Brock Lesnar returned to WWE at tonight’s SummerSlam event, starting down Roman Reigns.
Lesnar made a surprise appearance following the main event, which had Roman Reigns retain the Universal title over John Cena. Reigns was celebrating in the ring when Lesnar came out sporting a new look, with longer hair and a full beard. He entered the ring and stared down Roman as the two exchanged words, with Paul Heyman cowering in a corner. The show ended with Roman and Heyman retreating to the back as Lesnar stood in the ring.
After the show had ended, Lesnar attacked Cena, who was still recovering from the match, giving him two suplexes before laying him out with an F5. Cena eventually recovered and his music played as the show officially ended with him playing to the crowd.
Lesnar’s last WWE appearance was at WrestleMania 36 last year, when he lost the WWE Championship to Drew McIntyre. He remained away from WWE during the shows held at the WWE Performance Center and later the WWE Thunderdome.
In this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer had some notes on three of WWE’s biggest names: Daniel Bryan, John Cena and Paul Heyman.
On the status of the current free agent, Meltzer said that the mentions of Bryan on WWE TV of late isn’t an indication he’s coming back, but rather because he is part of the story of Roman Reigns vs. Edge following their three-way match at this year’s WrestleMania. ”Nobody really knows what he’s doing past if he’s made a secret deal with any company. They are keeping it a secret until doing a dramatic reveal when they want to,” Meltzer said.
On Cena, Meltzer said the filming schedule for Cena’s new movie Argylle begins in Europe in August. It’s unclear how that affects his planned SummerSlam match with Reigns and “it’s possible he could start after or end prior to the date or even get a few days off.” Other than that, his commitments appear to be clear if he is to return to WWE TV to build up the match.
Meltzer also reported that Paul Heyman is off Talking Smack permanently, replaced by Pat McAfee. Meltzer said there was no real reason for the decision but “everything can change tomorrow in WWE.” He said there are questions about how to handle Talking Smack when they go back out on the road, mainly because Fox doesn’t want the show to air before the West Coast audience can see the show. He said there doesn’t seem to be that level of concern with Raw Talk.
We’ve got a double issue of the Observer out this week with notes on how President Biden’s new policies on international travel will affect wrestlers and fighters from different countries.
Also in this issue:
The new WrestleMania plans, including how the Super Bowl plays into it, the time frame for the shows for both nights, the inside hopes for attendance and how the dynamic is different this year as to what gets announced. We also look at the decision making in regards to Dallas and Los Angeles, update the Royal Rumble and also have notes on match plans.
Coverage of Impact Hard to Kill, with notes on the key angles, the departure of Madison Rayne, Taya Valkyrie and Ethan Page, Page’s scathing words after his departure, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
Dwayne Johnson’s new TV show about his life, new WWE signees, Dusty Rhodes men’s and women’s tournament, Kofi Kingston talks his injury, WWE television personality gets an ESPN TV show, A.J. Styles talks retirement, lawsuit update, where wrestling shows ranked with network sports, who is looking for new entrance music, what aspect of WWE’s major events are they trying to sell, why Raw will have two very tough dates for competition soon, as well as the most-watched shows of the past week on the WWE Network.
Coverage of both UFC shows over the past week and the story behind Max Holloway’s setting records.
A story on the life of Paul Varelans, an early star of UFC and MMA around the world, as well as his different forays with four different pro wrestling companies as well as his infamous angle with Taz in ECW. For the first time, Missy Hyatt talks publicly about the situation plus comments from all involved. We look at the tournament days of UFC, crazy street fights, and much more.
A story on the life of Guy Hauray, the voice of WWF in France for a generation.
A story on famous carnival shooter and pro wrestler Dick Cardinal, who was the oldest living pro wrestler at the time of his death.
History of the biggest draws in pro wrestling each year from 1916 to 2020, including what wrestlers were No. 1 for the most years.
Win-loss record of every WWE talent in 2020 including who wrestled the most dates, who never lost, who never won and more.
Television ratings of the past week, segment-by-segment numbers for the past two weeks on Wednesday, who was watching in different age groups, how different segments did on Raw & Smackdown.
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MONDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio with the main story being the WWE/Peacock Network deal. I’ve been in contact with people all day regarding the story and tonight’s show, besides covering Raw and the other news, will be mostly a Q&A on the deal. If you’ve got any questions, send them for tonight’s show to [email protected]
Alberto Rodriguez’s (Alberto El Patron) trial for aggravated kidnapping and four counts of sexual assault that was scheduled to begin today was moved to 5/3. A conviction will be difficult because the accuser apologized to him on social media which appeared at the time was her recanting her story.
Raw tonight is headlined by a face-off with Drew McIntyre, who has recovered from COVID and wrestled on the Friday taping for India, and Bill Goldberg. Asuka vs. Alexa Bliss for the women’s title, Charlotte Flair vs. Shayna Baszler and Matt Riddle in a gauntlet facing Shelton Benjamin, Cedric Alexander and MVP, and if he wins, gets a shot at Bobby Lashley for the U.S. title is on the show. They will also likely announce most of Sunday’s Rumble since this is the last Raw show prior to the PPV.
WWE
The Superstar Spectacle, designed for India, airs at 9:30 a.m. on the WWE Network
Rey Mysterio & Ricochet & Diishar Shanky & Giant Zanjeer vs. Dolph Ziggler & King Corbin & Shinsuke Nakamura & Cesaro
A.J. Styles vs. Jeet Rama
Charlotte Flair & Sareena Sandhu vs. Bayley & Natalya
Finn Balor vs; Guru Raaj
Drew McIntyre & Indu Sher vs. Jinder Mahal & Singh Brothers
I don’t expect him on TV, but Paul Heyman is at Raw today. Heyman is in charge of Bill Goldberg’s promos so he most likely is there to work on whatever Goldberg is doing on tonight’s show. Since there is no storyline relationship, it would make no sense for him to appear on the air.
UFC
SportsBetting.ag is listing a lot of MMA odds. For Conor McGregor’s next opponent:
Nate Diaz +200
Dustin Poirier +300
Justin Gaethje +400
Tony Ferguson +600
Jorge Masvidal +800
Michael Chandler +1000
Charles Oliveira +1200
For Dustin Poirier’s next opponent
Michael Chandler +150
Charles Oliveira +250
Conor McGregor +450
Khabib Nurmagomedov +600
Nate Diaz +800
Justin Gaethje +1400
Tony Ferguson +1400
UFC lightweight champion on 12/31/21
Dustin Poirier +200
Michael Chandler +300
Charles Oliviera +400
Khabib Nurmagomedov +450
Conor McGregor +800
Justin Gaethje +1200
Tony Ferguson +2500
Nate Diaz +5000
Nik Lentz, after his loss of Movsar Evloev via split decision Saturday, announced his retirement due to vision issues. His claim of having lost 40 percent of his vision and realized he couldn’t compete at a high level leads to a lot of questions that need to be asked about commissions and UFC allowing him to fight in the first place with that level of vision issues.
OTHER NOTES
It looks like Will Ospreay’s match with Satoshi Kojima on Saturday in Nagoya will be no DQ based on what happened in today’s Ospreay & Great O’Khan vs. Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan match.
The Wrestling Estate just posted an exclusive report on independent wrestling running shows during the pandemic with three promoters explaining how their business has been and two explaining why they haven’t run.
TJP & Bu Ku Dao vs. Violence is Forever with the winners getting a shot at tag champs L.A. Park & El Hijo de L.A. Park joins Savio Vega vs. Richard Holliday in a strap match on MLW on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. on YouTube.
Salahdine Parnasse (14-0-1) puts his KSW featherweight title up against Daniel Torres (11-4) in the main event of the KSW show on 1/30 in Lodz, France available at www.KSWTV.com
ROH TV this week has Shane Taylor & The Soldiers of Savagery vs. Jonathan Gresham & Jay Lethal & Tracy Wlliams, plus Dalton Castle vs. Josh Woods in a Pure Rules match.
Tony Deppen vs. Jordan Oliver in an Iron Man challenge match will be part of the GCW Fight Forever show, a 24-hour streaming event. The show is about getting donations for talent that hasn’t been able to work much during COVID.
Kevin Owens will deliver a message to Roman Reigns on next week’s SmackDown.
Owens confronted Paul Heyman on this week’s episode of Talking Smack. Heyman told Owens that he had enraged Reigns, but also lauded Owens for outsmarting him. Owens dismissed Heyman’s praise and told him that he would deliver a message to Reigns, face to face, on next week’s SmackDown.
This comes following the events of this week’s SmackDown. Reigns and Adam Pearce had a contract signing for what was supposed to be a last man standing match between the two at the Royal Rumble on January 31. Both men signed the contract. As Pearce walked up the ramp, he started to limp. He said that a knee injury was bothering him, and as a result he had the right to find a suitable replacement. That ended up being Kevin Owens, who signed the contract, angering Reigns.
Also announced for next week’s SmackDown is a Intercontinental title match between champion Big E and challenger Apollo Crews. Additionally, Bayley and Bianca Belair will compete in an obstacle course challenge.
SmackDown’s fallout from Payback will include an appearance by new Universal Champion Roman Reigns.
Reigns turned heel after aligning with Paul Heyman last week. He signed the Payback contract in the middle of Sunday’s main event and defeated “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman to win the Universal title. Reigns and Heyman promise to address the fans tonight.
Big E, Sheamus, Matt Riddle, and King Corbin will also face off in a four-way number one contender’s match. The winner challenges Reigns for the Universal Championship at Clash of Champions.
The four-way features two ongoing feuds. At Payback, Big E defeated Sheamus and Riddle defeated Corbin in singles matches.
In a rematch from Payback, new Women’s Tag Team Champions Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax will defend their titles against Sasha Banks & Bayley. Baszler & Jax won the titles at Payback when Baszler had Bayley and Banks in a double submission and then used Banks’ arm to help apply more pressure on the Kirifuda Clutch she had Bayley locked in.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
**********
SmackDown opened with a recap of the triple threat match between Roman Reigns, The Fiend, and Braun Strowman. It included timestamps of the match starting at 9:14 pm without Reigns. At 9:26 pm, The Fiend gave Strowman a superplex, which caused the ring to collapse. At 9:27 pm, Reigns signed the contract and entered the match.
Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman Promo
The new Universal Champion Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman made their way to the ring. There was lots of fake crowd noise and booing. On the screen, fans were mostly doing a thumbs down with a few clapping.
Heyman said that when you think he’s out, Reigns pulls him back in. He pointed out that it’s not Heyman corrupting Reigns but Reigns corrupting him. Heyman noted he was a castaway, but Reigns saved him. Heyman discussed everything Reigns did for the company, but nobody cares about him.
Heyman mocked The Fiend and Braun Strowman as possible champions. He turned his attention to the four-way match, but he refused to say the participant’s names. Instead, Heyman’s going to leave that to the commentators. He pointed at Michael Cole and Corey Graves and called them Anderson Cooper and Carmella’s latest boyfriend. Heyman called himself Reigns’ special counsel.
Heyman ended the promo doing his old catchphrase but replaced Reigns with Brock Lesnar.
Reigns said he kept his promise and signed the contract at Payback. He pointed out that all he has to do is show up and win to be the best.
This was an awesome promo. Reigns and Heyman are great together. Heyman did most of the talking while Reigns looked into the camera. Reigns did a good job when he took the mic too.
After the break, Jey Uso approached Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman. Uso was happy to see Reigns. Uso’s been trying to get in touch with Reigns but hasn’t heard from him.
Heyman walked off, and Uso noted he always has his back. Reigns agreed but said he’s busy and walked off. Uso yelled they should get a steak after the show.
Heavy Machinery defeated The Miz & John Morrison
This was a fine match, but there wasn’t much to it. It was more about making Otis look strong and the post-match angle.
Heavy Machinery had an early advantage as they tossed the heels around the ring. Tucker launched Morrison across the ring. Otis followed up with a massive shoulder tackle.
The faces ran wild and cleared the ring. Back from the break, the heels were now firmly in control. Otis got the hot tag and ran wild on the heels. He took both down with a series of shoulder tackles.
Otis missed a charge in the corner, and the heels took over. They isolated Otis on their side of the ring and cut him off from Tucker. Otis made a comeback and tossed Morrison to the floor. He went to tag Tucker, but Morrison pulled him off the apron. He then hit a neck breaker on the floor to take Tucker out.
Otis made another comeback and hit a series of suplexes on both Miz and Morrison. Otis then hit the caterpillar on Miz and followed up with the Vader Bomb for the win.
After the match, Morrison grabbed the Money In The Bank briefcase and ran off with it.
In the back, Big E was with Drew Gulak and The Lucha House Party. They have a cake for the returning Xavier Woods. Not only is Woods returning to co-host Talking Smack, but it’s also his birthday.
Big E promised to win the four-way later and win the Universal title from Roman Reigns. A security guard approached and informed Big E that Woods arrived.
Big E went looking for Woods when Sheamus attacked him. He hit a Brogue Kick, and Big E flew into the garage door.
Sheamus slammed Big E’s head on the front of a car. In an awesome looking spot, Sheamus gave Big E white noise on top of the vehicle. Big E crashed hard into the windshield.
Back from the break, paramedics checked on Big E and placed him on a stretcher. Michael Cole wondered if Sheamus set up Big E. Kayla Braxton gave an update on Big E when Sheamus interrupted. He mocked Big E and denied having anything to do with the attack. Sheamus noted it’s probably going to be a triple threat match later.
They recapped Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax winning the Women’s tag titles from Sasha Banks & Bayley at Payback.
Alyse Ashton interviewed Banks and Bayley. She pointed out that Baszler made Bayley tap the last three times they faced off. Banks promised that they’re going to win the titles back tonight.
Back from the break, Kayla Braxton interviewed Adam Pearce. He noted Big E is on his way to a medical facility and is out of the four-way match later. They’re looking for a replacement but haven’t decided on anyone yet. Paul Heyman approached Pearce and asked to speak to him.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax defeated Bayley & Sasha Banks to retain the titles
SmackDown Tag Team Champions Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura gave their thoughts on the match and promised the winners could come to the Champions Lounge.
This was a good match with a significant post-match angle.
All four started brawling at the ring of the bell. The faces had the early advantage and dragged the heels to ringside. In a crazy looking spot, Jax and Baszler swung the heels into the barricade. Jax tossed Banks to the floor.
Back from the break, the faces were firmly in control and cut Bayley off from her corner. Baszler rocked Bayley with a knee to the face. Jax slowed the pace down and backed Bayley into the corner.
Baszler targeted Bayley’s shoulder and snapped her arm back. Banks distracted Jax and Bayley hit a chop block on Jax.
Banks got the tag and ran wild on Jax. She hit double running knees in the corner and followed up with the Meteora for a close near fall. Banks attempted to powerbomb Jax off the apron, but she held on. Bayley made the blind tag and helped Banks powerbomb Jax to the floor.
Baszler was the legal person in the match and attempted the Kififuda Clutch, but Bayley countered into a back suplex. Bayley hit a flying elbow on Baszler for a close two count.
The heels isolated Baszler and beat her down. Banks attempted the running knees on the apron, but Baszler moved, and she crashed into the ring post.
Baszler fought back and attacked Banks’ injured knees. Baszler continued to work on the knees. Baszler knocked Bayley off the apron and viciously stomped on Banks’ legs.
In a call back to Payback, Baszler attempted the Muta lock on Banks and attempted the Kirifuda clutch on Bayley. Bayley countered this time and hit the Bayley-to-belly.
Banks scored a near fall and transitioned into the Bank Statement. Jax jumped back in the match and broke up the submission.
Jax ran wild on the heels. The finish came when Jax ended up on the second turnbuckle. The heels hit a double powerbomb on Baszler, but Jax hit a flying crossbody onto both to score the win.
After the match, the medical team came out to check on Banks and her injured knees. Bayley was very concerned and told the medical staff to be careful.
Back from the break, Banks was angry and pushed the medical staff away. She didn’t want their help.
Bayley helped Banks up and took her out of the ring. As they were leaving the ring, Bayley suddenly attacked Banks. Bayley beat her down and attacked the leg.
Bayley took Banks back in the ring and continued to beat her down viciously. Bayley tried to put Banks’ leg in the chair, but Banks fought her off. Bayley regained control and trapped Banks’ head in the chair. She then jumped off the second turnbuckle and stomped on the chair.
The medical team ran back out to check on Banks.
The post-match angle and Bayley’s turn were down well. However, it’s unfortunate they did the long-anticipated split since they were one of the highlights of SmackDown. The feud will hopefully be as good.
Back from the break, the staff loaded a severely injured Banks into the back of an ambulance.
Sami Zayn Promo
Sami Zayn made his way down to the ring with the Intercontinental Championship belt. Zayn was furious that the announcer didn’t introduce him as the I.C. Champion. He got on the headset and was upset he wasn’t identified as the champion.
Zayn wanted to do his entrance again when Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy interrupted and argued with Zayn.
AJ Styles then made his way to the ring. Styles claimed to be the uncrowned champion. Hardy’s ready to defend the title against Styles, but Zayn was upset. Styles attacked Hardy, and all three ended up brawling.
Michael Cole announced the breaking news that Jey Uso is taking Big E’s place in the fatal four-way match up next.
In the back, Tucker approached Otis and noted he couldn’t find The Miz & John Morrison. Otis wasn’t worried because he doesn’t keep the contract in the briefcase. He keeps the contract in his lunch box.
Morrison was with The Miz in another part of the arena. The Miz pointed out that having the briefcase doesn’t make him Mr. Money In The Bank. Morrison opened the briefcase and found a sandwich. Morrison was pretty funny, but the payoff for the angle was lame.
Jey Uso approached Roman Reigns in his locker room. Uso thanked Reigns for getting him in the match. Reigns told Uso to try to win one on his own. Uso promised to win and face Reigns at Clash of Champions, but Reigns said, we’ll see.
Matt Riddle made his way to the ring for the fatal four-way. As King Corbin made his entrance, he complained that Uso is in the match because of nepotism. Riddle attacked Corbin on the ramp. Eventually, Sheamus and Uso joined in the brawl.
Back from the break, Bray Wyatt hosted The Firefly Funhouse.
Wyatt noted that fans are sad that “He” lost his favorite toy, but he’s got good news. Next week, a special guest joins Wyatt in the Firefly Funhouse.
In the back, Nikki Cross was watching the monitor. Alexa Bliss approached and apologized for breaking her mug last week. She doesn’t know what overcame her. Cross seemed wary of Bliss. Bliss had more braids in her hair this week.
Fatal Four-Way Number One Contender’s Match: Jey Uso defeated Matt Riddle, King Corbin, and Sheamus
Jey Uso rocked Corbin with a superkick to start the match. The heels worked together and isolated Uso. Corbin attempted the around the corner clothesline, but Riddle cut him off. The faces then worked together and worked over the heels.
The heels recovered simultaneously, and Corbin hit Deep Six on Uso while Sheamus hit the Irish Curse Backbreaker on Riddle. Corbin yelled at the referee, but Sheamus jumped him from behind.
Back from the break, Uso and Sheamus traded shots in the middle of the ring. Sheamus took over with a suplex. Corbin tried to get back in the ring, but Sheamus prevented him. Sheamus then hit Uso with forearms to the chest.
Sheamus placed Uso on his shoulders, but Riddle rocked Sheamus with a kick to the head. Riddle followed up with an exploder suplex, a running plenty kick, and broton for a near fall.
Riddle locked on the triangle submission, but Sheamus powered out into a powerbomb for a two count. Sheamus then locked on the Clover Leaf submission, but Uso hit a superkick to break the hold.
Corbin rolled up Uso for a near fall. Uso ran wild and hit a superkick on each guy. He attempted a dive, but Corbin cut him off. Riddle and Sheamus worked together to dump Corbin over the barricade. Uso then hit a dive onto both Riddle and Sheamus.
Uso tried to dive onto Corbin over the barricade, but he caught him. Corbin then dumped Uso over the video screens of the fans.
The finish came when Sheamus hit the Brogue Kick on Corbin. Riddle then hit the bro to Sleep on Sheamus and the floating bro on Corbin. However, Uso hit the flying splash onto Riddle for the win.
After the match, Uso celebrated and noted he made the family proud.
Uso challenges Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship at Clash of Champions. It’ll be interesting to see how they treat Reigns against Uso and how well Uso gets over as a title challenger.
Uso hasn’t been on TV or even featured as a significant character. Regardless, this was a good match with lots of action.
A segment with new Universal Champion Roman Reigns is set for this Friday’s episode of SmackDown.
WWE has announced that Reigns “will address the WWE Universe this Friday on SmackDown with Paul Heyman in tow.” WWE hyped that Reigns will talk about his Universal title win and his alliance with Heyman.
The alliance between Reigns and Heyman was revealed at the end of last week’s episode of SmackDown. There was a show-long storyline where Adam Pearce had to get Bray Wyatt, Braun Strowman, and Reigns to sign the contracts for their no holds barred triple threat match at Payback. Reigns told Pearce to fix the changes they need and he’d be at Payback on Sunday. Reigns said him winning the Universal Championship wasn’t a prediction — it’s a spoiler. It was then revealed that Heyman was sitting with Reigns. Heyman told Pearce to “Believe that.”
At Payback, the story was that Reigns didn’t sign the contract for the match until after it started. After The Fiend giving Strowman a superplex collapsed the ring, Reigns’ music hit and he came to the ring with Heyman. Reigns ended up pinning Strowman to win the Universal Championship.
The Fiend was Universal Champion going into Payback. He defeated Strowman to win the title at SummerSlam, but Reigns returned after the match and attacked both of them.
This week’s SmackDown will also feature a four-way match to decide Reigns’ challenger for Clash of Champions. Big E, Matt Riddle, Baron Corbin, and Sheamus will face off to determine Reigns’ challenger for the pay-per-view. Big E defeated Sheamus and Riddle defeated Corbin in singles matches at Payback.
Clash of Champions is taking place on Sunday, September 27.
Heading into Payback, Roman Reigns appeared to officially turn heel and become the next Paul Heyman Guy.
Last night’s SmackDown featured a show-long storyline where Vince McMahon tasked Adam Pearce with getting “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt, Braun Strowman, and Reigns to sign their contracts for Payback. After getting Wyatt and Strowman to sign theirs, only Reigns was left.
Reigns told Pearce to fix the changes that they needed and he’d be at Payback on Sunday. Reigns vowed to win the Universal Championship, and he said that wasn’t just a prediction — it’s a spoiler. It was then revealed that Heyman was sitting next to Reigns. Heyman told Pearce to “Believe that.”
The Fiend will defend his Universal Championship against Strowman and Reigns in a no holds barred triple threat match at Payback this Sunday.
Tonight’s SmackDown ended with a major reveal: Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman, sitting side-by-side.
Throughout tonight’s show, Adam Pearce was assigned by Vince McMahon the task of getting the signatures for all three participants for the triple threat Universal title match at Payback. Pearce managed to get Wyatt’s and Strowman’s signatures, but whenever he tried to contact Reigns through his locker room door, Pearce was met by silence.
Pearce was eventually able to get inside and gave the contract to Reigns, who said he would read it. The final segment of the show had Reigns telling Pearce that he wouldn’t sign it, and wanted changes. Regardless, he said at Payback he would win back the Universal title that he never lost.
Reigns then told Pearce that it’s not a prediction, it’s a spoiler. The camera then panned to reveal Paul Heyman was sitting right next to Reigns.
“Believe that,” Heyman told Pearce as the show ended.
PWInsider is reporting that going forward, Roman Reigns is expected to be the top heel on SmackDown. With Braun Strowman also recently turning heel, the idea, according to PWInsider, is to make Bray Wyatt/The Fiend the top babyface on the roster. Naomi is also expected to get a stronger push.
This was Heyman’s first appearance on WWE television since WrestleMania 36, when Brock Lesnar lost the WWE title to Drew McIntyre.
A wide-ranging podcast from Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson released today detailed their WWE releases, their 2019 negotiations with AEW, and their signing with Impact Wrestling.
The Talk’N Shop Podcast, hosted by Ryan Satin and also featuring NJPW’s Rocky Romero, took a deep dive into Gallows and Anderson’s 2019 negotiations with WWE, AEW, Impact Wrestling and NJPW. The show also gives details on AJ Styles’ recent move from Raw to SmackDown and his reported refusal to work with Paul Heyman.
2019 contract talks with WWE, AEW, NJPW, Impact Wrestling —
Gallows and Anderson discussed receiving good offers from AEW, Impact, NJPW and WWE when their WWE contract was coming due in 2019. NJPW originally offered a contract through Rocky Romero that would have initially called for exclusivity. Later, NJPW changed their offer and would have allowed them to work AEW as well. Anderson said that NJPW’s creative plans called for him to work a program with Jon Moxley that would have culminated with a match at Wrestle Kingdom.
Gallows and Anderson detailed a meeting with Matt and Nick Jackson in Ontario, California in January 2019 and a later meeting with Kenny Omega in Winnipeg.
Anderson detailed a text message from Matt around June 2019 that laid out plans for their debut on the first episode of Dynamite. Gallows said that they were offered a two-year deal with an option for a third year with AEW, while WWE offered a five-year deal.
Gallows went on to recount that Triple H became intent on re-signing the duo and talked about signing them to a deal that would “set them up for the rest of their lives.”
Ultimately, Gallows and Anderson reached a verbal agreement with Triple H while on a tour of Japan that saw Triple H team with Styles, Gallows and Anderson. After the match, Triple H gave a concrete offer that was too big for Gallows and Anderson to turn down.
At the time, Gallows had a meeting scheduled with Tony Khan to discuss coming to AEW. Anderson said that they had told The Young Bucks that they were intent on coming to AEW for months. After they reversed course and re-signed with WWE, Anderson says there was heat from key people in AEW.
Re-signing with WWE, creative issues —
Anderson said that a week after agreeing to their new WWE deals, he was scripted to lose to Ricochet in seconds, while Gallows would then run in and get laid out. Anderson said that he thought they would at least wait for a few months before being buried, but the process began right away.
Anderson said he took his concerns to Triple H who put him in touch with Paul Heyman. Gallows said that he was wary of dealing with Heyman given his track record as “the biggest bullsh*tter in the history of the business.”
Gallows said that Heyman told them that there were already plans to make then tag champs but that he was accelerating the plan and putting the titles on them immediately. Gallows said that Heyman claimed “If I ever lie to you, go on social media and f*cking bury me.”
Gallows and Anderson said that after their WrestleMania match they were sent congratulatory text messages from officials in WWE. They said that when WWE began making cuts after WrestleMania, they did not suspect that heir jobs were in jeopardy.
In hindsight, Anderson said, they should have suspected that their jobs were not secure after being double-pinned by Drew McIntyre on Raw. Anderson said that Heyman approached him the next week and assured him that “this will not hurt you in the long run.”
WWE releases, Styles/Heyman heat —
Later, Styles heard from a WWE source that Gallows and Anderson being released was a Heyman decision. Anderson said Styles then went to Heyman and asked if Heyman had called for Gallows and Anderson to be released. Heyman denied it. Styles went to Vince McMahon and asked if that was true. Anderson said that McMahon confirmed that Gallows and Anderson were not on “his list” of people to be let go, but that this was a “Heyman decision.”
Gallows said that Styles then demanded to be moved to SmackDown to get away from Heyman. “[Heyman]’s a f*cking liar and a piece of sh*t,” Gallows said.
Anderson said that he believes that when word of their big contracts got around, some people “…higher on the card… some agents, people like Jamie Noble, Michael Hayes, probably started to hear the rumblings of that money and probably didn’t like it,” which planted seeds that led to their releases.
Gallows said that their contract terms with Impact are the same terms that Impact offered when they negotiated in 2019 and their two-year deal allows them to work NJPW.
The shoot also details Gallows and Anderson’s recollections of the 2019 trip to Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel that saw their return to the U.S. delayed.
We’ve got yet another double issue of the Observer out this week covering both the creative changes in WWE and a long bio on Johnny “Mr. Wrestling II” Walker, as well as a number of other features.
The move to Bruce Prichard as creative head of Raw and Smackdown and the steps leading to this process change. We look at who appears to be safe and who isn’t. We look at what was tried on Raw and what wasn’t working, and notable key recent moves. We also look at the problems of comparing Raw with Smackdown.
We have a long look at the life and career of Mr. Wrestling II, Johnny Walker. We look at his heyday, his connection with President Jimmy Carter, the birth of cable and his role in popularizing pro wrestling on cable, how babyfaces changed in the 70s, his 1980 feud with Harley Race, his checkered past, his wrestling debut, his coming mainland, interactions with the toughest guys of his era, his first good run in Tennessee, how his life was notable in both pro wrestling and country music, his first masked gimmick and his planned retirement. Having the right gimmick in the right place at the right time made him one of the biggest stars in the country. We look at the Georgia wrestling war and the creation of Mr. Wrestling II. We look at the Mr. Wrestling vs. Mr. Wrestling II feud and all of II’s biggest feuds over the next decade. We look at II’s meetings with the president’s mother, his biggest matches at the Omni, his runs in Mid South, feud with Magnum T.A., his WWF tenure, and his life after wrestling in Hawaii.
We also cover:
New Japan Pro Wrestling returning to business this week, scouting out the New Japan Cup, directions for fans attending the Osaka shows and why the matches won’t have traditional heat, and the complete schedule.
Economics of Conor McGregor, Jorge Masvidal, Jon Jones and Henry Cejudo and how the ESPN deal has removed fighter leverage. We look at comments by the fighters, response from Dana white and realities of he situation.
An enormous donation made by John Cena, Paul Levesque talks a signature match, WWE canceling over shows due to the pandemic, weekly sports ratings, Edge movie, DVR viewership, Canadian ratings, twitter feuds, Arn Anderson on Sami Zayn, funny story on the first time Adam Cole heard from WWE, what happened to Chris DeJoseph, plus upcoming TV bouts.
Fight Island and the next UFC PPV show
UFC 250, with business notes, popularity notes, poll results and match-by-match coverage.
NXT Takeover In Your House with a rundown, booking notes, match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
Backlash and story behind Edge vs; Randy Orton.
In-depth looks at the ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
MONDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight covering Raw and all the latest news with Wrestling Observer Radio. You can send questions for the show to [email protected] We’re also looking for your thoughts on last night’s Backlash show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected].
Paul Heyman is not at Raw tonight unless he’s being hidden. Ric FLast night’s Observer Radio show talks in depth the amended complaint and changes in the lawsuit regarding Saudi Arabia included a deposition from a WWE wrestler about what really happened in Saudi Arabia. Flair has an appearance on tonight’s show talking about Randy Orton’s win. Randy Orton is scheduled to open the show to discuss injuries both he and Edge received on the show. Drew McIntyre & R-Truth vs. Bobby Lashley & MVP has been announced, as has a rematch with Asuka vs. Nia Jax for the women’s title. Dominick Mysterio will do a segment with Seth Rollins. With this being the first Raw under Bruce Prichard, expect some new directions and probably a few big angles.
Raw will be live to tape done in the afternoon. Smackdown is being taped for Friday tonight. Raw & Smackdown for next week will be taped on Tuesday, while two weeks of NXT will be taped on Wednesday.
Yesterday’s Backlash show was the eighth most searched Internet term with 200,000. exactly the number expected, the same number as UFC did the day before. So the interest level was similar to most non-major WWE PPV shows.
New Japan started up today and has shows on Tuesday and Wednesday live on New Japan World. Tomorrow’s show at 6 a.m. Eastern has New Japan Cup bouts with Togi Makabe vs. Yota Tsuji, Tomohiro Ishii vs. Desperado, Toru Yano vs. Jado and Hiromu Takahashi vs. Tomoaki Honma. The Wednesday first round matches are Kazuchika Okada vs. Gedo, Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki, Yuya Uemura vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Gabriel Kidd vs. Taiji Ishimori.
On last night’s show when talking about muscle tears, I noted that in the NFL, quad tears never happened until the steroid era and are generally considered in football as steroid injuries. One of our readers noted he’s never taken steroids and has had decent quad tears playing soccer. He said that the only sports where quad tears seem to happen not involving steroids are Australian Rules football and soccer, which he believes has to do with the body mechanics used for kicking, and said in Australia several doctors have told him that those injuries seem exclusive to those sports.
WWE
The 7-foot-3 masked giant in the Street Profits-Viking Raiders skit was Jordan Omobeghim, who has been in developmental for a while. He’s from Lagos, Nigeria and played college basketball at Morgan State and the University of South Florida. Here are his NCAA stats.
The FS1 wrestling block tomorrow has the 1996 Survivor Series show from Madison Square Garden at 7 p.m. which features Dwayne Johnson’s first WWF main roster match as Rocky Maivia, plus a classic Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin match. Bret Hart and C.M. Punk will both be on WWE Backstage at 11 p.m.
Anthony Agogo, a former pro boxer who was an Olympic medalist in the sport and is under a developmental deal to AEW, was on a webcam feed discussing Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury on Sky Sports News on Saturday. He talked about his eye injury that led to the end of his boxing career. Pro wrestling wasn’t brought up but he was wearing an AEW T-shirt (thanks to Tony Garvey)
MISCELLANEOUS
Rusev talked about Impact’s showing a Bulgarian flag in its Slammiversary commercial as a tease he’s coming, not confirming or denying anything, saying: “As I said, any Bulgarian can go and debut. They may have another kid from Bulgaria. I keep saying that. Could be anybody. Look, I don’t know why you think it’s me. I understand why you think it’s me, but I can’t confirm or deny. Or I don’t wanna confirm or deny. Maybe they wanna pay me a million dollars for one match. Who knows? Maybe I’ll come in.” You can watch the clip here. (thanks to Himanshu D)
CWE announced the 2020 Lethal Lottery for 7/10 in Winnipeg at Rookie’s Sports Bar with a 100 person capacity. Fans will draw the matches at random. The winners of the first round matches will go into a second drawing for the main event where teams will be drawn one pick after another seconds before the match starts, so rivals may team up and friends will; battle. So the entire show has to be called in the ring with no planning ahead of time since nobody will know their matches.
IWTW announced a new partnership with Riptide Wrestling out of the U.K. and its library will be part of the service.
OVW will be doing a one-hour special on the career of Jessie Godderz on its national show on the YTA Network that airs at midnight Easter time on Friday night. The show is called “From Pectacular to Prime Time.”
The continued decline in WWE ratings have led to a change at press time as Bruce Prichard will take over as full creative head under Vince McMahon starting immediately and Paul Heyman, at least in theory, will return to just being a television performer.
WWE announced on 6/11, “In an effort to streamline our creative writing process for television, we have consolidated both teams from Raw and SmackDown into one group, led by Bruce Prichard. Paul Heyman will concentrate on his role as an in-ring performer.”
Heyman was working with dual contracts, a performer’s contract and an employee management contract, the latter of which was terminated on 6/11.
Raw had been doing its lowest ratings in its history during the pandemic but every wrestling show has had similar drops. What was notable is that the idea that Vince McMahon even said himself at the last conference call was that Raw was introducing so many new stars and it would take time to get them over, but claimed the numbers would bounce back when the new stars got over.
WWE has announced a significant change to their creative process.
In a statement issued today, it was announced that WWE has consolidated their creative teams from Raw and SmackDown into one group. Bruce Prichard will lead the group, while Paul Heyman will now focus on his role as an on-screen performer.
“In an effort to streamline our creative writing process for television, we have consolidated both teams from Raw and SmackDown into one group, led by Bruce Prichard,” WWE announced. “Paul Heyman will concentrate on his role as an in-ring performer.”
It was announced in June 2019 that Heyman had been named executive director of Raw. Eric Bischoff was named executive director of SmackDown then but was replaced by Prichard in October.
The executive director positions were newly created last June, with WWE writing that the executive directors would “oversee the creative development of WWE’s flagship programming and ensure integration across all platforms and lines of business.”
Heyman’s on-screen role is being Brock Lesnar’s advocate. Lesnar hasn’t appeared since losing the WWE Championship to Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 36.
World Wrestling Entertainment has made several creative changes including the elimination of most of the influence of Paul Heyman from the creative process as well as an apparent pulling the trigger on the plans for splitting the PPV shows.
As reported here several weeks ago, the plans, effective at King of the Ring, is to promote eight brand specific PPV shows per year and four dual brand PPV shows. It is expected this announcement will be made officially at the company’s stockholders quarterly investment conference which comes after this issue’s deadline.
King of the Ring, which takes place on 6/15 in Houston, will be an All-Raw show. Vengeance, which takes place on 7/27, will be the first All-Smackdown show. SummerSlam on 8/24 will be a joint show, while Unforgiven (9/21 in Philadelphia) will be a Raw show, No Mercy on 10/19 will be a Smackdown show, Survivor Series will be a joint show, and Armageddon on 12/14 will be a Raw show. Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania next year will also be dual brand shows.
We’re looking for reports from these shows. Reports can be sent to [email protected]:
WWE Raw Saturday night in Oklahoma City
WWE Smackdown Saturday night in Nashville (entire show, not just the Smackville portion)
NXT from Sunday in Concord, NC.
We’re also taking poll results from both New Japan shows this weekend in Nagoya as well as UFC 240 last night, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match from all three shows to [email protected]
Raw is Monday night in Little Rock with Brock Lesnar appearing, plus Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler, a gauntlet match for the U.S. title with Ricochet, Rey Mysterio, Cesaro, Sami
Zayn and Andrade, The Revival vs. Usos vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson for the tag titles, R-Truth & Carmella vs. Drake Maverick & Renee Michelle in a mosh pit match and a Samoa Joe/Roman Reigns confrontation.
NEW JAPAN G-1 CLIMAX TOURNAMENT TUESDAY MORNING AT 6 A.M. EASTERN FROM TAKAMATSU ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
Toru Yano & Ren Narita vs. Jon Moxley & Shota Umino
Minoru Suzuki & Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Jay White & Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens
Juice Robinson & Jeff Cobb & Toa Henare vs. Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi & Bushi
Kota Ibushi vs. Bad Luck Fale
Will Ospreay vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Kazuchika Okada vs. Lance Archer
KENTA vs. Sanada
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Evil
Smackdown and 205 Live are Tuesday in Memphis. Trish Stratus will be there for the angle to set up her SummerSlam match with Charlotte Flair, plus Dolph Ziggler vs. Finn Balor (maybe as Balor is ill right now), Xavier Woods & Big E vs. Elias & Drew McIntyre, and Billie Kay & Peyton Royce in a non-title match with Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville
Joseph Currier looks at two Network specials and what they could mean for the future of the service.
EVOLVE’s 10th Anniversary Celebration streamed on the Network opposite AEW Fight for the Fallen on July 13. Another in-ring special has also been added to the Network schedule for this month, with “Smackville” set to air this Saturday (July 27).
Smackville is similar to past specials like The Shield’s Final Chapter and WWE Starrcade. The WWE Network broadcast of Smackville will be an hour long. Kofi Kingston will defend the WWE Championship against Samoa Joe and Dolph Ziggler in a triple threat match, Finn Balor will face Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura in a rematch from Extreme Rules, and there will be a musical performance segment with Elias.
The Smackville name is playing off the show taking place in Nashville, Tennessee and the city’s Bridgestone Arena, which is the home of the Nashville Predators. The event was just a house show prior to the special being announced, and it will still feature some untelevised matches.
Televised house shows have been something WWE has surveyed subscribers about for a long time. Smackville feels very much like a by-the-numbers house show card. After already having defeated them in his most recent pay-per-view title defenses, Kingston is facing Joe and Ziggler again. Balor has already moved on to a storyline with Bray Wyatt and is set to take some time off from WWE after SummerSlam, so it seems unlikely that he’ll be regaining the Intercontinental title. The Smackville theme should play into the Elias segment, but it’s unlikely that it will have much meaning to the larger audience.
The new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has details on the first episode of AEW on TNT, the possible name of the show, why the host city was chosen, and potential TV competition in the first few weeks of airing.
We detail the latest G1 Climax 29 shows, and how it compares to last year’s tournament.
We have coverage of Jon Jones and his latest potential legal trouble.
We cover Summerslam, how the card is shaping up, and the possible return of a WWE Hall of Famer on the show.
We look back at Saturday’s UFC show, and the business notes on the show.
We have details on Dragon Gate’s biggest show of the year, and have business notes on that as well.
We also have coverage of a wrestling star being part of Hollywood box office history.
There’s also a run down the ratings of all the major TV shows, along with detailed demo info for the WWE shows and results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
MONDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio, covering Raw, G-1 from yesterday and the rest of the latest news. You can also send questions to the show to [email protected]
We’ll see if this is for the better or the worst, but tonight’s Raw is the heaviest Paul Heyman influenced show to date. I had that feeling when I heard about the gauntlet match since he’s trying to make new stars and the gauntlet is really what created Kofi Kingston as a singles main eventer and another gauntlet helped Seth Rollins greatly. But it’s pretty much confirmed the idea that they will attempt to make one or more stars in that match.
Saturday is a big day again this coming week with G-1 shows in Osaka, TripleMania on Twitch and UFC on ESPN for an afternoon show.
Bryan and I will be doing a Q&A in Chicago on 8/31 at 11 a.m. with a 10 a.m. meet and greet. We have about 20 tickets left. This will be our only show of that weekend. It will be fun. For ticket info you can go to www.f4wonline.com/chicago
The band Blink 182 has a cameo in this short video done in Jacksonville at the last show. It’s a spoof on the Joey Janela vs. Enzo fight but with Jimmy Havoc, who faces Janela on the next show. Tony Khan put the video together on the fly. He was a Blink fan in high school and asked the band if they would do it for him. Video is at
WWE
Pat McAfee will be part of ESPN’s Thursday night College Football broadcast squad. McAfee does some WWE pregame shows as well.
Hobbs & Shaw, the new movie starring Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham will debut at the theaters on Friday night. Roman Reigns has a role in the movie playing Johnson’s brother.
Chad Gable has been added to the NEW show on Friday in Monroeville, PA. Gable won’t be wrestling but will be signing per agreement with WWE as part of a fund raiser for the Bruno and Carol Sammartino Foundation. Others announced for the show are Corey Graves, Mick Foley, Jerry Lawler, Darby Allin, Billy Gunn, Brian Pillman Jr., and Sam Adonis.
A number of people have noted that ICW from Scotland appears on the WWE Network when you search for it, as well as a weekly show “Fight Club” as a series. Both are locked at the moment. It appears this is getting ready for the new content that will appear on a more expensive tier when they start the three-tiered network. (thanks to Iain Oliver and many others.
MISCELLANEOUS
Impact runs Friday in Santa Ana,CA at the Esports Arena with Tessa Blanchard vs. Sami Callihan with the winner facing Brian Cage for the title. Saturday they will run a Twitch show from Los Angeles at Florentine Gardens working with Championship Wrestling from Hollywood. Saturday they will tape television with Championship Wrestling from Hollywood at the Oceanview Pavilion in Port Heuneme, CA.
Killer Kross has been added to the 9/1 Warrior Wrestling show in Chicago.
AWS from Saturday night in South Gate, CA: Mike Camden b Hunter Freeman, Funnybone b Human Tornado, Jenna Van Muscles & Notorious Nadi b Viva Van & Violet Payne, Deimos b Terex, Jesse James & Hoss Hogg b Hindu Jr. & Super Boy Jr., Race b Shotzi Blackheart to win women’s title,Vipress b Karissa Rivera-DQ, Andy Brown b Mr. Iguana, Gringo Loco won four-way over Legacy, Lil Cholo and Che Cabrera. Next show is 9/21 and 11/30 is the final show of the promotion. Human Tornado also took off his boots and left them in the ring after the match to signal retiring. He did retire in 2010, but came back two years later. He announced 14 months ago that due to back issues he would be retiring soon. (thanks to Shannon Walsh and wrestlingwithdemons.net)
Glory Pro Wrestling from yesterday in Collinsville, IL: Anton Alexiev & Karam & Nick King b Camaro Jackson & Kenny Alfonso & Reilly MaGuire, Steve Manders won six-way over Mike Outlaw, Mark Wheeler Billy Brash Kody Lane and Josh Bishop, Jake Something b Kobe Durst, Barackus b Tommy Vendetta, Halal Beefcake won three-way over Timmy Lou Retton & White Mike and Space Monkey & Shane Sabre, Stephen Wolf b Myron Reed, Ethan Page & Josh Alexander b JD Drake & Anthony Henry, Seishin b Layne Luck, Hakim Zane b Danny Adams, Curt Stallion DDQ Paco Gonzalez, A.J. Gray b Jake Lander, Chris Castro & Nick Brubaker b Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett to win the tag titles (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)
A correction from yesterday in the Sendai Girls results from Manchester. It was Chihiro Hashimoto on the show not Chihiro Matsumoto.
Combate Americas has announced new main card fights of Maria Paula Buzaglo vs. Felisha Magallan, Erick Sanchez vs. Jose Luis Verdugo and Marilia Fanta vs.Chelsea Chandler for its 8/23 show in Lake Tahoe, CA,which will air live on Univision, Univision Deportes and DAZN. The main event is bantamweight champion Gustavo Lopez (10-4-1) vs. Jey Ruquet (7-1) and featherweight title match with Andres Quintana (18-2) vs. Bruno Cannetti (8-6)./
NFC MMA on 8/3 at Center Stage in Atlanta has less than 200 tickets left. Will Banks vs. Michael Fortner for the NFC lightweight title is the main event.
Rocky Mountain Pro will be airing television every Thursday night on Right Now TV and Twitch.
Stardom from Saturday night in Kanazawa: Saya Iida won three-way over Ruaka and Rina, Saki Kashima & Starlight Kid b Hina & Leo Onozaki, Kagetsu & Hazuki & Andras Miyagi & Natsu Sumire b Hana Kimura & Jungle Kyona & Death Yama-San & Bobbi Tyler, Bea Priestley & Momo Watanabe & Utami Hayashishita b Mayu Iwatani & Arisa Hoshiki & Tam Nakano (thanks to Shannon Walsh)
The update on the AAW Jim Lyman Memorial tournament on 8/29 and 8/30 in Chicago at the Logan Square Auditorium has Eddie Kingston, Jimmy Jacobs, Laredo Kid, Jake Atlas, Colt Cabana, Curt Stallion, MJF, Myron Reed, Jacob Fatu, Josh Alexander, Ace Romero,Ace Austin, Jake Something, Trey Miguel and two spots remain. Sami Callihan, LAX , Penta 0M & Rey Fenix are also on the weekend shows.
Though it was only the beginning of him easing into the role, the first Raw of the Paul Heyman era showed promising signs for his future as executive director.
It was surprising that — during the build to a pay-per-view where the top of the card has already been announced — Heyman’s presence was so obvious. Even if WWE didn’t announce his executive director role, it still would have been easy to tell that something was different about the episode.
It started with a literal bang that doubled as a statement of intent. Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley’s falls count anywhere match kicked off the show and ended in a no contest. Strowman charged at Lashley, with explosions going off as they crashed through the stage. The angle was treated with complete seriousness. Corey Graves even let out an uncensored “holy sh*t” on commentary.
