Here's more wrestling news for December 11th 2021
And your headlines for Afternoon include
Jay Lethal Was Worried Fans Wouldn’t Be Excited To See Him In AEW!
AEW Wrestler Returns To ROH!
Gable Steveson’s Past Assault Accusation Resurfaces!
WWE Trying To Keep Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn Happy With More Television Time!
Kairi Sane No Longer Under WWE Contract!
WWE Wrestler Says She Has To Fight With WWE For Matches Longer Than 2 Minutes!
Austin Gunn Taking Time Off AEW To Film Reality TV Show!
Sasha Banks Beats Out Serena Williams On List Of Most Popular Female Athletes! And More!
We’re kicking off today with Jay Lethal, who joined AEW after he, alongside countless others, were released from Ring of Honor.
Even Jim Cornette, who’s definitely not Tony Khan’s biggest fan, praised TK for doing something right in signing Lethal, and blasted
WWE for letting AEW sign Lethal in the first place. Speaking on Talk is Jericho, the former ROH
World Champion talked about his AEW debut, and worried that fans wouldn’t care when he showed up:
“I was kinda worried. And I remember everyone was like, ‘you’ve done this a bunch of times, why are you worried?’ I was seriously nervous.
I was like, ‘Well, it’s pay-per-view and this is like my debut….’ I was like, if I am lucky, when I go out there, I will be greeted with the golf clap.
“When I went out there and people actually went crazy for it, when I got back in the locker room, my eyes were watery because that
moment meant a lot to me.” Since coming to AEW, Lethal is 1-2, with his most recent appearance seeing him be one
of the Dynamite Diamond Battle Royal participants this week, and while he’s happy to be in AEW, we’re waiting to see what his first big feud will be.
Lethal has had a handful of matches in AEW, but he will be returning for Ring of Honor’s last show before their hiatus.
Mike Johnson of PW Insider reports that AEW will send Lethal to tonight’s Final Battle Pay Per View, as the reigning world Champion
Bandido has tested positive. Tony Khan has promised to give ROH a helping hand, and there’s plenty other AEW
stars who once competed for Ring of Honour, but we know for certain that Lethal, a combined 15-year veteran of the company
will be there for ROH’s last show before their break which will hopefully end in early 2022.
When WWE signed Olympic Gold Medalist Gable Steveson, it was seen as a huge score for Vince McMahon, but now more details about
the next RAW Superstar has come to light. On Twitter, the account ‘CringeWrestlingTakes’ posted a screenshot of a fan who was
critical of AEW for hiring talent alleged of wrongdoing, as well as a comment about Steveson’s past, which fans quickly piled on.
The original tweet noted how the wrestling industry is often seemingly protective of sexual predators, as when Scarlett Bordeaux
was released by Impact, it was reportedly to avoid a lawsuit.
New Japan’s current champion Shingo Takagi has been accused of being an apologist for predatory behavior, but Steveson also has a
concerning history. Fans were quick to point out that in 2019, Steveson was accused of forcing himself on
woman in a sexual manner, alongside his Univsesity of Minnesota wrestling teammate Dylan Martinez.
We should reference that charges were not filed against Steveson, as Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said that the evidence
provided did not meet the standard needed to more forward with the case. Suspended from their team after the accusation
was made, both men immediately rejoined once the case was dropped, and Steveson went on to become the second gold medalist to sign
with WWE, after Kurt Angle. In recent years, wrestlers, predominantly female wrestlers, have felt more confident
coming forward with accusations of wrongdoing by others in the industry, but these problematic incidents aren’t just
reserved to one of two companies, but rather an industry-wide issue that needs to be addressed by all.
In recent months, WWE has lost a lot of talent, either due to contracts expiring or their never -ending releases, and Kevin Owens and
Sami Zayn could be the next to go. Both men’s contracts with WWE are set to expire in January, and understably, the last
thing the company wants is to see either man jump to AEW. Fortunately, WWE has a plan, as in his report,
Meltzer noted that the pair will likely listen to offers from other companies, but WWE has been giving them more TV time to keep them happy.
A happy Superstar is a re-signing Superstar, and it’s clear that the pair are getting better treatment than in the past.
For Zayn, his conspiracy theorist angle has earned him significant TV time, and he recently had a rather short Universal title match with
Roman Reigns, while Kevin Owens is set to compete in the WWE Title match at Day 1. If Owens is on his way out, then it’s expected
he’ll be taking the pin in the match, protecting the other main eventers who are involved, but WWE are hoping that this won’t be the case,
and that Owens and Zayn will re-sign before the end of next month.
WWE has lost Johnny Gargano and Kyle O’Reilly this week alone, but they’re not the only names gone from the company.
After Kairi Sane updated her social media bio to regard herself as a former WWE Superstar, fans speculated on what this meant, and the
Wrestling Observer Newsletter has now confirmed that the former NXT Women’s Champion is no longer under contract
Sane was removed from WWE TV in the summer of 2020, so she could move back to Japan and be with her husband, and was
given a role as a company ambassador during that time. The Pirate Princess had tried to work Stardom’s
10th anniversary show, but was refused by WWE, and in his report, Meltzer noted that her contract expired, meaning she wasn’t released,
meaning she wasn’t released, despite WWE hoping she’d renew her deal and return to the ring.
In the year since her return to Japan, Sane has kept busy, as she earned a degree in June this year, and announced her own 24-hour gym i
in late November, and now the former WWE Women’s Tag Champion can wrestle in the country, without WWE’s interference.
Now, long before the Women’s Revolution in 2015, Naomi was on the WWE’s main-roster, competing in brief matches that fans
considered to be bathroom breaks. A former SmackDown Women’s Champion, Naomi has seen the women’s roster change
dramatically over the years, but she’s still struggling for time on TV. Ever since her return to the blue brand,
she’s been engaged in an entertaining program with Sonya Deville, though one that has faced criticism for having no proper endgame
Speaking with Jalen Rose: Renaissance Man on his podcast, Naomi spoke about her struggle to get in-ring time, even 6 years in to the Women’s
Revolution: “I think, just in general, still trying to fight for the TV time. Getting matches that are longer
than two minutes. Although you’re thankful because there’s still so many women that aren’t even getting the TV time, it’s like, ‘okay,
I got two minutes. At least I got that. I’ve got two minutes to show and prove and get people behind me.’ But you want more,
you need more, you know what I mean? To develop those stories and those characters.” That opportunity has to be there. I realize
whenever women in our industry are given that opportunity, they knock it out of the park every time. But it can’t just be sporadically, i
it needs to be consistent. So, that’s what myself and all of us are still pushing for and fighting for. Each day, each week.
We’re still waiting to see where Naomi’s angle with Sonya Deville goes, but after over 4 years since her last women’s title reign ended,
fans are hoping that the Glow will get back in the title picture after dealing with WWE’s latest authority figure.
More from AEW, as Austin Gunn is taking some time away from the company, after being cast in a new reality show.
The show ‘Relatively Famous: Ranch Rules’ will see the children of celebrities run a ranch, and with his father being WWE Hall of Famer
Billy Gunn, Austin has made the cut. The show will also see the daughters of Pat Benatar, David Hasslehoff, Martin Lawrence
and Easy E, as well as the son of Shaquille O’Neail, Ray Parker Jr, and Billy Bob Thornton. The series will debut on E! on January 12th 2022,
as the former Nightmare family member will be trading in his wrestling trunks for some coveralls very soon.
And we’re ending today with Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair, who have been ranked as two of the most popular female athletes of 2021.
On Twitter, the Front Office Sports account listed their most tweeted about female athletes, with Banks taking 3rd place, and Belair 5th.
Olympic Gold Medalist Simone Biles took first, with Tennis star Naomi Osaka second, while the Boss beat out 23-time Tennis Grand
Slam Champion Serena Williams who took fourth place. Together, the pair made history as the first
African-American women to headline WrestleMania, and we’ll have to see which Superstars get the fans talking in 2022.