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May was a wonderful month of pro wrestling, but June has a chance to finish with an absolute bang as this weekend will feature four major events across three companies and four brands.
Saturday will be WWE’s Night of Champions with the King and Queen of the Ring finals taking place. The winners will earn title shots at SummerSlam and there is much intrigue with both matches. Jey Uso will take on Oba Femi in the King of the Ring final and Liv Morgan will square off against Iyo Sky in the Queen of the Ring final.
The Uso-Femi match will have repercussions for both of their storylines. Uso is trying to prove himself, again, as a wrestler who could become “the guy” with The Bloodline. Femi has the cloud of a loss to Brock Lesnar hanging over him after Clash in Italy. Uso could win and challenge either Cody Rhodes or Roman Reigns for their world titles. Femi could do the same, but the possibility of him interacting with Lesnar in some way is very high.
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On the women’s side, Morgan is already a world champion. The pursuit of winning both titles and becoming unbeatable with a shot at Rhea Ripley on the line could be the more interesting storyline. But Sky, a friend of Ripley’s, may draw even more eyeballs.
Those are the main matches to be excited for on that card.
Moreover, Night of Championship will showcase three title matches. Cody Rhodes booked himself a triple threat against Sami Zayn and Gunther for the Undisputed WWE Championship, Trick Williams will put the United States Championship on the line against Ricky Saints and Tiffany Stratton has the Women’s United States Championship up for grabs against Jade Cargill.
Sunday will feature three different events. WWE NXT’s The Great American Bash, AEW’s Forbidden Door and TNA’s Slammiversary. Each event with their own unique matches and storylines to watch.
The Great American Bash will have four titles on the line. Lola Vice defending the NXT Women’s Championship against rising star Kendal Grey, Tony D’Angelo putting the NXT Championship up for grabs against Naraku, Myles Borne defending the NXT North American Championship against Tavion Heights and Wren Sinclair defending the WWE Women’s Speed Championship against either Arianna Grace or Izzi Dame. Saquon Shugars is also facing off against Dion Lennox.
It will be an interesting show to see what the future of WWE holds. The Vice-Grey matchup might have the most on the line beyond the title. Vice is the AAA world mixed tag champion with Mr. Iguana. A loss could have her focused more on Mexico than NXT in the short-term future. Grey has been pegged as the future of NXT and giving her the title would certainly strap a rocket to her back.
AEW Forbidden Door has a lot on the line as well. Specifically, the pay-per-view will determine who goes to All In for their world title shots. Will Ospreay takes on Swerve Strickland in the Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament final while Mercedes Moné will take on Maya World in the Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament final. Those matches will certainly raise the excitement for AEW’s biggest show of the year later this summer.
Additionally, a 12-man tag team match inside a steel cage will determine whether Mark Briscoe finally gets a chance at the AEW World Championship. Briscoe and his team of five will take on MJF and his team of five. The teams were announced on “Dynamite” last week.
Forbidden Door is also a fun show because it features pro wrestlers from around the world all in one place. To that point, Thekla will put the AEW Women’s World Championship on the line against Stardom’s Starlight Kid. Shota Umino will defend the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship against Pac. The AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championship is on the line when Megan Bayne and Lena Kross take on Thunder Rosa and Olympia. Christian Cage and Adam Cope put the AEW World Tag Team Championship up for grabs against Clark Connors and David Finlay.
Lastly, TNA holds its annual Slammiversary pay-per-view on the same night. All of the company’s six titles will be on the line during the show, which will include an Ultimate X match and a ladder match.
Cedric Alexander, the X Division champion, puts his title on the line against Leon Slater, Frankie Kazarian, Mr. Elegance, Fabian Aichner, KC Navarro and Amazing Red. Ultimate X matches are always fun to watch and the competitors in this match will definitely bring excitement.
Heather by Elegance and M by Elegance defend the TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championship against Rosemary and Allie. Mustafa Ali will hold an open challenge for the TNA International Championship. Lei Ying Lee and Xia Brookside’s rivalry will come to a head when Lee defends the TNA Knockouts World Championship.
In the ladder match, Brian Myers and Bear Bronson put the TNA World Tag Team Championship against The Hardys and Vincent and Dutch, known as The Righteous. The Hardys were seemingly deleted by The Righteous in their Wicked Garden match. But they are set to resurrect themselves in a match that they’re known for. Myers and Bronson, of The System, will have a lot to handle to keep their titles.
The main event will feature Mike Santana defending the TNA World Championship against Nic Nemeth, who is calling his shot to get the title opportunity. Santana will look to keep his reign strong and make up for last year’s Slammiversary where he came up just short of winning the title against Trick Williams and Joe Hendry. Nemeth is a pro wrestling veteran in his own right and a former TNA world champion.
If you’re not locked in now, you’ll be itching for it by Thursday night.
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Los Perros del Mal reforms in AAA
There are points when AAA may get lost in the shuffle with all of the incredible pro wrestling that is happening on television and streaming on a weekly basis.
This week, El Grande Americano returned to the ring to a hero’s welcome. He received a major pop from the crowd as he made it back to the ring. But while Chad Gable is behind him, he is facing a brand-new threat – Perro del Mal.
Los Perros del Mal has been one of the fiercest factions in Mexico since it first formed under Perro Aguyao Jr. The group has seen major stars join like Penta, Konnan, Hector Garza, Mephisto and several others. On Saturday night, the group was revived with a slew of fresh faces.
Daga, Berto, Angel, Bronco Nima and Karmen Petrovic attacked El Grande Americano and took off their jackets to reveal their Los Perros del Mal T-shirts. The crowd was frenzied, as was social media. It will be interesting to see where the story goes for group and who decides to join them.
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Austin Aries back with gold
It has been quite a long time since Ausitn Aries had gold around his waist. On Saturday’s “MLW Fusion,” the former TNA champion defeated Blue Panther to win the MLW National Openweight Championship.
Aries started with MLW as a broadcaster but he told Fox News Digital he was presented with an opportunity to get in the ring last year and put his body through the test. Since then, he’s been back full steam ahead.
He shared his thoughts about returning to action last week.
“It’s been great. Stepped in there to be a color commentator and kinda got the itch a little bit,” he recalled. “They asked me if I was interested in doing the Opera Cup last year. And so, yeah, stepped in to do the Opera Cup and there was some real top talent – guys like Kushida and Paul London and Místico.
“It was a real test for me to see where I was at physically at this stage of my career. I felt good. I felt like I had plenty left in the tank. I can still perform at the high level I expect from myself. So I have been able to parlay that into the last year, and I’m back as a full-time wrestler with MLW, and it’s been a lot of fun.”
He vowed to take the openweight title on the road with him and make it a global championship.
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Pro wrestling news and notes from the last week:
- AEW announced a partnership with “The Last Match: A Pro-Wrestling Rock Experience!” The company will dip its toes into the world of musical theater in England.
- Tessa Blanchard addresses her TNA departure on her YouTube page.
- Tiger Mask said goodbye to Mexico at CMLL on Saturday Night. He, Místico and Blue Panther defeated Black Tiger, Averno and Volador Jr in a trios match.
- AEW adds Create A Pro and Warrior Wrestling to the MyAEW streaming service.
- Pete Dunne made an appearance for Attack Pro Wrestling. He won his match and thanked the crowd for sticking with him through the last few years.
- The National Wrestling Alliance announced that Axton Ray signed with the company.
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