This week Behind the barricades, a controversial WWE superstar returns, the TNT title is finished! A well loved WWE Legend passes away. Another WWE star has their car stolen! AEW talent fired! As well as we look into the “Good, Bad and What the *Bleep*?!” this week. Let’s get started, right now!
The good.
Randy Orton.. pro wrestler of the year. Dominik is a Kendo stick punching bag.
I know people may be getting tired of the praise of Randy Orton this year. However, Randy is putting on a spectacle and clinic on how to do pro wrestling. Arguably, his greatest performance in his career, Orton continues to raise the bar. This time, “killing” another legend and his friend.. Ric Flair. Orton took the advice and praise from Flair. Yet gifted Ric with a Punt Kick! Randy may be in his best story line narrative yet in his career!
What you believe about Rey Mysterio’s son, Dominik may have to be put aside. As the son of one of the greatest luchador’s took the big hurt from Seth Rollin’s Kendo stick attack. The attack left Dominik welted up front and back. Take a look at the social media pictures.
A closer look at the wounds Dominik Mysterio suffered on #WWERAW pic.twitter.com/av08VP02fy
— Gary Cassidy (@WrestlingGary) August 11, 2020
It looks that Dominik will do anything to wrestle in the WWE. Furthermore, I can’t wait to see if Dominik has a glimmer of what it takes to make it in this crazy business.
Freshly Squeezed and fireballs.
Finally the Orange Cassidy character is becoming a fully formed character in AEW and not a gimmick. As the Freshly Squeezed one defeated Le Champion, Chris Jericho. Mind you, this the only the third time Jericho has lost clean to ANYONE in AEW. That is a big feather in Cassidy’s cap. During NXT, a puzzling match happen. Only for the post mat to be the selling point. Danny Burch and Karrion Kross faced off, but Kross took the role of the beaten baby face. Aside from the weird booking, the post match story sold a feud. Keith Lee stomped into the ring with a contract and demanded a match at TakeOver. Scarlett had Kross quickly sign the contract. However, when she handed it over to Lee.. a fireball erupted in Kieth’s face. This lead to The Limitless One being rushed to the hospital. Weird booking, but great aftermath.
TNT title is finished and it looks good.
The TNT title is finally finished and it looks good. In the Cody vs Scorpio Sky match, none other than former long time referee Mike Chioda debut the belt. Take a look at it…
Alexa Bliss is a current treasure.
The whole Braun vs The Fiend angle took a weird turn as Braun Strowman attacked Alexa Bliss. This angle will fall into two categories, but let’s start with the “Good”. The Goddess must be commended for her acting and making chicken salad out of chicken s**t. Bliss IS the most intriguing aspect of this horrible story line and that is a fact.
The Bad.
AEW needs to rethink.
Like beating a dead brontosaurus.. AEW’s women’s division is almost as bad as WWE’s Diva’s division. Now hold on, it is not because the ladies can no preform. That is further from the truth, it is the way AEW is booking them. The is a huge AEW women’s tag team tournament, but it is on YouTube. Also, when AEW had a chance to put eyes on the women’s division this week, it opted a match that lasted a few minutes.. if that. Furthermore, it did nothing for Hikaru Shida and her title reign. This is a big mess for AEW, especially when they created a women’s based fan club, called “Heels. The division is really hurting from losing their top stars, due to injury.
Almost all of WWE programming.
It is known that WWE is losing big viewership since the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, the way WWE is trying to combat this is failing. Nothing but hot shot bookings, crushed story lines, and a damn fight club is what WWE is offering. Vince also made a claim to build future stars, but it is yet to be seen. Don’t get me wrong, there is nuggets of great entertainment in WWE, but in the past two weeks, you can see the desperation. Furthermore, why is Braun Strowman turning heel before his match with The Fiend? It’s somewhat a bold move for Vince. As he dislikes heel vs heel or face vs face matches. One can only speculate that the bad ratings are finally caving in Vinny. Either way, I really didn’t like the angle, unless it makes Bliss turn into Sister Abigail.
What the *Bleep*?!
Honestly, there was no “What the *Bleep*?!” this week. Yes, there was bad stuff.. but not what I can consider a total dumpster fire. This week was on the average for pro wrestling.
Pro Wrestling news:
The Ugandan Giant passes away.
It is sad to say that James Arthur Harris, AKA: Kamala has passed away on August 9th 2020. Known for his intimating stature in the ring, but known as one of the friendliest and well loved workers backstage. James lost his long lost fight to many health issues, in which included James legs being amputated from diabetes. Kamala contracted the COVID-19 virus and it was too much for his battled scared body to take. Mr Harris passed away from complications stemming from diabetes and COVID-19. We at The Scrum Sports send our condolences to Mr Harris’ family. I, myself and the staff always have found memories of this legend, we call Kamala. May you find peace Mr James Arthur Harris, you gave the world a gift.
Shotzi Blackheart’s car stolen!
NXT breakout star, Shotzi Blackheart had her car stolen. Not only the horrid thieves stole Shotzi’s car, but a prized possession of Blackheart. Inside the car was Shotzi’s gear… including her helmet. According to Blackheart, the helmet was the one thing that got her through training. As a standard prop, Shotzi took a liking to it and vowed it will be hers one day. Upon completing her training, Blackheart asked for the helmet to keep and she was granted this request. Something like that can not be replaced. However, this story has a happy ending.
AEW firings.
AEW has made it’s first round of firings. The list included Jimmy Havoc, Sadie Gibbs, and Bea Priestly. Honestly, the letting go of Sadie and Bea, as the two never got much tv time. However, the release of Jimmy Havoc was in between a little shock, but not so much. Havoc was one the accused in the #SpeakingOut movement and checked himself in to a rehab clinic. AEW has stated: “treatment and counseling in an effort to overcome the mental health and substance abuse challenges in his life” and that his status with the company would be re-evaluated after he “successfully completed his rehabilitation.”. Well, it looks like Tony Khan has evaluated and decided to terminate Jimmy’s contract. As for Sadie and Bea, travel restrictions were cited as the reason for their release.
Controversial return.
Velveteen Dream made his NXT return this week. Not only this ignited backlash from some fans, but the angle also turned him into a heel. Velveteen attacked Kushida after a triple threat match, in which Cameron Grimes won. However, the story goes deeper. Patrick Clark Jr, aka Velveteen Dream’s return was said to be a secret until filming. This is rumored to cause a lot of backstage heat. Furthermore, this lead to one of Dream’s accusers to tweet in disbelief. Josh Fuller had to say the following things.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>In retrospect I’m glad I didn’t share things anonymously because it wouldn’t have had the same impact but the paranoia that comes with everything really fuckin sucks</p>— Josh Fuller 😷 BLM (@JoshFullerPW) <a href=”https://twitter.com/JoshFullerPW/status/1293999001642119168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>August 13, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
and…
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>It’s a really shitty feeling that I feel like I can’t say the things I want to about everything because of fear over my wrestling career. That shouldn’t be okay</p>— Josh Fuller 😷 BLM (@JoshFullerPW) <a href=”https://twitter.com/JoshFullerPW/status/1293998825779204098?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>August 13, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
We do not know the total investigation that WWE has done. While we do not take accusations lightly, we do also will like for the full story to come out. Sound off in the comments and let us know your take on the matter.
WWE gives up on the “PG era”?
This week’s SmackDown had an unfamiliar TV rating. The rating this week on the Fox network was “PG-14”. In which is a rating that is more in tuned with the “Attitude Era” of WWE. While we do not know if this was a one off or the new standard for WWE programming. It is noteworthy, because WWE loves to sell toys to kids. Perhaps Vince McMahon is trying almost everything to grab an audience nowadays and this is his latest step. We will find out on the next Raw and/or SmackDown if this is the new ratings for WWE. -David G.
