7/5/2019

Creative commotion:

Ryan Callahan, Raw's lead writer, has left WWE after a backstage argument with Dave Kapoor (Ranjin Singh) last week.

Issues raised in the disagreement were the fall in ratings and that Ryan stays at home to write the show remotely. He does not attend events as a rule, which can be problematic, in terms of emergency re-writes.

HHH vs Vince:

A fan tweeted Vince McMahon to criticise the WWE product and to call for WWE stars to be given health insurance. This drew a like from Triple H, although he later removed it.

NXT 25:

HHH has confirmed NXT will host it's 25th special next month in Connecticut.

WWE support old boy:

WWE are sending a number of their talent to appear at a benefit show for former Tag champ, Samu, who is battling liver cancer.

Marty Jannetty claims lawsuit is keeping him out of HOF:

Marty Jannetty, who is part of the concussion lawsuit vs WWE, says he has been told to behave himself and HOF is waiting, as a Rocker, with Shawn Michaels. He says, no deal...

"I heard about it. I didn't see it but someone sent me a link to it… Here's what I can explain, and I'm hoping my attorneys won't go 'Damn, why'd you do that?' But I'm in a lawsuit against WWE so there can't be a Hall of Fame. Even though it's working out real good where Shawn has been in twice. Bret has been in twice. Flair's been in twice. Shawn would be the only three-timer as a Rocker and everyone's telling me, 'Next year, behave. Behave.' If I was gonna behave the way people wanted me to behave, I would have been the world champion. I'm just being real on real."

Unique? battle royal:

AEW have come up, they say, with a unique battle royal for their first show. 5 men will start, and will be joined by 5 more after 3 minutes, then again, with a final batch of 6 coming in to fight to a finish.

That doesn't sound like the Royal Rumble at all.

Brand draft on life support:

WWE may be reluctant to kill the brand draft, but it is hanging on in name only, after Vince McMahon announced a new wild card rule allowing talent from each show to appear on the other teams broadcasts.

The reason is USA and Fox complaining about who had the biggest names on their respective brand. WWE have also adhered to a request from the networks to pull back on how much footage they make available for free on social media.

MITB:

Samoa Joe vs Rey Mysterio is official for MITB. The US strap will be on the line. Tony Nese vs Ariya Daivari is also offical for the Cruiser.

Angle talks last match:

"I don't think it's the match that I hoped for, I think it was the match that should have happened. Baron and I had been doing a program for a year now. I decided that I wanted to retire at WrestleMania, so I kind of put Vince McMahon in a position. What does he do? Does he go with Baron Corbin—who I was supposed to go with—or do we change it up to John Cena, AJ Styles, or whoever else. It wasn't really anyone's fault, it was just the timing was Baron Corbin and it was the right decision."

SD tease:

• Shane McMahon will crown new SmackDown Tag Team Champions
• Kevin Owens to respond to Kofi Kingston's attack from last week
• Massive Six-Woman Tag Team Match to go down on the blue brand
• Ali and Andrade to square off tonight
• Which Raw Superstars will take advantage of the "Wild Card Rule?"

Old boy elected:

Matt Morgan is mayor of Longwood, Florida.

Rhyno turns down big money offer:

Rhyno says WWE offered him a contract that is more lucrative than his current active deal to stay with them, and not wrestle, but he has decided to continue his career on the indies. He is free as of July 17.

Von Erich legacy:

Ross and Marshall, sons of Kevin, have signed multi year contracts with MLW.

KO says he did not agree with heel turn, but was wrong:

"I wish I would have been able to stay on the other side of the fence a little longer, to be honest. I don't think anybody's really seen me as a babyface ever, or, like, the way that I envision myself being. I don't think people have any idea what I can do on the other side. But, you know, what's done is done. If I'm gonna speak candidly about it, I would have done it differently. I would have turned on Kofi differently at a different time. I ended up being wrong because once I did it, I knew that was the right time and place."