Fightful Wrestling Weekly 8/16 (Patreon)

Becky at Black/Brave

Many WWE fans and WWE itself have hoped for a Becky Lynch return, and Fightful has learned a little more about her training process. Fightful sources have heard about her being in the ring at Black and Brave Academy as far back as May, and noted that she and Seth Rollins are known to train together as well. Another source said that every time they've seen her she looks ring ready based on drills she's done in front of other people. WWE sources have reiterated to Fightful that they aren't sure when Becky Lynch is set to return, but that they're operating on the assumption that she will this summer, regardless.

Wheeler Yuta

Fightful had noted recently that there was a WWE tryout name that didn't receive an offer that turned several heads within the Performance Center and WWE, and raised some flags that the hiriing process had changed. It actually ended up being Wheeler YUTA, who is now regularly featured on AEW programming after his May 2021 WWE tryout. Fightful spoke with several NXT talent who confirmed having a discussion -- even with those of influence in NXT at the time -- about YUTA, and him being a perfect fit for what NXT traditionally had been. One NXT talent pointed out that Yuta is six feet tall, 24 years old, could already work, and had recent television experience and checked almost all of the boxes NXT had been looking for recently. Three individual NXT talents said that WWE not signing him was a "shock," with two noting that they could tell a major shift was coming when a guy like that didn't get picked up, despite clear AEW and ROH interest. The same WWE official we spoke with this past weekend noted that was a head-turner for them as well.

Punk training

CM Punk is headed back to pro wrestling, and Fightful has learned a little more behind the scenes notes on Punk's preparation. In addition to doing training on his own, Punk has also done training for the Starz show "Heels." Fightful has been able to speak with some wrestlers and cast members who have worked with him over the past six months, who had very promising things to say about the former WWE World Champion. One source said that CM Punk looked "completely healthy," especially as compared to the tail end of his WWE run. Another source indicated that Punk was very good in the ring, to the point to where they wondered if he'd been training in private leading up to being in the ring with them. A third source had indicated that Punk was working so well in the ring it was as if he'd never left.

Britt Baker injury

Britt Baker DMD's injury has caused a bit of a hiccup for the AEW Women's Champion. Baker did sustain the injury during the match with Nyla Rose, and we're told specifically the spot happened on a Death Valley Driver spot towards the latter part of the match. We're told by AEW sources that despite the broken wrist, Baker didn't shorten or cut the match on the fly and worked over four minutes with the injury.

We've also been told by someone close to Steel City Con that Britt Baker's pre-sales were more than any wrestler that did the convention this year, including Kurt Angle mid-Olympic games.

Chelsea Green More Places

We've seen Chelsea Green appear for IMPACT, ROH, NWA since her WWE deal ran out, in addition to a Pabst Blue Ribbon commercial during an AEW show. We're told that's far from it, as she's also spoken with AAA about working there. To update her situation, she still has not signed a contract with any promotion, and we're told that each company was aware that she'd be pursuing work with the other along the way.

VISA issues

One of the major issues facing several recently released WWE talent is their visa issues. Many wrestlers aren't able to monetize their outside interests while in the States until they obtain a visa. Those that we've spoken to say that most of the wrestlers who aren't citizens are given their 90 days, plus 60 days before they have to return to their country, which gives them about five months in total to get things in order. The 90 days are because the performers are technically still contracted to WWE during that time, and the additional 60 is a grace period to find work or prepare. This has been a major point of concern for some wrestlers we've spoken to, even those who will be in demand.

PBR/AEW

There was a bit of a disagreement between Pabst Blue Ribbon and All Elite Wrestling, leading to the advertisement you saw on the program. PBR had hoped to capitalize on the Domino's/Nick Gage controversy of last week, and had rushed production of a commercial that was set to feature Adam "Hangman" Page. We're told that Page flew to St. Louis to film the commercial and was paid a flat fee, but that an All Elite Wrestling rep kiboshed the production. Pabst Blue Ribbon was told that in order to access AEW stars for a commercial placement during Dynamite, it would require a 2022 agreement and a "six figure investment." We have not been able to get a response from AEW directly on the matter.

The advertisement that ended up airing featuring Matt Cardona, Hornswoggle, Brian Myers and Chelsea Green went through significant edits to remove wrestling moves from the spot.

Duke Droese

I spoke to WWF veteran Duke "The Dumpster" Droese, who spoke about his life and career, and overcoming addiction. He said that his departure in WWF actually came after he passed on putting over Steve Austin in 1996, because he could see himself becoming a jobber to the stars after his feud with Triple H. Droese put over Triple H, and says he was given that feud in order to entice him to sign a new deal, and he wanted to turn heel and buzz his head for the gimmick anyway. He ended up not getting what he wanted out of the deal and was on drugs at the time, which led to his spiral out of WWF.

He got a WCW and WWF tryout, but the fact that he ended up doing both of them likely cost him a job at each one. He never considered going to ECW, and says that with his problems, he probably would have died, overdosed, or jumped off a building if he went there. Droese also said that he was on drugs during the WrestleMania X7 gimmick battle royal, which he contacted WWF to be a part of.

Darren Young Enhancement

I spoke with Darren Young for the latest edition of Enhancement Stories. He said that he did extra work dozens of times for WWE, and pointed to Shad Gaspard as the person who made him feel most at home. He said that Shad would bring him to Ron Simmons and call Young Simmons' son. Young also remembered Chad Dick (OF THE DICKS) being kind of weird.

Omega/Andrade

Fightful Wrestling has confirmed Wrestling Observer's report in regards to Andrade El Idolo being originally scheduled to win the AAA Mega Championship at TripleMania.

Meltzer reported that AEW has control over Kenny Omega's finishes, which we've also heard. Chatter backstage at AAA TripleMania indicated that Andrade had been aware that he was slated to win the title at one point, but that was changed along the way at the request of AEW. Several within AAA were speculating that the change may have been due to the quickly evolving nature of AEW with Christian winning the IMPACT Title, Page being out of action, and the influx of new talent, but that wasn't confirmed to us. Several wrestlers backstage had heard that AAA was informed of this as far back as early July, possibly sooner.

There were still names being discussed for Kenny Omega's next opponent within the company, with El Hijo Vikingo mentioned to us as a possibility down the line. Interestingly enough, one source indicated they didn't believe it would be Psycho Clown, and did not believe that an immediate Andrade rematch was in the cards.

We're working to confirm these rumors with officials of either company.

NXT taping shows

Mass tapings seem like they're going to be more of the norm for NXT, if this month has been any indication.

Fightful has learned that NXT will be taping the Monday and Tuesday following NXT Takeover this month as opposed to going live. Some fans and regulars have already been sent emails to request their spots on the tapings. The most recent set of NXT shows had some live, some taped. We're working to find out any more changes that will be in store.

We have not been told that this is a permanent move.

Who produced Reigns vs. Cena segment?

Fightful has learned that Jamie Noble produced the opening segment that featured John Cena and Roman Reigns, or at least was listed as such. It's worth noting that Paul Heyman has also had heavy influence over Reigns' stories, and Reigns and Cena have a significant more amount of freedom over their segments than most

Producers for some Smackdown matches for 8/6 SD

Fightful has learned a few of the producer assignments for last week's Smackdown.

- Shawn Daivari, who is still working the wrestling scene outside of WWE, produced Street Profts vs. Dirty Dawgs.

- Jamie Noble was tasked with Rey Mysterio vs. Uso.

- Molly Holly and Tyson Kidd were the producers for several women's segments

Reason for change to NXT match

Last week's planned match between Sarray and Ember Moon featured an announced change on Tuesday afternoon, when it was revealed that Dakota Kai would instead be taking on Sarray. Fightful inquired within WWE, and sources indicated that Ember Moon was not cleared, though we were not given a reason that was the case. Ember Moon hasn't wrestled since the July 13 episode of WWE NXT.

Update on Max Caster-AEW

Fightful has received numerous inquiries about the status of Max Caster, after his controversial rap was edited out of last week's AEW Dark, and he was edited out of this week's. Caster also removed AEW and Acclaimed references from his Twitter page. We've learned that as of Tuesday afternoon, Caster was still with AEW, but we were told his appearances were "on ice" as of that time, and sensitivity training has been discussed. We weren't told necessarily what that entailed, but have reached out to AEW for more information on the situation and haven't heard back as of yet.