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Top 10 Wrestling Stories of the Week 7/28: Roman Reigns Facing Jey Uso At WWE SummerSlam, NXT Great American Bash, More

By Matthew Fowler • Published 28th July 2023
roman reigns jey uso wwe smackdown

Welcome back TJR readers! Did you spend all day Friday trying to remember how many indictments you actually have at this point, and missed WWE Smackdown? Perhaps you spent all day Monday with your X and missed Raw.

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

10. Hulk Hogan Gets Engaged

Hulk Hogan is still trying to compete with Ric Flair. This week it was reported that Hogan is engaged to be married for a third time, this time to 45-year-old Yoga Instructor named Sky Daily. Hogan‘s first marriage to Linda Hogan ended in 2007, after 24 years of marriage. Hogan then was married to Jennifer McDaniel from 2010-2021. According to Hogan, his third wedding is expected to have 125,000 people in attendance and take place in the Silverdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. (TJRWrestling)

Hulk Hogan

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9. Gable Steveson To Face Baron Corbin at NXT Great American Bash

Olympic Gold Medalist Gable Steveson is finally going to compete in his first WWE match. This past Tuesday on NXT, Steveson challenged Baron Corbin to a match at NXT Great American Bash on July 30th. Corbin is an interesting choice for a first opponent for Stevenson, as Corbin is the man who defeated Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle in his retirement match at WrestleMania 35. Luckily Steveson currently is not married, so he doesn’t have to worry about facing Jeff Jarrett in his second match. (TJRWrestling)

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8. MJF and Adam Cole will Face FTR this Saturday on AEW Collision

Just two weeks after successfully defending the AEW Tag Team Championships in one greatest tag matches in history against Bullet Club Gold, FTR are stepping into the ring again. This coming Saturday on AEW Collision, FTR will defend the AEW Tag Team Championships against AEW World Champion MJF and Adam Cole. The odd pairing of MJF and Cole earned this title shot by winning the Blind Tag Team Title Tournament. It was announced this past Wednesday on Dynamite that Cole will get another shot at MJF’s World Championship in the future. It will be interesting to see if MJF’s and Cole’s friendship can survive all this, or if the friendship will dissolve quicker than one of Dave Meltzer’s friendships after he gives them only four stars. (TJRWrestling)

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7. Logan Paul to Face Ricochet at WWE SummerSlam

Two of the most athletic men in all of the WWE are set to face-off at WWE SummerSlam on August 5th. This past Monday on Raw, Ricochet called out Logan Paul to the ring. Ricochet then proceeded to tell Paul he was a prick and did not belong in the wrestling business. Ricochet then challenged Paul to a match at SummerSlam, with Paul then proceeding to attack Ricochet from behind. Paul then accepted the match, before taking out his phone to mock some fans at ringside. Ricochet would then do a kip-up, before hitting a superkick and a running shooting star splash on Paul. This match will unquestionably be full of high spots and flips, with more athleticism than we are likely to see from the LA Rams all season. (TJRWrestling)

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6. Kevin Owens and Liv Morgan Both Dealing With Injuries

WWE may be without two of its superstars for a little while. This past Monday on Raw, Liv Morgan was brutally attacked on her arm with a chair by Rhea Ripley. It was later reported that Morgan was dealing with a real life injury to her shoulder, with the attack being done to write Morgan off of television. Morgan is reportedly not the only one dealing with an injury, as WWE Undisputed Tag Team Champion Kevin Owens is reportedly dealing with a broken rib. Owens was also brutally attacked this week on Raw by Ripley and Damien Priest. It is unknown at this time how much time if any either Morgan or Owens will miss. What is clear is there has been way too much of throwing up an X this week for anyone’s liking. (TJRWrestling)

Liv Morgan Injured

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5. Brian Pillman Jr. Reportedly Signing With WWE

It didn’t take Brian Pillman Jr. long to find a new home. Just a week after it was reported that Pillman Jr’s contract with AEW had expired, the second-generation superstar reportedly had a tryout at the WWE performance center. Pillman Jr. must have done well at this tryout as he is now reportedly finalizing a new contract with the WWE. Clearly, unlike Pillman Jr’s legendary father, WWE did not hesitate to pull the trigger on this one. (TJRWrestling)

brian pillman jr aew

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4. Billy Gunn Teases Retirement on AEW Collision

Professional wrestling may have seen the last of one of its most famous asses this week. This past Saturday on AEW Collision, Billy Gunn and The Acclaimed faced the House of Black for the AEW Trios Tag Team Titles. In the end, House of Black was able to get the win by pinning Gunn. Gunn then proceeded to take off his wrestling boots and leave them in the middle of the ring, symbolizing that he was retiring. If this truly was the last match for the 59-year-old Gunn, then it was a truly legendary career that lasted over 30 years. We will have to see if Gunn transitions to a backstage role, and possibly learns how to be a road agent from Orange Cassidy. (TJRWrestling)

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3. Two More Title Matches Added to SummerSlam

Two more huge title matches were added to the WWE SummerSlam card this week. First, it was announced that Gunther will defend the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Drew McIntyre. Gunther is just a little over month away from becoming the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time, adding even more intrigue to this match. Also, it was announced on Twitter that Asuka will defend the WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship against both Bianca Belair and Charlotte Flair. Belair is a former two-time WWE Women’s Champion, while Flair is a record-holding 14-time Women’s Champion. This should unquestionably be a great match between three of the greatest women’s wrestlers of all time. This will have stakes for all three women, as Asuka will be risking her championship while Flair and Belair are both risking getting pregnant. (TJRWrestling)

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2. NXT Great American Bash to Take Place This Sunday

NXT will be having its next PLE titled Great American Bash this Sunday at 8 PM ET. So far seven matches have been announced for the card including Dragon Lee, Nathan Frazier, Yulisa Leon and Valentina Feroz facing Noam Dar, Oro Mensah, Jakara Jackson and Lash Legend in an eight-man tag match. Blair Davenport will face Roxanne Perez in a weapons match. Gable Steveson will have his first match against Baron Corbin. Gallus will defend the NXT Tag Team Championships against The Family. Tiffany Stratton will defend the NXT Women’s Championship against Thea Hail. “Dirty” Dominic Mysterio will defend the NXT North American Championship against Wes Lee and Mustafa Ali in a Triple-Threat Match. Finally, Carmelo Hayes will defend the NXT Championship against IIja Dragunov. NXT’s Great American Bash should not be confused with the American Bash that every other country has daily after watching the news. (TJRWrestling)

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1. Roman Reigns and Jey Uso to Compete in a Tribal Combat Match

SummerSlam got its main event this week. This past Friday on Smackdown, Jey Uso and Roman Reigns went face to face in the middle of the ring for a rules of engagement discussion. During the discussion, Reigns attempted to give Jey a contract for a match, but it was quickly ripped up by Jey. Jey then let Reigns know that their match at SummerSlam will be a Tribal Combat Match, where anything goes. Not only will the match be for the Undisputed Universal Championship, but also for the role of Tribal Chief. Ironically, Tribal Combat is also how my children usually settle their differences, although theirs is usually over who gets the last cosmic brownie. (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 lame as renaming your company X. 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.