In this WrestleTalk News, WWE sign Logan Paul, officials are also high on a couple of NXT
stars, that’ll go well for them and an update on Jeff Hardy’s DUI case, plus loads more
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If you’re me one of the things you didn’t imagine you would be writing in 2022 is that
WWE have just signed Logan Paul.
You know that obnoxious Youtube guy.
Thus proving that there is hope for Oli Davis yet.
Kidding, I'm just sassy early in the morning.
Now I can knock his personality, easily, this is the guy who filmed a dead body in the Japanese
suicide forest and uploaded it to Youtube, but Paul had performed at this year’s WrestleMania,
teaming up with the Miz against the Mysterios and he was actually pretty damn good.
It seemed that despite his limited training his performance in the ring was so good that
a future with the company was all but guaranteed.
Logan posted on his own Twitter to break the news saying “Just signed with the WWE”
and even getting the full on finger point treatment from Triple H. He’ll point for
anything these days.
Sandwich fillings at Subway, Post-Mania Paul implied that any financial
figure would have to be astronomical for him to sign, but WWE has proven to be more profitable
than ever so clearly they decided to splash out.
More details have been trickling in firstly from Ariel Helwani who discovered that Paul
will be around for the next few years, he tweeted:
“Per sources, it’s a multi-year deal to compete at multiple events per year.
No return date set but could be next month at Summerslam.
MIZ would make a lot of sense.”
Updating to clarify that the deal encompasses: “Deal includes an undisclosed number of
premium live events across 2022 and 2023.
He’ll likely, I’m told, have his first big appearance at SS but could be on TV before
that.”
And “He signed his deal yesterday.”
Paul himself seemingly confirmed his main aim in coming back to WWE writing a message
on the back of his contract reading: “coming 4u @Miz” - he does know ats don’t work
on paper.
As I mentioned Miz and Paul teamed at WrestleMania to take on the Mysterios before Miz decided
to turn on Paul at the conclusion of the match, nailing him with a skull-crushing finale and
now obviously setting up the continuation of the feud.
Seemingly Paul is now going to be presented as a babyface, despite who he is in real life
and despite the fact that during the Mysterios match he proved himself an absolute master
of getting heat with the crowd - even hitting Rey with the three amigos and frog splash.
The old Eddie special.
Whether or not the WWE audience are suddenly going to cheer for Paul remains to be seen,
but when has that ever stopped WWE from doing something and then just carrying on doing
it for a long long time, looking at you Roman.
The signing with WWE is just another thing to add to Pauls’ eclectic portfolio alongside
the 23 million YouTube subscribers, the boxing and near single-handedly causing the Pokemon
trading Card economy to explode after paying too much for a Charizard.
But Logan Paul and his premium live event-based deal does not an entire roster make and with
people out injured and a lack of new stars being built it’s about time for WWE officials
to start looking to NXT once more to raid their cupboards.
According to Dave Meltzer, Lord of the Earwigs, on Wrestling Observer Radio he heard from
sources that WWE officials have got their eyes on a couple of names in 2.0.
He pointed to Sanga and Xyon Quin as the two stars that officials are high on saying:
“I’ll tell ya what, both of these guys are being considered for the main roster right
now.”
And adding that the view Quinn as “the total package”.
Xyon Quinn it’s good for wrestling, back pain, headaches.
Quinn is a former rugby player from Australia who signed with NXT in 2018, before making
his TV debut in September 2021.
Sangsa was previously part of Indus Sher alongside Veer Mahaan, so if he does make his way to
the main roster and he learned anything from his former tag-team partner we could be waiting
a while to see him on main roster screens.
Speaking of NXT, while WWE officials are keeping their eye on it, one person shockingly isn’t:
Triple H. Because despite reportedly announcing to the
Performance Center that he was back POST Wrestling’s John Pollock is reporting that Trips was not
at this week’s NXT taping.
Might be nothing, might be a precedent, might just be due to the massive amount of upheaval
going on in WWE right now.
Now for an update on Jeff Hardy who is currently suspended without pay from AEW after being
charged with driving under the influence and while his license was suspended/revoked.
Hardy was charged on June 13th and now PW Insider have acquired a copy of Hardy’s
written notification pleading not guilty to the DUI charge and waiving “arraignment
by filing this written plea of not guilty” In the notification it was also said that
the “Defendant further waives the right to be present at all pretrial conferences.”
AEW President Tony Khan has made it clear that rehab is Hardy’s last chance with the
company saying of the arrest and charges that “I’m really glad nobody got hurt, But
what Jeff did going out and driving is different from the other thing.
And I just don’t like hearing them the two compared if that makes sense.
I feel like I’d be remiss if I didn’t give Jeff a lot of credit for now doing the
right thing.”
Hardy has been in rehab since June 21st and we hope he is getting all the help he needs.
Onto more positive AEW notes and one of the things often talked about amongst the companies
growing roster of titles is a trios championship.
Including Tony Khan who has literally confirmed that he has had them made and is just waiting
for the right time to launch them.
Welp Dave Meltzer seems to reckon he knows a thing or three about the trios belts, saying
on Wrestling Observer Radio that he heard that at one point the plan in AEW was to us
Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks “as catalysts” for the new trios titles when Omega returns
from injury.
With Omega’s return timeframe up in the air who knows if that plan is set to change,
because on top of that you also now have the Bucks back once more as the AEW tag team champions
who picked the belts up on the 15th of June from Jurassic Express.
Now AEW and Tommy Wiseau might not know this but there can be such a thing as too many
belts.
They’re meant to be something coveted and special and can only really be that through
scarcity.
AEW currently has 7 major championships and also the six Ring of Honor championships while
those two rosters are mixing.
Tony Schaivone addressed this on this week’s AEW Unrestricted podcast saying he “shouldn’t
even address this” and “every fan has their opinion” but when it comes to thinking
that AEW has too many titles he doesn’t because he likes title matches.
Referee Aubrey Edwards agreed noting that each championship has a “history tited into
them” and having multiple on the go means you “get to see cool stuff happen” and
you can “rotate things in and out” especially when your roster is plagued with injuries.
Speaking of injuries, AEW Dynamite played host to Blood and Guts this week which featured
the stellar main event of the Jericho Appreciation Society vs the Blackpool Combat Club in a
heavily promoted Blood & Guts match.
And while WWE ain’t convinced people want to watch all of that Blood & Guts stuff, the
viewers were out in force for the episode, netting the show 1,023,000 viewers according
to Showbuzz Daily.
With a 0.36 rating in the 18-49 demo up from last weeks 0.31.
This is the first time Dynamite has broken a million viewers since March.
And finally on Fridays we kill a rumor, because speculation started going around that Impact
star Jordynne Grace was AEW bound.
This all stemmed from a livestream from AEW music producer Mikey Rukus who was talking
through the process of creating entrance themes for stars.
Eagle eyed fans spotted that some of the tracks he had been working on were for Jordynne Grace
and jumped to the conclusion that she would be coming to AEW as a surprise.
Fightful though stepped in to debunk the myth saying that word of Rukus working on a theme
for Grace had surfaced a few weeks back and then Jordynne herself clarified to them that
Rukus had been producing songs for her for a while now, going back to before AEW even
began.
Have a
good weekend.