Smackdown will kick off Money in The Bank on June 18, 2017. It will air on pay per view and on the WWE Network. This is the card so far:
Kickoff Tag Team Match: The Hype Bros vs. The Colons
WWE Title Match: Jinder Mahal (c) vs. Randy Orton
Money in the Bank Ladder Match for WWE Title: AJ Styles vs. Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Money in the Bank Ladder Match for WWE SmackDown Women’s Title: Becky Lynch vs. Carmella vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Natalya vs. Tamina vs. ?*
WWE SmackDown Tag Team Title Match: The Usos (c) vs. The New Day
Smackdown Women’s Championship Title Match: Naomi (c) vs. Lana
* It’s rumored that there may be another participant in the match.
Raw will host Great Balls of Fire on July 9, 2017 at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, TX. Pay per view and the WWE Network will be airing the annual event. While the only confirmed match thus far is Brock Lesnar vs. Samoa Joe for the Universal World Title, the following matches that are speculating to be on the card:
WWE RAW Tag Team Championships Match: Sheamus & Cesaro (C) vs The Hardy Boyz
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: The Miz (C) vs Dean Ambrose
WWE RAW Women’s Championship Match: Alexa Bliss (C) vs Nia Jax
Seth Rollins vs Bray Wyatt
Goldust vs R-Truth
WWE has changed the logo of Great Balls of Fire in response to widespread criticism from everyone outside of Viagra about the previous one appearing overtly phallic.
Bray Wyatt (Windham Rotunda) has been served with a petition for divorce by his wife of 5 years, Samantha Rotunda, because of infidelity. Bray has allegedly been conducting an affair with WWE ring announcer, Jojo Offerman. According to papers filed in court, Bray and Jojo have been in “constant contact with each other”. The two have been observed arriving and leaving events together. The spouses apparently separated this past March. Things really took a turn for the worse when Bray filed for an injunction to keep his estranged wife silent, accusing her of making defamatory statements about him in public “in an effort to ruin his reputation.” Samantha stated that she would’ve kept the affair under wraps but changed her mind because of the injunction. Samantha’s demands include alimony, child support, possession of their marital home and primary custody of their two daughters.
Razor Ramon (Scott Hall) recently took to Twitter to reveal that he’s in stunning shape. After a well documented history of legal, substance abuse, and health issues, Scott has taken leaps towards turning things around. With the help of Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Diamond Dallas Page, and donations, the Hall of Famer was able to undergo necessary hip surgery and establish a support system. He made a minor comeback at WrestleMania 31 during Triple H’s and Sting’s match and there are apparent plans for him to return to WWE given this very positive development.
Former WWE Tag Team champ and current Lucha Underground Star, PJ Black (known as Justin Gabriel in WWE) suffered serious injuries while BASE jumping. This is the second time in nine months that this has happened. He broke both ankles in the previous instance. This time he broke a leg, a hand, and lost a finger.
WCW legend and WWE alum, Buff Bagwell, has announced that he is retiring. He has begun a retirement tour that has booking available until May.
Mark Andrews was injured during a match at a NXT Live at the Download Festival in Donington Park, United Kingdom. Mark suffered the injury after getting clotheslined and he was carried away on a stretcher. An official statement by WWE stated that he suffered some “bruising” and that the injury wasn’t serious but his health will be monitored.
Goldberg may be returning to action in WWE. Speculation exploded after the icon posted on Instagram while working on an upcoming DirectTV Now commercial. He left the door open for a return after his loss at WrestleMania 33 and seeing how that run was a success, all signs point to his return being a matter of when rather than if.
John Cena is slated to return on Independence Day and possibly begin an angle with Jinder Mahal in an effort to surpass Ric Flair’s (WWE recognized) record 16 world championship titles. The Man is still the Man, however, as the Nature Boy’s true total ranges from 19-25 such titles. The topic has been one of the all-time great subjects of conjecture amongst fans and historians alike. The Doctor of Thuganomics would face the Modern Maharaja at SummerSlam assuming current plans hold up, which means Mahal should retain the belt at least until then.
Speculation has exploded about a potential return to action by The Undertaker since Michael Cole’s recent reference that Roman Reigns “possibly retired The Undertaker.” CageSideSeats has reported that there are no plans for The Deadman to wrestle but given that there was never an official statement from WWE or The Phenom himself regarding the subject, the rumor theoretically has merit. The consensus is that he’ll return to the WWE in a nonwrestling role, which makes sense given his recent hip surgery and the physical mileage accrued over his long career.
Seth Rollins is rumored to be the cover wrestler for WWE 2K18. There’s yet to be an official announcement but it’s credible given that 2K Games traditionally begins unveiling the cover athletes for their games around early June. 2K continued the trend with its recent announcement of Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving being unveiled as the cover athlete for NBA 2K18.
Rene Young revealed on Twitter that she wouldn’t be part of Total Divas this coming season. She was asked by a fan on Twitter about appearing and she said that she was not. Rene recently married Dean Ambrose in a private ceremony. As a result, no footage of the ceremony will air on the popular E! reality show.
NXT stars, Montez Ford and Bianca Blair have announced that they are engaged.
New WWE signees, Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis are expected to make their debuts at WWE Live this weekend, which may include Money In The Bank. They may debut on this coming week’s episode of Smackdown.
“Rotten” Ron Starr passed away last Thursday at the age of 67 in his sleep due to what is believed to have been a collapsed lung. Ron had heart problems along with chronic back, hip, and neck pain. Ron gained the majority of his fame in Calgary’s Stampede Wrestling but spent a good deal of his career as a territory wrestler in 70s and 80s. He also wrestled in Japan’s World Wrestling Council. He won nearly three dozen titles, notably He retired in 1992. He was an underrated talent who influenced many future superstars and whose loss will be mourned by fans of old school and territory wrestling.
