One More Match
Ok, let’s start things off with the biggest piece of buzz for the week. Shawn Michaels appeared on Raw this week to hype his best friend Triple H’s upcoming match against the Undertaker. The Dead Man himself showed up to join HBK in the ring for an exchange of words. This being wrestling, fans have of course been speculating on this possibly leading to ONE MORE MATCH between these two legends. Could it happen? Never say never, but I personally find it highly unlikely. Wrestlers retire and return so often that the very concept of retirement is considered a joke. However Michaels has been the one guy that has remained true to his retirement status, and he seems to take great pride in that fact. My gut says that the Heart Break Kid is happy to stay retired and contribute to the business in other ways as he currently does at the PC.
By the end of the week, the buzz had built to Michaels being involved in some sort of tag match when WWE returns to Saudi Arabia in November with that then leading to a one on one match at Wrestlemania. I still feel like it’s highly unlikely but will humbly eat crow should it turn out that I’m wrong. There are some local advertisements claiming that Michaels may be the special ref for the HHH vs Taker match at Super Showdown. This feels like a far more likely scenario to me than a return to competition for HBK. The same trio who shared that amazing “end of an era” moment at Wrestlemania several years ago having one final trip to nostalgia land sounds great. Then can we please move on? These are legitimately 3 of my favorite wrestlers of ALL-TIME, but it’s time for them to once and for all pass the torch to the stars of the future.
This is purely my own personal opinion and meant to be taken as such. You can of course expect to follow the actual course of events here every week, so let’s get into the less speculative news of the week…
Mae Young Classic 2
The tournament finally got under way this week, and these are your first results for Round 1:
Match 1: Tegan Nox from Wales defeated Zatara from Chile
Match 2: returning MYC participant Rhea Ripley defeated MJ Jenkins
Match 3: Winter Park, Florida’s Lacey Lane overcame the Mountain Vanessa Kraven
Match 4: Japanese legend Meiko Satomura won a hard fought match against Portugal’s Killer Kelly
Injury Report
It’s time once again for a full break down of currently injured superstars:
-Sin Cara: knee surgery, unknown return date
-Maria Kanellis: broken wrist, expected to be clear around October
-Tamina: torn rotator cuff, could be clear anytime this fall
-Big Show: hip surgery, expected to be clear anytime this fall, additionally I’ve seen it suggested he’s someone that could make a good GM candidate for Raw should they wish to not restore Kurt Angle to that job. He’s a respected veteran who has history with Stephanie McMahon and flip flops between face and heel so frequently that he could easily rule over the show as either.
-Samir Singh: torn ACL, could be healed by the end of the year
-Fandango: left labrum tear, early 2019 return projected
-Rowan: torn bicep, not expected back until 2019
-Sami Zayn: 2 torn rotator cuffs, hoping to return in time for Wrestlemania season
-Ariya Daivari: unknown
-Nia Jax: leg injury, she was seen training at the performance center this week so hopefully she’ll be ready to return in time to participate in Evolution
-Jason Jordan: neck injury, future uncertain, he’s currently learning other backstage jobs just in case he’s unable to recover fully enough for an in ring return
-Matt Hardy: various injuries, easing into semi-retirement as a producer and possible part-time performer
-Goldust: double knee surgery, unknown return status
-Aleister Black: torn groin, ready to return any day
-Bobby Fish: torn ACL and MCL, expected back by the end of the year
-Tino Sabbatelli: torn pec, early 2019
-Riddick Moss: torn Achilles tendon, early 2019
Mixed Match Challenge
The Mixed match Challenge is returning for a 2nd go on Facebook Live. Some of the teams from the 1st run remain intact while others have been switched up a bit. Here are the teams:
-Miz and Asuka
-Braun Strowman and Alexa Bliss
-Rusev and Lana
-Jimmy Uso and Naomi
-Finn Balor and Bayley
-Sasha Banks and Bobby Lashley
-Carmella and R-Truth
-Alicia Fox and Jinder mahal
-AJ Styles and Charlotte Flair
-Kevin Owens and Natalya
PPV Event Plans
The WWE has a busy schedule of events this fall, and they’ve already begun announcing booking for at least 3 of them. In order to try and keep things straight I’m going to keep a running list of plans for each that I’ll update for you each week. Let’s get started with what we know so far…
Sept 16: Hell In A Cell
Smackdown GM Paige has announced that a pair of tag team triple threat matches will be held on SDL. The winners of each triple threat will then square off for the right to Face New Day for the titles at HiaC. In the second of these triple threats the team of Rusev and Aiden English came out on top. Next week they will face the Bar for the chance at the titles.
This week on Raw several twists in the storylines led to Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler capturing the Raw Tag Titles. I would expect them to take care of any rematch matters with the B Team next week so that they can defend against the Shield on PPV.
Charlotte Flair vs Becky Lynch has been confirmed for HiaC.
Announced:
Mixed Tag-Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella vs The Miz and Maryse
Smackdown Tag Title Match- New Day© vs either the Bar or Rusev Day
Universal Title- Hell in a Cell match- Roman Reigns© vs Braun Strowman
Raw Women’s Title- Ronda Rousey© vs Alexa Bliss
WWE Title-Aj Styles© vs Samoa Joe
Hell in a Cell match- Jeff Hardy vs Randy Orton
Smackdown Women’s Title- Charlotte Flair© vs Becky Lynch
Rumored:
Ambrose and Rollins vs Ziggler and McIntyre (Raw tag titles)
Oct 6: Super Show-Down from Melbourne, Australia
More Aussies have been added to the show! The Iconics are now set to face the team of Naomi and Asuka after the Empress came to Naomi’s aid against the heel duo on Smackdown this week. Also announced this week are a tag title match between new Day and the Bar (pending the outcome of other matches the next few weeks of course 😉 ), and a second battle for SDL Women’s Champion Charlotte and her HiaC adversary Becky Lynch.
Announced:
Triple H vs The Undertaker
Daniel Bryan vs The Miz with a future WWE title shot on the line
John Cena and Bobby Lashley vs Kevin Owens and Elias
The Shield vs Strowman, Ziggler and McIntyre
Ronda Rousey and the Bella twins vs Riott Squad
Cruiserweight Title Match-Cedric Alexander© vs Buddy Murphy
Naomi and Asuka vs the Iconics
Smackdown Tag Titles- New Day© vs The Bar
Smackdown Womens Title- Charlotte Flair© vs Becky Lynch
Oct 28: Evolution-All women’s PPV
The newest match announcement featuring a returning Hall of famer is Lita vs Mickie James.
Announced:
Alexa Bliss vs Trish Stratus
Mickie James vs Lita
Expected:
Raw Womens Title Match, Smackdown Womens Title match, NXT Womens title match, NXT UK Womens title match, Final match of MYC2
Rumored:
Maryse vs Brie Bella
