JTG debuted with the NWA at the “When Our Shadows Fall” PPV earlier this month. He defeated Fred Rosser on the show and has since been taking part in episodes of Powerrr exclusively on FITE. The former member of Cryme Tyme spoke to Metro UK recently about how he is hoping to keep Shad Gaspard’s memory alive through his run with the NWA.
JTG was asked what is driving him to get back in the ring at this point in his career.
“Besides my passion, it would definitely be representing both Shad and myself,” JTG said during the interview.
JTG continued to say he wants to represent Cryme Tyme in the best light possible with everything he does in his career moving forward.
“I’m not just representing myself anymore. When people see JTG, Jay Tha Gawd, they automatically think of Shad”
“I wanna make sure I represent the team and myself and him in the best light possible, and keep Cryme Tyme alive with whatever I do forwards.”
JTG On Fan Response To Shad Gaspard’s Passing
Also during the interview, JTG said that the outpouring of respect and care following Gaspard’s passing really helped him in the grieving process.
“To see it on social media, everybody sharing – it helped me a lot during my grieving, seeing all these things that people were writing about him, the videos, charity, all that good stuff,” JTG said. “It definitely helped me through the grieving process.”
.@Jtg1284 made a HUGE statement as he advanced in the NWA National Title qualifiers.
WWE Superstar and SmackDown Tag Team Champion Rey Mysterio recently spoke to the UK’s Metro. The luchador legend discussed a number of topics during the interview, including the potential for a feud between himself and his son Dominik down the line.
“We actually talked about this a while back, when my son started to train,” Mysterio began. “The more and more we got to spend time together in the ring and outside of the ring, it came to the point where me and my son were like, ‘there’s no need.’”
“The connection here is so beautiful, the love – more than father and son, I think we’re like best friends” Rey Mysterio added. “For the moment, there’s no time for us to even be thinking, ‘how would it be like to face each other?’”
Rey Mysterio on Father/Son Feud
Mysterio would also discuss what it has been like winning the tag titles with his son and being the Champions over the past month. “We’re enjoying such a great moment right now within our personal lives, within our wrestling careers,” Mysterio revealed.
“For me, it’s a complete blessing, before I end up retiring – to have been able to share these moments with my son” Mysterio concluded. “So that thought of possibly facing each other, I think was thrown down the trash a while back.”
The Diamond Mine stable officially made their NXT debut on this week’s episode of the show. The new group, lead by Roderick Strong and with Malcolm Bivens as their apparent mouthpiece, attacked KUSHIDA following the main event of the show.
There have been vignettes promoting the debut of the group for some time now, with MMA and ‘shoot’ style footage promoting this brand new faction of performers. As of now, the group consists of the aforementioned Bivens, Strong, Hideki Suzuki and Tyler Rust.
According to a new report from Fightful Select, the group has been ‘ready to debut’ for quite some time now. The concept was already in talks backstage since even before Roderick Strong ‘quit’ on NXT programming.
Diamond Mine Debuts
Select confirmed that there “were actually plans to debut the stable well before, but it was moved back on more than one occasion for it to take center stage on an episode of NXT.”
It was also confirmed that the fan speculation of Tessa Blanchard or Parker Boudreaux being brought onto television with the Diamond Mine gimmick was just that, speculation. WWE had apparently been discussing other members for the group, but these two names were never in consideration.
Parker Boudreaux was signed to WWE on a developmental deal earlier this year and Tessa Blanchard is still unlikely to be signed in the near future.
Peyton Royce had a very awkward meeting with Vince McMahon before her release from WWE. According to her, it may have been the reason for her firing from the promotion. The former WWE star talked about a number of things on the latest episode of her Off The Chops podcast with her partner Billie Kay.
During the episode, she detailed a meeting she had with the boss before her departure from the company. Royce recalled the time after the officials had broken off their tag team and she wasn’t doing much on WWE programming. So she went to Vince McMahon to pitch an idea:
“I decided to put on my big girl panties and talk to Vince. I had in my head what I wanted to say but he brushed it off very quickly and I went ‘crap’. I had an idea that I wanted to present, and he wanted to discuss other ideas – but I didn’t have other ideas. This is what I wanted to talk about and put my time and effort into. Vince says “What do you do for fun?” Me being me, the introvert and the homebody that I am, I had to let him know that I like to sit on the couch with my dogs and watch TV.”
However, Royce went blank after Vince McMahon didn’t find her first idea interesting. She tried to make something else up but failed. Peyton finally decided to tell this to the boss. According to her, this encounter may have contributed to the decision of her release from the company :
“He just stared at me and in my head I’m just like, ‘make something up’ and I couldn’t make anything up – nothing was coming out. I’m not a liar. I feel like he could have seen right through that. I basically said to him ‘I’m sorry, I’m boring’ and I just like to be home on my off days’. I didn’t contribute much during that unfortunately and that’s probably why I lost the job.”
Billie Kay and Peyton Royce made their NXT TV debut as a team back in October 2016. Their main roster debut came in April 2018 and the duo had a reign with the women’s tag team championships before their release. The former champions have since confirmed that they want to continue wrestling as a tag team and teased both Impact Wrestling and AEW as potential future destinations.
After weeks of build-up, The Diamond Mine finally made their debut on NXT this week with a returning Roderick Strong as its apparent leader.
Mysterious MMA-themed vignettes have been airing on NXT TV for quite some time promoting the group’s arrival. The promo on last week’s episode of the show said that the mine will finally be opening this week.
This week’s episode of NXT then saw The Diamond Mine making their debut after the main event of the show which saw Kyle O’Reilly defeating the cruiserweight champion Kushida in a non-title one-on-one match.
O’Reilly got into a brawl with Adam Cole after the bout. They fought each other until the enforcer Samoa Joe brought some security and escorted them away.
A mysterious man then attacked Kushida who was still in the ring. He revealed himself as a returning Roderick Strong. Though Strong didn’t come alone as Hideki Suzuki and Tyler Rust watched this from the apron.
The two then entered the ring and stood tall with Strong. Malcolm Bivens got in the ring with the NXT cruiserweight title and he showed it to Strong before laying it over the champion.
Bivens introduced this new faction as The Diamond Mine. The Diamond Mine stood tall over the cruiserweight champion as the cameras went off air.
Roderick Strong had been off NXT TV in recent months. He walked out of the WWE programming after the breakup of The Undisputed Era, claiming that he was done with everything.
Bivens had been managing Rust but the two hadn’t been seen on NXT TV since March. Suzuki on the other hand was signed earlier this year to work as a coach though it appears the company has decided to use the Japanese wrestling legend as a performer as well.
WWE has announced that the NXT tag team champions MSK will be defending their titles against the team of Timothy Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa at the upcoming Great American Bash event.
Last week’s episode of the black and yellow brand saw the current tag champions exchanging looks with their future challengers in a backstage segment.
Thatcher and Ciampa then competed in a tornado tag team match against The Grizzled Young Veterans. The former picked up the victory in this bout which was the main event of the show.
WWE announced during this Tuesday’s NXT that the duo of Thatcher and Ciampa will get a title shot at the upcoming special edition of the show.
The company also confirmed several segments for next week’s episode including a face-off between MSK and their challengers.
This is the second match that has been announced for the upcoming event. They previously confirmed that former undisputed era partners Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly will be competing in a one-on-one match at the show.
WWE brought back the Great American Bash name for a two-night NXT special last year. They announced that the name will be returning for a special NXT episode on July 6 this year, making it an annual event.
The June 22, 2021 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
WWE NXT Results
Adam Cole def. Carmelo Hayes.
Io Shirai & Zoey Stark def. Jessi Kamea & Aliyah.
Johnny Gargano & Austin Theory def. Pete Dunne & Oney Lorcan.
Franky Monet def. Elektra Lopez
Hit Row (Ashante ‘Thee’ Adonis & Top Dolla) def. Ever-Rise (Chase Parker & Matt Martel).
Kyle O’Reilly def. Kushida
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
The Way Speaks/We Got A Match
Johnny Gargano and Austin Theory came out. Gargano said that they need a new NXT Champion and they don’t need Karrion Kross. Instead, they need him because he’s a respectable family man.
He said that he outclassed Kross at TakeOver: In Your House and everyone knows that he can outwrestle Kross.
This led to Pete Dunne coming out with Oney Lorcan. Gargano said that they are rules for a reason and they are good people so they won’t fight. Gargano and Theory left the ring before Theory told Dunne that he was watching him. Dunne twisted his fingers and Theory sold it.
In a backstage segment, Gargano and Theory want William Regal to do something about so a match was booked. The Way went over clean. Post-match, Kross attacked Gargano.
Adam Cole opened the show with a promo about how he won’t pick his own opponent because he is the king of NXT. He said that he will embarrass Kyle O’Reilly at NXT Great American Bash.
He said that no one will change his mind. This led to Carmelo Hayes coming out. Hayes cut a promo about how if anyone is going to change Cole’s mind, it will be him. Hayes did John Cena’s “Ruthless Aggression” promo spot before slapping Cole. A match broke out.
This was a fun back and forth match with Cole dominating the majority of it with Hayes having bursts of offense. Cole won with the panama sunrise.
This was done to further promote Cole’s match with O’Reilly’ at the NXT Great American Bash special. Originally, WWE had NXT General Manager William Regal state in a backstage segment last week that O’Reilly and Cole would pick each other’s opponents, but that wasn’t the case.
The encore of Franky Monet’s recent World Premiere continued on this show when she battled Elektra Lopez, formerly known as Karissa Rivera, in a singles match.
This marked Monet’s only second match in NXT. She beat Cora Jade in her in-ring debut back on the May 25th edition of NXT.
This latest outing was a short squash match that saw her go over with her finisher.
The Diamond Mind opened up after various vignettes teasing the opening of the Diamond Mine have been airing since April. Little details had came out about what it was aside from unidentified athletes working out at an MMA gym with phrases like “Pressure Makes Diamonds” appearing.
So what was it? After the main event, Roderick Strong came out in a hoodie to attack Kushida. Malcom Bivens, Tyler Rust and Hideki Suzuki were with him. Bivens said this is Diamond Mine.
Fans may recall there was a storyline where Strong had announced he was leaving NXT. Well, he’s back. Questions remain yet answers will be given.
NXT Cruiserweight Champion Kushida vs. Kyle O’Reilly in a non-title match took place.
The match was everything and more that fans had hoped to see. A stiff yet technical bout. Down the stretch, Kyle landed some kicks then went for a leg submission, but Kushida rolled through and went for a pin attempt for 2. Kushida caught him with a head kick only for Kyle to no sell it and land one of his own. Kyle hit a brain buster for a near fall. Lyle rolled him up for the win.
This was done to further promote O’Reilly’s upcoming match with Adam Cole at the NXT Great American Bash special on Tuesday, July 6. After the match, Cole attacked Kyle.
Monday’s edition of WWE Raw averaged 1.719 million viewers with a 0.49 rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic. This is even from last week’s 1.742 million viewers and the 0.49 rating.
To compare, last week’s hourly viewership numbers were 1.761 million viewers in the first hour, 1.782 million viewers in the second hour, and the third hour had 1.685 million viewers.
This was the post-show edition of Raw for Sunday’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event.
This episode featured Lashley facing Xavier Woods in a Hell in a Cell match that ended up as the main event, Ricochet battled AJ Styles, Randy Orton faced John Morrison, and Riddle took on Drew McIntyre in men’s Money in the Bank qualifying matches. Also, Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross reunited to take on Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler and Asuka & Naomi faced Eva Marie and Doudrop in women’s Money in the Bank qualifying matches.
SmackDown Viewership
The episode drew an average of 1.928 million viewers in the overnight ratings, up from the previous week that did 1.853 million viewers. In the 18-49 demographic, it did a 0.54 rating, which was up from the 0.48 rating the week before. The final ratings were 2.045 million viewers, up from last week’s 1.944 million viewers.
Mickie James made an announcement on Wednesday in a video that she posted on Instagram, which is that she will be competing at the NWA’s 73rd Anniversary show.
The pay-per-view event takes place on August 29th in St. Louis Missouri. She noted that she wants fans to let NWA President Billy Corgan know who they want her to wrestle.
“On August 29 is NWA 73, the Anniversary Show. And so on the Anniversary Show, I am announcing that I am going to wrestle at NWA 73, and I’m looking for an opponent. And so I want you to tell Billy who you want to see me wrestle. Who wants to wrestle me at NWA 73? That is the big question.”
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CQbv9fPHIl4/
James was released from WWE along with Billie Kay, Peyton Royce, Samoa Joe, and several more performers in April. James’ husband, Nick Aldis, is the NWA World Heavyweight Champion.
The former WWE star made her promotional debut earlier this month on an episode of Powerrr. This episode also had the announcement of the first all-women’s NWA pay-per-view now entitled, Empowerrr, which takes place the night before the 73rd Anniversary show.
James will be producing the all-women’s PPV event.
WWE NXT is looking to emphasize the Cruiserweight division and the title more on their programming going forward.
Fightful Select reported the news today. It was said that this plan has been one WWE officials have been working on for a long time. It was noted NXT officials have been high on Kushida ever since he came in, as has the roster around him.
The report stated fans should expect NXT to integrate more storyline, some bigger names, and angles into the Cruiserweight division, especially this Summer.
Back on the April 13th episode of NXT, Kushida beat Santos Escobar to win the title after the then-champion had issued an open challenge. The two later worked a few different matches before the feud ended.
Since that time, Kushida has kept doing the open challenges and wrestled various new WWE signees such as Carmelo Hayes, formerly known as Christian Casanova.
NXT Cruiserweight Champion Kushida is slated to wrestle Kyle O’Reilly in a non-title match on this week’s episode of NXT. Originally, General Manager William Regal said that O’Reilly and Adam Cole would pick each other’s opponent on this show, but it was Kushida who challenged O’Reilly to this match. Cole vs. O’Reilly has been booked for the Great American Bash special on July 6th.
Last week, an article in Forbes revealed that the only thing keeping AEW from being profitable at the moment is a significant investment made into developing a video game.
“Khan expects its wrestling division to be profitable this year, though an eight-figure investment in video game development will keep the company in the red for now,” an excerpt from the article reads.
Tony Khan recently spoke to PW Insider about how that investment will eventually lead to big returns for his company. He also commented on those who have been critical of the investment.
“I’ve made this huge investment into video games and it’s comical to me that anybody would try to pull it… it goes to show that I think people will try and take a negative out of a positive sometimes because this is a hugely positive thing,” Khan said.
Video Game Returns Won’t Come In Until 2022
The game won’t be released until next year. Therefore, the money spent on developing it won’t yield a return until at least 2022. This is the reason why AEW won’t show a profit in 2021.
“I have made this huge eight figure investment into video games, but we won’t see any revenue from that until 2022. That’s why it’s not going to pay off in 2021 on our books,” Khan said.
Khan continued to talk about AEW approaching profitability so quickly.
“Our wrestling company is very profitable. The only reason I won’t net money this year on AEW in our second full year of operations, which is pretty amazing, frankly, for a startup that has had the level of investment that we’ve had behind AEW and the amount of time that this has been going, that we’ll be significantly profitable already as a venture.”
Khan also noted, however, that it’s not just about making money. He is very proud at the way they have conducted business throughout the pandemic.
“I care about running a profitable business, but I also take a lot of pride in the fact that I didn’t lay people off through the pandemic. Almost everybody, we have a over 95% retention rate of people through the pandemic and I actually had significantly higher than 95%. Almost everybody that we started with is here,” he continued.
Wrestling is a sport filled with tough men. They don’t come much tougher than Kurt Angle. A decorated amateur wrestler and gold medal-winning Olympian before he made the move over to professional wrestling. Now he is a well-respected podcaster, whose passion for the sport is still as bright as ever.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CQYpX5qH0fk/
His career in the sport at both amateur and professional wrestling levels spanned over forty years. It’s well documented that he wrestled in the Olympics with a broken neck, but further to that, he amassed a number of injuries and bumps during his career.
Talking during a recent Q&A on AddFreeShows.com about the toll wrestling took on his body, Angle said “I’m so banged up now. I sacrificed a lot of my body in professional wrestling and amateur wrestling. I have to blame both sports, not just one. I’m paying for it now.”
Kurt Angle suffered several neck injuries during his career, to name but one body part that suffered during his career. Wrestlers both amateur and professional put their bodies through much more than it is designed to endure. The effects of this are felt long after their in-ring careers have ended.
Kurt Angle was ‘retired’ by Baron Corbin at Wrestlemania 35, yet even now, his body is still making him pay for those years of fame.
“I’m in extreme pain all day long. I do maintenance on my body all day, I do my neck traction. I have a thing called the Iron Neck, where it trains your neck. Then I have anti-gravity machine rollers. I stretch. I do a lot of weight training.”
Kurt Angle Knows the Dangers of Being in Constant Pain
The constant injuries and abuse a wrestler puts their body through in their career is no secret. You will be hard pushed to find a retired wrestler who does not struggle with aches and pains. Kurt Angle is brutally aware of the dangers not only of wrestling but of the dangerous side-effects of wrestling.
“I had a painkiller problem, and I kicked that eight years ago. Not having painkillers anymore is really difficult, but I’m never going back to those, nor do I want to.”
Kurt Angle is 52 years old and has himself in great condition as he continues to care for his injured body. His story, his message, is not one of regret, but one that should serve as a reminder to any fan. Wrestling is not for the faint-hearted. It is as real as it comes. Fame and notoriety can fade, but the pain is a constant reminder of everything that has been experienced.
The common theme among the ever-growing list of released WWE talent is that the creative limitations were stifling. The frustration of stars such as Miro and Jon Moxley were more than evident in their post-release podcasts and interviews. However, Ruby Riott likes to view things differently.
The star was cut from the women’s roster in June this year. Many wrestlers and fans claimed WWE had not allowed us to see the best of Ruby Riott. Be this as it may, Riott – formerly known as Heidi Lovelace – does not feel that the tight restrictions imposed on the stars are necessarily negatives.
Talking about what it’s like working under such tight reigns Ruby Riott said “”I like to be heard – even if it’s to be heard and be sh*t on.”
Talking further in an interview with the Wrestling Perspective Podcast Riott said that she chose to view the restrictions as a positive. Seeing it as a challenge. What could she still do with her character?
Thank you ! Thank you !! What a turn out for tonight’s Wrestling Perspective . Make sure you go and watch @RubyRiottWWE interview .. When you are done .. everyone just has one question for her .. Ruby .. what name did you pick ?!?!https://t.co/jPxjTatgBf
— Wrestling Perspective Podcast (@WP_Pod) June 19, 2021
Ruby Riott Turned Creative Control into a Challenge
Talking about the negative aspect of WWE creative Ruby Riott said that she felt she thrived under challenging conditions. There’s no doubt WWE affords its wrestlers little to no creative freedom. Yet it is a breath of fresh air to hear a wrestler turn it on its head.
We have all heard what goes on behind the scenes in WWE. It isn’t new and it isn’t likely to change any time soon. Hearing a star like Ruby Riott, who undoubtedly has a valid reason to complain having never received a real push – barring one title opportunity against Ronda Rousey – give everything a positive spin is something worth writing about.
It is clear from her words that she wasn’t necessarily happy with what happened during her time in WWE. Her attitude does not paint WWE in a different light. It does, however, show the depth of character Ruby Riott has.
Nobody knows yet where Riott will head once her 90 days have been served, however, wherever she goes, good things are sure to happen.
Kevin Owens got fans talking with a tweet after his Hell In A Cell encounter with Sami Zayn where he teased taking time off from WWE.
Dave Meltzer provided some updates on the situation on the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio. He confirmed that the former universal champion will indeed be taking time away from the company.
However, Meltzer revealed that this absence is not the case of Owens taking time off for personal reasons or because of an injury. He is instead expected to stay away from WWE programming due to storyline reasons.
Last week’s episode of SmackDown saw the former NXT champion teaming up with Big E for a match against the Intercontinental champion Apollo Crews and Commander Azeez.
Azeez hit Kevin Owens with a Nigerian Nail to pick up the victory for his team. He delivered another Nigerian Nail to Owens after the match, leaving the former champion hurting badly after the bout.
Kevin Owens On Why He Is Conflicted About Winning The IC Title Again
The Hell In A Cell PPV on Sunday then saw Sami Zayn scoring a win over his longtime rival in a hard-fought match. Owens was seen communicating a shoulder injury to the referee after the fight.
There is no word on how long Kevin Owens is expected to stay away. We will have to wait and see what the company has planned for him when he finally returns.
Drew McIntyre has shown interest in facing John Cena multiple times in the past. With Cena expected to make his return soon, the Scottish Warrior is once again revitalizing the talks about a potential showdown between the two.
The former NXT champion recently had an interview with On Demand Entertainment where he talked about things such as his Hell In A Cell encounter with WWE champion Bobby Lashley and more.
When asked about a potential match with the 16-time world champion, Drew mentioned how he has been around Cena for so long without ever stepping inside the ring with him for a one on one match:
“I hope it does happen. I’ve been around John since I was 22 years old. I just turned 36 and we’ve never had any singles match, which blows my mind. We’ve been in tag matches and multi-man matches, but never a singles match.”
Drew McIntyre Believes John Cena Is The Biggest Match For Him
McIntyre then praised John Cena as an athlete who is on a different level than others before reiterating his comments about wanting a match with the former face of WWE:
“Where I’m at today in my career and managing to reach the top of the industry after so many ups and downs, and where John is at, he’s just on another level. He’s conquered WWE, [and is now] conquering Hollywood,
But he still loves WWE more than anything and wants to come back and help and have those big matches. There’s no bigger match, as far as I’m concerned than John Cena vs. McIntyre,”
John Cena has also been talking about his desire for making an in-ring return. Latest reports suggest that he might be returning to the company as soon as next month but his comeback has not officially been confirmed yet.
Do you think Drew McIntyre will get a chance to face John Cena when he returns to the company this time? Let us know in the comment section.
It has been over a month since Damian Priest wrestled on WWE programming. His last match was a victory over John Morrison in a lumberjack match on the May 17th edition of RAW. The night before he had defeated the Miz in a zombie-lumberjack match at WrestleMania Backlash.
According to comments made by Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, Priest’s absence is due to a back injury he’s been dealing with since WrestleMania.
“Bad back, right? He’s injured,” said Dave Meltzer when asked about Priest’s status.
According to a report from Fightful, Priest’s back is healing up and he’ll be ready next week if there are plans for him. They are also noting that Priest has missed the last few weeks for other undisclosed reasons, however.
Priest has never been defeated in a singles match on the main roster. His only loss came in a handicap match against the Miz and John Morrison back in April.
Priest has wrestled 13 matches on the main roster (11 on RAW, 2 on PPV) and holds a 12-1 record. The 38-year-old star his main roster debut in the Royal Rumble this year, entering in at #14.
Taya Valkyrie is now known as Franky Monet in NXT. The former Reina de Reinas and Knockouts Champion recently took part in an interview with PW Insider and spoke about the differences and similarities between Taya and Franky.
“She is a work in progress still,” Monet said about her current character. “I just feel like Franky is just an elevated version of Taya and just a little bit nuttier. And I feel like the way people are going to get to know who I am is through these matches and through all the backstage segments and just getting to understand who I am, and also just realizing that never judge a book by its cover.”
“A Little Bit Crazy”
Monet continued to talk about her character and how she’s “a little bit crazy.”
“I may be blonde and carry a puppy dog and wear fur and all this shiny stuff, but I’m an absolute bad-ass that has no problem having a street fight at a moment’s notice,” Monet continued. “I am a little bit crazy. There’s a reason they call me La Wera Loca, and I have been that for 10 years.
“So, I think that I’m going to surprise a lot of people, because they’re going to be too quick to judge from what they see. But it’s just going to take time and it’s going to take having killer matches, which I know I will do. And yeah, it’s going to be very interesting, but I’m super excited and just growing with my fans.”
As Taya Valkyrie, Monet has won numerous titles in wrestling. She is a 3x Reina de Reinas Champion in AAA. In Impact, she holds the record for the longest single-reign with the Knockouts title in history as well.
Monet defeated Cora Jade in her debut on the NXT brand. She is scheduled to have her second match on tonight’s show. Her opponent has yet to be named, however.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help former TNA commentator Don West as he battles brain lymphoma. West’s diagnosis was revealed last week when he posted a letter to the News Radio 560 KPQ website. The station hosts “The Don West Show” which the 58-year-old is hoping to return to.
“I am praying the chemotherapy will help me heal faster and hopefully I’ll be back on the radio soon,” West wrote in his letter.
As of this writing, 80 people have donated a total of $6,364 to the fund. Many of the donations to the fund have been made anonymously. A few notable names have made sizeable donations with their names attached, however, including Max Castor and Matt Cardona.
Don West is a good man who is beloved in the wrestling industry.
Join us in supporting him in his fight against lymphoma by visiting https://t.co/KZyjfiDYQq!
“Don is a devoted husband to his beautiful wife Terri. He has been blessed to work with and meet so many people through his work with the Shop at Home Network, TNA Wrestling, the Wenatchee Wild Hockey Team, and most recently with Cherry Creek Media and News Radio 560 KPQ radio station and the Don West Show,” a description of the GoFundMe reads.
“Don and Terri would like to thank you for the outpouring of love and prayers since the announcement and for coming alongside them on this health journey. And he is anxious to return to his show!”
Nikki Cross revealed a new ‘superhero’ character on Monday’s episode of WWE Raw. The former Sanity member discussed the new gimmick and her reunion with Alexa Bliss on the RAW Talk post-show.
Cross and Bliss teamed to take on Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler in a Money In The Bank qualifying match, with Bliss and Cross getting the win and heading to the PPV event in July for the ladder match.
Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross have history in WWE, with the duo previously being a full time tag team for a good chunk of time on WWE programming.
“With me and Alexa, so much has happened over the last 6 months,” Cross began on RAW Talk. “She’s been through a lot, and I have been on a different journey. For tonight, the goal was just to win the match. The whole point was to qualify for the Money in the Bank match, and we achieved that goal. And now, fire, baby!”
Nikki Cross’ Superhero Gimmick
Cross also discussed her new superhero gimmick, saying “do I have superpowers? I know I don’t. I know I can’t fly or don’t have super strength. But the thing is, when I put on this outfit, I feel like I can do anything. I’m gonna keep trying and keep getting back up. All anyone can ever do is believe in themselves.”
So far, Asuka, Naomi, Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross have already qualified for the Money In The Bank match, and 4 more SmackDown Superstars are set to be confirmed in the coming weeks.
Nikki Cross posted the following on Instagram. “Bringing THIS to life has given me such joy,” she wrote. “The roll I have been on the last few weeks gave me the boost I needed to unveil this to the world, that everyone has that spark and they can try anything they want to, just listen to your heart.”
This week’s episode of AEW Dark: Elevation featured a number of Dynamite stars as well as some lower card talents. Tony Khan has recently said how he views Dark and Dark: Elevation as a sort of ‘developmental’ concept, and it gives smaller name talents the chance to perform with the bigger Dynamite names.
Renee Michelle, partner of former WWE 24/7 Champion Drake Maverick, appeared on the show this week to take on Kris Statlander. Michelle is most famous for the WWE angle that was filmed at her wedding, where Maverick lost his 24/7 title to R-Truth.
Here’s the results for the show that aired on YouTube this week:
FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) b. Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs
Nyla Rose (w/Vickie Guerrero) b. Delmi Exo
The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster) b. Baron Black & Tamilian Vineesh
Varsity Blonds (Brian Pillman Jr. & Griff Garrison) (w/Juiia Hart) b. Bumz R’ Us (Milo Beasley & Ray Beez)
The Young Lion academy is a tough place to come through. Whether in Japan or the LA Dojo. If you want to be part of NJPW, being a Young Lion is the way to go. Karl Fredericks joined the LA Dojo in 2018. Despite having several years’ experience behind him, he went back to basics at the Young Lions academy.
Following in the footsteps of many NJPW greats, including Shinsuke Nakamura, Tatsuya Naito and Kazuchika Okada, Karl Fredericks graduated from the dojo in June 2020. Since then he has been able to develop his character and build his own story in wrestling. Paying homage to his Native American heritage in both his attire and move names, Fredericks has become a solid name on the NJPW roster. Appearing at both US and Japan-based events.
This coming Friday on NJPW Strong, Karl Fredericks will get his first chance at a title in NJPW when he takes on Tom Lawler. Lawler is the inaugural Strong Openweight champion, having won the belt earlier this year, beating Brody King in the tournament finals.
Karl Fredericks Helping NJPW Strong Grow as a Brand
NJPW Strong is a new brand under the NJPW banner. It is based solely in the US and after coming through the pandemic era of professional wrestling, is growing week by week. Yes, there are some established names on its roster, but it is young lions and graduates such as Karl Fredericks and Clark Connors who are the future of the brand.
The Young Lions system is an interesting one and has been very successful for NJPW through the decades. There are questions as to whether a system such as that would be useful for companies like AEW. It could be argued that the original thoughts behind NXT were Young Lion-esque however, a fully-fledged dojo system could help promotions build talent for the future, as well as support smaller associated promotions through excursion agreements.
The future is bright for Karl Fredericks, and while the chances of Lawler dropping the Strong belt so soon in his run are slim, there is definitely gold in Fredericks’s future.
Talking on his Fangin’ and Bangin’ podcast, Gangrel spoke up about his former pupil and current TNT champion Miro. Miro trained under Gangrel during his time at the Knokx Pro Wrestling Academy from 2008 to 2010.
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Talking about Miro’s dedication to mastering the art of wrestling, Gangrel was full of praise. “This is a guy that would work all night. You know, he came from another country. His dream was to be a wrestler. He left Bulgaria to come here to be a wrestler… You come all the way, you gamble on you. He bet on himself. He believed in himself, he left Bulgaria, and he came to the United States to become a professional wrestler. Look at him now. That didn’t come because he was being lazy, that didn’t come because he wasn’t dedicated. No, it’s the opposite. He was a workhorse, and he was super dedicated, he was super focused.”
Gangrel Is Proud of What His Student Has Achieved Since Joining AEW
Miro had a great run in WWE, but never got the push his character and popularity deserved. Following his release in 2020, he initially retired from the sport. However, AEW were able to get him back in the ring, where he is flourishing.
Coming into his own after separating from Kip Sabian, Gangrel is proud to watch his former protégé develop and the maturity he has found in the ring.
“So when I was watching this match with Dark Order, I see that he was just miles ahead, but not by being fast. He just knew his way around the ring and I was super proud of him because I know how hard he worked to become the professional wrestler that the human being is and then the man he is today and I’m super proud of him. So, Miro, good on you, man. Keep kicking ass, dude. I’m super, super proud of you. Keep rockin’!”
Andrade El Idolo made his AEW debut during the June 4 episode of Dynamite earlier this month. He was paired with Vickie Guerrero upon his arrival.
The former SmackDown general manager recently had an interview with It’s My House podcast, where she talked about her pairing with the former WWE star.
Guerrero revealed when she found out about her pairing with Andrade during the interview. She explained that president Tony Khan introduced the two on the day of his debut show itself:
“I knew the day of [his debut] that I was going to be working with him. Tony Khan makes all the decisions so when he said, ‘Hey, I have someone for you to come meet,’ and I went to the trailer and saw him, I was just ecstatic.”
Vickie Guerrero also discussed how Andrade was underutilized in WWE. She claimed that he is going to have a great time in AEW because of two reasons:
“He was really underutilized in WWE. He’s going to have a great time in AEW. Number one, because he’s working with me. Number two, there’s a lot of great wrestlers in AEW that he’s going to be able to have incredible matches.”
Andrade is a former NXT and WWE US champion. He had asked for his release from the company earlier this year after being unhappy with his booking. His request was granted by the officials in March.
WWE presented Hell in a Cell steel cage matches on Friday’s SmackDown and Monday’s Raw. You could argue that these matches diluted the uniqueness of the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, but the company had a very specific reason for booking this way.
SEScoops has learned that WWE ran the Hell in a Cell matches on Raw and SmackDown in an effort to provide their television partners (Fox and USA Network) a little “something extra.” The pandemic era was not kind to WWE viewership. Raw and SmackDown have drawn historic-low ratings this past year.
In light of their massive TV contracts, WWE has been feeling the pressure to jumpstart things to renew fan interest.
WWE initially had Roman Reigns vs. Rey Mysterio booked for the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view. That match was moved to Friday’s SmackDown to boost viewership. The tactic worked, as SmackDown topped 2 million viewers.
USA Network was said to be unhappy about WWE holding a special Hell in a Cell match on SmackDown instead of Raw. This was a a factor in the Bobby Lashley vs. Xavier Woods match airing on last night’s Raw.
The NXT champion Karrion Kross wrestled a match on this week’s episode of Main Event but his partner and fellow NXT star Scarlett was missing from his side.
In an update to this story, F4Wonline is reporting that there is talk of the female star receiving her own tryout, likely at this Friday’s SmackDown tapings.
Kross, Scarlett, and North American champion Bronson Reed were all first brought to the main roster last week. They were at Friday’s SmackDown tapings where both the champions wrestled in separate dark matches.
Both the NXT title holders were then brought back in during Monday’s Raw tapings. They once again wrestled during the show but their matches were taped for the Main Event episode this time.
The NXT champion Karrion Kross wrestled Shelton Benjamin during the taping but he did not have her female companion on the side. Bronson Reed competed against Drew Gulak. Both the champions had brought their titles.
The next WWE drafts are expected to take place after the SummerSlam PPV. The officials seem to be evaluating the current NXT champions for potential main roster call ups with these matches.
There is no word yet on why Scarlett was not present for the Main Event tapings or what it could mean for her future. Stay tuned for more updates.
