Here's more wrestling news for September 3rd 2021
And your headlines for Afternoon include
CM Punk Drops Another Hint Of Daniel Bryan Joining AEW!
CM Punk Fires Back At Fans Who Call Tony Khan A ‘Mark’!
WWE Paid For Released Superstar’s Therapy!
Three EX WWE Superstar’s First Appearance Post WWE Release!
Current WWE Wrestler Is Totally Unrecognizable!
Linda McMahon Has A Brand New Gig!
Adam Cole’s Situation Is Full Of Miscommunication Within WWE!
Andrade vs Pac Match Reportedly Pulled For Same Reason As Sasha Banks’ WWE Absence!
WWE Reportedly Disbands Japanese Division!
"I Was Legitimately Scared" – WWE Wrestler Reflects On In Ring Partner No-Selling His Moves And more!
We’re starting with AEW, as CM Punk debuted on what Tony Khan has called the company’s most successful weekend
ever, and everyone in the company are happy to have the former WWE Champion on Board.
One group in particular is happy to see Punk on TV again and that’s TNT, at least according to the man himself.
In an Instagram live video with Stephen Amell, Punk discussed receiving a special care package from TNT, saying:
“I love the people at TNT. They sent me a care package like, ‘welcome to the family.’ Charcoal soap to wash my sweaty pits. The entire
thing is wild to me.” With a multi-year deal to his name, Punk will be part of the proverbial family for a long time
to come, and after seven years away from the industry, its easy to see why TNT are so happy to have the massively popular
performer on board.
Punk is one of the biggest names to join AEW, but Daniel Bryan could soon be joining him, as he’s expected to debut this Sunday at All Out.
If so, Bryan will be one of the company’s biggest ever signings, perhaps only second to Punk, who knows a thing or two
about battling the Eco Warrior. Speaking to the New York Post to promote All Out, Punk continued to tease Bryan’s
impending debut for the company, saying: “That’s somebody that I look at and I go, man wrestling him was always fun. It was never
a headache and God I would like to do that again. I would like to do that again soon.” Punk and Bryan last competed against each
other at the Money in the Bank 2012 Pay-Per- View, and although there’s plenty of fresh names for the Best in the World to face in AEW,
Punk has his sights set on his old nemesis, if he does indeed join this Sunday.
Punk joining AEW has been perhaps the biggest signing Tony Khan has ever made, though not everyone is thrilled with the
company President. It’s no secret that Khan is a huge wrestling fan, and now runs his own promotion, and some
fans have called him a mark for his own product. This claim doesn’t sit well with Punk, who
appeared on Busted Open Radio to hit back at fans who believe being a ‘mark’ of the product is a bad thing. He said:
“I see a lot of criticism and I’m like if the number one criticism is, ‘oh, this guy is a fan, he is a mark’… well sh*t, aren’t we all? You know what
mean? I’d rather have a guy who’s a fan of it, sitting with a headset on and directing a show rather than somebody who doesn’t
like…there’s good and there’s bad and the good far outweighs the bad.”
CM Punk wouldn’t have joined AEW had he not been a fan of the product, and that goes for practically everyone on their roster.
Punk will make his long-awaited return to the ring this Sunday when he takes on Darby Allin, and mark or not, the Best in the World is
pleased that Tony Khan will be running the show.
This week, Daffney Unger tragically died at the age of 46, after a concerning live-steam where she appeared with a gun and spoke
about her taking her own life. After news of her death went public, WWE sent a roster-wide text, informing talent of
where they can seek help if they’re dealing with mental health issues. Earlier this year, Jake Atlas was released by
WWE, but he wants people to know that WWE’s claim of helping Superstars out is 100% true.
In a tweet, Atlas spoke about his time in the company, and that when he was struggling with his own mental health, WWE paid for
his therapy for 6 months to help him out. Atlas said he didn’t want to make the matter about him, but thought this was important to
speak up about, possibly due to former Superstars Karl Anderson and Ryback using Daffney’s death to attack WWE.
WWE gets a lot of grief from fans, and their booking could do with some major changes, but even if he got released less than a month ago,
Atlas will never forget what the company did for him.
Tyler Breeze was also released by WWE this year, but his first post-company appearance has been confirmed.
Daily Wrestling have announced that Prince Pretty will be at their September 25th show at the CCW Arena in Pompano Beach, Florida,
marking Breeze’s first non-WWE appearance in over a decade.
Breeze won’t be the only ex Superstar on the show, as Tony Nese is on the card as well, in his first post-WWE appearance too.
On the show, Nese will face Dragon Bane, and given that he’s been backstage at AEW, and has spoken about being a perfect fit for
Impact, it’ll be interesting to see where he goes next after his return to the ring.
This year has also seen Lana get released by WWE, and her 90-day non-compete clause expired this week.
On Instagram, the former Superstar teased a return to wrestling, saying that fans know what it means now that 90 days are over.
Many fans are expecting Lana to join AEW alongside her husband Miro, but the TNT Champion has said it’s ultimately her decision
and whatever she chooses, Lana won’t have to wait any longer now that her clause with WWE is up
One person who’s not leaving WWE anytime soon is Charlotte Flair, who is on top of the WWE Women’s Division as RAW Women’s
As a top star of the company for years, Flair is one of the most recognisable female wrestlers the company had, but a series of
new pictures caused some fans to do a doubletake. Dropping several phots on her Instagram,
the Queen of All Eras look unrecognisable, and we’re not sure if it was the lighting or the make-up she used to garner this new look
Flair is certainly looking better than how she fared on RAW, where she lost to Nia Jax in and judging by these pictures, the RAW
Women’s Champion is ready to move on from what happened earlier this week.
We’ve got news from Linda McMahon now, as the Titan Sports Co-founder and wife to Vince McMahon has got a new gig.
Previously McMahon had held a position in the Trump administration as head of the small business association, and now
she’s now Chairwoman of the Board. In a statement, the America First Policy Institute announced that McMahon will
serve as the Chair of the Center for the American work, and Linda was very happy about the new role, saying:
“The American worker is the heart of our country, AFPI’s Center for the American Worker will reignite the focus on the dignity
of work. We have to make sure that the workers, the innovators, and the entrepreneurs who bring these businesses
to life have the tools and skills that they need for their workforce.” AFPI President/CEO Brooke Rollins had praise
for McMahon, saying that there’s no stronger advocate for workers than Linda McMahon, and called her an enterprenuer who helped
grow a two person business into a worldwide publicly traded corporation, namely WWE. Linda hasn’t been an on-screen character for
WWE in years, but did appear at Money in the Bank 2021 to help a young fan get a picture with John Cena, and she’s now got her hands
full with her new job.
Back to the ring, and recently, Adam Cole’s short-term contract extension with WWE expired, and he wasn’t offered a long-term
deal with the company. Now, Cole is one of wrestling’s hottest free agents, but not everything reported about his
situation has been entirely accurate. It’s been reported online that WWE sent a company-wide email, informing the roster of
Cole’s departure, but that report is in question. During Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said that when he asked around,
several people said they never saw this email, and said that the company’s been full of miscommunication over the past week.
That’s not to say the company didn’t send an email, but not to everyone, as the company seemingly didn’t feel the need to let everyone
know about the former NXT Champion’s departure. We’ll have to see what Cole does next,
as he is planning to continue in the world of wrestling, and we’re sure that everyone in WWE will know when the former Superstar
eventually lands In a different company
More news from All Out, and one match that won’t be happening this Sunday is Andrade El Idolo Vs. Pac, which the company has
publicly explained as due to travel issues. Given that Pac has been stuck in the UK a lot for the past year, this explanation makes
makes a lot of sense, but it’s not the real reason, according to Dave Meltzer. On his show, Meltzer said that the match is
off for the same reason as to why Sasha Banks has been missing from WWE TV, who as a U.S. Citizen, hasn’t had to deal with any
travel issues that have kept her from SmackDown, Live events or Summerslam.
It has been speculated that Banks has tested positive, but WWE are notoriously secretive when it comes to the results of tests amongst
their Superstars. Pac Vs. Andrade will happen at a later date, while Andrade will face a mystery opponent at
All Out, and although the company has claimed travel issues, that reportedly isn’t the case.
Over to RAW now, as this week’s match between Charlotte Flair and Nia Jax saw the Irresistable Force pin the RAW Women’s
Champion, in an awkward match that included some shoot fighting. This match has had fans scratching their
heads as to whether the shoot-style spot was planned of if they went off-script, and we now know more thanks to D-Von Dudley
Speaking on his Table Talk podcast, the WWE Producer discussed what happened, and noted how it’s only made their inevitable rematch
more interesting. He said: “When these two do get a rematch, people will be watching that and will want to see
every little thing. I guarantee people will be nitpicking and watching every single move. The two ladies had a misunderstanding
they solved it, and now we move on.” Flair was originally meant to have an Angle with Alexa Bliss, but those plans were
scrapped when Vince McMahon tore up the script, and we’ll definitely be watching closely when Jax and Flair have their rematch,
presumably with the title on the line.
And we’re ending with Japan, and though it was only a few years ago that WWE had plans for an NXT Japan, those plans, like all
other ideas for the company, are now over. According to Gamebiz, WWE has dissolved Japan GK, which was the promotion’s Japanese
division, and that this dissolvement was agreed upon by investors. WWE had planned on a Japanese tour in
early July this year, but that was ultimately cancelled, and there’s been questions as to what this means for Kairi Sane, who has
served as a company ambassador and trainer in her homeland since leaving the main-roster in 2020.
Japan is a country rich in wrestling history, but that won’t include WWE anymore, as all plans for expanding into the Asian nation
are now a distant memory.