Last Week in Wrestling

Hello everyone and welcome back to Talk Wrestling World, I hope you are all well and good and as always have had an amazing weekend, ready to start a fresh new week. So it's Monday which means it's time for a little recap. Every Monday I upload a Last Week in wrestling post, this is where I take a look back at the past seven days in the crazy world of professional wrestling and touch on some of the biggest talking points, news, and updates. In today's post, I have a lot to get through and again it is very WWE dominated. I found that yet again a lot of the biggest headlines came from the WWE but I do have a couple of New Japan points to touch on also! Also coming up this week, I have my full NXT Takeover: War Games and Survivor Series predictions which will be uploaded later in the week. I do have a couple of lists post coming up for you guys also this week so keep an eye out for those! As far as shows go, I am still at my grandparent's house and so I most likely won't be live tweeting throughout RAW and Smackdown LIVE again this week but I will be live tweeting throughout NXT Takeover War Games and Survivor Series. Next Monday, I won't have a Last week in Wrestling post uploaded because I will instead be writing up my Survivor Series review but things will return to normal the following week! As always, any recent blog post will be linked below and you can let me know what you thought of all the action from last week in wrestling by leaving a comment below or by dropping me a tweet over at @TezangiVictoria.

WWE News and Headlines 

UK Tour and UK Divison

Last week the WWE jetted off and kick-started their UK tour, flying overseas to entertain crowds across the globe. This is always something that gets people talking and the RAW and Smackdown LIVE shows held in the UK are a lot of the time pretty damn good shows and last week that was proven right when both episodes went down a treat. I mentioned in my highlights post on Wednesday that I really enjoyed both shows this week with so much happening to really enjoy and talk about. We saw title changes, debuts, and changes made to the up and coming Survivor Series pay per view which I will get into a little later on in the post. It should also be noted that rumors of both Nia Jax and Sin Cara being injured during the tour have been touched on. And finally, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens were kicked off the UK Tour after this weeks episode of Smackdown LIVE.

One of the biggest things to come out of this weeks WWE product was the RAW debut of Pete Dunne. The current United Kingdom Champion was booked to go one on one with the current Cruiserweight champion in a Cruiserweight vs Bruiserweight I knew I certainly was not going to be missing out on. Now, the match itself was nothing special in terms of wrestling excellence. It was pretty short and basic but saw Dunne go over in a satisfying ending fans in attendance and at home, watching were pleased with. The whole segment did, however, raise plenty of discussion in terms of the UK talent and future events in the United Kingdom. Since the UK tournament ended back in January we haven't seen all too much of the division with the main attractions very much featuring heavily on NXT here and there including Takeover events but that being pretty much it. Dunne's appearance on RAW and the division appearing on this weeks episode of 205 LIVE was the biggest exposer the talent has been given since the tournament. What I and everyone else is hoping is that this really is the start of better things to come for the UK talent. We already know Dunne has been booked for up and coming NXT live events but with the full division touring with the WWE during the UK tour hopefully, this does mean that the guys there are given more regular appearances for shows up on the main roster. This is a topic I am planning on talking about in a future blog post so look out for that!

Keeping on the theme of the UK scene, not only did Triple H make an appearance at ICW (Insane Championship Wrestling) praising the promotion but it has also been heavily rumoured that there may just be talks of a pay per view being held in the United Kingdom. Now, this is something that British fans have wanted to see for a long time and it's something that has always been rumoured but during the UK tour last week they once again surfaced with British fans expressing how much they would like to see a Wrestlemania held in the UK and while that rumoured pay per view may not be Wrestlemania it's a step in the right direction and will still please British fans while also giving the UKdivisionn exactly what they need.

Two former WWE Divas Champions Set to make return?

One of the biggest talking points this past week has once again been former NXT and Divas champion Paige and her much-anticipated return to the WWE. It's been noted recently that Paige is back in the performance center training and building her way up to a promising return. Throughout the past seven days, she has continued to be a pretty big talking point with hints that her debut could very much be taking place very very soon, in fact as soon as tonight. I was checking through social media this weekend and reading a few articles and it has been pointed out by several sources that Paige is set to make her WWE return this week during Monday night RAW joining team RAW for the up and coming Survivor Series pay per view. There is currently a women's triple threat match booked between Dane Brooke, Bayley, and Mickie James with the winner going on to be named the last member of the women's team, however, there may just be a couple of twists coming up. Personally, I would love to see Bayley attacked by someone backstage prior to the match however, it's not revealed as to who did it. Later on in the night, Paige makes her return to take Bayley's place. For me, the decision comes with also setting up Banks' heel turn and a feud between the Boss and Bayley but again this is something that I will be talking about at a later date.
Now, it was previously rumoured that Paige would be joining the blue brand upon her return but it does appear as though there once again has been changes and honestly, while I believe Smackdown LIVE need her more, it doesn't matter where she goes as long as good things are coming her way and the WWE use her the way she should be.

Former divas and women's champion Michelle Mc'Cool has also been causing a bit of stir this past week when she and Charlotte hinted at a possible match somewhere down the line. It's also been noted that Michelle would very much be interested in making a return to the WWE. This was one of the pieces of news that really did excite me this week. I was always a big Michelle Mc'Cool fan and I honestly would love to see her return whether if its a part time/one-off thing or a long run.

Changes and Developments to Survivor Series card

 During the UK tour, Jason Jordan was announced as the final member of team RAW joining Kurt Angle, Braun Strowman and fellow newcomers to the team Finn Balor and Samoa Joe. Now, the decision was an unexpected one and surprised many fans including myself. I, of course, was expecting to see Roman Reigns given that spot but in all honesty I do believe that Jordan being involved in this match sets up quite a few potential storyline's and feuds that should be pretty damn interesting but it also should give him the opportunity and to stand out and win over the fans a little more with his in-ring performance.
It was also announced that John Cena will be joining the blue team which means the Smackdown LIVE men's team will now consist of Shane McMahon, Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura, Bobby Roode and John Cena. Again, I wasn't expecting this but it works. It now means that the blue team has the powerhouse they needed and there is now a little more of a balance.

There have also been changes made to the WWE Championship vs Universal Championship match; with AJ Styles defeating Jinder Mahal and last weeks main event we will now see the phenomenal one go one on one with the beast in what is a much more appealing match up. It was also pretty awesome to see the WWE championship change hands in the UK.
Roman Reigns is also set to make his return this week with the rumor being that the New Day and the Shield will go head to head at Survivor Series.

Other News

In other news, it has been reported that Hideo Itami is set to make his debut for the main roster very soon joining the Cruiserweight division. He would, of course, be an excellent addition to the division and I know I for sure would pay money to tune into Cedric Alexander VS Hideo Itami any day! However, there have also been reports that Hideo is very interested in returning to Japan once his contract is up. This is a developing story and honesty one will have to just sit and wait to see the outcome of. Personally, I would love to see him stick around in the WWE but only if he is being used correctly and being given the opportunities he deserves.  Talking of New Japan, I will also be writing a post on Kenny Omega VS Chris Jericho in the coming weeks as this remains a huge talking point in the wrestling world.

In terms of exits, there has been conversation of James Ellsworth being close to coming to the end of his WWE run. With the alliance of Ellsworth and Carmella running its course, it appears as though we could be in the last few weeks of seeing Ellsworth on our screen. This isn't something that really bothers me. James was given a chance he never expected to have and I do think this is a good way for him to leave.

And there we have it! That was last week in wrestling. Coming up for the rest of the week I do have my Survivor Series and NXT Takeover predictions coming up so keep an eye out for those but for now, you can let me know what you thought of last week in wrestling by leaving a comment below or by tweeting me over at @TezangiVictoria.

Recent Blog Posts:
Ranking Every NXT Women's Champion from Worse to Best
WWE Superstars Who Should have been Champion in NXT
WWE Takes over the UK: This weeks RAW and Smackdown LIVE Highlights
5 Best Current NXT Tag Teams