Top 10 Wrestling Stories of the Week 6/2: New Champions In WWE & AEW, CM Punk Return Announced, More
Welcome back, TJR readers! Did you spend all day Friday sleeping before a very busy wrestling weekend, and miss WWE Smackdown? Perhaps you spent all day Monday remembering our fallen heroes, and missed Raw.
Worry not for I have returned with another edition of the Top Ten Wrestling Stories of the Week.
10. Alexa Bliss Pregnant With First Child
Fans who have been waiting for Alexa Bliss to return to the WWE, are going to have to wait a little bit longer. This week on social media, Bliss announced that she is expecting her first child with musician husband Ryan Cabrera. Bliss admitted in the post that the child was unplanned, and announced the child is due in December of this year. Bliss has not competed since this past January at the Royal Rumble, when she lost to Bianca Belair. Bliss will likely not return to the ring until at least three or four months after the child is born or it is bigger than her, whatever comes first. (TJRWrestling)
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9. Money in the Bank Qualifiers Begin
With WWE Money in the Bank being a month away on July 1st, men’s qualifying matches were held this past Monday on Raw. First Ricochet defeated The Miz to qualify for the chance to grab the briefcase. Then it was Shinsuke Nakamura’s turn to defeat Bronson Reed to qualify for the match. Qualifying matches will continue tonight on Smackdown with LA Knight facing Montez Ford and Zelina Vega facing Lacey Evans. Additionally, two women’s qualifying matches are set for this Monday’s Raw as well, with Becky Lynch set to face Sonya Deville and Natalya to face Zoey Stark. It is believed that six competitors will compete in both the men’s and women’s matches for a chance to challenge any champion at any time. Of course, this likely means challenging one of the World Champions, as it is not like someone would be stupid enough to waste the briefcase on a mid-card title. (TJRWrestling)
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8. Tiffany Stratton Captures the NXT Women’s Championship
After being drafted to the main roster, Indi Hartwell relinquished the NXT Women’s Championship. A tournament was then held to crown a new champion, with the finals taking place this past Sunday at NXT Battleground. In the end, it was Tiffany Stratton defeating Lyra Vakyria to become the new NXT Women’s Champion. Hopefully, Stratton can now go on to defend the title and have a long reign, and won’t end up losing the belt due to drafts or nipples. (TJRWrestling)
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7. Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler Capture the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships
A fatal four-way match was held this week on Raw to crown new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. The titles were recently vacated by Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriquez due to Morgan’s injury. In the end, it was the team of Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler that were victorious in the match, capturing the titles. After the match, Rousey gave an interview complaining about the lack of competition in the division, stating that the WWE has not invested in the women’s division as a whole. Although Rousey may have a point about WWE’s investment, I can personally say that I have invested heavily in several former WWE women’s Onlyfans pages. (TJRWrestling)
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6. Konosuke Takeshita Turns Heel on The Elite
This last Sunday’s AEW Double or Nothing ended with one of the wildest and most violent matches in the company’s history, when The Elite took on The Blackpool Combat Club in an Anarchy in the Arena Match. After an incredibly brutal match that even saw Matt Jackson hit an exploding super kick on Jon Moxley, it was Konosuke Takeshita that ended up making the difference. Takeshita ended up hitting Kenny Omega with a Jumping Knee, before taking the mask off and hitting Omega with a Screwdriver. This led to the Blackpool Combat Club getting the win, with Takeshita turning heel and possibly joining the BCC. Takeshita then immediately showed his allegiance to the BCC, by cutting his forehead several times. (TJRWrestling)
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5. CM Punk Officially Announced for AEW Collision
After months of rumors and speculation, CM Punk is officially returning to AEW. This past Wednesday on Dynamite, Tony Khan appeared to give his regularly scheduled huge announcement. This week’s announcement was that Punk would be appearing live at the first AEW Collision on June 17th, taking place in the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Punk has not been seen in AEW since being suspended after the now infamous backstage brawl last August. It is unknown when and who Punk’s first opponent will be upon his return, but I am sure we will find out via a huge announcement in the coming weeks. (TJRWrestling)
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4. Both Women’s Championships Change Hand at AEW Double or Nothing
This past Sunday at AEW Double or Nothing, all of the women’s championships in AEW changed hands. First, it was Toni Storm defeating Jamie Hayter for the AEW Women’s Championship in a little over three minutes, with Hayter dealing with a legitimate arm injury that she may need time off for. The other women’s title match actually saw champion Jade Cargill successfully defend the TBS Championship and her undefeated streak against Taya Valkyrie. Cargill’s manager Smart Mark Sterling then did a promo, however, stating that Jade will wrestle for that championship any time and any place, but the problem is there is nobody left. Kris Statlander then made her surprise return, and quickly defeated Cargill for the TBS Championship in less than a minute. This was certainly a shocking way to end Cargill’s 60 match undefeated streak, with not even one cattle prod being used. (TJRWrestling)
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3. The Bloodline Implodes At Night Of Champions
This past Saturday should have been a momentous occasion for Roman Reigns, as he celebrated an incredible 1000 days as WWE Universal Champion. Unfortunately for Reigns, however, his tag team title match against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn with partner Solo Sikoa at WWE Clash of Champions went horribly wrong. The finish of the match saw fellow Bloodline members The Usos attempt to interfere by super kicking Zayn, but accidentally hitting Sikoa instead. A furious Reigns then shoved the Usos, causing Jimmy Uso to intentionally superkick Reigns twice. Zayn then hit Sikoa with a Helluva Kick to pick up the win. Jey and Jimmy Uso then left the ringside, with Jey looking shocked by Jimmy’s actions. This moment was unquestionably shocking to a lot of wrestling fans, as they are used to this kind of family violence only happening at weddings and funerals. (TJRWrestling)
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2. Asuka Captures the WWE Raw Women’s Championship
After over 400 days we finally have a new WWE Raw Women’s Champion. This past Saturday at WWE Night of Champions, Bianca Belair defended the Raw Women’s Championship against Asuka. The finish of the match saw Asuka spit the dreaded green mist onto her hands, before rubbing it into Belair’s eyes. Asuka was then able to hit Belair with several kicks, before picking up the win. Belair has held the title since way back at WrestleMania 38 in April of 2022. Belair is of course upset about losing the title, but holding it for over 400 days is nothing to spit at. (TJRWrestling)
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1. Seth Rollins Captures the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
There are once again two men’s World Champions in WWE. This past Saturday at WWE Night of Champions, Seth Rollins and AJ Styles faced off in the finals of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament. In the end, it was Rollins who was victorious, capturing his fifth world championship. It was later confirmed by the WWE that this championship has a brand new lineage, and is not connected to the WWE World Championship which was retired in 2013. This of course means that both the Men’s World Champions in the WWE are former members of The Shield, with Jon Moxley being so happy for his former partners that he cut himself to celebrate. (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 coming back to work after punching your boss, 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.