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Top 10 Wrestling Stories of the Week 7/7: Roman Reigns Pinned At WWE Money In The Bank, SKY And Priest Win MITB, More

By Matthew Fowler • Published 7th July 2023
the usos wwe money in the bank

Welcome back, TJR readers! Did you spend all day Friday trying to figure out the European exchange rate, and miss WWE Smackdown? Perhaps you spent all day Monday trying to get a briefcase through TSA, and missed Raw.

Worry not for I have returned with another edition of the Top Ten Wrestling Stories of the Week.

Before I begin the Top Ten List this week, I would like to take a moment to remember Darron Drozdov. Drozdov tragically passed away this week, at the age of 54. Drozdov was a memorable member of the WWE roster in the late 90’s, competing as a member of the Legion of Doom and also being remembered for puking during his matches. Drozdov unfortunately was involved in an in-ring accident in 1999, that left him a quadriplegic. In spite of his injury, Drozdov continued working for the WWE as a writer and columnist after the accident. I would like to extend my condolences to Drozdov’s friends and family.

Darren Drozdov

10. Nick Wayne to Debut on AEW Dynamite

A little over a week after graduating High School, Nick Wayne is set to debut on AEW Dynamite. It was announced this week that the high school phenomenon Wayne will be wrestling Swerve Strickland next week on Dynamite. Wayne actually signed with AEW when he was 16 years old, and has already competed against names like Will Osprey and Wheeler Yuta in the indies. This truly is impressive, especially since I can’t even get my 16-year-old son to take out the trash. (TJRWrestling)

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9. Gable Steveson Attacks Multiple Superstars In NXT

After years of anticipation, former Olympic Gold Medalist Gable Steveson finally got physical this week on NXT. This past Tuesday, Damon Kemp and Eddy Thorpe competed in a NXT Underground match. Adding to the intrigue of the match was Steveson, who was in the corner of Thorpe in spite of being Kemp’s real life brother. After Thorpe won the match, Steveson entered the ring to celebrate. A random guy then proceeded to touch Steveson’s gold medal, getting a suplex for his trouble. Steveson then proceeded to suplex three other men to end the segment. This was an impressive showing by Steveson, but it is not believed that he received the same $500,000 per suplex pay that Brock Lesnar usually receives. (TJRWrestling)

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8. More Than 74,000 Tickets Now Sold for AEW All In

With not a single match being announced and the event still being two months away, AEW All In is already promising to be one of the biggest wrestling shows in history. This week it was reported that All In has sold over 74,000 tickets so far. Incredibly this means that there is a real possibility that All In may sell more tickets than any WWE show in history. WWE historically “exaggerates” their attendance to events, with the real ticket sales to some of the biggest events in history being unknown. This makes any attendance records widely debatable in the wrestling community. Any record will also be debated by Hulk Hogan, who claims he once drew 200,000 fans to his home in Venice Beach, to see him wrestle a little person named Carl. (TJRWrestling)

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7. AEW Collision Rating Nosedives

It was not all good news for AEW and Tony Khan this week. This past Saturday’s AEW Collision episode was viewed by an average 452,000 viewers. This is a stark contrast to the 816,000 viewers the show received for its debut episode just two weeks ago. It should be noted that the episode was taped and not live, and was held over the 4th of July weekend as well. Nevertheless, this number is cause for concern, as they are almost identical to the audience for the often-forgotten AEW Rampage. Tony Khan is unquestionably going to need to turn these numbers around, or Warner Bros Discovery is going to feel like they got Punk’d. (TJRWrestling)

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6. Shayna Baszler Turns on Rhonda Rousey

Shayna Baszler and Rhonda Rousey’s reign as WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions ended up being a short one. This past Saturday at WWE Money in the Bank, Rousey and Baszler defended the Women’s Tag Titles against Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriquez. Rousey and Baszler seemingly had the match under control, when Baszler suddenly attacked her partner and best friend Rousey out of nowhere. Baszler then left Rousey to fend for herself in the match, with Morgan and Rodriquez getting the win and titles shortly after. Rousey and Baszler are now expected to face off at SummerSlam, with Rousey reportedly leaving the WWE shortly afterward. Rousey reportedly also wants to add to her family, with her possibly attempting to feud with Asuka before leaving. (TJRWrestling)

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5. Drew McIntyre Returns at WWE Money in the Bank

It appears Drew McIntyre will not be leaving WWE any time soon. After rumors swirling of McIntyre’s not re-signing with the company (his contract doesn’t expire until early 2024 so he’d be unable to leave anyway), he made a surprise return at WWE Money in the Bank this past Saturday. McIntyre appeared to confront WWE Intercontinental Champion Gunther after Gunther successfully defeated Matt Riddle to retain his title. McIntyre then proceeded to hit the Glasgow Kiss and Claymore Kick on Gunther, before celebrating with the London crowd. Gunther and McIntyre now seemingly are on a collision course for SummerSlam on August 5th, with Gunther only needing to hold the title until the beginning of September to become the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time. We will have to wait and see if Gunther can break the record, or if McIntyre is going to have to start his own honk-a-meter. (TJRWrestling)

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4. John Cena Makes Surprise Appearance at WWE Money in the Bank

London got to see John Cena this week. This past Saturday at WWE Money in the Bank, John Cena made a surprise appearance in front of the London crowd. The crowd proceeded to chant for Cena to have one more match before Cena stated he was there to campaign for WrestleMania to come to England. Cena was then interrupted by newcomer Grayson Waller, who insulted Cena and England. Waller then attempted to cheapshot Cena, getting an Attitude Adjustment for his trouble. It is unclear if there are plans to hold Mania from across the pond, but if it means that Mania starts at 3 PM and ends at 7 PM I will gladly sign the petition. (TJRWrestling)

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3. IYO SKY Wins Women’s Money in the Bank

After having an excellent match against Bianca Belair at Backlash, IYO SKY is going to get another chance to be a world champion. This past Saturday at WWE Money in the Bank, SKY was able to climb the ladder and retrieve the Women’s Money in the Bank Briefcase. SKY will now get the opportunity to challenge for either the Raw, Smackdown or NXT Women’s Championship any time of her choosing. SKY is the eighth woman to ever hold the briefcase, and has already held onto it longer than six of the previous winners. Coincidentally, SKY has also held onto the briefcase longer than Ric Flair held onto three of his four ex-wives. (TJRWrestling)

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2. Damian Priest Captures Men’s Money in the Bank Briefcase

It was an up-and-down day for The Judgment Day this past Saturday at Money in the Bank. While both Dominik Mysterio and Finn Bálor came up short in their matches, Damian Priest was able to capture the Men’s Money in the Bank Briefcase. Priest actually looked like he was going to cash in his newly won briefcase against WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth “Freakin” Rollins this past Monday on Raw, but Bálor attacked Rollins before he could. Priest and Balor then got into an argument, with both Judgment Day members seemingly having their eyes set on the world heavyweight title. Many wrestling fans were upset that Priest won the briefcase and not favorite LA Knight, with them all complaining on Twitter for five minutes until they reached their limits. (TJRWrestling)

Damian Priest MITB

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1. Jey Uso Pins Roman Reigns as The Usos Beat Reigns & Solo Sikoa at Money in the Bank

For the first time since December 2019, Roman Reigns has been pinned. This past Saturday at WWE Money in the Bank, Reigns and Solo Sokia faced fellow Bloodline members The Usos in the main event of the evening. In the end, Jey Uso was able to hit the Uso splash and pin Reigns for the 1,2,3. After their huge win, the Usos announced on Twitter that they will be holding the “Trial Of Roman Reigns” on Smackdown tonight. After seeing how quickly The Usos were able to plan and hold a trial, I am officially campaigning for them to take over the trials of Donald Trump. (TJRWrestling)

That concludes another edition of The Top Ten Wrestling Stories of the Week. Although I often joke, I have recently started refereeing with GroundZero and training at the Institute of Professional Wrestling, and now respect more than ever what wrestlers do every week. If you like what I do, despite my jokes being almost as bad as losing half your viewers in two weeks. Then follow me on Twitter @Fowlerwrestlin1 and listen to my Podcast The Smark and the Noob. Thank you to all of those who read this every week.