popular Superstar into the anti-authority icon wrestling fans know and love today
More from WWE, and it’s not just the rosters that are changing, as sportscaster Jackie Redmond as the new co-host for RAW Talk and Talking Smack.
With over 10 years of experience, Redmond currently serves as a host and hockey reporter for the NHL network and Turner Sports, and
previously spent 6 years as the anchor for Rogers Sportsnet in Canada. WWE fans may recognise her for hosting WWE
Aftermath, and the lifelong Wrestling fan will now be providing her years of expertise each week on RAW Talk and Talking Smack
At All Out 2021, Bryan Danielson debuted for AEW, and immediately set his sights on Kenny Omega.