Features

Top 10 Wrestling Stories of the Week 5/19: AEW Collision, CM Punk Drama, Roman Reigns Wants More WWE Titles, More

By Matthew Fowler • Published 19th May 2023
AEW Collision Logo

Welcome back, TJR readers! Did you spend all day Friday preparing for your first real vacation in years, and missed WWE Smackdown? Perhaps you spent all day Monday trying to make it up to your wife for forgetting Mother’s Day, and missed Raw.

Worry not for I have returned with another edition of the Top 10 Wrestling Stories of the Week.

Before I begin the Top Ten list this week, I would like to take and moment to remember Superstar Billy Graham. Graham’s influence on the wrestling business cannot be overstated, with names like Hulk Hogan and Dusty Rhodes being just a few of the people who were influenced by him. Graham unfortunately passed away this week at the age of 79. Condolences to Graham’s friends and family, his legacy will continue on for generations to come. (TJRWrestling)

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10. NXT Battleground Adds Several Matches

On May 28th the Wednesday night wars are set to reunite for one night only, when NXT Battleground goes head to head with AEW Double or Nothing. This past Tuesday on NXT, two more big matches were announced for the Battleground event. The North American Championship will be on the line in a Triple Threat Match when Wes Lee defends against Tyler Bate and Joe Gacy. Also, Noam Dar will defend the NXT Heritage Cup for the first time on American soil, when he faces Dragon Lee in a British Rules Match. NXT Battleground is also set to feature the finals of the NXT Women’s Title tournament as well as Carmelo Hayes defending the NXT World Championship against Bron Breakker. Having two huge wrestling shows happening at the same time will certainly make for a busy night for wrestling fans, and further shows why John Canton so desperately deserved a vacation. (TJRWrestling)

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9. Karen Jarrett Debuts for AEW

It was bring-your-wife-to-work day this week at AEW. This past Wednesday on Dynamite, FTR attacked Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal prior to their championship match at AEW Double or Nothing. FTR then attempted to hit the Shatter Machine, but suddenly Jeff’s wife, Karen Jarrett, entered the ring and hit FTR’s Cash Wheeler. Jeff then hit FTR’s Dax Harwood with The Stroke, before standing tall. This is not Karen’s first time in the wrestling world, as she was a regular in TNA for several years. Tony Khan actually offered all members of the male roster the opportunity to take their wives on the road with them, with everybody else quickly turning Khan down. (TJRWrestling)

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8. Mustafa Ali to Challenge Gunther for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

This past Monday on Raw, a Battle Royal was held to determine a new number one contender for Gunther’s WWE Intercontinental Championship. In the end, it was surprisingly Mustafa Ali who survived 24 other men to win the match. Ali will now go on to face Gunther in Saudi Arabia at WWE Night of Champions on May 27th. Ali has only won two matches on television all year, with him clearly looking for some Retribution on how he has been booked. (TJRWrestling)

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7. Asuka Turns Heel on Smackdown

Bianca Belair has a new challenger for her Raw Women’s Championship. This past Friday on Smackdown, Belair appeared to celebrate holding the Raw Women’s Championship for over 400 days. Before Bianca could say a word however, she was suddenly interrupted by Asuka. Asuka then shook Belair’s hand, before shockingly spitting green mist into her face. It now appears that Smackdown superstars Asuka and Belair will be feuding for the Raw Women’s Championship, while Smackdown Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley defends her title on Raw. This is obviously confusing and convoluted, but it’s not like WWE can forget about the brand split or have Ripley and Belair trade titles. (TJRWrestling)

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6. Several Matches Added to AEW Double or Nothing

With AEW Double or Nothing being a little over a week away, several big matches were added to the card this week. Wardlow will be defending the TNT Championship against Christian Cage in a ladder match. Orange Cassidy will defend the AEW International Title against 20 other men, when he is number 21 in a Blackjack Battle Royal. Toni Storm will try to capture the AEW Women’s Championship when she faces champion Jamie Hayter. Finally ‘Hangman’ Adam Page will rejoin the rest of The Elite when they face the Blackpool Combat Club in an Anarchy in the Arena Match. (TJRWrestling)

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5. WWE & UFC Parent Company Finalize Name

A little over a month after the wrestling world changed forever when Endeavor purchased WWE with plans to merge it with the UFC, the new super company has a new name. It was revealed that the new company will be called TKO Group Holdings, with it trading under the ticker TKO on the New York Stock Exchange. TKO Group’s board will comprise of eleven individuals with five coming from WWE, with Vince McMahon and Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel being on the board. (TJRWrestling)

Endeavor WWE UFC logos

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4. Seth Rollins and AJ Styles to Compete for WWE World Heavyweight Championship

This past Friday on Smackdown, we learned who would be facing Seth Rollins in the finals of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament in Saudi Arabia on May 27th. After two Triple-Threat matches that saw AJ Styles and Bobby Lashley be victorious, the two winners then faced off in the main event of the evening. In the end, Styles was able to hit the Phenomenal Forearm on Lashley, and move on to face Rollins in the finals. This will obviously be a huge opportunity for both Styles and Rollins, as they might not get another opportunity until WWE makes another new World Championship. (TJRWrestling)

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3. Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa to Challenge For the WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championships

Just after Roman Reigns surpasses an incredible 1,000 days as WWE Universal Champion, he may add yet another title to his incredible resume. This past Friday on Smackdown, Reigns appeared with the rest of The Bloodline for an in-ring promo. During the promo, The Usos apologized to Reigns for failing to recapture the WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championships, before promising to defeat Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for the titles the next time they meet. It was then revealed that it will actually be Reigns and Solo Sikoa who will be challenging Owens and Zayn for the tag titles at WWE Clash of the Champions, and not the Usos. Reigns then said he was going to dedicate his victory to the greatest tag team of all time… The Wild Samoans. This is of course a ridiculous statement, as everyone knows the greatest tag team of all time is Mandy Rose and the internet. (TJRWrestling)

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2. CM Punk and AEW Reportedly Again Having Issues

For weeks it has been reported that the table was being set for CM Punk to make his triumphant return to AEW on AEW’s new show on June 17th. This week those plans seem to have hit a snag, when the new show was announced with no mention of Punk. It was then reported that Punk became upset when he found out that his long time friend Ace Steel would not be able to join him on the road. Steel has reportedly rejoined AEW after the infamous All Out Brawl, but has not been allowed backstage. After these reports were released, Punk released several Instagram post, attacking reporter Bryan Alvarez and telling fringe wrestling fans to “go touch grass.” (TJRWrestling)

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1. AEW Collision Officially Announced

After months of rumors and speculations, AEW officially announced their new Saturday night wrestling show. AEW Collision will officially begin airing every Saturday night from 8-10 PM starting June 17th on TNT. The new show is rumored to begin a sort of brand split for AEW, with Thunder Rosa, Miro, Samoa Joe, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Andrade El Idolo all being advertised for Collision. One superstar who was surprisingly not advertised for the new Saturday show is CM Punk, with Warners Bros. Discovery actually reportedly stating that Punk is not affiliated with the show at all. This is contradictory to weeks of reports that Punk would be the centerpiece of the new show. Of course, there is still a very good chance that Punk will make his return on June 17th, as Tony Khan has already ordered 200 muffins for catering. (TJRWrestling)

That concludes another edition of The 10 Ten Wrestling Stories of the Week. Although I often joke, I have recently started refereeing with GroundZero, Immortal Championship Wrestling 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 not touching grass, 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.