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The Top Ten Wrestling Stories of the Week 5/21: AEW Dynamite Moving to TBS in 2022, The Miz Injured, Multiple Title Changes in WWE, More

By Matthew Fowler • Published 21st May 2021

Welcome back TJR readers! Did you spend all day Friday trying to understand the new CDC guidelines and miss Smackdown? Perhaps you spent all day Monday preparing for the zombie apocalypse and missed Raw. Worry not, for I have returned with another edition of the Top Ten Wrestling Stories of the Week.

10. AEW: Double or Nothing Card Takes Shape

With AEW’s next PPV Double or Nothing taking place on May 30th, AEW continued to build the card this week. This week on Dynamite, The Inner Circle officially accepted the challenge from The Pinnacle for a Stadium Stampede Match. Also, it was announced that Miro would defend his TNT championship against Lance Archer. Sting will enter the ring once again when he teams with Darby Allen to face Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page. Finally, announced this week is The Young Bucks defending the AEW Tag Team Championships against Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston. Moxley and Kingston actually got new entrance music as well, and are now coming out to the movie Major League’s version of “Wild Thing”. Moxley and Kingston are actually the 4th ranked team in AEW, putting them “Juuuust a bit outside” the number one spot. (TJRWrestling)

9. The Velveteen Dream Released

It was NXT’s turn this week to wish some of its performers the best in their future endeavors. Several developmental talents and referees, including Alexander Wolfe and referee Drake Wuertz, were released. The biggest name released 24 hours later, however, was The Velveteen Dream from NXT. The former NXT North American Champion has not been seen on NXT since losing to Adam Cole last December. It is unknown what lead to the once-popular Dreams release because WWE has yet to Speak Out about it. (TJRWrestling)

8. Hell in a Cell to Take Place on June 20th

There was a surprise change to WWE’s PPV schedule this week. This past Sunday at WrestleMania Backlash, it was announced that Hell in a Cell will take place on June 20th. This was a surprise to many fans as Hell In a Cell usually takes place in October. Although not official, it is looking like June’s usual PPV Money in the Bank will be held on July 18th. This show is expected to have live fans in attendance, which is probably why the push back to July. The June 20th date for Hell in a Cell is also Father’s Day, which for any father who has ever had a crying baby in a crib all night is quite appropriate. (TJRWrestling)

7. Kofi Kingston Beats Randy Orton and Bobbly Lashley in the Same Night

For at least one night, KofiMania was alive and strong once again. This past Monday on Raw Bobby Lashley had an open challenge for anyone in the Raw locker room besides Drew McIntyre and Braun Strowman. Kofi Kingston answered the challenge and ended up beating Lashley with the ROLLUP OF DEATH~!, after interference from McIntyre. This was actually the second victory for Kingston of the evening, as he defeated Randy Orton with the ROLLUP OF DEATH~! earlier in the evening. After helping Kingston defeat Lashley, Drew McIntyre tweeted that “Big D is always there for the lads.” McIntyre may want to reconsider the “Big D” nickname, but at least Raw may get a Sunny appearance out of it. (TJRWrestling)

https://twitter.com/dmcintyrewwe/status/1394509082275553280?s=21

6. New WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Crowned

New WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions were crowned this past Friday on Smackdown. Tamina and Natalya faced Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler once again for the championships. This time Tamina was able to hit the top rope splash to capture the titles. This is actually the first major championship that Tamina has won in her 11 years of being a part of the WWE. So congratulations to Tamina for somehow avoiding an April call from talent relations and a black trash bag for the last 11 years. (TJRWrestling)

5. Bronson Reed Captures the NXT North American Championship

Bronson Reed has finally captured gold in NXT. This week on NXT, Reed faced Johnny Gargano inside a steel cage for the North American Championship. At the conclusion of the match, Reed was able to jump off of the cage and hit Gargano with the Tsunami splash for the win. After the show went off the air, Reed’s wife came into the ring and celebrated the championship win with him. With the win, Reed becomes the first Australian and Non-American to hold the North American Championship, which will now likely cause Donald Trump to want to build a wall around Australia. (TJRWrestling)

4. New Jack Passes Away

The wrestling world lost an ECW legend this week. Jerome Young, better known to wrestling fans as New Jack, passed away this week at the age of 58 from a heart attack. New Jack was notoriously one of the most controversial and hardcore wrestlers in the history of the business. So much so that Dark Side of the Ring just recently did a documentary covering his career. In the ’90s if a friend tried to tell you that wrestling was fake, you would show him a New Jack match. This would change your friend’s mind forever, or at least until WWE booked zombies or some other stupid sh*t. (TJRWrestling)

3. Rey and Dominik Mysterio Capture the WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championships

With almost 60 years of history, it is rare for there to be a first in WWE anymore. This is why Rey and Dominik Mysterio capturing the WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championships is that much more special. The Mysterios were able to defeat Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode this past Sunday at WrestleMania Backlash to capture the titles. With the win, Rey and Dominik become the first father and son team in WWE history to become tag team champions. Perhaps making the moment even more special is the fact that if Rey had not been successful in the 2005 SummerSlam Ladder Match, this moment would never have been possible. (TJRWrestling)

2. The Miz Suffers a Torn ACL

WrestleMania Backlash was not a good show for The Miz. Not only did The Miz get eaten by lumberjack zombies after losing to Damien Priest, but he got injured as well. The Miz tore his ACL in the match, which could put him out of action for up to nine months. For those who are wondering why there were zombies at Backlash, it was to promote Batista’s new movie “Army of the Dead”. A zombie is also what you call someone who stays up for the third hour of Raw. (TJRWrestling)

1. AEW Gets a New Show and Television Station

AEW Dynamite will have a new home starting in 2022. It was announced this week that Dynamite will be moving from TNT to TBS at the beginning of next year. This was not the only news that AEW announced, as they will finally be getting a second show as well. Starting on Friday, August 13th from 10-11PM ET, AEW Rampage will debut on the TNT network. Rampage will continue to air in that time slot on TNT until the end of the year when it will also move to TBS. After the move, AEW will still appear on TNT via four annual wrestling specials. We will have to wait and see if Rampage will be successful, but if it has giant werewolves eating guys off of toilets I know I will be watching. (TJRWrestling)

That will conclude another edition of The Top Ten Wrestling Stories of the Week. Thank you for taking the time to read this each week. I will be back next week with even more bad jokes! If you like what I do, despite my jokes being as bad as a zombie apocalypse, then feel free to listen to my brand new podcast The Smark And The Noob and follow me on Twitter @Fowlerwrestlin1.