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WEEKLY OVERVIEW – WWE (thru 6/27): Top stories of week, major show lineups, live event results, schedule of live events, noteworthy social media posts, more

By Zach Graham, PWTorch Contributor

June 28, 2019

Former champion reportedly returning to WWE
SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...

The following is the latest in a new series of weekly in-depth articles exclusive to PWTorch which will help put in perspective major wrestling promotions with a weekly overview, looking at news and roster developments, results, future line-ups, social media activity, key interviews, plus a timely commentary at the end. We will be featuring similar features on other promotions each week and each will be updated weekly.

•Top Stories of the Week

  • WWE announced a new partnership with BT Sport in the UK and Ireland starting in January 2020. BT Sport will be the new home for Raw and Smackdown and they will also have all WWE PPV events available for purchase. Previously WWE had aired on Sky Sports. Some estimates have put BT Sport’s subscriber base at a mere quarter of Sky Sports, meaning WWE’s potential audience is significantly less than it is currently. People have also noted that AEW’s UK partner, ITV4, is available to a vastly larger audience than BT Sport.
  • WWE announced on Wednesday that they will be live streaming EVOLVE 131 on the WWE Network. Evolve is a partner of WWE’s and Triple H noted that Evolve is the birthplace of quite a few current NXT and WWE wrestlers. This will be Evolve’s 10th anniversary show and it takes place on July 13 at 8:00 PM. Adam Cole vs. Akira Tozawa for the NXT Championship has already been announced as well as Matt Riddle vs. Drew Gulak. Coincidentally AEW’s Fight for the Fallen event will be streaming on Bleacher Report Live on the same night and at the same time. This has raised some eyebrows especially after NXT UK announced another Takeover special for August 31, the same day as AEW’s All Out event. The two August 31 events will not overlap in time, however.
  • Two titles changed hands at Stomping Grounds on Sunday. Drew Gulak won the Cruiserweight Championship and Ricochet won the United States Championship.
  • Lars Sullivan Update: He is expected to miss 6-9 months following knee surgery last week.
  • Mojo Rawley and Jinder Mahal have both reportedly signed new contracts with WWE.
  • Nikki Bella announced on the Tonight Show that she has been forced to retire due to a herniated disk and a brain cyst. Nikki said that this has all been documented and will be a part of the next season of Total Bellas.

•WWE Weekly Event Results

WWE Live Event – Raw Roster (Missoula, Mont.) 6/21/19

(1) Samoa Joe (c) tapped out Ricochet to retain the United States Championship
(2) Becky Lynch vs. Lacey Evans never officially begins after Evans attacked Lynch before the bell
(3) Heath Slater defeated Mojo Rawley
(4) The Revival beat The Usos, Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows, and Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder
(5) No Way Jose, Naomi, & Dana Brooke defeated EC3, Tamina, & Sarah Logan
(6) Braun Strowman beat Cesaro
(7) Seth Rollins (c) defeated Baron Corbin to retain the Universal Championship

SOURCE

WWE Live Event – Raw Roster (Spokane, Wash.) 6/22/19

(1) Samoa Joe (c) beat Ricochet to retain the United States Championship
(2) Becky Lynch vs. Lacey Evans never officially begins after Evans attacked Lynch before the bell
(3) Heath Slater defeated Mojo Rawley
(4) The Revival beat The Usos, Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows, and Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder
(5) Braun Strowman beat Cesaro
(6) No Way Jose, Naomi, & Dana Brooke defeated EC3, Tamina, & Sarah Logan
(7) Becky Lynch (c) beat Lacey Evans to retain the Raw Women’s Championship
(8) Seth Rollins (c) defeated Baron Corbin to retain the Universal Championship

SOURCE

If you attend a live event, please send results to pwtorch@pwtorch.com. Thanks!

•WWE TV Match Results

WWE Stomping Grounds Results (Aired on WWE Network) 6/23/19

(1) Kickoff Show: Drew Gulak beat Akira Tozawa & Tony Neese (c) to win the Cruiserweight Championship
(2) Main Card: Becky Lynch (c) defeated Lacey Evans to retain the Raw Women’s Championship
(3) Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn beat Xavier Woods & Big E when Owens pinned Woods
(4) Ricochet defeated Samoa Joe to win the United States Championship
(5) Daniel Bryan & Rowan (c) beat Heavy Machinery to retain the Smackdown Tag Team Championships when Bryan pinned Otis
(6) Bayley (c) defeated Alexa Bliss (w/ Nikki Cross) to retain the Smackdown Women’s Championship
(7) Roman Reigns beat Drew McIntyre (w/ Shane McMahon)
(8) Kofi Kingston (c) beat Dolph Ziggler to retain the WWE Championship in a Steel Cage match when he dove through the ropes and out the cage door hitting the floor before Dolph crawled out
(9) Seth Rollins beat Baron Corbin in a match with Special Guest Referee Lacey Evans who made the match a No Count Out match then later made it a No Disqualification match. Becky Lynch would eventually come down to take out Lacey and John Cone (who officiated the Super ShowDown match between Rollins & Corbin) would count the pinfall

Monday Night Raw TV Results 6/24/19

(1) The Usos & The New Day beat The Revival and Daniel Bryan & Rowan in a Tag Team Elimination match
– Daniel Bryan was pinned by Xavier Woods after Scott Dawson hit Bryan eliminating Bryan & Rowan
– Xavier Woods was pinned by Dawson after being hit with a Shatter Machine eliminated The New Day
– The match was “reset” as a tag team match and Jey would pin Dawson for the win
(2) R-Truth beat Drake Maverick to retain the 24/7 Championship in an official in-ring match
(3) Shane McMahon & Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns ends in a No Contest after the Undertaker appeared and interfered to help Roman
(4) The Viking Raiders beat Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows
(5) Kofi Kingston beat Sami Zayn (w/ Kevin Owens)
(6) Kofi Kingston defeated Kevin Owens (w/ Sami Zayn) via Count Out
(7) Alexa Bliss (w/ Nikki Cross) beat Naomi
(8) Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross defeated Naomi & Natalya
(9) A.J. Styles beat Ricochet

24/7 Championship Update

    • Heath Slater beat R-Truth
    • R-Truth pinned Heath Slater
    • Cedric Alexander beat R-Truth
    • EC3 defeated Cedric Alexander
    • R-Truth beat EC3 to regain the 24/7 Championship

Smackdown Live TV Results 6/25/19

(1) The New Day (Xavier Woods & Big E) beat Daniel Bryan & Rowan
(2) Heavy Machinery and New Day defeated Daniel Bryan & Rowan and Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
(3) Elias (w/ Shane McMahon) beat The Miz in a Two-out-of-Three Falls match.
– Elias won the first fall with an assist from Shane distracting The Miz
– The Miz won the second fall when Shane attacked him leading to a Disqualification
– Elias won the third fall after a lengthy beat down by Shane & Elias in between the second and third fall
(4) Nikki Cross defeated Bayley to earn Alexa Bliss another Smackdown Women’s Championship match at Extreme Rules
(5) Sonya Deville (w/ Mandy Rose) beat Ember Moon
(6) Kofi Kingston beat Dolph Ziggler in a Two-out-of-Three Falls match to keep his Extreme Rules match w/ Samoa Joe a one on one match instead of a Triple Threat w/ Ziggler
– Kofi won the first fall
– Ziggler won the second fall
– Kofi won the third fall

205 Live Results (Aired on WWE Network) 6/25/19

(1) Jack Gallagher beat Mike Kanellis
– After losing the match, Kanellis said he was “done” and left the arena walking through the crowd as if he was quitting WWE
(2) Humberto Carillo defeated Rob Rollenbeck
(3) Tony Nese beat Akira Tozawa to earn a Cruiserweight Championship match at Extreme Rules

WWE Main Event (Aired on Hulu and WWE Network) 6/27/19

(1) Dana Brooke beat Sarah Logan
(2) EC3, Cesaro, & Robert Roode beat Lucha House Party

SOURCE

•Upcoming Lineups for Stadium/PPV Events

WWE Extreme Rules on July 14 in Philadelphia, Pa.

  • Seth Rollins (c) & Becky Lynch (c) vs. Baron Corbin & Lacey Evans in a “Winner Take All” match for the Universal & Raw Women’s Championships
  • Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Samoa Joe for the WWE Championship
  • Bayley (c) vs. Alexa Bliss for the Smackdown Women’s Championship
  • Drew Gulak (c) vs. Tony Nese for the Cruiserweight Championship
  • Roman Reigns & Undertaker vs. Shane McMahon & Drew McIntyre

•Upcoming Events

Thur. 6/27/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Singapore Indoor Stadium, Singapore
Fri. 6/28/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Ryogoku Arena, Tokyo, Japan
Sat. 6/29/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Mississippi St. Fair Coliseum, Jackson, Miss
Sat. 6/29/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Ryogoku Arena, Tokyo, Japan
Sun. 6/30/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Monroe Civic Center, Monroe, La.
Mon. 7/1/19 WWE Raw, American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Tue. 7/2/19 WWE Smackdown, AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
Sat. 7/6/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C.
Sat. 7/6/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Adirondack Bank Center, Utica, N.Y.
Sun. 7/7/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Sun. 7/7/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena, Binghamton, N.Y.
Mon. 7/8/19 WWE Raw, Prudential Center, Newark , N.J.
Mon. 7/8/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Cool Insuring Arena, Glens Falls, N.Y.
Tue. 7/9/19 WWE Smackdown, SNHU Arena, Manchester, N.H.
Fri. 7/12/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Augusta Civic Center, Augusta, Maine
Sat. 7/13/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, VSU Multipurpose Center, Petersburg, Va.
Sat. 7/13/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Massmutual Center, Springfield, Mass.
Sun. 7/14/19 WWE Extreme Rules, Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pa.
Mon. 7/15/19 WWE Raw, NYCB Live, Home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, N.Y.
Mon. 7/15/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, The Majed J. Nesheiwat Convention Center, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Tue. 7/16/19 WWE Smackdown, DCU Center, Worcester, Mass.
Fri. 7/19/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Santander Arena, Reading, Pa.
Sat. 7/20/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Columbus Civic Center, Columbus, Ga.
Sat. 7/20/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Wildwoods Convention Center, Wildwood, N.J.
Sun. 7/21/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Pensacola Bay Center, Pensacola, Fla.
Sun. 7/21/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Amway Center, Orlando, Fla.
Mon. 7/22/19 WWE Raw, Amalie Arena, Tampa, Fla.
Mon. 7/22/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Hertz Arena, Fort Meyers, Fla.
Tue. 7/23/19 WWE Smackdown, American Airlines Arena, Miami, Fla.
Fri. 7/26/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Four States Entertainment Center, Texarkana, Ark.
Sat. 7/27/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tenn.
Sat. 7/27/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Okla.
Sun. 7/28/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Show Me Center, Cape Gigagdeua, Mo.
Sun. 7/28/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, JQH Arena, Springfield, Mo.
Mon. 7/29/19 WWE Raw, North Little Rock, Ark.
Mon. 7/29/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Memphis Navy Exchange, Memphis, Tenn.
Tue. 7/30/19 WWE Smackdown, FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tenn.
Fri. 8/2/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Ind.
Sat. 8/3/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, E. A. Diddle Arena, Bowling Green, Ky.
Sat. 8/3/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Huntington Center, Toledo, Ohio
Sun. 8/4/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, David S. Palmer Arena, Danville, Ill.
Sun. 8/4/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Erie Insurance Arena, Erie, Pa.
Mon. 8/5/19 WWE Raw, PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Mon. 8/5/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Wings Event Center, Kalamazoo, Mich.
Tue. 8/6/19 WWE Live Event – Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Mich.
Sun. 8/11/19 WWE SummerSlam, ScotiaBank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Mon. 8/12/19 WWE Raw, ScotiaBank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Tue. 8/13/19 WWE Smackdown, ScotiaBank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

•Latest TV Highlights

Monday Night Raw

  • Seth Rollins opened up Monday Night Raw, but was quickly interrupted by Becky Lynch. Seth asked why she interrupted him, she asked “Did I?” and they both smiled at each other. Seth commended Corbin for picking Lacey Evans, but said he wasn’t smart enough to realize he’s got the best backup on the planet. Becky responded by saying it pays to be The Man’s man. Baron Corbin’s music then interrupted. As Becky and Seth looked at the stage, Lacey attacked Becky from behind, while Seth looked at them both trying to decide what to do, Corbin entered the ring and Corbin & Evans were quickly dispatched back to the floor. Baron Corbin told Seth to fly home, put on an apron, and make a sandwich for The Man because she’s handling all his business (ugh). Corbin then challenged them to a mixed tag match anytime and anywhere. Lacey said she liked the idea and suggested it happen at Extreme Rules. Becky responded and said that’s fine, but when Corbin & Lacey lose, no more matches with her or Seth. After talking for a moment, Lacey and Corbin proposed a counteroffer. Rollins accepted before hearing what the stipulation even was and Corbin revealed it would be both titles on the line, winners take all.
  • Following his win at Stomping Grounds, Roman was put into a two-on-one handicap match by Shane on Raw. After Shane and Drew McIntyre made their entrances, Shane told the ring announcer to announce the new stipulation to the match, which was the fact that there would be no tags so it would be all three people in the ring simultaneously. Roman then entered and immediately attacked Shane when the bell sounded. Drew and Shane quickly gained the upper hand. Shane held up Roman for a Claymore Kick, then Drew held up Roman for Shane to mock Roman’s roar then spear him. Then a second Claymore Kick by Drew before they dragged Roman into the corner for Shane to hit him with a Coast to Coast. Shane climbed onto the turnbuckle and just before he was about to make his jump, the Undertaker bell rang and the lights went out. Undertake then appeared and Chokeslammed Shane. Undertaker then hit Drew with a boot to the face and punched away at him in the corner before clotheslining him over the top rope. Shane and Drew retreated as Undertaker did the throat slash gesture. We would later find out that Shane & Drew vs. Roman & Undertaker will be happening at Extreme Rules.
  • Kofi Kingston found out his next WWE Championship contender in a not-so-subtle way Monday. First, he had a match with Sami Zayn that he would in in about 8 minutes. After he won, Kevin Owens grabbed a microphone and challenged Kofi to another match, which Kofi accepted. Owens and Kofi would spill out to ringside early and after a S.O.S. Kick to Owens, Kofi scrambled back into the ring and won via countout in less than 2 minutes. Kofi then thwarted a post-match attack by Zayn and Owens. Kofi began to celebrate again and was immediately attacked by Samoa Joe from behind. He hit Kofi with a urinage before retreating, but as two officials tried to help Kofi up, Joe reappeared and locked in the Coquina Clutch.

Smackdown Live

  • Kofi came out early in the show to discuss Stomping Grounds and Samoa Joe’s attack the night before. Before he could really get into it, Ziggler interrupted. Ziggler told Kofi he can’t just move on after all the hard work he did on Sunday. Ziggler accused Kofi of taking the cowards way out by escaping the cage on Sunday (before he could escape the cage himself). Ziggler then said he’s talked to management and they have a two-out-of-three falls match later in the night and if Ziggler wins, he’d be added to the Kofi/Samoa Joe match at Extreme Rules. In the main event, Kofi would win the first and third falls to beat Ziggler and keep the match one on one with Samoa Joe. Joe did not appear at all on Smackdown this week.
  • Nikki Cross earned Alexa Bliss another title shot with Bayley after costing her the match at Stomping Grounds. On Monday, Nikki had apologized to Bliss and told her that she had actually gotten a match against Bayley approved for Smackdown and if she won, Alexa would get another title match at Extreme Rules. Alexa was not on Smackdown, Corey Graves noted that she was overseas (WWE has some house shows in Asia this weekend, so Alexa may have travelled with the Raw roster members to Singapore). Nikki Cross would beat Bayley in a competitive 8 minute match. Afterwards, Nikki was so excited she was celebrating by leaning on the announce table, dancing, and Corey Graves offered Nikki his phone so she could call Alexa immediately to tell her the good news.

•WWE in the Media

– Drew McIntyre was on the Notsam Wrestling Podcast with Sam Roberts this week. They started by talking about his initial release from WWE. He talked about talking to William Regal and Triple H after his contract with Impact had expired and he decided not to renew with them. Sam and Drew then talked about his current character, which may be called Drew McIntyre, but he’s portraying the Drew Galloway character he developed outside of WWE. Drew makes an interesting comment here talking about reading scripts verbatim saying that it’s not exactly true. Drew says you have to take what they tell you to say and make it your own and he says “I assure you what comes on the screen, especially promos, etcetera, are not exactly what was on the script. It’s up to me to figure out how to put Drew in that.”

Sam then asks Drew to talk about the current generation of wrestler and whether or not he thinks the current generation of wrestler primarily grew up watching wrestling. Drew agrees, but makes another extremely interesting point when talking about social media. He talked about the current wrestlers posting pictures of them with legends of the past, noting he will never do that. He elaborates saying the issue is they’re putting up pictures of the older wrestlers with them which puts them over as the bigger stars than themselves. Social media has also eliminated a ton of the mystique and he personally avoids doing that to try and keep that mystique about him and being a wrestler. He then gave the example of working in PWG and how he wouldn’t go interact with the crowd after the show like everyone else because he wanted to keep the mystique and project that he was a superstar and different than the rest of the roster. He says wrestlers need to try and bring back some of the mystique and stop putting over the last generation of wrestlers because if they continue to be put over, everyone relies on them to come back instead of moving forward with the new generation of wrestlers.

They moved on to talk about Drew’s time working the independent wrestling scene. He talked about the unique atmosphere of PWG including fans right at ringside and how nervous it made him. He also talked about wrestling Kassius Ohno and Roderick Strong. He talked about the crowds at these independent shows being so honest and how proud he was to win them over. He said that while working the independents, he was finally able to take what he had learned in his first WWE run and apply it.

Then they move to NXT. Sam starts by asking Drew, what advice would he give to current NXT roster members when and if it comes time for them to be called up to the main roster. Drew responds by saying “Don’t lose what brought you to the dance.” He says the nature of NXT vs. Raw & Smackdown are very different. Raw and Smackdown matches are “commercials for characters or commercials for the next PPV” and can a wrestler do that and tell a story in five minutes on the main roster? He then talks about being ready to switch face and heel, noting that when he was in NXT he was a face, but he debuted on Raw as a heel. He has a slip up noting he doesn’t really know which brand he’s on right now because he’s been appearing on both shows regularly. His point here is, his character is pretty similar in terms of actions and in-ring style, his heel character is just more willing to cheat and be more ruthless, but apart from that, he doesn’t see his character as being much different.

The interview starts at the 10:45 mark and you can listen to the full podcast HERE.

– Seth Rollins was on the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast this week as well. There was no beating around the bush and podcast host Jimmy Traina jumped right in asking Seth why he’s taken to defending WWE lately against fan backlash on Twitter. Seth responded by saying it’s hard sitting back and taking the high road while people bash something you love. Seth notes that he thinks the product is “pretty darn good considering the amount of content we put out there.” He then takes aim at the fans saying that they sit on their soap boxes talking down and it speaks volumes about this generation

Traina then asks him about Dean Ambrose and the podcasts he’s done since leaving. Rollins responds by saying that Ambrose is a big boy who can do what he wants. Seth seems to take a pretty blatant shot at Dean next by saying that not everyone is equipped to handle the rigors of WWE and the schedule. He acknowledged that Ambrose gave his all while there, but “at the end of the day, he took his ball and he went home, or he went elsewhere at least.” Seth also says it’s a little presumptuous of Ambrose to go on a podcast and talk down to the company that gave him opportunities. Seth also says he loves Ambrose and he’s kept tabs on him well enough to know he’s doing really well right now.

In order to not twist up Seth’s words, here is a small excerpt from the transcript that Traina posted along with the link to the audio: “You need to take the first step and that’s looking in the mirror and asking yourself, did you do every single thing you possibly could to make yourself and your situation what you want it to be. If the answer is yes you did, then you can go elsewhere and complain, and if you feel good about it if that’s where he’s at mentally, then go right ahead, but if he hasn’t done that and looked in the mirror and made that decision, maybe he should look think about that and that goes for any other disgruntled talent, past or present.”

Seth says multiple times that he loves Ambrose and he’s his favorite person in the world, seemingly trying to soften the aim directly at Dean. Seth says he hopes he speaks for the entire WWE locker room when saying this stuff and he’s talked to some backstage who feel the same way. Seth also says he hopes other talents in their locker room speak up if they feel like it instead of taking the high road, if they don’t want to do that, he’s happy to speak up for them. He also says this isn’t frustration boiling over, it’s just how he feels (speaking specifically about WWE being the best wrestling in the world.)

Seth also says he’s satisfied with his storylines because if he’s passionately against something, he will speak up. He does note that not everyone gets that leeway, but he says not everyone should get that leeway because people need to build equity with fans and management to earn that. Seth again takes another shot at Ambrose here saying instead of building up the equity with fans and management “you can just stand up for yourself and do it instead of going somewhere else and bitching about it.” He says he does things he doesn’t want sometimes, but he doesn’t have the vision others do. He then says Vince has been doing this for twenty more years than he’s been alive, so he has ideas and things that Seth doesn’t even know.

Seth compares WWE to the New York Yankees saying it’s easy to hate them because they’re on top. He says they don’t have a monopoly on the wrestling business, the reason they’re on top is because they have the best talent roster in the world and they all work hard. They then switch gears towards his relationship with Becky talking about it being brought into WWE storylines. He said they were both a little nervous about it when the idea was brought up, but after they discussed it they both said let’s do it. Seth also said he and Becky started dating in February and they didn’t really hide it, but people seemed to assume that they’re just friends because they had been for so long before they were officially in a relationship. He also said when Becky revealed it on Twitter while in her fake feud with Edge and Beth Phoenix, he wasn’t aware she did that until he saw it while riding in the car on the way to the next show with Becky.

Seth’s portion of the podcast starts the show and you can listen to it HERE.

•Listen to the latest Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-Show – Smackdown Post-Show

PWTorch editor Wade Keller is joined by Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter columnist and host of the PWTorch Dailycast “Wrestling Night in America” Greg Parks to review Smackdown with live callers, talk to on-site correspondents from Portland, Ore., and answer mailbag questions. They discuss the strange two-out-of-three falls format and sudden rapid finishes to various matches in the new quest to not interrupt live action with commercials, plus Seth Rollins stirring controversy on Twitter…

-On Tune In Radio HERE
-On Apple Podcasts HERE
-Or search “Wade Keller” on your podcast app of choice

•WWE Social Media Highlights

Drake Maverick got married, then pinned by R-Truth after tying the knot. This is the 24/7 style ridiculousness I’m here for. Drake should be happy that Truth wore a jacket and tie. More of this type of stuff please!

I’m almost positive everyone has seen it at this point, but if not, Seth Rollins had a hell of a week on Twitter. Here’s a recap of everything that happened including other wrestlers’ reactions to some of his comments.

https://twitter.com/IAmJericho/status/1142645002872459264

https://twitter.com/WillOspreay/status/1143350683426365440

https://twitter.com/WWERollins/status/1143375109157081088

So, while Seth was going on this absolute bender defending WWE, Rusev was allegedly subtly complaining about them. He’s changed his Twitter name to “Here comes THE PUSH” after sending out the following few tweets.

•Closing Commentary

– What the hell is Seth Rollins doing? It started off innocent enough with some of the above tweets. He was saying that WWE has the best pro wrestling on the planet. Fine. I mean, he’s wrong (unless NXT counts), but I think it’s great that one of the two champions is coming out and standing up for the brand. It shows leadership and supports the product and all the people who work for the company, but it went south REAL fast.

It started with Cageside Seats tweeting at him laughing that he said that; he called them dorks. Now, nothing too major here – he’s still defending his workplace – but to me he’s starting to go down a rabbit hole with the name calling, and inching closer towards losing credibility and having his original intentions completely lost. Next, Will Ospreay interjects after Seth challenges anyone to say they wrestle as well and often as he does. Ospreay simply tweeted “I’m Alive” indicating he thinks he’s just as good or better than Seth, and for anyone who has seen him work, he’s not wrong about being Seth’s equal at minimum, but that’s beside the point. Rollins then fires back, calling him names and insulting him by calling him little guy (he’s literally the same height as Rollins, by the way) and saying WWE has the better version of him already and it’s Ricochet. Again, the name calling and insults for absolutely no reason are what people focused on, not the fact that he was standing up for WWE, I assume. Ospreay didn’t take this lying down and he mentioned he’s wrestled more matches than Seth, which was in reference to Seth’s original challenge to find someone who does it “as well and as often” as he does it. Seth responds by talking about how he makes more money. Now, at this point Seth’s lost all credibility to me, his original intentions are a distant memory, and he’s just throwing insults and changing the argument with Ospreay to have the last word. It’s no longer productive banter, it’s him insulting someone who’s commenting on what HE chose to post. Then Seth took to responding to fans who told him he should probably back off. Wade Keller also tweeted at him, noting his tone is terrible. Seth responds to him acting like he’s been defending WWE all along here and again taking another shot at Ospreay and Wade in the process.

Seth wasn’t done here, oh no. He went on a podcast as well. If you want a summary of his comments or a link to listen, you can find that in the WWE in the Media section above. In that interview, he starts taking shots at Dean for complaining about WWE after leaving like Dean is some jaded lover or something, which is hilarious. Seth literally says he took his ball and went home, which is laughable considering Dean finished out his deal, did what was asked, and spoke highly of just about everyone at WWE before he went on his rants. Again, it doesn’t come across as Seth defending WWE; it comes across as tone deaf and mad that someone had something negative to say about the company. Later in the interview, Seth brags about WWE running 500 house shows a year and how that makes WWE so great. How does that make WWE great? Congrats you’re running a half empty building in Evansville, Indiana on a Friday night. So what? Then, in my favorite part of this piece of audio, Seth talks about him putting on all these classic matches that people don’t even get to see on television because they’re at a house show, and I choked on my drink while listening to this. He’s acting like he treats a Saturday night show in Small Town, USA like it’s the WrestleMania main event and it’s such a lie, it’s an insult to the intelligence of all of us. I read house show reports every single week for this weekly overview and I don’t think I have ever read someone say, “Seth Rollins had one of the most incredible matches I have ever seen tonight. It’s a shame it wasn’t televised.” What a joke. If Rollins’ Twitter tirades didn’t kill his credibility, I think the “Five Star Factory” allegation did.

Again, if Rollins just wanted to come out and defend WWE, that’s great. He said in the interview that WWE has the greatest talent roster in the world, and he may be right! I mean, if any other company had around 200 wrestlers signed between main roster, NXT, NXT UK, and the Performance Centers, they’d argue the same thing. Honestly, I don’t even mind the arguing, but you can’t sit here and act like you were just standing up for WWE the whole time while acting, quite frankly, like a child. You blatantly called people names, you subtly called others names and questioned their motives and character while also saying how much you like them. Then the argument was derailed because of you, and when Ospreay tried to steer it back in the right direction, you changed the argument again to try and have the last word. When someone challenged you on the premise that you’re the best and most active wrestler in the world, you resorted to the “I make more money than you” argument immediately, which is an automatic loss and loss of credibility with me. So in conclusion, it started off innocent enough, but thanks to name calling and changing the topic of argument multiple times in a game of oneupmanship, you lost a lot of credibility this week. In the end, most people forgot the original intent of your tweets too, so it appears it was all for nothing. Hope it was worth it, Seth!

NOW CHECK OUT OTHER WEEKLY OVERVIEWS HERE.

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2 Comments on WEEKLY OVERVIEW – WWE (thru 6/27): Top stories of week, major show lineups, live event results, schedule of live events, noteworthy social media posts, more

  1. Damn good recap of all of this. I had to share this article around due to the coherent timeline which included Tweets i hadn’t seen, as well as the note-perfect summary. Awesome work!

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