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Another week in the bustling world of pro wrestling just went by and as always, there were many newsworthy moments that captivated the attention of the fans.
A former WWE Superstar confirmed his in-ring return with a new gimmick while another fan-favourite teased a possible return in a recent interview.
Elsewhere, two pioneers of the wrestling industry passed away. There were also major announcements made for the upcoming episodes of Raw and SmackDown that have perfectly set the tone for this week's WWE programming.
Impact Wrestling's recently concluded Slammiversary PPV also had many talking points that will be highlighted in this article. That and more have been featured in this week's pro wrestling news and rumors round-up.
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#1. Damien Sandow returning to wrestling
Despite the initial promise, 'The Intellectual Saviour of the Masses' was a catastrophic failure in WWE. After being released from the WWE in 2016, Damien Sandow wrestled for Impact Wrestling for a year before going on a hiatus for two and a half years in a bid to make a career in acting.
Sandow is now ready to return to in-ring action. The former MITB contract winner took to his Twitter handle to announce the details of his upcoming match. He even showed up the Battle Arts Rising Stars show and made a statement with a typical attack.
The former WWE Superstar will wrestle for Santino Marella's Battle Arts PRO event against Timothy O'Connor on July 13th.
Sandow put out a series of posts on Twitter and Instagram while unveiling his new gimmick, termed as 'The Millennial Slayer'. He said, "Well, you might as well hear it from me first," Stevens said. "I'm here in Toronto at Battle Arts Academy. I attended a wrestling show and I had an epiphany. I've been gone for two and a half years, look what's happened to the world, look what's happened to the business. The world needs me and the business needs me. So, tonight, the 'Millennial Slayer' was born. Stayed tuned."
You can check out the posts below:
See WWE RAW Live Updates, Highlights of event, & more on WWE RAW latest updates page
#2. Perro Aguayo Sr. and Paco Alonso pass away; Chris Jericho's emotional tribute
The wrestling fraternity lost two trendsetting personalities of the industry this past week.
Perro Aguayo Sr., considered to be one of the greatest Mexican wrestlers of all time, passed away at the age of 73 on July 3rd. Aguayo debuted in 1968 and went on to become of the most sought-after attractions for decades to come, as he made a name for himself in AAA and Universal Wrestling Association. Tributes and condolences poured in from all corners right after news of the Lucha Libre icon's death was made public.
Another significant figure in Mexican pro wrestling, CMLL owner Paco Alonso died on July 7th. Alonso was the head honcho of the oldest pro wrestling organization in the world - Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). Alonso took over the reins of CMLL from his uncle Salvador “Chavo” Lutteroth Jr. in 1987 and steered the promotion to become the leading company in Mexico. Chris Jericho put out a tearjerking video in which he paid tribute to Alonso.
We at Sportskeeda covey our heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of Perro Aguayo Sr. and Paco Alonso.
#3. Sasha Banks' return
The convoluted Sasha Banks saga has dragged on for way too long. It seems that WWE and the Superstar may have finally buried their differences as Banks was featured as part of the local advertising material for SummerSlam.
Posters of the biggest show of the summer include the Boss alongside other top Superstars such as Roman Reigns, AJ Styles, Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, Bobby Lashley, Rey Mysterio, Daniel Bryan, and Randy Orton.
Banks has been enjoying her time away from the ring and has constantly made her presence felt with cryptic tweets regularly being posted on her Twitter handle. It was reported a few weeks ago that Vince McMahon and Sasha had a meeting in which both parties discussed her status with the company and potential angles for her return.
It may be too early to decide but all signs point towards Banks' comeback for a SummerSlam programme, which is scheduled to take on August 11th at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada.
#4. Roman Reigns on if AEW is a legitimate WWE's competitor
The war between WWE and AEW has revived the interest levels in professional wrestling. WWE has been pushed to make a host of changes and many fans and pundits feel AEW can actually give the company a run for its money.
The Big Dog, though, isn't stressed about the emergence of AEW as he thinks it would be foolish to consider AEW as competition for WWE.
During an interview with Sportster, Roman Reigns was asked about AEW contending with WWE for the top spot in pro wrestling.
He bluntly shot down the threat posed by AEW by saying, "I’ll just say this. It’s all so new and it was what it was with Ambrose leaving and popping up over there... Competition? No, there’s no competition. WWE, we know exactly what we’re doing. We have the best talent in the world. There’s no comparing, I say that with firm confidence, all the way from the top to the very bottom. We are world class all the way through. Is it another option? Sure. [For wrestlers, AEW is] another option and another place to get a cheque. I’m never against optimism but I think you have foolish thoughts if you really think there’s a comparison or actual competition. Just an option, which isn’t a bad thing.” H/t credit: TheSportster
#5. John Cena disrespected by Youtube personality
John Cena was in London recently where he was harassed by self-proclaimed Youtube personality, Mo Deen.
Cena was shopping at a store in London when Mo Deen spotted him and began filming without the 16-time WWE Champion's consent. The Cenation leader was composed in his exchanges with Deen, who despite being told not to film without permission on many occasions, kept the camera rolling.
Cena addressed the situation with a tweet that read, "Respect is reciprocal. You get what you give." So how did Deen respond? An apology? Nah! Deen wants a wrestling match in the UK or in the United States. The delusional Mo Deen claims to be a famous London Youtuber with a meagre subscriber count of 2,000 followers.
Deen tried to milk the situation by getting his subscriber count up, however, he has been rightfully roasted in each of the videos posted in the aftermath of his interaction with Cena.
You can check out the videos below:
#6. An unlikely alliance between Cody Rhodes and Cain Velasquez
Add Cain Velasquez' name to the list of Mixed Martial Artists crossing over to pro wrestling.
As announced by Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA), the former UFC Heavyweight Champion will make his pro wrestling debut for the promotion at Triplemanía XXVII on August 3rd, 2019.
Velasquez will team up with Cody Rhodes (you read that right!), and Psycho Clown to take on the team of a mystery partner, Taurus and Texano Jr.
Cain returned to the Octagon after nearly three years in February earlier this year and was brutally knocked out by Francis Ngannou. He has flirted with the idea of getting into pro wrestling for a long time and had even visited the WWE Performance Center back in 2018.
He signed a contract with AAA in March 2019 and is all set to make his official in-ring debut at TripleMania. Having Cody in his corner should make it a smoother affair. Will Cain be able to replicate the success of Ronda Rousey in pro wrestling? Only time will tell.
#7. "Never say never"
April 3rd, 2015 was the day we last saw AJ Lee in action. It's been four years since the 'Crazy Chick' of WWE announced her retirement from in-ring competition, citing damage to her cervical spine, her relationship with CM Punk and the accomplishment of her pro wrestling goals as the reasons behind the shocking decision.
Lee has since taken to a career in writing and has already penned her first book -a memoir titled "Crazy Is My Superpower: How I Triumphed by Breaking Bones, Breaking Hearts, and Breaking the Rules."
During a recent interview with Kristine Leahy on FS1's Fair Game, Lee addressed the topic of a potential return to WWE. She said, "Every time I’ve said ‘never’ in my life I ended up doing the thing. I’m never going to date a wrestler, never going to date another wrestler. And then it keeps going and I ended up marrying one. I say that I don’t know what the future holds, to not hold your breath. But never say never."
#8. Another teaser of The Undertaker vs. Sting
Earlier this week, WWE posted a photo on Twitter that had the Undertaker and Sting in a ring with the caption 'Imagine'. The social media post resurrected the rumours of the greatest dream match to have never happened.
It was later revealed the post was released in order to hype WWE's new series, WWE Reimagined, that centred around the 'What if' scenario of Undertaker joining the WCW in 1998 to face Sting.
Dave Meltzer firmly shot down speculation regarding the match while noting how Vince McMahon was never convinced with a Sting vs. Undertaker match. He even noted that the match may never happen as Sting will never get cleared to wrestle by WWE doctors.
Sting continues to pitch for the match to come to fruition but we all know that's never going to happen. So the next time you see a so-called 'teaser' in WWE's social media, just know that WWE's social media team is just messing with you.
#9. Raw and SmackDown updates
The anticipation surrounding Raw and SmackDown have marginally increased with the appointments of Eric Bischoff and Paul Heyman as Executive Directors. WWE put forth a solid episode of Raw last week, however, the WWE creative continued to be uninspiring with its booking for SmackDown Live.
Roman Reigns will take on Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre with the McMahon scion set to pick the Big Dog's mystery partner. Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch will take on Andrade and Zelina Vega in a mixed tag team match.
Rey Mysterio will return to TV this week after recuperating from his injury.
Over to the blue side, Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura will face each other in a mouth-watering clash. The first-ever SmackDown Tag Team Championship Summit has also been scheduled for this week's episode of SmackDown Live. Aleister Black's Extreme Rules opponent will also be unveiled on the show.
#10. Impact Wrestling Slammiversary Fallout
We end this week's round-up with a deserved mention of Impact Wrestling's Slammiversary PPV. It's a shame that WWE's once-thriving competitor doesn't garner enough eyeballs now that they have a darn good product to offer.
Slammiversary, believe it or not, was one of the best PPVs of the year across all promotions. Rhyno, who quit WWE recently, returned to the Impact Zone as a masked man to deliver the Gore on Michael Elgin.
Tessa Blanchard and Sami Callahan competed in a historic first-ever inter-gender main event and put on an engaging contest from bell to bell. Former WWE Superstars Rich Swann and Johnny Impact worked a breathtaking match for the X-Division title as well.
Impact Wrestling may have lost its former glory but the promotion is slowly yet steadily rebuilding its base by putting out compelling shows with an extremely talented roster.
We highly recommend you catch Slammiversary XVII if you haven't done it yet.
