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The Top Ten Wrestling Stories of the Week 8/14: Randy Orton Attacks Ric Flair, Kamala Passes Away, Mickie James Returns, More

By Matthew Fowler • Published 14th August 2020

Welcome Back TJR readers! Did you decide to skip Smackdown because short people in masks freak you out? Perhaps you spent all day Monday painting stars and moons on your body in remembrance of a legend, and missed RAW. Worry not, for I have returned with another edition of The Top Ten Wrestling Stories of the Week to catch you up.

10. Shayna Baszler Competes on RAW Underground

Shane McMahon’s Raw Underground was back again this week on RAW. This week’s presentation was very similar to last week’s, with the notable exception of there being no dancing girls. Even though there were no strippers, women were represented this week. Shayna Baszler went Underground this week, dominating several women before Shane stopped her. With Baszler’s MMA background she fit well in the Underground environment, without having to shake her butt to do it. (TJRWrestling)

9. Rey Mysterio Re-signs with the WWE

After working without a contract for several months, Rey Mysterio has decided to stay with the WWE. The 45-year-old Mysterio was reportedly heavily courted by AEW, who offered him similar money to what he was making in WWE. However, WWE was able to offer more dates for Mysterio, as well as the opportunity to work with his son Dominic. Dominic, who was brutally beaten by Rollins with a kendo stick on RAW this week, will make his in-ring debut against Seth Rollins at SummerSlam. Mysterio will unquestionably be keeping his eye on that match closely. (TJRWrestling)

8. WWE Network Adding Content From Independent Wrestling Promotions

After years of speculation, WWE is finally adding content from several independent wrestling federations to their network. Starting tomorrow content from Evolve, Progress, wXW and ICW will all start being added to the WWE Network. These promotions have featured many current WWE Superstars in the past including current WWE Heavyweight Champion Drew McIntyre. WWE still has no plans at this time to add the Sunny video library to the network. (TJRWrestling)

7. The Velveteen Dream Returns to NXT

The rumors of WWE releasing The Velveteen Dream were put to rest this week on NXT. Dream came out as a mystery competitor in the main event of the evening against Cameron Grimes and Kushida. Grimes ended up getting the win, to earn the third spot in the Takeover: XXX Ladder match for the vacant North American Title. Dream will have another chance to earn a spot in the match, however, as he will face Finn Bálor in a second chance qualifier this week on NXT. Takeover XXX takes place on Saturday, August 22nd. Despite the show’s name, Sunny is not expected to make an appearance. (WWE)

6. New AEW TNT Championship Belt Debuts

The finished version of the AEW TNT Championship was finally debuted this week on Dynamite. Champion, Cody Rhodes debuted the new design before successfully defending the title against Scorpio Sky. The belt’s completion has been delayed for several months due to the current health crisis. Rhodes will now go on to defend the title against Brodie Lee on the next episode of Dynamite on Saturday, August 22nd. Dynamite had to be moved to Saturday next week due to the NBA, and will now go head to head with NXT Takeover XXX. Let’s all hope this head to head is more entertaining than the one in the last XXX I saw. (TJRWrestling)

5. WWE Names Nick Khan President and Chief Revenue Officer

WWE named a new top executive this week. Nick Khan will now be taking over the roles of President and Chief Revenue Officer for the WWE. Khan previously served as the co-head of television at Creative Artist Agency. Nick Khan is not related to AEW CEO Tony Khan or the famous emperor Genghis Khan, although anybody who has to work under Vince McMahon should prepare for a massacre. (TJRWrestling)

4. Mickie James Returns to RAW

The RAW Women’s roster got a much-needed boost this past Monday night. Mickie James returned to the show after missing an entire year with a torn ACL. James was giving a backstage interview when she was interrupted by Natalya and Lana. The two proceeded to insult James, telling her that she cannot lead the WWE locker room without a Tik Tok account. Natalya then proceeded to remind James that she has the most wins in WWE history, calling herself the Best Of All Time. This interaction eventually led to the announcement that James and Natalya will now face each other next week on RAW. James and Natalya have an impressive 41 years of wrestling experience between them. That’s about the same amount of years that Vince McMahon has thought the surprising ROLLUP OF DEATH~! is a great finish. (TJRWrestling)

3. Randy Orton Attacks Ric Flair

You can add another name to the long list of legends that Randy Orton has taken out. This week on RAW it was Orton’s long time mentor and friend, Ric Flair, that was Orton’s target. After Orton defeated Kevin Owens in the main event, Orton told Flair that he needed to tell him something. Orton proceeded to tell Flair that he didn’t respect or love him anymore, calling Flair a liability. Flair then proceeded to put over Orton, saying he is the best in the business today and he wants to see him break the all-time World Championship record. Orton and Flair then embraced, before Orton suddenly hit Flair right in the Space Mountain. Orton then punted Flair in the head (while the lights went out so they avoided any contact), before Drew McIntyre finally came out for the save. Orton will now go on to face McIntyre at SummerSlam while the 71-year-old Flair will likely go away for a while, and hope that he gets the call to main event the next Saudi show. (TJRWrestling)

2. Kamala Passes Away

Professional wrestling lost another legend this week. Kamala “The Ugandan Giant” passed away at the age of 70, after battling with health issues for several years. Kamala was a staple of the wrestling world throughout the eighties and nineties, competing in multiple promotions including the WWF. Although never holding any major championships, Kamala feuded with the biggest names in the business. One of these feuds was against The Undertaker, whom Kamala lost the very first casket match against at Survivor Series 1992. Without question Kamala will now be able to Rest In Peace, knowing that he will be remembered fondly by the wrestling world for years to come. (TJRWrestling)

1. Retribution Attacks Both RAW and Smackdown

WWE’s newest faction known as Retribution caused havoc on both RAW and Smackdown this week. The group, made up of five men and women all dressed in black and wearing masks, came out at the end of Smackdown. They proceeded to beat several people up with weapons, including a chain saw, and trash the arena. On RAW the group was again shown throwing a cinder block through a window of the performance center and standing beside a flipped car. Little is known of the faction, except that it appears to be made up of two females and three males. It is unknown who will finally be revealed as the members of this group, but hopefully the reveal doesn’t come up Short with the WWE Universe. (TJRWrestling)

That will conclude another edition of The Top Ten Wrestling Stories of the Week. As always, if you like what I do, please follow me on Facebook and Twitter @BackseatBookers and listen to my podcast The BackseatBookers. (Please be aware that it is explicit, as I swear more then John Canton did trying to get the new and amazing TJRWrestling.net up and running.)