WWE News: Reviews, Analysis and Rumors for Week of July 8
The WWE has been focused on Money in the Bank for the past couple weeks, and with the pay-per-view set to launch on Sunday, this week's RAW was fully dedicated to it. More than anything, the angle involving WWE Champion CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and AJ stormed to the forefront and dominated WWE programming.
It wasn't long ago that the WWE Championship storyline seemed secondary, but that clearly isn't the case anymore. When people tune in to Money in the Bank, they will obviously be doing it partly for the ladder matches, but there also promises to be a great deal of interest in what AJ does as special guest referee.
There was still plenty of time for other happenings in the WWE this week, though, as an angle that was two years in the making was finally resolved. Also, rumors continue to swirl about the possible release of a popular diva, more news regarding the 1,000th episode of RAW came to light and there is also an exciting advancement on NXT that is worthy of conversation.
All of that and more is currently churning through the WWE rumor mill. Keep reading for further analysis on all of the biggest news, rumors and speculation surrounding World Wrestling Entertainment during the week beginning on July 8.
AJ Trolls CM Punk and Daniel Bryan Again Heading into Money in the Bank
1 of 5The WWE is pretty light on true storylines right now, so there is no question that the saga between WWE Champion CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and AJ is the most important angle in the company.
AJ has been playing both of them in recent weeks, but she took it to a new level on Monday, as she proposed marriage to Punk before Bryan proposed to her.
Punk ultimately said he wouldn't marry her, which resulted in AJ slapping the Straight Edge Savior. Just when it looked like she was ready to jump in Bryan's arms and accept his proposal, AJ slapped him as well. She then chanted Bryan's signature "Yes!" catchphrase and skipped down the aisle as RAW went off the air.
My Take
I have been back and forth regarding my feelings about this angle, but thanks to good work over the past two weeks in particular, I believe the Punk/Bryan/AJ love triangle has been effective. Things were far too convoluted when Kane was involved, and I much prefer having only Punk and Bryan vie for her.
There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to this storyline and it will make for an interesting match at Money in the Bank, as there is no telling what AJ might do as special guest referee.
Some are upset about AJ's involvement and would prefer to see a normal one-on-one match between Punk and Bryan, but we have already seen a couple of those. AJ adds a ton of intrigue to the match and has done a very nice job in her role.
I suspect that the creative team wants to carry this angle through SummerSlam, so I expect Punk to accidentally knock AJ out, resulting in another referee having to finish the match. Punk will win and it will lead to even more twists and turns in the coming weeks.
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Have Kharma and WWE Parted Ways?
2 of 5Kharma hasn't appeared on WWE programming since she was a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble, and prior to that she hadn't been seen since last summer, when she announced that she was pregnant. Kharma began a reign of terror over the divas division over a year ago, but it would only last for a month due to the shocking revelation that she was with child.
She tragically gave birth to a stillborn child and it certainly rocked her emotionally. Either she hasn't been able to bounce back from it, or the WWE has been unable to find a spot for her.
Now there is speculation that she is no longer under contract, as her profile was moved to the alumni section on WWE.com, according to ProWrestling.net.
Kharma responded on Twitter by saying that "the cat's out of the bag." Whether or not that is confirmation of her release has yet to be seen.
My Take
I could honestly take or leave divas wrestling in the WWE or any other company. I don't hate it like some people seem to and I certainly appreciate their talent, but I don't get upset when the divas aren't featured, either.
I will say that the diva's division was more interesting than it had been in a very long time when Kharma appeared last year and started squashing people out of nowhere. She never actually had an official singles match, but Kharma made a definite impact on the division.
With that said, I don't believe WWE is making a massive mistake if it is indeed parting ways with Kharma. The diva's division gets essentially no television time anymore with AJ satisfying the female presence for the time being. Layla is the Divas Champion and she is seen quite infrequently, so I'm not confident Kharma would be used properly anyway.
I would much rather see more storyline development when it comes to the Intercontinental, United States and Tag Team Championships than the diva's division anyway, so I would be fine with WWE going in a different direction.
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Hornswoggle Revealed as Anonymous RAW General Manager
3 of 5The anonymous RAW general manager was introduced nearly two years ago, and after what seemed like an eternity at the helm of WWE's flagship show, the laptop vanished without explanation.
This left many WWE fans disillusioned, as it was thrown on the scrap heap along with other mysterious angles from the past such as GTV and who moved the briefcase away from "Stone Cold" Steve Austin at King of the Ring in 1999.
While it would have been nice to get closure in those two cases, some things are better off remaining a mystery.
On Monday, it was revealed that Hornswoggle had been the anonymous RAW GM all along and was giving orders on a laptop under the ring. It was a shining example of wrestling fans having to be careful what they wish for.
My Take
Hornswoggle is generally hated by more seasoned wrestling fans, and while I understand that he serves a purpose, I can't stand when he gets involved with significant angles.
Hornswoggle is fine as comedic relief for the kids, but there is no way he should have been anywhere near the anonymous RAW general manager angle. It is clear that the WWE brass saw a great opportunity to pull a fast one on the fans and that is why they decided to let the anonymous RAW GM return for one night only as part of their rotating general manager gimmick.
The WWE is fully aware that people have been complaining about the way the angle was initially forgotten about and this was simply retribution. There were clearly no plans for the anonymous RAW general manager when it started, and Hornswoggle definitely wasn't on the radar.
It was actually said that the GM was a Hall of Famer when the angle began, so Hornswoggle was just a throwaway solution. Now we have closure, but I would have much preferred the storyline remaining open-ended.
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Charlie Sheen Shuts Down Twitter Account Ahead of 1,000th RAW
4 of 5When it was announced that Charlie Sheen would be the "celebrity social media ambassador" for the 1,000th episode of RAW several weeks ago, my immediate thought was that he would find a way to screw it up. It looks like my intuition was right on the money, as ProWrestling.net is reporting that Sheen has shut down his Twitter page, losing the more than seven million followers he had accrued.
Sheen was supposed to be tweeting throughout the night on July 23 on behalf of the WWE, but it doesn't look like that is going to happen. It is possible that he could relaunch his account, but it wouldn't make sense to get rid of so many followers before simply starting a new page. Sheen is as unpredictable as they come, and this incident is another example of that.
My Take
I'm honestly not quite sure what to make of this whole situation. Sheen is obviously mentally unstable, but when he does something crazy, it normally is pretty calculated.
This whole thing reeks of the WWE trying to increase interest for RAW's 1,000th episode. It is important to note that Sheen wasn't being billed as the Twitter ambassador, rather his title is social media ambassador. That means that there are tons of platforms that he could still utilize.
It is being speculated by many outlets that the WWE might have Sheen use the video sharing site known as Tout. The WWE recently struck a deal with Tout and figures to be using it quite a bit moving forward as RAW becomes more interactive than ever.
I can't think of a better way to promote a fairly unknown platform than to have one of the most controversial people on this earth use it. If that is the case, then the WWE has clearly made a #winning move.
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WWE Holds Tournament to Determine First NXT Champion
5 of 5NXT started off with a bang a couple years ago, as the first season featured winner Wade Barrett, current star Daniel Bryan and several other wrestlers who have gone on to have success in the WWE. The participants on that season also formed Nexus and were part of the biggest angles in the company over the next year.
Things went downhill quickly, though, and NXT ultimately degenerated into an afterthought, similar to Superstars.
The WWE made a decision to change the show's format, though, as it is now filmed at Full Sail University Arena in Winter Park, Fla. and heavily features up-and-coming stars from WWE's developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling.
Now NXT is on track to be legitimized even more as ProWrestling.net is reporting that a tournament is being held to crown the first ever NXT Champion.
My Take
I am in 100 percent support of anything the WWE can do in order to push its developmental talent, so I am very pleased with the decision to create an NXT Championship. I realize that NXT is still foreign to the majority of the viewing audience since there isn't a national television deal and it can only be viewed on YouTube, but hopefully the introduction of a title means that the company is committed to the show and in the progress of making it a third brand, similar to what ECW was.
Guys like Seth Rollins, Kassius Ohno, Dean Ambrose and others are going to be on the WWE roster sooner than later, and having them compete for a title on NXT should help prepare them for what they'll experience in WWE, and it should get them over with the fans before they ever make their official debut.
WWE catches a lot of heat for the way it mines and develops talent, but with the way it has plucked indy stars and changed the format of NXT recently, things are really looking up in that regard.
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