WWE Week in Review (7/1/18 – 7/7/18)
Welcome to this week’s WWE Week In Review! I’m Nathan Favel and we’ve plenty to cover in the second edition of the review. Let’s just jump right in.
Undertaker to wrestle Triple H one more time:
The following is courtesy of WWE.com: The Undertaker will wrestle Triple H for the last time in Australia for the WWE stadium show, later this year.
My Take: This sounds like it will be a good match and having the final match between each man for what should be around $70,000 people. It might dilute the Wrestlemania 28 match that was meant to be the “end of an era”, but having one of the bigger main events in WWE history return to help anchor a big card is a good idea (although building new main events would also be a good idea).
Enzo Amore Rape Case Finds Police Report Released To Public:
The following is courtesy of Pro Wrestling Sheet: The Phoenix Police Department has released a copy of the police report made on Philomina Sheehan’s rape accusation on now former WWE wrestler Enzo Amore (Eric Arndt). “In reviewing the totality of this investigation, it does not warrant the submission for any criminal charges at this time. There is insufficient evidence to corroborate the victim’s disclosure of sexual assault. There were no witnesses to the incident and the forensic examination and crime lab results do not provide evidence of a sexual assault at this time.
The suspect did not give a direct statement to police, but did give an indirect statement through his attorney that all contact with the victim was consensual. Cell phone and social media data and information contradict some of the initial statements about the incident and there is no cell phone or social media data that corroborate the sexual assault disclosure. Witness statements made to law enforcement contradict the victim’s statement.
Video surveillance does confirm that the parties involved were together at the Clarendon Hotel on the night in question. The footage also confirms the victim leaving that morning. The video surveillance does not capture or corroborate the disclosure of sexual assault. The facts of the case do not allow this case to proceed at this time. In the event that additional evidence comes to light that can corroborate the victim’s disclosure of sexual assault, this case can be re-opened and further investigated. Until such evidence is located or provided, this case will be closed. Case closed.”
My Take: The big problem with finding no male DNA evidence on Sheehan is that both claim that there was sex, which would guarantee that there was DNA on her body if their basic, mutual claim of sex was true. It remains to be seen what this all means for Enzo’s WWE wrestling career, but he seems to have moved on to a music career, specializing in rap.
Wrestler Injury Recovery Time:
The following is courtesy of The Wrestling Observer by way of Wrestlezone:
- Lars Sullivan: broken jaw – no known return date
- Ruby Riott: sprained MCL – likely out a couple weeks, evaluation at the end of July, no surgery required (no tear)
- Shinsuke Nakamura: dog bite – announced for Extreme Rules & is expected on the pay-per-view, meets w/ doctor on Monday
- Bray Wyatt: car accident – not expected to compete at this weekend’s house shows, meets with a doctor today, could be cleared on Monday in time for RAW
My Take: Bray Wyatt will be appearing at this weekend’s house shows, so it would appear he’s fine. Another piece of evidence I found on Bray’s car accident is that he has been accused of causing it by way of reckless driving. Shinsuke Nakamura will probably not be to comfortable around police dogs for a while.
Daniel Bryan’s WWE career:
The following is courtesy of Twitter user @wrestlevotes: “Regarding Daniel Bryan and his contract: WWE has a strong idea on what he’s going to do. So much so, that months ago the decision was made to have the 2K19 Showcase mode revolve around him. Having that game release w/o Bryan on the roster wouldn’t look good. So….”
My Take: Vince McMahon has been guilty of brash decisions before (Brock Lesnar’s push just before he left the WWE in 2004, Bret Hart’s 20 year contract a year before firing him due to lack of funds, Mike Adamle’s large contract before learning he was a lousy wrestling announcer/commentator, the Lex Express, promising Sid Vicious he could be the new Hulk Hogan and etc.). Remember, we are talking about the promoter who retired Bryan at the first sign of trouble (he should have just given him a year off and checked his brain’s health at the end of that sabbatical). The fact that Bryan would elect to re-sign with the company that has made his career very difficult in the past seems to be less certain than one might think, especially since he has publically said that he wants a part-time schedule, as well as having had expressed a desire to wrestle as many matches as he can on the indy circuit (he vehemently wants a Mask vs. Hair match for CMLL at Arena Mexico). @wrestlevotes could simply be repeating outdated information as well, or incorrect information… or he/she could have just made it all up to get attention. It remains to be seen what Bryan does, but he has expressed some interest in working at the All In event this September.
Best Angle Of The Week:
Johnny Gargano Goes Mean: Gargano has become an anti-hero in an attempt to destroy Tommaso Ciampa. EC3 was fed to Gargano in an excellent match to affirm the shift in attitude for “Johnny Wrestling”.
Worst Angle Of The Week:
Dr. Shelby returned to help Bayley and Sasha Banks resolve their difference in counseling. This was an awful set of segments that remind you of how far the totem pole the WWE actually would be if they didn’t have so much money saved from the Hulk Hogan/Stone Cold eras, as well as accruing money from the family-friendly end of the entertainment industry.
Worst Match of the Week:
Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens: This match just became an angle where Strowman locked Owens in a Porta-Potty and kicked it of the arena ramp.
Best Match of the Week:
5. Nia Jax w/ Natalya beat Mickie James w/ Alexa Bliss – Women’s Match: RAW
4. United States Champion Jeff Hardy beat The Miz in the Independence Day United States Open Challenge: Smackdown
3. Akira Tozawa beat Jaysin Strife: 205 Live
2. Johnny Gargano beat EC3: NXT
1. Mustafa Ali beat Buddy Murphy in a No Disqualification Match: 205 Live
Here is my review of that match: This was the best match on the show and, probably, the best WWE match on television this week. These two guys treated this fight like it was a big time event. Triple H’s love of this division is really starting to come through with matches like this. As far as action goes, every-thing but the kitchen sink is about what you can expect from this bout, and that ain’t bad. Go forth and watch this grueling, exhausting, exhilarating fight for the right to be victorious… and to tell me how many times I said the word this in this review of the match!
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Thank you for reading and I look forward to having you back here for our third review, next weekend. Have a great week!