A slow news week puts a focus on life after Money in the Bank.
Now that the cards for both Takeover and Money in the Bank are seemingly set, there weren’t a lot of major developments this week. However talent changes continue ahead of a busy summer. Between now and Summerslam the landscape of the WWE could look very different.
Making room at the PC
With WWE actively pursuing new signees ahead of tournaments to be held later this summer it’s no surprise that there are also releases happening to make room at the PC. Zeda, who competed in the first Mae Young Classic, was reportedly released some time last week. This week there’s a strange report that one of the Ealy brothers has been released. Though they had an intimidating physical look, the Ealy brothers had only ever been used to put over other rising teams on the NXT roster. It does seem odd given their twin dynamic that only one of the brothers would be released.
Glorious character shift
Rumors are once again heating up that Bobby Roode may finally turn heel. As seen during his NXT run, the “Glorious” gimmick is much better suited to a cocky heel than a proud babyface. Roode is a well-respected veteran and deserves the opportunity to shine as something more than Strowman’s latest squash victim.
Hurt Hardy?
Jeff Hardy is said to be suffering from a pinched nerve that has at times caused numbness in his arm. He has been working short tag matches at live events, but those in attendance say that he appears visibly in pain. Given his high risk history hopefully they are keeping a very close eye on this and taking all necessary precautions to safe guard not only his career but his general quality of life after the ring.
The latest from the UK
As round one of this summer’s UK Title tournament kicked off as part of the Download Festival this week, the WWE also took the opportunity to name a new authority figure. British wrestling legend Johnny Saint is now the General Manager for WWE’s UK division. Between this announcement and some recent signees getting “UK Only” deals, it seems as though they may finally be moving forward with a separate UK division television show. They’ve done their best to keep the division alive via NXT and 205 Live, but having a new UK branded show was always the intention. Perhaps the current tournament will serve as the launching pad many expected the 1st tournament to be.
Speaking of the UK Tournament, results from day one of round one are as follows:
Ashton Smith def Joseph Conners
Flash Morgan Webster def James Drake
Zack Gibson def Amir Jordan
Travis Banks def Ligero
Round one matches will continue throughout this weekend with all 8 winners meeting in London’s Royal Albert Hall on June 18th to conclude the remaining rounds of the tournament. The following night the winner faces current UK champion Pete Dunne for the title. Both Royal Albert Hall shows will go up on WWE Network one week later on the 25th and 26th of June respectively.
NXT Takeover Chicago
With the addition of a Tag Title match, the final card appears to be set for next week’s Takeover.
NXT Title: Aleister Black(c) vs Lars Sullivan
NXT Womens Title: Shayna Baszler(c) vs Nikki Cross
NXT Tag Titles: Undisputed Era (Strong and O’Rielly) (c) vs Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan
Street Fight: Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa
Ricochet vs Velveteen Dream
Money in the Bank
Mens Money in the Bank: Braun Strowman vs Finn Balor vs The Miz vs Rusev vs Bobby Roode vs Kevin Owens vs Samoa Joe vs one member of the New Day TBA
Womens Money in the Bank: Ember Moon vs Charlotte Flair vs Alexa Bliss vs Becky Lynch vs Natalya vs Lana vs Naomi vs Sasha Banks
WWE Title: Last Man Standing: AJ Styles(c) vs Shinsuke Nakamura
Raw Womens Title: Nia Jax(c) vs Ronda Rousey
Smackdown Womens Title: Carmella (c) vs Asuka
Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins (c) vs Elias
Raw tag Titles: Destroyers of Worlds (Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt) (c) vs B-Team (Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel)
Smackdown Tag Titles: Bludgeon Brothers(c) vs Gallows and Anderson
Roman Reigns vs Jinder Mahal
Sami Zayn vs Bobby Lashley
