SummerSlam card almost set
The news cycle in the pro wrestling world is hotter than the weather, so let鈥檚 jump right into it!
WWE鈥檚 second biggest show of the year, SummerSlam, is days away and the card is almost set for the show which takes place in Toronto.
Brock Lesnar defends the Universal championship against Seth Rollins, while Kofi Kingston defends the WWE championship against Randy Orton.
Will WWE have Lesnar remain as a part-time champion, and will the company leave its top honor on Kingston heading into the Fox TV deal?
Both women鈥檚 titles are on the line as Becky Lynch defends the Raw strap against Natalya and Bayley defends the Smackdown crown against Ember Moon. Could Sasha Banks return?
AJ Styles defends the US belt against Ricochet.
Other scheduled matches include Kevin Owens versus Shane McMahon, Finn Balor against Bray Wyatt, The Miz against Dolph Ziggler and Trish Stratus returning to take on Charlotte Flair.
If Owens loses, he must leave WWE and could WWE throw fans for a loop and have Stratus, a native of Toronto, upset Flair?
There are rumblings going around that Ziggler will face Goldberg instead of The Miz, and if WWE is going to move forward with this, look for it to develop quickly on Raw or Smackdown.
Roman Reigns will also be in action, although it has not been announced who he will face. Look for it to be either Daniel Bryan or Samoa Joe.
Raw in Pittsburgh
Monday鈥檚 Raw takes place in Pittsburgh. There are still good seats remaining.
Rock retirement
This past week during his appearance on Live with Kelly and Ryan, Dwayne 鈥淭he Rock鈥� Johnson announced that while he loves and misses pro wrestling, he 鈥渜uietly retired鈥� to focus on his movie career.
If The Rock is truly retired, his last official match was at WrestleMania 32 when he defeated Erick Rowan in an impromptu match in six seconds.
However, could Rock鈥檚 announcement just be a coy move to hype his return to the ring? WWE would love to have him be a part of the first episode of Smackdown when it moves to Fox in October.
Remembering Harley Race
Word broke Thursday afternoon that one of the toughest men to ever step in the ring, eight-time NWA world champion Harley Race, passed away after battling health issues in recent years.
Race鈥檚 prime predated the pro wrestling boom in the 1980s, and younger fans don鈥檛 know much about him. For anyone wondering what Race did for the pro wrestling business, do an online search on his name or search him on the WWE Network.
The love for Race that has poured out in recent days speaks volumes for the life and career of the legend.
How rare was Race? He didn鈥檛 have to tell anyone how tough he was and was beloved in the locker room.
AEW sells out
As expected, All Elite Wrestling sold out its TV debut show. Tickets went on sale Friday and the event sold out fast.
Once the actual venue setup is finalized for the show, a select amount of new tickets will be released.
Now, the question will be whether AEW will be able to pull off shows that keep the fans coming, both in person and in terms of watching the product on TV.
It may be hard to consistently drew big crowds to venues in the middle of the week, especially during the school year for kids.
There is already talk of WWE running an NXT special on either USA Network or FS1.
On This Day 鈥�
In 1989, the NWA ran event at the Palumbo Center in Pittsburgh. On the card, 鈥淢ean鈥� Mark Callous would defeat Doug Furnas.
It is believed that this was the first wrestling appearance in Pittsburgh for Callous, now known as The Undertaker.