Here's more wrestling for may 3rd 2022
And your headlines for Afternoon include
Dexter Lumis Drops Intense Video After WWE Release ; Is he on his way to AEW?
Fans Drag AEW For Posting Harry Potter Graphic!
Why Becky Lynch screamed uncontrollably after losing title match at WWE live event!
JOHN CENA Takes On NEW Role!
MICK FOLEY Opens Up About UNDERTAKER LEAVING HIM OUT OF WWE HALL OF FAME SPEECH
WWE makes a conscious effort with the women's division and the implications of it all
Breaking News About Yet Another Mass WWE NXT releases!
Malcolm Bivens touts current NXT star as future Women's Champion
WWE Intercontinental Champion Ricochet Would Love To Return To NXT 2.0
Released WWE Wrestler Admits To Watching AEW While Working In WWE! And More!
We’re kicking off with WWE’s recent releases, as Dexter Lumis was one of the 10 Superstars to be released from NXT, despite being one of the most prominently featured stars just a few
months ago.
Lumis’ wedding to Indi Hartwell was the closing segment of the premiere of NXT 2.0, but the former Superstar isn’t going to let being released hold him back.
In an intense video on Twitter, Lumis announced the return of Samuel Shaw, the name he went by in Impact before coming to WWE, and changed his Twitter name to reflect the news.
While the Dexter Lumis name came from two stars of horror, Dexter Morgan of the TV show and Dr. Samuel Loomis of the Halloween franchise, it’s now time for Samuel Shaw to return
and terrorise a new generation of wrestlers.
Samuel Shaw is back, and hasn’t wasted time getting his first booking post-WWE.
ARW is an independent promotion based in Orlando, Florida, a very convenient location for the former NXT star, and on Twitter, they confirmed that Samuel Shaw will be at their June 24th
event ‘Born in Blood.’
ARW hasn’t confirmed what Shaw will be doing at the event, but with getting a booking so quickly after his release, the future looks bright for the former Dexter Lumis.
Over to AEW next, as the company has a loyal fanbase, but recently, they earned some backlash over a graphic they shared on social media.
In a tweet, AEW celebrated International Harry Potter day, and posted an image of four AEW factions as Harry Potter houses, but fans didn’t take too kindly to the tweet.
Many called out AEW for referencing the boy-wizard franchise, especially in the wake of the author JK Rowling’s transphobic comments.
Rowling has come under fire in recent years for certain comments, including posting what she called a ‘manifesto’ about why she opposes transgender people, which contained several inaccuracies.
Twitter users have also branded Rowling a hypocrite, as she has said that she would march with trans people if they were discriminated against, but during a recent march in the UK to
oppose the country’s government supporting highly-dangerous conversion therapy, Rowling instead had a party with several others who oppose trans rights.
Given that AEW has always promoted itself as an inclusive company, with Nyla Rose being transgender herself, its odd that they would promote the work of the controversial author,
as the wrestling company may wish to stick to wrestling from here on.
At WrestleMania 38, Becky Lynch lost the Raw Women’s Title in one of the biggest defeats of her career.
To say Lynch hasn’t taken the loss well is an understatement, as her behaviour has gotten stranger and stranger post title loss, with her cries of regaining her “precious” as she’s called
the title leading fans to compare her to Gollum
At a recent WWE live event, Lynch failed to regain the title in a fatal-four-way match, and couldn’t hold back her emotions after the bout.
In a video recorded by a fan, Big Time Becks is seen, and heard, screaming at the top of her lungs in a fit of rage, clearly distraught after both losing the title and failing to win it back.
After winning the title all the way back at WrestleMania 35, Lynch is having to get used to not working around with a championship around her waist, which is proving to be incredibly
difficult for the Irish Superstar.
Now, John Cena is an icon of the ring, and has since become a major player in Hollywood, and now the 16-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion is trying his hand at yet another industry.
According to Bloomberg, Cena is one of many celebrities announced as a co-founding partner for a new cocktail business called 'Thomas Ashbourne Craft Spirits.'
The brand will be making its debut later this month with pre-mixed ready to drink cocktails attached.
In a statemen from the company, Thomas Ashbourne Craft Spirits says they will provide “premium bourbon whisky cut with notes of bright orange bitters, sweet maplewood, and a hint of caramel.”
This could be just the start of a big Summer for Big Match John, who is expected to return to WWE next month to build towards Summerslam, and time will tell how his new venture into the
the Craft Spirits market pans out for the WWE icon.
In April, The Undertaker took his rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame, after an incredible three-decade career with the company.
The Phenom faced pretty much every big name throughout his in-ring career, but one of his most iconic opponents got snubbed during his induction speech.
During the speech, The Undertaker gave no mention to Mick Foley, despite the duo having arguably the most iconic Hell in a Cell match of all time, but while speaking on the In The Kliq
podcast, Mick said he isn’t bothered by the snub: “
“Well, listen, I forgot to mention my wife during my speech, so I’m not one to lecture anybody about who they should and should not include in their speech. I was not there for those formative years.
His was more about friendship and support. We had a great rivalry, but he didn’t mention Rock or Austin. So, if I’m not hurt, no one can be hurt on behalf of me.”
Even though Undertaker didn’t reference Foley, that doesn’t make their matches together any less significant, and if anything, having not enough time to thank Mick only goes
to show how many legends the Deadman stepped in the ring with as a WWE legend.
On last week’s Raw, Mustafa Ali returned to WWE TV after months of being away.
During his six-month hiatus, Ali had requested his WWE release, which was turned down by Vince McMahon, and it’s said that the word “value” was thrown around during their heated argument
backstage.
If WWE does see value in Ali, they certainly aren’t showing it, as on this week’s Raw, the former Retribution leader failed to earn a U.S. title match and lost to The Miz and Theory in a handicap match.
It seems as though there are going to be other things in store for Ali, as during the show, Ciampa attacked him from behind again, kickstarting their feud against one another.
While a fatal four way for the U.S title seems to be the ideal option, it doesn’t appear that WWE has any plans for Ali to win any gold right now, and with Ciampa being called up only
recently, expect Ali to keep spiralling down and lose this feud too.
Last night was a rough one for Ali, but the women of Raw had much better time, closing out the show with a six- woman tag match.
In the main event, the babyface trio of Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair, Asuka, and Liv Morgan took on Sonya Deville, Becky Lynch and Rhea Ripley in a great example of WWE making an effort.
It's rare to see WWE investing so much in women's feuds, let alone three at the same time, and the finish saw Morgan get the win over Deville in what could be a sign of things to come.
With Morgan expected to lose her feud to Ripley, and Deville unlikely to dethrone Belair, it appears that WWE is already setting up a future Women’s feud, in an incredibly rare example
of WWE putting in the extra work for their female division.
More release news now, as the 10 Superstars cut last week came months after the last big NXT clear out this past January, but these sorts of events are to become a more regular thing going forward.
That’s according to Dave Meltzer, who on Wrestling Observer Radio, explained that WWE’s new hiring strategy will mean more names are set to be cut from NXT 2.0:
“We are going to be seeing more and more of this when it comes to NXT is people they are just gonna make decisions that they are bringing a lot of new people in. If you don’t make progress
there, they are gonna get rid of you, in most cases. There were a few cases where that wasn’t the case.”
One name who didn’t improve like WWE had hoped was Harland, who joined the promotion with a ton of buzz last year, but hadn’t shown much signs of improving in the ring according to WWE’s
decision makers. Over the past two years, Superstars have come to accept that their employment with WWE
could end at a moment’s notice, and it appears many Superstars in NXT may want to start clearing out their lockers.
Malcolm Bivens was one of the ten to be cut from WWE, after signing with the promotion in 2019.
Bivens may be gone, but he still has a great deal of interest in WWE and NXT 2.0, and has made a bold claim of one Superstar in particular.
On Twitter, after news of his release broke, NXT 2.0’s Ivy Nile called him “so freaking talented,” and Bivens responded by saying she is a WWE Women’s Champion in the making.
Bivens and Nile were both part of the Diamond Mine, so it’s hardly surprising that they’re close, but this is a huge accolade for the former Titan Games star to receive.
Joining WWE in 2020, Nile has certainly impressed, and is yet to be pinned in singles action, so we’ll have to see if Bivens’ prediction comes true.
One man who seems pretty safe in WWE right now is Ricochet, who currently holds the Intercontinental Title on SmackDown, after dethroning Sami Zayn earlier this year.
Before making a name for himself on the main roster, Ricochet was a highlight of NXT, and may be the next name to make a trip to the developmental brand.
Speaking to Cultaholic, Ricochet discussed a possible run in NXT 2.0, and even named North American Champion Carmelo Hayes as a potential opponent:
“AJ went back, Nattie is down there now. All these guys are going back down there and it seems like they are having a great time. If anyone down there…me and Carmelo had a
thing going. If Carmelo wants the heat, he can have it. Whoever it is, I would love to go down there, that’s always been a home of mine. So anytime.”
It’s no secret that more main-roster talents are expected in NXT 2.0, with WWE reportedly planning on having at least one person from Raw or SmackDown on the show at any given time.
A former North American Champion and U.S Champion, Ricochet is the only Superstar in history to hold all three-secondary titles in WWE, and perhaps the One and Only will be the next to make an
impact on Tuesday nights.
And we’re ending with Athena, formerly Ember Moon, who was released from WWE last year.
Last week, Athena noted how there was a time when the NXT roster was banned from watching, or even discussing AEW, but sometimes rules are made to be broken.
Speaking to Chris Van Vliet on Insight, Athena discussed watching AEW in secret despite being a WWE Superstar at the time, saying:
I was watching them because I was envious. I remember I would text Dustin from time to time to see how he was and he would say ‘we are sure having fun over here.’
Athena hasn’t joined AEW, at least not yet, but since her release, has competed almost exclusively for Warrior Wrestling, where she currently holds their Women’s Championships.
With several AEW contracts expiring this year, perhaps now is the time for Tony Khan to give Athena a call, and judging by her recent comments, it’s one that she’s been waiting for,
even back when she was working for WWE.