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Top 10 Wrestling Stories of the Week 6/16: AEW Collision Debuting, New Women’s Titles In WWE, More

By Matthew Fowler • Published 16th June 2023
aew collision june 17 cm punk

Welcome back TJR readers! Did you spend all day Friday reading all your new indictments and miss WWE Smackdown? Perhaps you had money on the basketball game and missed Raw.

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

10. AEW Referee Aubrey Edwards to Make In-Ring Debut

Tony Khan has already allowed every wrestler available to wrestle on his programs, so he is now turning to the referees. It was announced this week that AEW referee Aubrey Edwards will be teaming with Mark Briscoe and his father Papa Briscoe to take on the team of Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal and Karen Jarrett. This strange match stems from an incident at AEW Double or Nothing, when Karen Jarrett hit Edwards with a guitar. With referees now apparently working matches, I may also decide to compete; just as soon as they figure out time travel so I am no longer old and fat. (TJRWrestling)

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9. Carlito Reportedly Signs With the WWE

WWE may once again finally be cool. It was reported this week that former WWE Intercontinental Champion Carlito has re-signed with the WWE. Carlito was originally released from the WWE in 2010 after a seven-year run with the company. Carlito has made several one-off appearances for the company since then, including a memorable one in Puerto Rico at WWE Backlash last month. As of this writing these reports have not been confirmed, but WWE has started having apples in catering again. (TJRWrestling)

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8. NXT Gold Rush Announced

NXT is planning on ending the month of June in a big way. This week on Twitter, Shawn Michaels revealed that the next two weeks of NXT television will be called NXT Gold Rush. So far four title matches have been announced for the two week event. On June 20th, Wes Lee will defend the NXT North American Championship against Tyler Bate. Also, Seth “Freakin” Rollins will return to NXT to defend the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Bron Breakker. The following week on NXT, Tiffany Stratton will defend the NXT Women’s Championship against Thea Hail. Carmelo Hayes will defend the NXT World Championship against Baron Corbin. AEW will also be featuring multiple title matches this week and every other week for the foreseeable future. (TJRWrestling)

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7. Cody Rhodes to Face Dominik Mysterio at Money in the Bank

His father may have talked about hard time, but Cody Rhodes is going to have to face someone who actually did it. This past Monday on Raw, Rhodes interrupted Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio celebrating Ripley being awarded a new Women’s World Championship. Rhodes then challenged Dominick to a match a WWE Money in the bank, with Ripley quickly accepting on behalf of Dominick. Some feel that this match is a demotion for Rhodes, after facing Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar. Personally, I don’t agree with that sentiment, however, as any time the sons of Dusty Rhodes and Eddie Guerrero are facing off it is a big deal. (TJRWrestling)

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6. Charlotte Flair Returns to Smackdown

The Queen has returned to the WWE. This past Friday on Smackdown, Charlotte Flair made her surprise return to interrupt Asuka’s championship presentation. Flair immediately challenged Asuka to a match for the title, with the match being made for the June 30th episode of Smackdown from London, England. Flair has not been seen in the WWE since losing the Smackdown Women’s Championship to Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania 39, leading many to wonder why she was automatically granted a title shot. One of the people left wondering was former Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair, who is also supposed to be having a title match with Asuka. I was also surprised by the whole situation, as I just assumed they would just make a new title for Charlotte when she returned. (TJRWrestling)

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5. Seth Rollins to Face Finn Bálor at WWE Money in the Bank

Almost seven years after defeating Seth Rollins to become the inaugural WWE Universal Champion, Finn Bálor will have another chance to defeat Rollins for a new title. This past Monday on Raw, Bálor challenged Rollins to a match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Money in the Bank on July 1st. Balor stated that Rollins took everything from him when an injury in their SummerSlam 2016 match forced him to relinquish the Universal Championship the day after winning it. Rollins quickly accepted the match, stating that the injury made Bálor bitter while Seth was better than ever. Hopefully, things go differently for Balor this time, as I am not sure he could shoulder another situation like last time. (TJRWrestling)

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4. Two More Huge Matches Announced for AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door

With AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door taking place from Toronto, Canada in just a little over a week, two more big matches were announced for the marquee event. First IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Sanada will defend his title against AEW wrestler Jack “Jungle Boy” Perry. Also, MJF is scheduled to defend the AEW World Heavyweight Championship against NJPW legend Hiroshi Tanahashi. This is actually the second year in a row that Tanahashi will challenge for the AEW title at this event, as he lost to Jon Moxley for the title last year. Interestingly, MJF has said he will not defend the title at Forbidden Door and has threatened to no-show the event. It should not be hard for MJF to no-show the event, as all he will have to do is ask Jeff Hardy how to not be allowed across the border. (TJRWrestling)

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3. WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles to Unify

While other wrestling federations seem to be constantly adding new titles, WWE has decided to get rid of some. This past Friday on Smackdown, WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler interrupted an in-ring promo from NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn. Baszler and Rousey then challenged Fyre and Dawn to a unification match, with the match taking place on the June 23rd edition of Smackdown. Upon hearing the news, Tony Khan immediately called Triple H to inquire about purchasing the NXT Women’s Tag Titles. (TJRWrestling)

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2. Asuka and Rhea Ripley Presented With New Title Belts

WWE’s rebranding of its World Championships continued this week. First, on Smackdown, Asuka was presented with a new WWE Women’s Championship belt. The belt was identical to the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship held by Roman Reigns, except that it had a white strap instead of black. The rebranding continued this past Monday on Raw, with Rhea Ripley being presented with a new WWE Women’s World Championship. This title was identical to Seth “Freakin” Rollins WWE World Heavyweight Championship, except again with a white strap instead of black. This makes an incredible four new title belt designs introduced by the WWE in a couple of months. This of course means that a lot of overweight wrestling fans now have to buy new replica titles, that they can strangely carry to shows while pretending to be a champion. (TJRWrestling)

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1. AEW Collision to Debut Tomorrow Night

After months of rumors and anticipation, AEW Collision is finally set to debut tomorrow night at 8 PM ET on TNT. The show will feature a returning Andrade El Idolo facing Buddy Matthews. Skye Blue and Willow Nightingale will face Toni Storm and Rubi Soho. A returning Miro will face an unknown opponent. Wardlow will defend the TNT Championship against Luchasaurus. Finally, the much-anticipated return of CM Punk will finally happen, as he teams with FTR to face Samoa Joe, Jay White and Juice Robinson. Punk actually appeared via video on Dynamite this week, promising to settle old scores and possibly drop some pipe bombs on the debut episode of Collision. Punk reportedly may have already dropped several pipe bombs, with a controversial interview with ESPN being released today. Upon hearing of the potential for even more controversy, Tony Khan responded by saying, “Thanks Guys,” before burying his head in the sand. (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 being a 45 year old injury-prone wrestler with behavioral problems. 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.