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We're back with another edition of Sportskeeda's weekly series, where we look at the rumors that came true in professional wrestling and WWE.
It was an important week in the wrestling business as WWE introduced a new concept titled RAW Underground. However, details about the shoot-styled wrestling contest were out in the public domain before the show went on air.
The same thing happened when it came to the introduction of a new faction, as the news and details of the faction's debut were leaked before the show.
Elsewhere, another popular former Champion from WWE confirmed that he had signed a special short-term deal with AEW.
A Superstar is also set to make his in-ring debut at SummerSlam and the details of the match were also revealed well in advance. A rumor about the 'Eye for an Eye' match was also inadvertently confirmed by Seth Rollins during a recent interview.
#5. Former WWE Superstar Matt Cardona confirms short-term deal with AEW
Matt Cardona FKA Zack Ryder wrestled his first match for AEW on the most recent Dynamite episode. He looked quite decent in the tag team contest.
Raj Giri of WrestlingInc had reported that Cardona was actually not signed on a long-term contract and that the former WWE Superstar's AEW deal was a brief one.
Sportskeeda's very own Rick Ucchino recently spoke to Cardona and confirmed Raj Giri's report.
Cardona revealed that he had just signed up with AEW for a few appearances, but that could change as the veteran stated that he was in AEW to win titles.
"Yes, so there's a couple of appearances, a few appearances right now but listen... I'm not here for a little vacation. I'm here to win the TNT Title, the AEW Title, to get all those action figures! I'm here because I want to be here. You know what I'm saying? So we'll get there. Just stay tuned. Everybody just take a chill pill and relax and enjoy the show!"
Cardona picked up the win in his first AEW match alongside his real-life friend Cody, and it would be interesting to see how AEW uses the 4-time Champion from the WWE and whether he does end up signing a full-time contract.
#4. Backstage chaos and indecisiveness in the WWE
The pandemic era has forced WWE to tape all its shows at the Performance Center, and it has certainly not been a smooth ride for the company.
Sportskeeda's Gary Cassidy recently reported in an exclusive that WWE was 'totally unprepared' for this week's RAW tapings. There was apparently a lot of 'chaos from the top.'
Gary Cassidy reported that there was a considerable amount of stress backstage due to the indecisiveness and lack of leadership in the creative team. A WWE source was even quoted as saying the following:
"The shows will happen and air, but there's no attainable goal of quality because everything is decided under the pressure cooker of it all coming down to the very last minute."
Cassidy went on to add that Vince McMahon was reportedly in a volatile mode due to the indecisiveness.
"From what I've been told, today's #WWERAW is apparently "totally unprepared" and "chaos from the top." Two shows are being taped, with the first is changing on the fly while the second is still apparently incomplete. That should make for interesting viewing if nothing else!
I should add, I've lost count how many consecutive weeks I've been told there's chaos, multiple re-writes, etc going into RAW and SmackDown and of course the show always goes on. However, the stuff I've been told about what's going on today seems even wilder than usual.
Apparently there's a lack of leadership & a lot of stress due to the indecisiveness. I've been told, "The shows will happen and air, but there's no attainable goal of quality because everything is decided under the pressure cooker of it all coming down to the very last minute."
Dave Meltzer and Alex McCarthy corroborated Gary Cassidy's report and it's safe to believe that the story is indeed accurate.
#3. Seth Rollins confirms Vince McMahon's role in the 'Eye for an Eye' match at WWE Extreme Rules
Rey Mysterio's 'eye extraction' in the 'Eye for an Eye' match will be talked about for a long time. As per Dave Meltzer, the rumor going around before the show stated that WWE had planned to use CGI to simulate the finish of the match.
Tom Colohue had revealed on a recent edition of the Dropkick DiSKussions podcast the Vince McMahon was not a fan of the CGI-enhanced finish, and the WWE boss called for the editing team to cut it from the final product.
Dave Meltzer also corroborated the report in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
While talking to Alex McCarthy for talkSPORT, Seth Rollins inadvertently confirmed the story that Vince McMahon made the final call regarding the last shot of the match.
Rollins added that Vince McMahon wasn't as hands-on with the match as most people imagine, and the majority of the planning was done by himself, Mysterio and Jamie Noble.
"Again, when the idea was presented to me, I was aghast. I thought it was ridiculous and a bit of a joke. But the more I thought about it and the more it came to pass I was like 'OK, this will be different.' And it can be good, and we don't have to scoff at everything right out of the gate – I don't want to be that person. Vince wasn't as hands-on as people think that he was. If I'm going to break the fourth wall here, so to speak, it was really 99.9% myself, Rey Mysterio and Jamie Noble."
"At the end of the day, you had Vince who made the final call on what the last shot was going to look like, and that's pretty much it. There was a couple of versions of what that final shot would look like, and we went with the one that we thought made the most sense. It was a joint-decision on everybody's behalf."
#2. Details of the new faction and RAW Underground
WWE decided to switch things up on this week's episode of RAW to give its falling TV ratings a much-needed boost.
Shane McMahon introduced RAW Underground, a concept of shoot-style wrestling contested inside a ring without ropes in a fight club-esque setting. The other big moment on RAW was the introduction of a new faction, which was later revealed to be known as 'RETRIBUTION.'
The interesting thing to note here is that news of both segments were spoiled hours before the show.
While WWE had already announced Shane McMahon's return, WrestleVotes revealed that Shane-O-Mac was returning to RAW to introduce a new concept that had raised some eyebrows backstage.
Shane McMahon is being brought back to television tonight to introduce a new concept to Monday Night RAW. The concept itself has raised some eyebrows backstage at the PC today.
Various prominent wrestling journalists, including Gary Cassidy, also had information about Shane McMahon's announcement, and they were all equally surprised by what was in store for the episode.
When the revelation did happen, it had the shock factor as rumored heading into the show.
When it comes to the new RAW faction, Pro Wrestling Sheet's Ryan Satin broke the story of WWE debuting a new stable on RAW, and the group was out to create some chaos and get the attention of the management.
Sean Ross Sapp revealed in a Fightful Select report that WWE's social media team jumped the gun on the announcement after Pro Wrestling Sheet leaked the story.
While WWE didn't reveal the members' identity, a new report from Tom Colohue disclosed a few possible names.
#1. Dominik Mysterio's debut match at WWE SummerSlam
It was confirmed on the last episode of RAW that Dominik would make his in-ring debut in a singles match against Seth Rollins at SummerSlam.
The report of WWE possibly booking a singles match at SummerSlam was first reported by Tom Colohue on last week's edition of the Dropkick DiSKussions podcast.
While Tom also brought up the possibility of a tag match between the Mysterios and the Monday Night Messiah and his disciple, it was explained that WWE could book a singles match for Dominik in a bid to convince Rey to sign a new deal.
"The Mysterios vs. Rollins & Murphy feud is really up in the air at the minute. It is currently on the SummerSlam agenda to have Rey and Dominik Mysterio against Seth Rollins and Murphy. However, that really depends on if Rey Mysterio signs a new deal. It's also possible that we could see Dominik Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins in a singles match, but that would be done as a way to convince Rey Mysterio, by saying that here, 'we're pushing your son'."
Tom Colohue shared more details on Dominik's in-ring debut on this week's Dropkick DiSKussions podcast, which you can view below. The episode also features backstage news on Alexa Bliss' future following The Fiend's attack, RAW Underground, and whether or not we could see Brock Lesnar compete in a shoot-style fight.
