Here's more wrestling news for July 31st 2021
And your headlines for today include
Did WWE Really Fire Jeff Jarrett?
Cain Velasquez Set For Pro Wrestling Return!
WWE Eyeing Another Second Generation Wrestler!
"Playing With People's Lives Is Cruel"- Former WWE Diva Slams Vince McMahon
Multiple WWE Superstars Unhappy With Company!
Goldberg Reveals When WWE Told Him About SummerSlam Match
Adam Page Reportedly No Longer In AEW All Out Main Event And more!
We’re starting with WWE, who have been releasing a ton of names due to budget cuts recently, and now another name has
reportedly left. WhatCulture has reported that Jeff Jarrett is now gone from WWE, and was quietly
released this past April, despite no public announcement being made. Since his April departure, Jarrett has
already been reaching out for independent bookings, but it’s said he’s still under a non-compete clause of an unknown length.
In an update from Lucha Libre Online however, it’s said that Jarrett is still with WWE, but is under a rare non-exclusive
contract, meaning he can work elsewhere. Their report added that both Jarrett and WWE are happy with this arrangement,
which comes two years after Jarrett signed on as a producer in January 2019.
After being blackballed from WWE for years following his controversial departure in 1999, where it’s alleged he held Vince
McMahon up for money, Double J returned in 2018 for the Hall of Fame, and has made sporadic appearances since then.
This new non-exclusive deal with WWE means Jarrett is allowed to take indie bookings, and continue his ‘My World
with Jeff Jarrett’ podcast on AdFreeShows. WhatCulture’s source said it’s unclear
if WWE will ever bring him back, but right now, the Hall of Famer is no-longer exclusively employed by Vince McMahon.
Now, Cain Velasquez had an incredibly short run in WWE, only having one real match on TV where he lost to Brock Lesnar in
Saudi Arabia, and was released over a year ago. Before WWE, Velasquez’ first matches
were in AAA under a lucha mask, and he’s now set to make a return to the ring. Speaking to the Corner with Cyrus Fees
programme, the former UFC Heavyweight Champion confirmed his comeback, saying:
I’m doing a show in December for AAA. I love AAA and I’m going to keep doing that right now. I love WWE as well, but I have
to first develop myself in order for me to go out there. I’m going to keep doing stuff and have fun with it.
Velasquez remains optimistic that WWE will bring him back, but that ship has sailed, especially since Lesnar isn’t in WWE
anymore either, making a rematch impossible right now. Despite this, Velasquez plans on continuing
his pro-wrestling journey and for now, that journey is leading him to AAA.
It’s hard to say whether WWE has any interest in bringing Velasquez back to the company, but they do have their eye on
on an important second-generation wrestler. On August 27th, Colby Corino, the son of ECW’s Steve Corino, will battle his father,
and may soon be calling the WWE Peformance Center home. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter
reports that Colby is on WWE’s radar, and we imagine the fact that his father is an NXT producer can only help his chances.
The Observer also noted that Corino Sr. a former ECW and NWA World Champion in his own right, pitched the idea of
wrestling his son to WWE, believing they would reject the idea, which will now take place for PWF.
Colby already has some WWE experience to his name, losing to Viking Raider Eric on the August 17th 2020 RAW Underground,
and losing to Mansoor on the September 4th edition of 205 Live. At just 25-years-old, Colby has years ahead
of him in the ring, and the next time he appears for WWE, he may have a contract to his name.
This week, WWE released their 2021 Second -Quarter financial report, and though the company is continuing to make serious profits
it’s one line from Vince McMahon that has everyone talking. When asked about AEW, the Chairman
said he doesn’t consider them competition, and when discussing the amount of ex- Superstars on their roster, joked that
WWE could always send more wrestlers to Tony Khan. Maria Kanellis-Bennett knows all about
being released by WWE, and she didn’t appreciate McMahon being so light-hearted about firing dozens of people as she
tweeted: "Wow. To think of human beings as pawns on a chessboard. That must be one of the
most elitist things I’ve heard in a while. I could never think of mothers, children, fathers, people in that way. People are people.
Playing with peoples lives is cruel." When a fan said that this is what all business do, and Maria only cares because it’s in the
wrestling industry, the former 24/7 Champion spoke about the various professions her family has, and thinks its wrong to treat
people poorly, no matter the job. Maria has criticised WWE on various occasions since her release last year,
and after this tweet, we doubt she’ll ever want to work for Vince McMahon ever again.
It wasn’t just former WWE Superstars who had an issue with McMahon’s flippant comment, as several currently-signed
wrestlers aren’t happy with the Chairman’s words. That’s according to Karl Anderson,
who’s said that following this investors call, that he got unhappy texts from members of the WWE roster, adding that
the whole professional wrestling world is waiting for them outside WWE.
We’ll have to see if WWE releases any more Superstars, but it does seem likely following McMahon’s line, and even
even if they don’t plan on letting go of more staff right now, WWE’s CEO is more than happy to joke about people losing their jobs.
One person WWE will probably never part ways with is Goldberg, who made his return on the first RAW back with live fans,
a return that’s been in the works for a while. Speaking on the CarCast show, Goldberg said he’s was given eight-weeks notice by
WWE to prepare for the Lashley match, which’ll happen at Summerslam on August 21st.
This eight-week window is far longer prep- time than Goldberg has had for some of his more recent matches, and at this stage of
his career, having more time to get ready can only help the Hall of Famer.
And we’re ending with AEW’s All Out Pay- Per-View, that’ll take place in Chicago on September 5th, but no title matches have
been confirmed for the show.
We don’t know who AEW World Champion Kenny Omega will face, but we now know that it won’t be Adam Page.
In the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it’s reported that Page was once planned to challenge Omega at the September event,
but those plans have now changed. This was made clear on this week’s Dynamite, where Page and the Dark Order
lost to the Elite, in a match where they would’ve earned future title matches had they won.
Instead, AEW have been pushing possible title matches for Omega against Christian Cage or Eddie Kingston, presumably at an
upcoming Dynamite special or Pay-Per-View. Page has been In line for a World title push for a while, with reports of a main-event run
stemming from back when AEW was founded in 2019, but it won’t be happening at All Out