Body Slam Brigade # 66 – Time for the Hottest Party of the Summer!

August 20, 2021

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“Pro wrestling has always been ingrained into American culture. It was one of the first things that was ever on television, so everybody watched it.” – CM Punk

On to this week’s stuff!

Hope you enjoy!

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1. It’s a Huge Wrestling Weekend
We have an incredibly loaded weekend of wrestling coming up.

• 8/20 – Impact Emergence – Main Event: Christian Cage v. Brian Myers
• 8/20 – ROH Glory by Honor Night 1 – Main Event: Bandido v. Flip Gordon, Jonathan Gresham v. Rhett Titus
• 8/20 – AEW Rampage – Highly expected return of CM Punk.
• 8/21 – ROH Glory by Honor Night 2 – Matt Taven v. Vincent – Cage Match
• 8/21 – WWE SummerSlam – Main Event: John Cena v. Roman Reigns, Goldberg v. Bobby Lashley
• 8/21 – FSW v. GCW Battle for Las Vegas
• 8/22 – NXT TakeOver 36 – Main Event: Karrion Kross v. Samoa Joe, Adam Cole v. Kyle O’Reilly

No matter your taste, there’s something for everyone this weekend!

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2. My Thoughts on SummerSlam
I’m a little negative on this year’s event.

I think TakeOver on Sunday is going to be a far better show than SummerSlam, and I think the one hour AEW Rampage on Friday night will dominate the news cycle.

The two major SummerSlam matches (John Cena v. Roman Reigns, Bobby Lashley v. Goldberg) both have stars of the past returning to face the current top stars in WWE.

It’s clear from ratings analysis that Goldberg and Cena are bigger stars (bigger than Roman/Lashley) in the minds of overall WWE audience.

The only thing sadder than having to bring back Goldberg and Cena to substitute for the complete lack of babyface challengers is the fact that there’s a solid chance that one of them (Cena/Goldberg) may win and become champion.

It’s a lose – lose situation. Either we see our favorite hero get put down by the current star or we’re stuck with a part-time champion.

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3. Gangrel Still Fangin’ ‘N’ Bangin’
Edge, Christian, and Gangrel joined forces to form a trio of wrestlers known as The Brood in October 1998.

The team only lasted 8 months breaking up in June of 1999, but fans of that era have never forgotten the trio of vampiric superstars that routinely soaked their rivals in crimson blood baths.

In 2021, Edge competed in the main event of WrestleMania and has one of the marquee matches against Seth Rollins this Saturday at SummerSlam.

Christian won the Impact World championship just last week, and he’ll main event All Out as the challenger for Kenny Omega’s AEW World Championship.

With those two main eventing the top wrestling shows of the year, you may be wondering what happened to Gangrel.

I have the answer. Up until recently, Gangrel ran his own pro wrestling training school and promotion in South Florida.

He left that post a couple of months ago, and he now trains at the Coastal Championship Wrestling Training Facility (still in Florida).

I guess you could say that Gangrel is training the next generation of WWE Hall of Famers and Impact World Champions.

Related: My interview with CCW’s Nelio Cuomo Costa from 8/18

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4. Last Weekend in Wrestling
This weekend will be an enormous weekend for Pro Wrestling, but . . . so was last weekend. Here’s a run down of some of the most important stories from AAA, AEW, Impact, and New Japan. All of this happened on Friday and Saturday.

• Christian defeated Kenny Omega to win the Impact World Championship on the debut episode of AEW Rampage
• Ric Flair accompanied Andrade to the ring as he challenged Kenny Omega for the AAA Mega Championship. Kenny won.
• Hiroshi Tanahashi won the IWGP United States Championship from Lance Archer.
• The Guerrillas of Destiny (G.O.D.) confronted the Good Brothers at New Japan’s Resurgence show. It’s an indication that they’ll be wrestling in the United States.
• Will Ospreay returned from injury to say that he’s not going back to Japan, and he doesn’t recognize New Japan’s decision to strip him of the IWGP World Championship. He’ll be working and defending the championship in the United States.

Related: Episode 145: Will Ospreay – Real World’s Champion

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Classified Ads

If you think Body Slam Brigade Readers would benefit from your product or service, get in touch with me by replying to this email. Maybe a classified ad will be right for you.

• Get creative pro wrestling themed shirts for a reasonable price at the MTBT Shop. Price includes all sizes and shipping. Check out the newest “Just F’N Fight” Shirt. Available in Navy Blue and Black.

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5. Essential Wrestling Podcast: SummerSlam Special
My friends at the Essential Wrestling Podcast are having one of their four specials this Saturday at 3PM.

Join them as they break down all the SummerSlam Action. Find out who the experts think will win the night’s matches.

I would normally participate in the big SummerSlam Special, but I have some family fun that will keep me away.

I’m calling it the completely unauthorized and unofficial SummerSlam Pre-Show!

Check it Out: Here

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Have A Great Weekend!

Ryan

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PSS – If you didn’t know, I have a daily podcast to help you keep up on wrestling news! Here’s my pitch.