Thankfully for us that cover professional wrestling round the clock, it was not a pay-per-view week, a rarity in these times. However, it certainly was an eventful week, with many happenings that shaped, moulded and transformed the wrestling world.
While we always encourage you to keep checking the Sportskeeda Wrestling page, to be up to date with recent updates from sports entertainment, here is an alternative. These are some highlights of the events that transpired through the week.
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As is tradition, let's begin with the viewership numbers for Raw and SmackDown Live.
#1 One brand rises, another collapses again
Not even Brock Lesnar can save the product, it seems. On the heels of what was a good show last week, the red brand put on a fairly solid show this week too. Unfortunately, much of the WWE Universe did not agree with our qualitative assessment of the episode as Raw’s viewership dipped by 4% when compared to last week.
Essentially, 2.976 million viewers tuned in, as compared to the 3 million plus viewers during last week’s episode.
However, SmackDown Live’s viewership saw a slight increase with the Women’s MITB match in the main event spot. The number rose slightly to 2.603 million viewers this week when compared to the 2.597 million viewers that had tuned into the blue brand last week. Next week’s episode should see an even further rise, and we’ll tell you why on the very next page.
#2 Packed SmackDown Live episode planned for next week
Fourth of July episodes have traditionally not clocked the highest numbers for WWE, but we are glad to see that the company is giving it their all, to put on a packed show. Not only will John Cena return next week, there will also be an Independence Day Battle Royal at the show, with the winner getting a shot at Kevin Owens’ US Championship.
Moreover, Lana claims that Naomi had not really pinned her in the contest last week, so she gets yet another rematch. And that’s not all, there will also be a rap battle between The Usos and The New Day, next Tuesday.
The card looks stacked, and we couldn’t be happier at WWE's positive approach.
#3 Two Hall of Famers to make history
Alas! While Lita won't be competing in the Mae Young Classic tournament, she will indeed grace our screens. She will join fellow Hall of Famer Jim Ross and call the action at the Mae Young Classic tournament, come Monday, August 28th.
Lita had been a part of the Raw pre-show until not too long ago, and we are glad to see her back in the fold. While she may not be JR, in terms of calling the action live, her laurels in the ring certainly make her an ideal candidate for the job.
#4 Chris Jericho returned to WWE
Chris Jericho surprised the WWE Universe, by returning as a heel at a WWE Live Event in Singapore. This was the first time we’d seen him since he moved to SmackDown Live and was beaten down by Kevin Owens, following the Superstar Shake-Up.
Unfortunately, Jericho had a sour return as Itami hit him with a GTS, to pick up the win. We wait with bated breath to find out when Jericho will return to WWE television and put us on the list.
#5 An inter-brand battle
Seth Rollins faced Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship in Vancouver. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Shinsuke Nakamura was supposed to be Mahal’s opponent at first.
However, certain travel issues prevented the King of Strong Style from making it to Canada, forcing WWE to replace him with Rollins. Jinder got a massive pop in Canada and went on to retain his championship.
#6 Former Impact Wrestling Star arrived at NXT
Former Impact Wrestling Star Gunner, who is best known for his TNA Television Title reign as well as his Tag Team Championship reign (with James Storm) arrived at an NXT live event and set social media on fire.
He faced off against No Way Jose in a losing effort, and wrestled under his real name, Chad Lail, hailing from Charlotte, North Carolina. We wait to see what gimmick he will wrestle under when he makes his NXT television debut in due course of time.
#7 A new women's wrestling milestone
Some say it was done merely to promote the Netflix series GLOW that celebrates women's wrestling. Whatever the reason, the women of WWE made history as Raw, SmackDown Live and NXT had women superstars competing in their main event matches. Congratulations to the women, and may this be the beginning of something special!
That concludes our weekly news recap feature. We’ll join you again next week, with more news from SKFabe.
