Oli Davis rounds up the biggest professional wrestling news in his daily WrestleTalk column…
Triple H has now confirmed on Twitter that WWE’s long-reported Women’s Tournament is actually happening, along with the competition’s name: The Mae Young Classic.
A tournament with top female talent from around the world is the next stage of the Womens Evolution in @WWE…July 13/14th from @FullSail. pic.twitter.com/qidXuWBGXA
— Triple H (@TripleH) May 23, 2017
Dave Meltzer has pointed out on Twitter the 32-woman tournament is most likely so named because Mae Young, who passed away in 2014, and Stephanie McMahon were very close – which is probably why the competition wasn’t rightfully named the Eva Marie Cup.
Exactly https://t.co/pNE6TQNYZR
— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) May 23, 2017
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has confirmed reports from last week that he’ll be on the tournament’s commentary team. And an equally momentous equality moment might soon be taking place on the main WWE roster.
Pro Wrestling Sheet are reporting that WWE officials are planning the first ever women’s Money in the Bank ladder match at next month’s Smackdown-exclusive pay-per-view. This comes after last October’s first ever women’s Hell in a Cell match, which was also the first time a WWE pay-per-view was main evented by the ladies.
If all goes according to plan, the 18th June pay-per-view will have two Money in the Bank matches – one for both the female and male genders. Which is a great step forward in equality, but a long way from catering for the 48 other gender identities listed on Facebook.
When, oh when, will we get a Two-Spirit Person Money in the Bank match? Get outta the 80s, WWE!
Shane McMahon announced on this week’s Smackdown that Carmella, Natalya, Tamina, Charlotte and Becky Lynch will compete in a No. 1 contenders match for Naomi’s Women’s Title on next Tuesday’s show. It’s expected the winner will go onto face Naomi at Money in the Bank, while the other four women will be involved in the high-stakes ladder match. And potentially James Ellsworth.
In all seriousness, to boost those numbers, we might finally see Summer Rae return to WWE television – jumping ship from Raw – who has been cleared to return since before Wrestlemania. And maybe the debut of Lana’s long-teased new dancer gimmick.
Welcome back, @CedricAlexander!#205Live @WWENetwork @WWE205Live pic.twitter.com/IBz0PzUhJs
— 205Live (@WWE205Live) May 24, 2017
After being out of action since February with a knee injury, Cedric Alexander made his return on last night’s episode of 205 Live, defeating Johnny Moon – hopefully starting his conquest to regain 205 Live’s mid-card title Alicia Fox.
And after 205 Live, The New Day made their long-awaited return to WWE TV, being the opening guests on Talking Smack. Kofi Kingston, Big E and Xavier Woods haven’t been seen since the Superstar Shake-Up, where The Revival wrote Kingston off TV so he could undergo minor ankle surgery.
Going by his Instagram posts, Kofi appears ready to return soon, which is probably why The New Day teased matches with The Usos, Breezeango and American Alpha on Talking Smack. They also took issue with JBL calling The Usos the best team of the past half-decade – saying that Bradshaw shouldn’t be allowed to say whatever he wants; a possible dig at the recent allegations of bullying against the Smackdown commentator.
Raw has continued its downward ratings trend, setting its latest non-holiday, non-football season record low, drawing just 2.61 million viewers this week. As F4WOnline points out, this is a 20% decline from the same time last year.
62% of your ratings thought the show was AvRAWge, while both Poor and Cor were tied at 16%.
Check back on Flickering Myth every day for round-ups of the biggest professional wrestling news…