Here's your wrestling news for October 21st 2021
And your headlines for today include
Multiple Top WWE Superstars Took Private Jets To Saudi Arabia For Crown Jewel Event!
Tony Khan Responds And Roasts Eric Bischoff !
The Undertaker In Saudi Arabia Ahead Of WWE Crown Jewel!
Major Update On Hacksaw Jim Duggan After An Emergency Surgery!
MJF Claims He Has Better Mic & In-Ring Skills Than Roman Reigns!
Jacy Jayne Update Following Bad Bump On WWE NXT!
"I Don't Think He's Donating Anything" - Wrestling Veteran Dismisses Mustafa Ali's Claim Of Donating His Earnings To
o Charity!
Booker T Responds To Criticism Over Queen’s Crown Tournament Match Duration!
Jim Ross Furious About Rumors That He Drinks During AEW Dynamite Tapings!
Karrion Kross Looks Almost Unrecognizable After Changing His Look!
Former WWE Star Says He Will Never Speak To Vince McMahon Again!
The IInspiration Discuss Why They Signed With Impact Wrestling! And More!
We’re kicking off today with Crown Jewel WWE’s return to Saudi Arabia has been a long-time coming, after having to miss over a
year of events in the middle east. According to a source who spoke to Ringside News, a few big names at the show opted for
private jets, allowing them to travel to Riyadh in comfort and style. Vince McMahon and Brock Lesnar both took
private jets, as is the norm with these two big names, but it’s also said that Roman Reigns travelled in his own jet, alongside his special
counsel Paul Heyman and The Usos. As for the rest of the roster, they travelled together in a chartered flight that included a
a 2-hour layover in London, England, and we can only hope that the trip back is a lot easier than the alleged hostage situation after 2019’s Crown
Jewel event.
AEW now, as since the company was founded, the roster, and Tony Khan have never shied away from attacking WWE.
From segments on TV and Being the Elite, interviews, and tweets, AEW can’t get enough of talking about their competition, which has
earned the company some negative comments on their own. On his 83 Weeks Podcast, Eric Bischoff said that
Tony Khan should keep quiet about WWE, saying that comparing yourself to the biggest name in town, without actually going directly
head to head with their flagship programming, is only causing AEW more problems. Responding on Busted Open Radio, Khan didn’t
hold back accusing Bischoff of being a hypocrite given his own actions during the Monday Night Wars. He said:
"I was amused by Eric's comments. I like Eric when we're together, but this is the ultimate example of glasshouses, knowing how Eric
conducted himself when he was the President of WCW and he did ask for the head-to-head competition, he said publicly I should be going
to that, but I don't decide when these shows are on. This time slot, we looked at a couple of different slots and this was one they though
would do well and I was supportive of because it allowed for a good block of wrestling on Friday night and I knew there would be a good amount
of people watching on Friday and it was effectively an opportunity for people to watch everything in one night.”
During the Monday Night Wars, Bischoff never shied away from bringing up WWF programming, even offering Vince McMahon
money to fight him on WCW TV, but after 20 years of WCW being dead and buried, the former RAW General Manager isn’t too keen on
companies attacking each other anymore.
Earlier this week, we reported on the Undertaker, and refuted the rumour that he would be competing at Crown Jewel.
This rumour spread after a video was shared promoting the Phenom, but that video was for one of WWE’s prior Saudi events.
It now turns out that the Phenom did make the trip to the Middle East, taking a private jet with WWE veteran Fit Finlay, but he hasn’t gone to wrestle.
Instead, the Deadman was on hand to introduce Pitbull at the 2021 Riyadh Seasonal Festival, which is very close to the Mohammed Abdu
Arena where Crown Jewel is taking place. It’s not impossible that the Deadman could appear at Crown Jewel, though we imagine
WWE would’ve advertised him beforehand if that was the case, and we’ll only know for sure when Crown Jewel ends later today
We’ve got news from Jim Duggan now, as the Hall of Famer has been hospitalised this week.
On Facebook, Duggan’s wife Debra posted the sad news with a photo of her husband resting on his side on a hospital bed, and said that Jim was in to
have emergency surgery, and asked fans for their prayers. In an update, it seems the surgery was a success, a
Debra posted a much more flattering picture of her husband, who was seen giving his trademark thumbs up to the camera
It's unknown if this latest hospital trip is connected to the severe infection that hospitalised him last month, his 2019 heart surgery or a different matter
altogether, but we're sending our best wishes to Jim and Debra at this time.
Now, MJF is considered one of the very best heels in modern-day wrestling, thanks in part for his refusal to break character.
Ironically, MJF’s heel antics have made him a popular name amongst fans of AEW, but this week, the Salt of the Earth found an incredible way to get even
those who cheer him hating him. Speaking to the Rasslin podcast, MJF discussed Roman Reigns, and acknowledged the Tribal Chief,
but said he’s the better star on the mic. He explained: “I think Roman Reigns is a hell of a performer, he really is. I think he’s absolutely incredible. Am I better
than him on the mic and in the ring? Sure. But I’m not gonna go out of my way and talk sh*t about him because I respect him. I respect what he does.
I respect the hard work that goes into putting out that product that is WWE.” After Reigns’ recent comments about AEW, and saying
CM Punk has lost a step, praising the Head of the Table is arguably the best way for MJF to get heel heat with AEW’s passionate fanbase.
MJF went on to say that he may one-day work for WWE, and the idea of a Reigns-MJF feud is certainly an enticing one, though fans will have to wait a long
time for that to happen, as both men are being booked incredibly well in their respective companies.
On this week’s NXT 2.0, Jacy Jayne competed against Io Shirai and Persia Pirotta in a match that went horribly wrong.
During an attempted suicide dive, the Toxic Attraction member didn’t get enough speed, and her feet caught in the ropes, causing her to land
bad on her head at ringside. Jayne was helped to the back as the match continued, and we now have an update on her condition.
On Wrestling Observer Live, it was reported that she underwent a full CT scan, and passed the test, which could be a sign that she didn’t suffer a
concussion on this bump. Jayne’s scan was described as “okay and clean,” but there’s still no word on if she’ll miss any ring-time,
or miss next week’s Halloween Havoc event, where she and Gigi Dolin are meant to be in the triple-threat tag-team ladder match for the NXT Women’s Tag Team
Titles. Neither Jayne, Dolin, or their team-mate Mandy Rose have commented publicly on the injury, now has
WWE offered an official update, as everyone is keeping quiet after this nasty botch.
At Crown Jewel, Mustafa Ali will face hometown hero Mansoor, but the former Retribution member won’t make a penny for the match.
Instead, Ali has said he’ll donate his entire earnings from the Saudi Show to charity, a noble gesture, but not everyone is buying it.
Speaking to Sportskeeda Wrestling, Kenny Bolin said he doesn’t believe Ali is donating any money, as he doesn’t believe anyone will get paid a specific amount
for the show, and that any earnings are from their contracted pay. Bolin cited ‘inside information’ as his source, though
it’s just as likely that Ali could donate whatever he would be paid for the show out of his own pocket.
Whatever the case, Ali is looking to be the first man to defeat Mansoor in the latter’s homeland of Saudi Arabia, and we’ll have to see if the Retribution member
can do what the likes of Dolph Ziggler and Cesaro couldn’t years ago.
More from NXT 2.0 as Carmelo Hayes has been on a roll this year, winning the Breakout Star Tournament this past August.
Hayes cashed in his guaranteed title shot earned from the tournament to become North American Champion, but that would've never happened had Tony
Khan got his way. Speaking to Daily DDT, Hayes said he came to WWE after considering offers and opportunities
being made by other promotions. The North American Champion didn't state what other company made a play for him, but said he considered
offers from the "top two" companies, which would presumably be WWE and AEW. At 27 years old, Hayes has years ahead of him in
wrestling, and although several names have chosen to jump from WWE to AEW's roster, there's still those who'd prefer to work for
what remains the biggest promotion in all of pro wrestling
At Crown Jewel, either Zelina Vega or Doudrop will be crowned the first Queen's Crown winner in the finals of the incredibly tone deaf tournament.
Despite WWE championing themselves as bastions of equality and is six years into the Women's Revolution, this historic tournament has seen less than
14 minutes of TV time, with no first-round or semi-finals match going longer than three minutes. Fans have been outraged over how little time the Queen's
Crown Tournament has received, but Booker T is on WWE's side on this. Speaking on his podcast, Booker addressed the short
tournament, comparing it to his victory in the 2006 King of the Ring: "People may not remember, I think I had two matches
and I won the King of the Ring tournament. The King of the Ring tournament is not about the tournament. It’s about crowning a King."
Booker added that fans don't remember his wins in the 2006 tournament, but remember his time as King Booker, and we can only hope that either Vega
Doudrop have a great run as Queen after this underwhelming first Queen's Crown Tournament.
More from AEW, and although Jim Ross is considered by many as the greatest commentator of all time, his performance over the past few years has often been
sub-par. From calling AEW's flagship show 'WWE Dynamite' to calling Kenny Omega the WWE Champion, JR has had
his fair share of mistakes and has faced backlash by the fans, a response that has taken Cody Rhodes by surprise.
There's even been a rumour that JR's mistakes have been down to him drinking on the job, a claim that the Oklahoma furiously denied on his latest Grilling JR
podcast: "Somebody wrote on Twitter the other day, as if they knew, that I drink a lot of Crown Royal during the
broadcasts. That’s so f*cking ridiculous. You wanna say [that]? I feel so sorry for you that you would imagine that happening. If I could rebuke that stupid
*cking rumor. It’s ridiculous.” JR worked for decades in WWE, before he was fired in 2013 for being intoxicated at a WWE
2K panel during Summerslam week. JR was quick to refute the rumour that he drinks during tapings, and doesn't care what his haters have
say, but that doesn't mean he's happy with the mistakes he's made on AEW programming.
In the Attitude Era, Vince Russo served as head writer for the WWF, before leaving for WCW in late 1999.
Though he earned the WWF some of it’s highest ratings ever, Russo’s WCW run was a colossal failure, but the controversial writer hasn’t left wrestling entirely.
Russo has even taken part in some WWE produced documentaries, but it appears they’ll be no more work between him and WWE, as he tweeted this week:
After knowing Vince McMahon for 30 years & having great success w/him during my time at WWE–yesterday he & I had our FINAL EXCHANGE. It’s an unfortunate
story & sad in many ways, but, Closure is good. Not ready to discuss now, but I will be. Where? Russo seems genuinely upset that his long-time
relationship with McMahon is over, and although a full-time return to the WWE always seemed highly unlikely for the former Vic
Venom, it definitely won’t be happening now.
Back to WWE, and Karrion Kross has undergone a lot of changes since coming to RAW earlier this year, with more changes expected in the coming future.
Joining RAW without Scarlett and with new gear, it’s been reported that Kross’ entrance will soon change, and he’ll be portraying a character who’s more like a pyscho,
yet still calm and cool. That’s not all that’s changed, as on Instagram, Kross shared a series of photos, in which he’s grown out his
hair, and looks unrecognisable to the Superstar fans last saw compete on the October 10th RAW. Thanks were shocked by Kross’ dramatic transformation,
with comparrisons being made to Randy Orton and Chris hemsworth, whilst others said the well-dressed former NXT Champion could be the next James Bond.
There’s no word on when Kross’ new character will make it to TV, but judging by these photos, the former NXT Champion will have a brand new unrecognisable
look on RAW very soon.
And we’re ending today with Impact Wrestling, which will host its annual Bound for Glory event this week, in which the IInspiration will make their in-ring debut.
The former IIconics, the pair of Jessie McKay and Cassie Lee were released back in April, and will challenge Jessika Havoc and Rosemary for the Knockout Tag Team Titles.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, McKay, formerly Billie Kay explained that Impact’s amazing tag team division, and hearing nothing but incredible things about Impact
Impact won them over. Cassie Lee added that they feel honoured to be part of the Knockouts division, which they consider the best
women’s division in wrestling, Time will tell whether the IInspiration become the Knockouts Tag Team Champions
this Saturday, but after their split in WWE last year, the pair are happy to be teaming again.