WWE News: Reviews, Analysis and Rumors for Week of August 5
SummerSlam, which many wrestling fans consider to be the second-biggest pay-per-view of the year, is now just a week away, and the WWE has done plenty over the past week to build toward the huge event in Los Angeles and create anticipation among the fans.
Seeing as SummerSlam essentially marks the end of summer, the WWE normally likes to get some major angles started around this time. That appears to be the case with several of the matches that are scheduled for the card and there are rumors abound regarding what they could lead to.
In addition to that, a controversial WWE talent was released this week, a potential future star is set to make his return after a few months on the shelf, and there is speculation that a big-time WWE legend may not be done in the ring as many have been led to believe.
All of those things are certain to be major topics of conversation moving forward and they should hold the interest of the fans as WWE transitions from SummerSlam to the fall slate next week.
Here are all the latest rumblings, rumors and news pieces from the WWE for the week beginning on Aug. 5.
AW Released from WWE
1 of 5It appeared as though the WWE might finally be trying to make something of the tag-team division as Darren Young and Titus O'Neil, the Prime Time Players, were given a mouthpiece in the form of A.W. He was allowed to speak with a live mic during matches, and while that made for some entertaining moments, it also may have led to A.W.'s demise.
According to WWE.com, A.W. was released from his contract on Friday. No reason was given, but most fans can surmise that it stems from A.W.'s joke on the July 30 edition of RAW when he said that O'Neil was "like Kobe Bryant in a hotel room in Colorado; unstoppable." This was in obvious reference to rape allegations against the Los Angeles Lakers star in 2003.
My Take
As somebody who tries not to take life seriously all the time, I'll admit that I got a chuckle out of A.W.'s joke. I'm not one to judge whether it was tasteful or not, but I do understand where the WWE is coming from with this decision.
A.W. was given a live mic with the understanding that he could be trusted to say what he wanted as long as he upheld the company's values, and when he made that quip about Bryant, there is no doubt that he crossed a line.
WWE has long been a PG product geared toward kids, and while I doubt many children understood the joke, it had to trigger questions from children and some awkward moments for their parents.
Also, I'm sure that Linda McMahon's senate campaign played into the decision to some degree as well.
A.W. ranted on Twitter about the Attitude Era being dead, according to ProWrestling.net, and while he makes some decent points, he should have been a company man rather than going rogue on the microphone.
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Shawn Michaels to Be in Triple H's Corner at SummerSlam
2 of 5When it was announced that Shawn Michaels would be appearing on Monday's RAW in his hometown of San Antonio, it seemed quite obvious that he would do something with Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman and Triple H.
That came to fruition as Lesnar and Heyman interrupted HBK and bullied him a bit. Michaels said that Triple H would beat Lesnar at SummerSlam and that he would be in his best friend's corner.
Triple H came out to defend Michaels, leading both Lesnar and Heyman to leave the ring. Lesnar said that he would see Triple H at SummerSlam and Michaels before then. Perhaps that means that another confrontation is in store on RAW as Michaels is now being advertised for Monday's show in Dallas, according to ProWrestling.net.
My Take
Even if the build hasn't been as good as it could have been for Triple H vs. Lesnar so far, it's tough not be excited for their match at SummerSlam. That, in and of itself, should be great, but adding Michaels to the mix makes things even better.
HBK has been appearing quite a bit since WrestleMania and even though his main strength was always as an in-ring performer, his promos and reactions have been excellent when he has gone on WWE television.
There are many schools of thought regarding what role Michaels will play at SummerSlam, but I subscribe to the one that has him accidentally hitting Triple H with Sweet Chin Music, leading to a Lesnar win.
Triple H could than snap on Michaels for trying to steal his spotlight and that could potentially lead to a WrestleMania match between the two. This is all speculation right now, but if Michaels were to come out of retirement to face anyone, I have to believe that it would be his best friend.
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Wade Barrett Set to Return Soon
3 of 5Wade Barrett has been out since the night after Elimination Chamber as Big Show threw Dolph Ziggler on top of him in a battle royal, causing Barrett to dislocate his elbow. The injury looked like a gruesome one and it isn't much of a surprise that he has been on the shelf for this long.
A vignette aired on Monday, however, showing Barrett sporting a beard and embracing his bare-knuckle boxing roots.
Also, ProWrestling.net is reporting that Barrett defeated Zack Ryder in a dark match on Tuesday, so Barrett's eventual return can't be too far away.
There is no doubt that Barrett was getting a massive push before his injury as he scored wins over Randy Orton, Sheamus, Daniel Bryan and other high-profile opponents, so it will be interesting to see if he picks up where he left off.
My Take
As someone who became a fan of Barrett's the second I first saw him on NXT, I won't even pretend to hide my excitement over his impending return.
The WWE is unbelievably thin when it comes to main-event-level heels, and that is probably why CM Punk is being turned and why Alberto Del Rio continues to vie for the World Heavyweight Championship despite nobody viewing him as a credible threat to defeat Sheamus.
With that said, now is the perfect time for Barrett to come back. He has all the tools in terms of in-ring ability, mic skills and overall presence, so I would love to see the creative team put him in a feud with Sheamus immediately.
Barrett can match him as far as size and pure wrestling goes, so he is already far more credible than Del Rio. I would hand Barrett the title immediately, but making him look strong against Sheamus could go a long way.
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Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio Canceled for SummerSlam?
4 of 5The hopelessly-convoluted feud between World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio got even messier on SmackDown as Sheamus was forced to apologize for stealing Del Rio's car.
Then, Del Rio was granted a title match that night rather than at SummerSlam. Del Rio used it as a trap and had several men dressed as police officers attack Sheamus instead.
After the match, in a WWE.com exclusive interview, SmackDown general manager Booker T announced that Del Rio's title bout at SummerSlam was off.
That leaves the WWE without a World Heavyweight Championship match at SummerSlam with just one week remaining before the show. Whatever the creative team decides, it needs to be done quickly, decisively and convincingly.
My Take
This wasn't exactly the most sensible way to cancel the match between Sheamus and Del Rio, but I'm glad it was done nonetheless. I like both Sheamus and Del Rio, but that feud wasn't working in the least.
In order for that to happen, Del Rio would have to be built as a believable challenger, but I'm not sure a single wrestling fan actually thought that Del Rio would beat Sheamus.
Del Rio simply doesn't have the same flair and panache as he did a year ago, and it seems like the WWE finally figured that out.
There is a number of different directions the WWE could go in, but my preference would be a fatal four way of some sort. Since there isn't a distinguished No. 1 contender, that would make a lot of sense.
Allow Sheamus and Del Rio to occupy two of the spots with Randy Orton and a returning Wade Barrett taking the others.
That way there would be balance with two heels and two faces, and all of these guys have some history in one way or another. That match would be roughly a million times more entertaining than another Sheamus vs. Del Rio encounter.
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WWE to Launch New Saturday Morning TV Program
5 of 5The WWE expanded its Monday Night RAW broadcast to three hours permanently a few weeks ago and it appears as though the company is continuing to add more national programming in order to increase the product's appeal.
According to WWE's corporate website, it will produce a new weekly show called "WWE Saturday Morning Slam" and it will air Saturday mornings at 10 a.m. ET as part of the CW's Vortexx block of kids' shows.
It has been more than a decade since the WWE had a Saturday morning show, so this is certainly a big deal for the company. According to the press release, the show will be a half-hour long and will feature one match, as well as highlights, superstar profiles and news regarding the Be a STAR anti-bullying campaign.
My Take
As somebody who first became interested in wrestling as a five-year-old kid watching WWF on Saturday mornings in 1995, this announcement obviously hits home for me.
I understand that many older current fans will dismiss this show as trash that is meant to cater to children and help improve the WWE's image to help Linda McMahon's campaign, but there is no doubt that this show could help draw in a new generation of fans.
Many kids aren't allowed to watch WWE because of the violence or because it's on too late, but putting it one Saturday mornings alongside shows like Iron Man and Justice League increases the likelihood that children will see it.
This show is very clearly going to be aimed at the under-12 demographic, but I'll still tune in because I'm very interested to see if it brings back some great memories from my perspective.
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