2022 Pro Wrestling Thread

According to AEW’s own website, Wardlow was the No. 1 contender, followed by Cole and Hangman, right up until the point they said Moxley’s name on teevee.

I agree it’s pretty dumb to have interim champions, especially since it’s a near-universal practice that the relinquishing champ gets first shot when he returns.

I really like the possibilities of an “MJF hijacks the title” angle, though.

 

OK, that was pretty freakin' amazing. That's a 6-foot-3 Shooting Star Press.

 

So NJPW will provide the PPV opponent for the interim title.

 

I kind of like AEW getting weird with an "interim" title. I don't know if it'll work entirely, but hey, might as well try something new. Have Punk lurking there as a viable and looming threat, instead of asking us to pretend he doesn't exist for X months.

 

Observer from June 6, which went to print before Punk's health news:

- MJF's promo was entirely a work shoot, but him ragging on former WWE talent - as well as Kris Statlander crapping on Ruby Soho for coming from WWE - and getting cheered for it has surprised the company. He's under contract until January 2024.

- Double or Nothing received 82.9 percent thumbs up (590), 4.2 percent thumbs down (30), and 12.9 percent thumbs middle (92) from readers. Best match was Anarchy in the Arena. The show did better than the 2021 show, buy rate and ratings-wise, despite going up against Celtics-Heat game seven, which drew in 10M viewers.

- WWE and A&E will be doing nine weeks of Sunday night television, starting on July 10. There are the two hour biography shows, which will be followed by WWE Rivals, an hour-long roundtable discussion on wrestling feuds hosted by Freddie Prinze Jr. Closing the block will be WWE Smack Talk, a 30-minute recap show about that night's biography and Rivals show, hosted by Booker T, Peter Rosenburg and Jackie Redmond.

- Gargano and Candice LeRae are expected to be back in wrestling soon. LaRae actually has more interest from AEW than Gargano, given how crowded their men's division is. Gargano has three options: He could go back to WWE, but likely in a low role on the main roster, given the new direction of NXT; he could go to AEW, but he might have to wait for a sensible debut spot or opportunity; or he could be a top guy in Impact, but the pay is significantly less for that vs. the other two promotions, even if he's a top guy vs. an opening match talent.

- Bray Wyatt also might be returning soon, but no clue as to his destination.

- Kenny Sanchez Martinez, a.k.a. Jake Atlas, is likely to be released by AEW after being arrested for domestic assault. He allegedly fought with his domestic partner over a threesome, and scratched and hit his partner, then refused to leave. He only wrestled a few matches for AEW before injuring himself. Because he's out with a medical issue right now, and there could be mental health issues at play, there's a chance he could stay with the company. Martinez debuting in PWG, signed with WWE, but retired from wrestling after burnout with that company. He then signed with AEW after that.

- Paul Wight (The Giant) had to get a second artificial hip in December 2021. That's why he hasn't done a lot for AEW, and he's unlikely to ever be much of an in-ring guy at this point; just a choke slam here or there in the future.

- To the surprise of no one, there will be more Raw and Smackdown crossover booking in the coming months, because of the thinness of the roster.

- Jeff Jarrett has been hired by WWE as the Senior Vice President of Live Events. He'll essentially be in charge of booking house shows, which had been handled by Nathan Everhart (Jason Jordan) on an interim event. It's somewhat surprising he's back in the fold, but ultimately, there aren't many people with high-level booking experience, and he did that role in TNA.

- Ric Flair is also cooperating with WWE on a documentary project. It's unknown if it's for A&E or Peacock, who they have contracts with.

- Charlotte Flair married Andrade on May 27.

- Nobody knows why Simone Johnson - a.k.a. The Rock's daughter - was given the name Ava Raine, which has zero connection to her father or her family's lineage, really. It's also unknown how far along she is. She's been under contract for two years and hasn't had a match, but giving her a ring name means she's probably going to debut on TV soon.

- Joe Hennig (Curtis Axel) has been hired as a producer for WWE as of May 30.

- Kevin Dunn sold 15,000 shares of WWE stock, pocketing a cool $1M. He still owns $18M worth of shares.

- Cesaro is a free agent, but because he's in his 40s and somewhat comfortable at WWE, he's probably going to go back. He has been in talks with Conrad Thompson about Starrcast and other opportunities, and AEW, though.

- Zelina Vega is off TV because of an injury.

 

FUCK. Cody's chest looks like hell!

 

Holy shit at that bruise on Cody’s chest

 

This is just painful to watch, but WWE had itself painted into a corner with this being the main event and the only cell match.

Their only other option probably would have been to break the bank for one of the big free agents like Wyatt and Cesaro in a desperate move.

 

Cesaro probably doesn't move the needle enough for them, with how they've established him as a midcard, incredible worker guy at best. I mean, I think you could build him up, a la a Jeff Hardy, Mankind or Kofi Kingston-like streak right now. But hot-shotting him from "off TV" to "title program" wouldn't work.

Wyatt though? I'd be surprised if he's back in WWE. They've desperately needed "top" guys lately, and I think they would have brought him back if they could. (Maybe I'm reading that completely wrong, though.)

 

What a “freakin” match.

Surprised Cody won given he’s gotta be goin away for a while right? Maybe one of those things that looks worse than it feels?

Either way great match. Great trilogy

 

Damn. No telling how long he'll be sidelined (possibly through SummerSlam), but that was a helluva job making chicken salad out of what could've been chicken shit.