Here's more wrestling news for August 3rd 2021
And your headlines for Afternoon include
WWE Has No Concrete Plans For Karrion Kross Or Keith Lee!
Reason Why Sheamus Had "So Much Heat" Backstage In WWE!
Backstage Update On When Becky Lynch Is Returning To WWE!
John Cena & Miro Reunite At The Suicide Squad Premiere!
WWE Executives Reportedly Surprised And Frustrated Over Adam Cole Contract Situation!
Britt Baker On Adam Cole Possibly “Jumping Ship” From WWE To AEW!
Released WWE Superstar Representing Ex WWE Superstars With Managerial Company! And More!
We’re starting with the RAW Women’s title picture, as Champion Nikki A.S.H will defend against both Charlotte Flair and Rhea
Ripley at Summerslam. Going into this match, Flair is the clear heel and Nikki is a bonafide babyface, whilst
Ripley seems to be a tweener of some kind. On RAW, Ripley defeated the heel Nia Jax, but attacked her after the bell, even after Jax had
been busted open the hard-way during their bout. It will be interesting to see how WWE
presents Rhea Ripley in the weeks to come as SummerSlam 2021 approaches. With reports that Ripley is still being cheered
at live events, usually over Nikki A.S.H, WWE has some big decisions to make regarding the Australian Superstar, who remains one
of RAW’s most impressive newcomers this year.
In 2009, Sheamus won the WWE Championship, defeating John Cena in a Tables match in one of the most shocking title changes in recent
history. After all, Sheamus’ title-win came just 166 days after his WWE debut in June that same
year, and as you can imagine, some veteran Superstars weren’t pleased to see the newcomer pushed so hard.
Speaking on Ryan Satin’s Out of Character Podcast, Sheamus explained how he had heat in the locker-room, saying:
People were definitely not stoked, they were definitely not stoked,” Sheamus said. “There was a lot of people who were p****d off
with the situation that happened. A lot of guys had been there for years and never had that opportunity. The fact that when
I won [laughs], the heat! The heat! So much heat, mate, so much heat. So much heat I thought I was going to get
sunburnt in the backstage area. But, you know, they say if you’re not getting heat you’re not doing your job right.”
That was the first real kick in the stomach for me, that really was. I quickly realized that I was an opponent for these top guys,
you know what I’m saying? I was an opponent for Cena, I was an opponent for Orton, for Triple H, so when I’d done the rounds with
those guys, they’re the ones that are established, they’re the ones that people are paying to see, especially during that period.”
Sheamus has gone on to become a four-time World Champion, as well as one of three men to win King of the Ring,
the Royal Rumble and Money in the Bank, and it’s safe to say he’s earned the respect of the locker-room in the 12 years since his
impressive debut.
Now, it’s been over a year since Becky Lynch last competed in WWE, as the Man spent most of 2020 pregnant, before giving birth
in December. Since then, speculation has run rampant on when she’ll be back, as plans have constantly
been changing regarding her return. In the latest report, PW Insider notes that Lynch won’t be factored into any Summerslam
plans, despite previous reports saying she’d be returning to challenge whoever leaves Allegiant Stadium as Raw Women’s
Champion. Now, it’s reported that Lynch won’t be returning until the fall, with October being
openly discussed as when she could be back. Last week, Ringside News covered how Lynch isn’t expected back before the WWE
draft, which is scheduled for October, with one source saying that any reports of her returning sooner than then is “fake news.”
Lynch remains a member of the RAW roster, but Fightful Select reports that WWE is considering moving the Man back
to SmackDown, possibly as part of the October draft. This would make sense as WWE traditionally
tries to keep real-life couples on the same show, and Lynch’s fiancé Seth Rollins is a key part of the Blue brand.
It was also said last week that Lynch may be on the road with Rollins, as they travelled to Money in the Bank together, but that
doesn’t mean she’ll be returning to TV before October, despite being back on the road. Becky herself hasn’t exactly shied away
from rumours, as she teased appearing at Money in the Bank, where she watched the show backstage, and recently changed
her hair to the iconic orange fans are used to. Lynch also recently tweeted that she’s the most over woman in WWE’s division,
and has changed her location on Twitter to say that she’s forever in the head of Charlotte Flair
Of course, all reports about Lynch are subject to change at the whim of Vince McMahon, but given how much fans are interested in her
over a year after her last match, it goes to show just how popular the Man still is.
One person fans can see on WWE TV is John Cena, but when he’s not in the ring, the former World Champion can usually be seen dressed
in the Peacemaker costume from the new Suicide Squad film. At the premiere of the new James Gunn movie,
Cena was once-again decked out in costume, and bumped into his old WWE nemesis Rusev, now known as AEW TNT
Champion Miro. It’s hard to tell what they’re saying, but the pair seemed to be having a great interaction,
as the pair shared a hug and Cena introduced his wife Shay to God’s Favourite Champion.
Cena and Miro feuded in 2015, with Big Match John breaking the Bulgarian’s year-long winning streak in WWE, but there were no
hard feelings at the premiere of this Summer’s biggest blockbuster.
Outside of the ring, Cena has granted more Make-A-Wish requests than anyone in history, and last weekend, the former World
Champion went viral for his latest wish. In the video shared online, Cena can be seen befriending a young fan in
wheelchair, who, with a bit of help from John himself, was able to get up and walk around.
Cena also posed for a photo with the fan and signed some autographs, and tons of people have been praising Cena’s selfless act.
It’s said that Cena started granting wishes in 2004, before made a big deal of it, and now, over 650 years later, the WWE megastar can
still improve the lives of countless indidivuals.
AEW next, as Rampage’s second show will happen at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, and many fans expect CM Punk to
debut in his hometown. The belief that Punk will debut on August 20th has had a major impact on the tickets,
as WrestleTix reports that all seats for the show sold out within 5 minutes of going on sale.
AEW haven’t shied away from the rumours of Punk joining, as Darby Allin and MJF have both referenced Punk’s infamous 2011
pipebomb in recent promos, and time will tell when and where Punk makes his return to wrestling after seven years away.
Over to NXT, as Adam Cole remains employed by Vince McMahon, at least for the time being.
Cole is undisputably one of the biggest names in NXT history, but his time with WWE may be ending very soon.
According to Wrestling Inc, Cole’s NXT contract will expire later this month, immediately after the Summerslam Pay-Per-View.
It was also said that his contracted expired after the Great American Bash, but Cole and WWE agreed on an extension.
In a follow-up report, Fightful said how Cole was willing to work with WWE until Summerslam, giving him and the company
time to re-evaluate things. PW Insider added that the realisation of Cole’s contract expiring so suddenly
has taken a lot of WWE executives by surprise, as it was believed by some that he was locked in until next
January, and others thought he was under contract until 2024.
It was also noted that people within WWE are frustrated that Cole’s contract status has been made public.
There’s certainly a lot of options for the former NXT Champion, who could always sign a new deal with the company,
but it may be a matter of time before Adam Cole is the next big name to part-ways with WWE.
And we’re ending today with Mojo Rawley was quietly released from WWE, and he’s now turning his attention away from the ring.
Speaking to Wrestling Inc, the former 24/7 Champion revealed that he’s now running a managerial business, and is already
working with EC3, Matt Cardona, Chelsea Green, Andrade, and others. He said: “I’m trying to help them get new gigs and
jobs moving forward because it can be scary leaving the machine. I have been doing consulting jobs. There is a lot going on.”
The machine in question is WWE, and Rawley added that his new business has been designed for wrestlers, by wrestlers,
and that they’re lining up gigs left and right. Being released by the biggest wrestling company in the world can be scary,
which is why Rawley’s new business is a great idea, and with WWE releasing so many names as of late, he
won’t be short of potential clients for his new enterprise.