Anthony Ricciardi covers some of the events in the wrestling world for June 2024 that reminds you why it’s still an amazing time to be a wrestling fan
When I wrote my first piece a few months ago talking about why I thought it was an amazing time to be a wrestling fan, my motivations were to try and combat the negativity of tribalism and to talk about my experiences at WrestleMania 40. Then last month so much happened in wrestling that further reminded me that this is truly special time to be a fan that I needed to write another piece recounting some of the amazing moments.
Well, here we are at the start of July, and I feel the same way about June, so it looks like as long as this keeps up this maybe a recurring monthly piece. So, let me not waste any more time and just get into it.
WWE Clast At The Castle Scotland:
The night started off with a hot and heated rivalry of Cody Rhodes defending his WWE Championship against AJ Styles in an I Quit. Although this match didn’t live up to the build and previous I Quit matches, it was a solid opener. The most memorable moment was AJ taunting Cody’s mother at ringside resulting in him getting some Mama Rhodes slaps and a post-match shot with the steel steps by a pissed off son that stood up for his mama. Cody maybe a babyface, but as any son, the gloves come off if someone comes for your mother.
We witnessed Sami Zayn and Chad Gable put on an absolute classic for the fans in Scotland. Further re-establishing the IC Championship as the true workhorse championship in professional wrestling. For years the prestige it once had was a shell of its former self, but Gunther and the men he faced during his legendary run resurrected its prestige. Zayn and Gable made sure that torch stayed lit as the resurrection of the IC Championship legacy continues.
Lastly, in the main event spot, Drew McIntyre in front of his hometown fans attempted to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, but as the featured image of this piece illustrates a certain Chicagoan flew thousands of miles just to show Drew his ref skills and cost him the title. Despite Punk’s injury, him and Drew have one of if not the hottest rivalry going in wrestling today.
This All Happened In The Same Week In WWE?:
The week literally starts off with the unexpected Raw return of the true MVP of WrestleMania 40, the king of drip, Seth Rollins. I can emphasize the amount of respect that I have for Seth that he worked not one, but two matches at WrestleMania despite being severely injured because he knew how important it was for Cody, Roman and WWE as a whole for WrestleMania to be as special as possible for the fans. Having Seth back is a huge asset to WWE and for us fans to continue to witness one of the best talents going today and a future HOFamer.
Drew was so angry with Punk’s interference in his World title match he quits WWE. The camera work here was amazing as it came off as a shoot even though we knew it wasn’t a shoot.
Just like the start of Raw was shocking, the show ended with an even more shocking debut of the Wyatt Sicks. This is an emotional one across the board as we see the late great Bray Wyatt’s brother, Taylor Rotunda, literally picks up his lantern and tries to carry on the legacy and story that Bray and his fans would be proud of. As Uncle Howdy, Taylor and the other talents that make up this new Wyatt stable are carrying the light of Bray’s vision. Originally rumored to be called the Wyatt 6, when they debuted there was only five members. Although it hasn’t been said, I believe that the sixth member maybe the spirit of Windham Rotunda (Bray Wyatt) lighting the way.
Raw ended with pure chaos as they went full smoke and mirrors in the presentation and a number of people shown taken out backstage. The most visual was Chad Gable bleeding from his head, with fans speculating online it looked like he was shot in the head and was dead. Chad was back on TV the next week. We still don’t know what the Wyatts want, but we witnessed an amazing promo from Taylor, where he openly talked about how the loss of Bray affected him and there was no acting here it was pure and genuine emotion. The intrigue is certainly there to keep an audience interested to see where it is going.
The very next night on NXT we saw the prohibited portal opened once again as the WWE/TNA partnership appears to be continuing to flourish as TNA’s Kazarian and Joe Hendry walked through that portal. Kazarian and Hendry being the first male TNA stars to appear on WWE TV. Kazarian lasted a long time in the battle royal and even had some eliminations including the quick elimination of Hendry. This allows them to continue this rivalry on TNA TV. Hendry’s debut is one of the biggest social media moments for WWE this year, which is a huge thing for WWE, TNA and Hendry. This partnership between TNA and NXT can be huge for both brands and hopefully that Worlds Collide show isn’t far behind.
Then the week closed out with one of the most explosive episodes of Smackdown ever as Drew McIntyre showed up after “quitting” WWE on Raw then shows up in Chicago to take CM Punk in his hometown. Leaving a bloody and beaten CM Punk on the entrance stage for his fellow Chicagoans to see their hero left for dead. To add insult to injury, Drew stole the bracelet from Punk’s wrist with his wife, AJ and his dog, Larry’s names on it.
Then just like that week’s Raw, the night ended with another bang as the monstrous, Jacob Fatu finally debuted and joined “Suge Knight Sikoa’s Savageline”, or as WWE would say joined Solo Sikoa’s Bloodline, but I prefer how I said it. Jacob Fatu maybe the most legitimately terrifying member of the Samoan line in the business today. He totally has the vibe of a Haku as someone that no one would want to mess with in or out of the ring. Jacob is a massive pickup for WWE and will be a star for years to come if his MLW run is any indication the sky is the limit for him.
Turning On The Wiseman
As a teenager the future 2024 WWE HOFamer, Paul Heyman would sneak into MSG because he loved professional wrestling so much, he just wanted to be a part of it and used his photograph skills in order to get in good with Vince McMahon Sr. Now the MVP of the Bloodline story put on another amazing performance and main evented that same MSG. Heyman has been distraught and pretty much a forced hostage of this Bloodline. As the crowd begged for the return of the “true tribal chief” Roman Reigns, we have seen Heyman becoming more and more unraveled as he tries to manage the unmanageable Savageline and it’s leader Suge Knight Sikoa.
When Heyman wouldn’t acknowledge Solo Sikoa as the true chief, they turned on him like the savages that they are. Heyman is 58 years old and deprived himself of sleep to achieve his look to sell the story and agreed to take a powerbomb when he didn’t have to, but his love for this business and his commitment to storytelling is exactly why he is the GOAT.
This will lead to the OG Bloodline returning with Heyman to feud with the Savageline. The most compelling for the past three years in wrestling will go down as the best long-term story in wrestling and we have a front row seat people, enjoy the ride.
Ending June With A Bang
In an already jampacked June with unbelievable moments, we closed the month out with AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door. As a whole the build to the show was very mixed bag with too many matches on the card with 15 and most were just thrown on the show with no story. As a whole it was the weakest AEW PPV in my opinion, however some matches greatly delivered and made my matches of the month list.
One story that was able to come across was Swerve Strickland’s feud with Will Ospreay. The booking of Swerve as world champion has been criticized by me, Clark and Shad on the Throwback Thursday episodes of the WR Daily Broadcast. The early booking of this match made Swerve come off as a chump while Ospreay came off as the golden chosen one, but AEW smartly pivoted and let Swerve dip back into the sinister version of himself which the fans fell in love with and made this a must-see match.
These men delivered in my opinion the match of the month for June and these men left it all out in the ring. Ospreay has nothing to be ashamed of in his defeat and Swerve got further elevated as a legitimate World Champion as AEW starts the build to All In.
An unbelievable ending to a great month of wrestling content in June.
ITTMP
