'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAFAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFAABAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAB//aAAgBAQAAAAAxTf/EABQBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH/2gAIAQIQAAAAP//EABQBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT/2gAIAQMQAAAAd//EACIQAAECBQQDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECAwQFBhIxABETFCEjkf/aAAgBAQABPwCkbHpiHJgHIiCSoJ6qV8YNmDuBnP3QkFLxg7Jp5lBe9loiHPG+v//EABYRAAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACMf/aAAgBAgEBPwBIf//EABcRAQADAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAxH/2gAIAQMBAT8AqXJ//9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Pro wrestling. It's never monotonous; however, repetitive the product may sometimes seem. There may have been a handful of 'slow news days', but overall, there were many stories that were talked about in the week that went by.
A popular former WWE Superstar confirmed an offer to return to the ring; a current WWE Superstar had another run-in with the law, Vince McMahon addressed AEW, and Jon Moxley continued to make all the right noises.
So let's jump right in and check out the top news stories of the past week:
#1. Vince McMahon comments on AEW and the return of the Attitude Era
Remember the Attitude Era? Of course, you do. Those were the days, right? Well, that smash-mouth product isn't coming back. While Vince McMahon did admit to making efforts towards making the current product a little edgier, expecting the 'blood and guts' style of programming would be wishful thinking.
During WWE's 2nd Quarter Earnings Call, the WWE Boss spoke about the product and was also asked about the competition posed by All Elite Wrestling. He expressed his surprise over AEW's gory presentation and doesn't feel TNT would let them continue in the same vein for long.
Here's what McMahon said about the Attitude Era and AEW:
"We're going to be a bit edgier but still remain in the PG environment... We're not going back to the old Attitude Era, we're not going to do blood and guts and things of that nature, such as what's being done with perhaps a new potential competitor [AEW]."
"As far as competition is concerned, the old adage of competition is good for everyone. I think that's generally the case, although again we're hoping that, to the extent that they are competition, that they don't continue on with blood and guts and gory things that they have been doing, which would be bad. I can't speak for TNT but I can't imagine that they would put up with that." H/t Credit: Sportskeeda
#2. CM Punk confirms getting an offer to return
Will CM Punk ever wrestle again? That is one question that will always be discussed until the day the former WWE Superstar does change his mind and return to the ring.
Until then, all we can do is speculate, and just when the waters seem to settle, Punk comments to reignite the flames again.
Punk was announced as the headlining guest for the third Starrcast event that will take place in Chicago during the week that will also host AEW All Out.
In a recent interview with ESPN, Punk was asked about a possible debut for AEW. The 5-time WWE Champion revealed that he got an offer from Cody Rhodes to join the promotion via a text.
"The last thing I got -- I got a text from Cody [Rhodes]. And again, I almost don't even know how to reply to them sometimes, because if I reply, they do interviews and are like, "Oh yeah, I just talked to Punk." I'm kind of damned if I do, damned if I don't. I always think if somebody wants to do business with me, they can come talk to me. Texting offers isn't really a way to do good business, at least. It was texted through three people and an offer came in through text. This is like a month ago, maybe.
Rhodes took to Twitter to clarify on the 'offer' that was sent to Punk.
Dave Meltzer, who revealed that the Punk-AEW situation wasn't a work, said there has been no change in his stance towards pro wrestling. CM Punk doesn't want to wrestle, and that's the bottom line.
#3. Long-time WWE writers released
WWE parted ways with two long-time lead writers this past week. Steve Guerreri and Steve Oppenheim were shown the door after being with the company for a considerable amount of time.
Oppenheim was a home team writer based out of the WWE HQ in Stamford Connecticut who worked for the company since 2011. As per Dave Meltzer, Guerreri - who was with the WWE since 2012 - had an argument with Vince McMahon which led to him being taken off the road. He was moved to SmackDown as the blue brand's head writer after Road Dogg stepped down from the position.
While the departures of Guerreri and Oppenheim weren't suggested by Eric Bischoff and Paul Heyman, the move is part of the major backstage shakeup that had been proposed for a while.
#4. Brandi Rhodes gets death threats
AEW's Chief Brand Officer Brandi Rhodes revealed in a sequence of tweets that she is subjected to death threats and hate messages daily.
Rhodes condemned the current state of social media and stated that people with the blue tick on their handles are prone to unwanted online vitriol.
On a lighter note, AEW announced that they will debut their weekly TV show on Wednesday, October 2nd at 8 p.m. ET. The show will air from the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C and will be two hours long.
AEW will air it's TV show every Wednesday on the same time slot on the TNT Network and will conduct shows in various parts of the United States.
#5. WWE 2nd Quarter Earnings Report
WWE released its earnings and revenue report for the 2nd quarter of 2019 on Tuesday. The revenue saw a decrease of 5% in comparison to the earnings from the 2nd quarter of 2018.
The WWE raked in a total of $268.9 Million in revenue and the drop has been attributed to a sharp decline in returns from live events, media and merchandising. While the company has experienced a noticeable fall in its financial gains, its digital platform has thrived in Q2.
WWE's Social Media follower count saw a 10% hike to reach 1.2 billion. 324 million hours of content was consumed across all digital outlets, which was up by 22% along with a 17% jump in total video views, which came up to 9 billion.
Vince McMahon commented on the report, "During the quarter, we made progress on key strategic initiatives. We completed content distribution agreements in key international markets, prepared for the next phase of our WWE Network service, and achieved steady improvement in engagement metrics. As indicated previously, we remain excited about the future, particularly with our debut on Fox in October."
#6. Vince McMahon reveals why he hired Eric Bischoff and Paul Heyman
The announcement of Eric Bischoff and Paul Heyman as Executive Directors of SmackDown Live and Raw respectively has had an air of uncertainty about it. It's a known fact that every decision goes through Vince McMahon and many fans believed that Bischoff and Heyman were merely given titular roles without any actual power.
However, backstage updates in recent weeks suggest that both the veterans will enjoy the most authority after McMahon.
During the Q2 report call, McMahon disclosed the reasons behind why he got his former rivals on board while also hinting that he could be gradually stepping away from his most prized creation.
“One the things that we’ve done is hire two Executive Directors, one for Raw and one for SmackDown and in doing so, it allows me to look at a longer-range story – our standpoint and also spend more time on talent development and not get into the weeds as much as I had to do in the past. That is a really, really good thing for a long-term as well as short-term. Actually, we’ve seen a big result already.
McMahon painted a promising picture about Heyman and Bischoff's roles as he stated that they would be given 'a lot of latitude' while working as Executive Directors. He backed them to be successful by relying on their experience in the business and their long-range point of view.
#7. Jon Moxley to face a former WWE Superstar
Dean Ambrose, now known as Jon Moxley, is quite possibly the busiest man in pro wrestling these days after Vince McMahon. The former WWE Champion is everywhere - NJPW, AEW, the indie circuit - you name it and Mox will be on top of the card. Moxley is truly relishing the freedom since leaving Vince McMahon's company and he is all set to face a popular former WWE Superstar, Big Cass.
Big Cass, who now goes by the name Caz XL, will take on Moxley in a singles match for Northeast Wrestling's (NEW) Wrestling Under The Stars Event. The show will take place at the Dodd Stadium in Norwich, CT on August 17th, and the match between the two ex-WWE talents will be the main event.
The seeds for the match were planted back in June when Moxley showed up at a Northeast Wrestling show after Cass and Enzo Amore put forth an open challenge. For what it's worth, Renee Young will also be at the NEW event for autograph signing sessions.
#8. SummerSlam match card
WWE's biggest show of the Summer, SummerSlam is slated to go on floors on August 11th at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and it would be a safe prediction to expect a lengthy show. Be prepared for a minimum of 6 hours of wrestling.
The build for the show has already led to six matches being confirmed
- Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Seth Rollins (WWE Universal Championship)
- Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Randy Orton (WWE Championship)
- Becky Lynch (c) vs. Natalya (WWE Raw Women's Championship)
- Bayley (c) vs. Ember Moon (WWE SmackDown Women's Championship)
- Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon (KO leaves WWE if he loses)
- Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt
The booking trends point to the following matches to be added to the card in the coming weeks:
- Charlotte Flair vs. Trish Stratus
- Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Ali (Intercontinental Championship)
- The IIconics (c) vs. Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville vs. The Kabuki Warriors (WWE Women's Tag Team Championship)
#9. Jimmy Uso gets arrested...again!
We hate to sound like a broken record but Jimmy Uso has done it again. The 6-time WWE Tag Team Champion was arrested on DUI charges in Escambia County, Florida a few days. He was kept in the Escambia County jail, from where he was released after paying off the $1,000 bond.
The police report stated that Uso had "bloodshot, watery, droopy eyelids, dilated pupils long with slow and slurred speech" and was uncooperative with the arresting officer. He was found accelerating to 86 mph in a 45 mph zone, with the report claiming that he nearly rammed into another vehicle. Uso's car was earlier spotted speeding out of the lane at 100 mph at 1:30 am westbound on Interstate 10, but he was only apprehended and booked at 3:04 am.
WWE released a standard statement claiming that Jimmy Uso "was responsible for his own actions". Uso has been told to appear in court on August 15th for further hearing. This is his second DUI related arrest this year and comes days after his drink and driving history was referenced by John Cena on the Raw Reunion show.
#10. Finn Balor hospitalized
The Demon King has been all over the news lately. The former Universal Champion has been reportedly sanctioned a two-month vacation which begins after he finishes his match against Bray Wyatt at SummerSlam. Balor recently got engaged to Fox Sports Mexico reporter Veronica “Vero” Rodriguez and intends on recharging his batteries with his fiance.
Finn Balor was scheduled to take on Shinsuke Nakamura at the SmackVille show, however, he was pulled from the event after suffering stomach flu. Balor posted a photo of himself from the hospital bed with the caption 'SummerSlam':
The word going around backstage is that Balor is expected to return to action as early as this Tuesday on SmackDown Live. He has been advertised to take on Dolph Ziggler on this week's episode. As things stand, he will compete against Bray Wyatt at SummerSlam on August 11th and go on a short sabbatical.
