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Welcome to the weekly WWE/Wrestling news roundup where we discuss some of the biggest stories in the pro-wrestling universe.
After an eventful week, we have new matches, vacated Championships and a lot of backstage secrets out in the sun. This past week saw Eric Bischoff exit the WWE to be replaced by Bruce Prichard.
In other news, Jon Moxley had to vacate his title owing to natural causes but that didn't spare him from being at the receiving end of trash-talk from a former Champion.
So without further ado, let's take a look at some of the biggest highlights of the week.
#1 Bruce Prichard on how Paul Heyman inspires the locker room, discusses RVD-Taz brawl in detail
Bruce Prichard replaced Eric Bischoff as the Executive Director of SmackDown after the latter’s shocking exit from the company earlier this week.
Over the years, WWE locker rooms have witnessed several brawls unfold, both scripted and personal. Recently, Prichard went into the details of the infamous brawl between former Champion Rob Van Dam and SmackDown commentator Taz.
In the process, he revealed that RAW Executive Director Paul Heyman would deliberately stir up trouble in the locker room to keep the Superstars motivated.
I think Paul bred that within his locker room. He had to. You know when Paul was running it, he was presented it as opposition to the world. Right or wrong, that inspired a lot of guys. And Paul would do whatever he could do to inspire his talent and get them fired up.
Discussing the fight, he said
Oh gosh, I never heard about it until many years later when Rob was in the WWE. Definitely didn’t hear about it then, so I don’t know that it was such of a big thing then. It probably grew into legend as more and more people heard of the story, and it probably grew in. Oh and I heard that Taz pulled a knife, and I heard that Sabu had a bazooka! I mean, you know, I don’t know.
#2 The Fiend and Seth Rollins set to compete in a Steel Cage match
‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt is set to lock horns with Seth Rollins in a Steel Cage match on November 4, 2019, in the main event of Monday Night RAW right after the PPV.
The details of this match were revealed via an advertisement featuring Rollins and The Fiend. Before that, the two will lock horns at Crown Jewel for the Universal Championship.
It is interesting to note that WWE have eliminated the Wild Card rule and Bray Wyatt is now a member of SmackDown’s roster. In that case, WWE will be forced to justify having The Fiend compete on the Red brand.
#3 Paige pitches for a role upon return
When Asuka and Kairi Sane first joined forces to form a Tag Team, they were managed by Paige. Now that the Kabuki Warriors are the Women’s Tag Team Champions, Paige is keen on reprising her role.
Paige took a brief hiatus from WWE to recover from injuries and upon her return, she was seen in the WWE Backstage recap of 2019 Draft. When the guests started talking about the Kabuki Warriors, Paige wasted no time in addressing Vince McMahon directly and requesting him to appoint her as their manager once again.
She was quoted saying,
Hit me up brother, I'm ready, I'm ready to manage them again. Come on Vince, I'm ready coach, put me in!
#4 Eric Bischoff makes a shocking exit from WWE
Eric Bischoff was appointed as the Executive Manager of SmackDown back in June 2019. However, earlier this week, WWE announced that Bischoff has parted ways with the promotion after his brief stint with the Blue brand.
Following his exit, few reports suggested that Bischoff had limited involvement in the creative aspect of SmackDown. It comes as a shock because his RAW counterpart Paul Heyman appears to be heavily involved in the creative direction.
As per the official statement put out by WWE, Bischoff has been replaced by WWE veteran Bruce Prichard who is expected to elevate the exclusive roster of Friday Night SmackDown.
Stamford, Conn., October 15, 2019 – WWE (NYSE: WWE) today announced that it has named Bruce Prichard the Executive Director of Friday Night SmackDown, reporting directly to WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon. Prichard will oversee the creative development of Friday Night SmackDown on FOX and ensure integration across all platforms and lines of business, replacing Eric Bischoff.
Prichard brings nearly 40 years of experience in sports entertainment with an extensive background in character development and creative storytelling. Over the course of his career, Prichard has served in a variety of roles including announcer, producer, agent and on-screen personality. Earlier this year, Prichard returned to WWE as a member of the company's creative team. Friday Night SmackDown airs at 8 pm ET/PT on FOX.
#5 Former WWE star takes a shot at Jon Moxley
Ahead of their IWGP United States Championship rematch, Juice Robinson took a shot at Jon Moxley for not defending his title. This was before their match was canceled and Jon Moxley was stripped of his Championship.
He compared Moxley to Cody Rhodes and said that these types of wrestlers never defend their title. Instead, it’s Champions like him who fight for the gold irrespective of any adversity. In an interview with the NJPW, Robinson was quoted saying,
"Of course. It's like with Cody. I'm the only one who defends that title. Cody had it for a cup of coffee, now Moxley. They win the title and just sit at home. How many times did Cody defend it?"
"He limped out and they canceled it. That's not what a champion is. And what's Moxley done? Sat on his ass, getting his triceps stapled up. Injuries happen, but at least when I had that belt, I defended it as much as I could. I was on the road up and down Japan, a fighting champion, and damn it, I should be the champion again."
Both wrestlers were inclined towards hyping up their encounter. Unfortunately, this rematch could not see the light of day as the latter had to vacate his title. He was unable to appear for the match as his flights were delayed following Typhoon Hagibis.
#6 Roman Reigns replaces Seth Rollins in Crown Jewel match
WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins was set to compete in two matches at Crown Jewel. First, as the captain of Team Hogan he was set to lead four other men against Team Flair. His other match was against The Fiend in which he had to defend his Universal Championship.
However, as per WWE’s latest announcement, Rollins will no longer compete in Team Hogan vs Team Flair. Instead, he only has one match scheduled for the pay-per-view which will see him go up against The Fiend.
Stepping in for Rollins, is his former Shield brother, Roman Reigns. The 'Big Dog' has formed an alliance with Daniel Bryan to take on locker-room heels. This week, he went up against Shinsuke Nakamura for the Intercontinental Championship but their match ended in a disqualification after Reigns was attacked by Baron Corbin.
Along with Reigns, Ali and Chad Gable have also been named as a part of Team Hogan.
#7 Ronda Rousey’s new altercation with a female star
Former RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey is a part of the latest season of Total Bellas. In this week’s episode of the popular show, we saw Rousey engaging in a heated altercation with Sonya Deville.
While one half of ‘Fire and Desire’ believes that a feud between her and Rousey should be booked, the latter believes that Deville doesn’t have a credible MMA background.
Sonya Deville was quoted saying,
"The storyline that needs to be had right now, is me and Ronda. My story is 'b***h, you came and took my spot.' Her story is 'b***h, I did it better.'
To which, Rousey responded by saying,
“Well, I don't know if you can really call 2 amateur fights an MMA background. I'm a professional at conflict, no b***h is getting that s**t for free out of me.”
Deville later said,
“When you're on the top of the pecking order, which is what Ronda is right now, you bring the lower people up, you don't put them down.
Rousey then confided in her best friend Natalya and revealed the real intentions behind her words.
“I don't know, what I said back to her, it's an in-character interview, and she's in-character saying s**t about me. I have to "in-character" say something back.”
#8 Update on Ruby Riott’s in-ring return
In a recent interview with Vickie Guerrero’s Excuse Me podcast, Ruby Riott provided an update on her recovery and a possible return to the squared circle.
She confirmed that she is quickly recovering from her surgery and her doctors are positive about her progress. However, she still hasn’t received an exact date for her potential return. Riott was last seen wrestling back in May before she had to take a hiatus to undergo surgery.
Talking about her recovery, she said:
“They [doctors] said I’m on a good track for recovery. Some time, hopefully early in 2020, but they haven’t given me an exact return date. I’m just hoping the sooner, the better, honestly. It’s been such a hard road. Physically, obviously, I lost a lot of muscle in my shoulders and in my arms and everything. I guess I never realised how much I used my arms until I was without one and then both of them!”
#9 CM Punk reveals the only condition for his WWE return
Former WWE Superstar CM Punk was expected to return to WWE after rumors about him re-signing with the company emerged a few weeks ago. It was also rumoured that Punk might be involved in a backstage role but would work exclusively for FOX, and not WWE.
Although none of this was confirmed by any official source, we now know what will make Punk return to the promotion. He recently featured in an AMA (Ask me anything) session on Reddit to promote his first movie, "Girl On The Third Floor".
During the session he was asked by a fan if he would ever return to WWE and why. Punk said that if the company makes a generous offer, he will oblige.
Oh, of course, I'm going to get asked that, no need to apologize! It'd have to be a very big bag.
#10 Mike Kanellis' unsurprising request for release
Mike Kanellis was recently involved in a weird segment on WWE in which we saw his pregnant wife claiming that he is not the father of their unborn child in order to motivate him. This 'storyline' saw Mike getting involved in a couple of matches but none of the demeaning comments were enough to motivate him.
This storyline abruptly shifted to Bobby Lashley and Lana who are now ‘messing around’ in front of Rusev.
Amidst these bizarre storylines, Mike Kanellis admitted on social media that he has asked for his release. He stated that he wanted to do more work before earning his paycheck and believes that now is the only time to explore his potential.
You can read his entire post here:
His wife, Maria Kanellis confirmed that she has not asked for her release from WWE. There has been no official announcement about their contract yet but we will soon know the fate of both these stars.
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