Here's your Wrestling News for October 8th 2020 WWE Recall Renee Young! Braun Strowman On Why He Deleted The Photo! Bad Luck For Finn Balor! WWE News
And your headlines for today include
Major Set Back For Finn Bálor ; JAW Broken In Two Places!
A Big Name Is Already Out Of WWE Retribution Stable!
Lawsuit Has Been Fined Against WWE Shop! What’s Next ?
Ronda Rousey’s WWE Contract Set To Expire; What’s Next For The Former Champion?
Kurt Angle Gives Two Reasons Why He Rejected WWE Return!
Braun Strowman Explains Why He Posted & Deleted Photo With Syringe!
WWE’s Original Intentions For James Storm Revealed!
AJ Styles On WWE Taking Over Superstar Twitch Streams!
Renee Young Is Back For A WWE Assigment!
Ridge Holland Suffers Leg Injury On NXT, Gets Stretchered Out!
The Rock’s ‘Black Adam’ Film Indefinitely Delayed And More!
We’re kicking off today with NXT news, and though Finn Balor retained his NXT Championship at
TakeOver 31, he was pretty banged up. With a swollen face and bleeding
from the mouth, it was previously reported that Balor called an audible for the match to end early due to his,
and Kyle O’Relly’s injuries, and post-show, Triple H said the Prince would be getting X-Rays.
It’s now confirmed that Balor’s jaw was broken in two places, and this means it’ll be a month of two before
Finn can wrestle again. In his tweet though, Balor declared he’s still NXT Champion,
an interesting remark given that the last champion Karrion Kross, vacated the gold due to a separated shoulder.
WWE will look to avoid vacating the title again, and it’s possible Finn’s tweener character could help,
possibly saying his lucrative NXT contract allows more time between title defences, or that he doesn’t have
to vacate if injured. Hopefully, Balor will remain NXT Champion, as he’s having a
phenomenal run with the gold, and that he’ll continue to have great matches, once he can wrestle again.
Over to RAW, as Retribution has had plenty of members during it’s tenure, even Mojo Rawley in one segment,
but it now looks like the group could be losing a name. After all five members were on RAW
last week, this week’s show lacked Mia Yim and Mercedes Martinez, though on Twitter, Yim has a new
account named Reckoning, making Martinez the only member of the five still using her pre-Retribution name.
It’s also interesting that Martinez is not followed by T-Bar, Mace or Reckoning either, and when Mustafa
Ali posted about his group, he tagged everyone by Martinez, who’s also the only one not involved in the group’s
social media hijinks. All this certainly makes it seem like Mercedes is out of the group,
though this could be just temporarily if she’s dealing with an injury.
Whatever the reason, Retribution are clearly distancing themselves from her, and it’s possible that the 39-year-old
may be running solo again, very soon.
We’re looking at WWE Shop next, and the store was recently called out for violating the American with Disabilities
act. On October 6th, a lawsuit was filed by Josue Romero, a visually-impaired
man, who says that the company violated the AWD act, by not making their site accessible to the blind and
visually impaired. According to the complaint:
“Romero is a visually-impaired and legally blind person, who cannot use a computer without the assistance
of screen-reading software. Plaintiff is, however, a proficient JAWS screen- reader user and uses it to access the
Internet. Plaintiff has visited the Website on separate occasions using the JAWS screen-reader.”
Under the current set-up WWE Shop doesn’t allow him to browse their website, meaning they’re in violation.
In addition to being awarded costs and all expenses for attorney fees, Romero is also seeking that the
company makes their website more accessible, and is also demanding trial by jury.
We’ll keep viewers up-to-date as this case proceeds, but this certainly isn’t good PR for WWE.
Ronda Rousey news next, as though there’s been rumours of her return ever since her last match at
WrestleMania 35 over a year ago, time is running out. According to a statement from WWE
acquired by TMZ, Rousey’s current contract with WWE ends in 6 months, and will officially end on
April 11th 2021, just two weeks after WrestleMania 37. The statement also addressed the
rumour of the former RAW Women’s Champion wanting to start a family, saying it’s a private matter
With an end-date in site, WWE may have to work extra hard to bring Rousey back, especially if the
ongoing global situation continues into next year, though the April 11th date does mean it’s possible for Rousey
to a match at WrestleMania 37, which’ll be taking place in Tampa, not California, to make up for
WrestleMania 36 happening at the Performance Center when it was supposed to be in Tampa.
It’s also worth noting that WWE haven’t been able to hold a show in front of a capacity crowd for quite
some time, and if they are to use one of the biggest names in modern-day female sports, they’ll no-doubt want
Rousey to return to an audience, which could happen after their current deal with the Amway Center expires
this month. It’s also possible that the Hot Rod could sign a new deal with WWE,
as she was recently spotted in the ring training with Roddy Piper’s daughter Teal, and Natalya recently
teased training with a mystery someone, believed to be Rousey.
With footage of Ronda in the ring, it’s clear that Rousey hasn’t lost the wrestling bug, and though her
nemesis Becky Lynch is currently out of action as she’s pregnant with her and Seth Rollins’ first child, there’s no
shortage of opponents for Ronda to face.
One person fans won’t be seeing return is Kurt Angle, who turned-down a chance to be Matt Riddle’s manager
after he was released by WWE from his producer role in April. Speaking to PW Insider, the Olympian
explained why he turned down a chance to work with the Original Bro, saying:
“My supplement company Physically Fit Nutrition that I started needed my attention 100%... the other thing was
the money, it just… it wasn’t enough. I wasn’t going to manage somebody for the amount of money they wanted
to give me.” We probably haven’t seen the last of Angle, as Hall of Famers are known
to return every now and then, and whilst it would’ve been interesting to see the dynamic between Angle and
Riddle, the WWE just wasn’t offering enough to make it happen.
From one producer to another now, as Dean Malenko is also out of WWE, but he feels he got out at the right time.
Speaking to Pro Wrestling illustrated about his 2019 exit, Malenko said that if he’d stayed in WWE, he has no
doubts he’d been part of the April 15th cuts. We’ll never know if that would’ve been
the case, as Malenko was long gone by April 2020, and is now doing big things in AEW as a senior producer.
Now, Braun Strowman is pretty active on social media, but one post of his recently made headlines for
the wrong reasons. On social media, the former Universal Champion showed off his ripped abs,
but fans spotted a syringe in the background, and though he quickly deleted the post, some believed that
the Monster Among Men is on the juice. Now, Strowman has explained that
the syringe was for B12 Shots, as his body is sensitive to caffeine, and can only use so much without feeling
like he’s having heart palpitations. Strowman also included a video demonstration, which we’ll now play,
so if you’re squeamish of needles, we recommend skipping the next 30 seconds.
Whilst the former Champion had an explanation, we’re sure some people won’t believe it, and it goes to show
that you should always check your background before you post on social media.
James Storm news next, and after he said recently there were plans for him to return to WWE before the current
situation hit, we now know more about what he would’ve done. According to Ringside News, the plan
was for Storm to skip NXT and go straight to the RAW after WrestleMania, but a member of
WWE’s creative team said that the Cowboy was being brought in as a qualified enhancement talent by
Paul Heyman. It was also stressed that him being an enhancement talent doesn’t
mean he couldn’t have risen up WWE’s ranks, but given that we doubt fans would’ve wanted to see
him lose match after match to current Superstars, perhaps it’s for the best that his return didn’t happen,
at least not yet. From one former Impact star to another, as AJ Styles is an avid Twitch streamer
and is one of many to be affected by WWE’s new edict. Speaking on his own stream about
WWE controlling their accounts, Styles didn’t like how he, like others, found out about the rule online,
and said that no Superstars are making millions on Twitch. Speaking about getting to interact
with fans online especially during this current situation. Styles said:
“We don’t get to see you; we don’t get to talk to you; we don’t get to do much. This is the next best thing.
. I don’t know what they’re hoping to get out of this.” It seems that Styles isn’t happy with
the new rule, much like the rest of the roster, and to be fair, we wouldn’t be too thrilled about handing all our
earnings over, just to receive a percentage back either.
Now, Renee Young left WWE following Summerslam 2020, but she’s now coming back.
At 7:30 SmackDown will have a special kick-off show prior to the October 16th episode, which’ll be
hosted by Young and Booker T, to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the blue brand on FOX.
It wasn’t too long ago that Young revealed she isn’t with WWE anymore, but still works for FOX
Sports, which may explain why she’s back to do this one-year anniversary special.
It’s also been announced that they’ll be a ‘Best WWE Moments of 2020’ special on Fox, this Sunday, and it’s
possible that Young could appear in some footage from that.
Over to AEW next, and with next week’s show being the company’s big anniversary event, there’s some huge
matches on the card. Jon Moxley will defend the AEW Title against Lance Archer, and after Cody
Rhodes regained the TNT title from Brodie Lee in a dog-collar match Last night, he’ll defend against
Orange Cassidy. AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR will defend against Best
Friends, whilst Kip Sabian and Miro will team to face two yet-to-be-named opponents.
Whilst Moxley will have his hands full with Archer, the AEW Champion is already looking to his next challenge,
as eight-man tournament will begin soon and conclude at Full Gear on November 7th, wth the winner
earning a title shot. Last week, Kenny Omega, Fenix and Jungle Boy were announced, and this
week saw Colt Cabana, Wardlow and Hangman Page added, leaving two spots left.
In a backstage promo, Omega said he’s won every tournament in the world and will continue to do so,
and we’ll have to see whether the Cleaner’s promise comes true, or if someone else earns the coveted
Back to NXT now, and whilst Ridge Holland stood tall at Takeover, attacking Adam Cole, the story was
much different last night. After his match with Danny Burch, the former Rugby star was brawling with
Oney Lorcan, when his leg gave out during a crossbody attempt. Holland fell to the floor, clutching his
leg in pain until he was stretchered out by WWE Officials, and we wish Holland a speedy recovery in what’s
arguably the worst time for him to get injured.
We’re looking ahead to WrestleMania 37 now, as the show was originally supposed to be in California, but has
now been moved to Tampa to make up for WrestleMania 36, and there’s some huge news regarding the new
location. WrestleVotes is reporting that due to Florida’s allowing full capacity
attendance at stadium events, then next year’s Mania will happen in front of a stacked audience.
It was added that Vince McMahon has been holding out hope for a full-capacity WrestleMania,
and although he’ll now get his wish, time will tell whether 65,000 fans or more will show up given the current
climate. Regarrdless, this is a huge win for WWE, who have benefitted greatly
from Florida governor Ron DeSantis declaring them an essential business, as next year’s show will seemingly
be a farcry from the empty, two-night event of this year.
More From AEW next, as Chris Jericho has had plenty to say about his 2013 run in WWE.
Speaking to Inside the Ropes, Jericho spoke about wanting to go for his tenth Intercontinental Championship
that year, dethroning then-Champion Wade Barrett, though Vince McMahon refused and dropped a
a bomb, saying “nobody cares about the f**king Intercontinental championship.”
That’s certainly a slap in the face to legends who’ve held the title, like the inaugural IC Champ Pat Patterson,
and that’s not all Jericho had to say a bout his 2013 run. Jericho’s plan to go for the IC title,
was because he didn’t want to face Fandango at that year’s WrestleMania, though Vince McMahon rejected the
idea, and the match went ahead, with it being promised that Jericho would get 90% of the match, before the finish.
Losing to the Ballroom brawler, Jericho explained that he was irate at McMahon backstage, saying the
boss had double-crossed him, before it was pointed out that McMahon never said the finish would see Jericho
win. After working off and on for nearly twenty years, it’s obvious that Jericho
and McMahon have had an interesting relationship, and time will tell if the two ever work together again down the line.
And we’re ending in Hollywood today, and whilst The Rock has been working for years to get a Black Adam
movie made, he’ll now have to wait even longer. Due to the ongoing situation,
production on the film has been halted, which means it’ll release after it’s original December 21st
2021 date. Black Adam is just one of several films to face delays, as fellow
DC Comics film The Batman was also delayed, and will now be released in March 2022, with Robert
Pattison donning the cowl. The film industry has been hit especially hard with the ongoing
global situation, and the Rock is no exception, and whilst his portrayal of the DC villain turned anti-hero is
still going ahead, it’s unclear when we’ll see Black Adam on the big screen.