WWE suspended Roman Reigns for 30 days for his first violation of the company's Talent Wellness Program, and it looks like WWE will now be relying heavily on Dean Ambrose while Reigns is suspended.
According to WrestlingInc.com, the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion will be replacing Reigns at several live events and will even be pulling doube duty by working a pair of Florida shows in Orlando and Jacksonville this Sunday:
Jacksonville is about a two hour drive from Orlando, so it appears as if Ambrose will work the opening match at one of the shows, and then haul it out to work the last match of the other event.
WHAT'S IT MEAN FOR WWE?
If anyone stands to benefit from the absence of Reigns, other than Reigns himself, it's Ambrose.
Ambrose has been booked as WWE's No. 2 or No. 3 babyface (when Cena's around) for the last couple of years, so with Reigns gone, it's likely that WWE will book him as its top babyface until Reigns comes back and maybe even afterward. While Reigns' suspension, at least on the surface, looks like it could be a huge detriment to his career, it could also help freshen up his character and possibly lead to a much needed heel turn.
Dave Meltzer noted in the WON that WWE house shows with Reigns as the top guy "are not drawing well," which perhaps could be another reason for the creative team to pull the trigger on a heel turn. With Ambrose ridiculously over with the majority of the crowd, plus other great babyfaces like Sami Zayn and Cesaro as well as heels like Seth
He'll have to prove he can be trusted again first, and even then, there are many other stars who consistently generate more positive reactions from the crowd.
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.@WWERomanReigns - everyone stumbles, everyone falls. Focus on family. Pull yourself up. Prove the doubters wrong. I'm pulling for you.
— Mick Foley (@RealMickFoley) June 22, 2016
Hey yo @WWERomanReigns life happens . Screw the haters. You're still THE GUY. Keep your chin up kid
— Scott Hall (@SCOTTHALLNWO) June 22, 2016
Kurt Angle Has Talked To Triple H About WWE Return, But Is He Coming Back?
WHAT'S THE DEAL?
There is conflicting information about whether or not Kurt Angle will be coming back to the WWE, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter:
Kurt Angle, MVP, Carlito and Stevie Richards are the only names we can confirm who have been approached, and Angle went public on 6/21 on Mark Madden’s radio show. Lots of other names have been reported elsewhere. Angle was called by Paul Levesque but no specific ideas were talked about past they would get back with him. There is no deal in place.
Angle himself recently stated that it's a matter of "when, not if," he will return to the company, but the WON's Dave Meltzer (h/t SEScoops) "says that WWE officials confirmed on Thursday that Angle will not be joining the company for their upcoming brand split."
WHAT'S IT MEAN FOR WWE?
WWE will undoubtedly need all the star power it can get for the upcoming brand split, and though Angle's days as a full-timer are probably behind him, he could easily work a part-time schedule similar to guys like The Undertaker, Triple H and Brock Lesnar.
Angle may be approaching 50, but he's proven during his last few years in TNA that he's still one of the best in-ring performers in the world. WWE would be wise to bring him back as a wrestler, assuming he's healthy enough to perform in that role, but there are other non-wrestling options for him as well, such as a spot as a manager (for American Alpha most likely) or as the general manager of either Raw or SmackDown.
Obviously, however, the best case scenario is that WWE gets a healthy Angle who wrestles several big matches a year against great young talent like Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Cesaro. However, it looks like that may not happen after all.
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8 Ways WWE Can Book Kurt Angle's Return https://t.co/f8AZm4HnTIpic.twitter.com/lSTt6JOoCO
— WhatCultureWrestling (@WhatCultureWWE) June 22, 2016
Original WWE Plans For AJ Styles Revealed
WHAT'S THE DEAL?
If you were one of those fans who doubted that AJ Styles could succeed in WWE, you weren't alone.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE originally believed that Styles would work in the lower to midcard picture, though that plan has obviously changed:
He got enough buzz that WWE was willing to bring him back, and let him use his name, in January. But he was not planned whatsoever to be a main eventer. He was booked to be low on cards and perhaps work to middle. But the reaction at the Royal Rumble, and even more so at the house shows where he was getting either the first or second best reaction even with almost no WWE television, changed the perception of him and now he’s considered one of the company’s five top regular stars.
WHAT'S IT MEAN FOR WWE?
It certainly seems as if WWE underestimated the impact that Styles would instantly make in the company. That being said, it's likely that most fans that couldn't have ever imagined that Styles would challenge for the WWE World title twice and feud with WWE's two biggest stars within six months of his debut, either.
That's a testament to Syles' incredibility ability, however, as he's made it abundantly clear in less than half a year that he has the charisma to work as a top level heel and an in-ring repertoire that may not be matched by anyone in the WWE. He's already had two main event World title matches against Roman Reigns and one (likely with more to come) against Cena, showing just how much faith WWE has developed in him in a short span.
You could make a case that Styles is now the company's No. 1 heel, which is amazing to consider and could perhaps open the door for other former TNA-but-now-WWE guys like Austin Aries and Samoa Joe to work at the top of the card on WWE's main roster as well.
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New WWE Pay-Per-View Schedule With Brand Specific Shows Possibly Leaked
WHAT'S THE DEAL?
Earlier this week, a user on the community-based social networking site Reddit posted what is believed to be the new WWE pay-per-view schedule (seen above), with brand specific PPV events for both Raw and SmackDown.
The schedule has yet to be confirmed as legitimate, according to SEScoops, though the WON indicates that it could be, saying "that every date and place listed on that schedule is accurate and confirmed aside from three shows. And those shows make sense given the statement Jerry Lawler made about brand exclusive PPV shows except four times a year."
Plus, Ticketmaster.com has since renamed Night of Champions as "Clash of Champions," a change that has also been reflected on WWE.com, which would support the rumored schedule as well.
WHAT'S IT MEAN FOR WWE?
All indications seem to be that the new WWE schedule will, at the least, be similar to what is seen above, with two PPVs (one for each brand) every month except for the "Big Four" shows, The Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Survivor Series.
The names of the post-brand split PPVs don't matter all that much because WrestleMania, The Royal Rumble and perhaps SummerSlam are really the only shows that are sold based on the value of their name and brand. What will ultimately wind up being more important than the names of these shows is whether or not WWE holding eight more PPVs a year will be harmful or helpful for WWE.
On one hand, you might think that more shows equals more money for WWE. On the other hand, however, one could easily argue that WWE already produces too much weekly content and adding eight more shows a year is only going to exacerbate the problem.
Especially with SmackDown going live on Tuesday nights starting next month, WWE will be asking its fans to commit to watching eight to 10 hours of programming in a three-day span twice a month. Is that too much content? It might be, and we'll find out pretty soon.
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Fan reaction to this news seems to be overwhelmingly negative:
I must be the only one that thinks having 2 WWE PPV's a month is a horrible idea.
Such an overkill and a struggle to fill 2 GOOD cards.— Kieran Towers (@kieranthekiz) June 23, 2016
I hope that new WWE PPV schedule isn't legit. I already got enough wrestling to watch without them adding more shows on top of everything.
— Richichi Hokuto (@HalloRiched) June 23, 2016
*sees rumored WWE PPV schedule post-brand split* pic.twitter.com/vXpTpNxdvh
— David Wilcox (@drwilcox) June 22, 2016
WHAT ELSE IS NEW?
- Daniel Bryan has returned to WWE as an announcer for the Cruiserweight Classic, but admitted that it's "borderline painful" be involved in pro wrestling without actually being able to wrestle. I think we can agree that it'd be nice to see him back, but his health is more important than our wishes.
- The Rock revealed he thought about transitioning to an MMA career, preferably in UFC, in 2004. Instead, he committed to making movies and millions upon millions of dollars in the process.
- PWInsider (h/t WrestlingInc) reports that the recently released Cody Rhodes and WWE have had contact about him possibly signing a deal that would be a lot like a typical Legends contract. The logic? For WWE to be able to produce and sell merchandise using his likeness.
- It looks like the Women's division will appear on both brands after the brand split, not just one brand as was originally rumored.
- John Cena will be hosting FOX's Teen Choice Awards next month. He must smell what The Rock is cooking.
Blake Oestriecher is an elementary school teacher by day and a sports writer by night. He’s a contributor to the Forbes @SportsMoneyBlog, where he focuses on the WWE, NBA and NFL. You can follow him on @BOestriecher.
