Here's your fight size update for Monday, June 28, 2021:
- During an interview with Jennifer Zamparelli on RTE 2FM, WWE on-air personality, Kevin Patrick, spoke about his reaction to WWE’s return to touring and how he feels about the schedule and the overall product he has jumped into on Monday nights following the exit of Charly Caruso.
“I think the big difference is that they're not just athletes. They're so multifunctional and when you think about what they do, they're incredible athletes and I was blown away by this and they dedicate their whole lives to this 52 weeks a year. I'm on Monday Night Raw now, 52 weeks a year, in a different city across the world. We have our schedule to get back on the road now, soon. I'm telling you it's insane. From Las Vegas to Seattle to potential trips now overseas, hopefully, Dublin, and it's a bit of a circus in a way, like a bit of a rock and roll show, but the actual wrestlers themselves, they're brilliant at what's called cutting promos, you know, in front of the camera where they've got certain scenes where they need to film, but then you go into the ring and they're just incredible athletes, whether it be Tornado DDTs, top ropes, to just sheer brute strength and force. I've grown enormous respect for their dedication to their craft and just how good they are because there's, honestly, hundreds of thousands of people around the world that are trying to become them, like anything, and they've made it to the mountaintop. So I just have enormous respect for them and I get to see it week in and week out.”
He later added, “Every day, every single day, like you're walking around the Thunderdome, where we are now during the pandemic, they set up this incredible facility and you'll hear, ‘Shh! Everybody quiet, something is being filmed.’ You could see Sheamus, you know, knocking the head off someone in the middle of the corridor. Then the next thing you pass that and you walk down there's another scene being filmed and in a way it's Hollywood meets professional athletes. It's just incredible the way Vince McMahon has set this up and run with it; and the way it's produced, presented, and everything. Again, I'm just blown away by it. So yeah, I have that thought all the time. But I must say, I've -- like anything, and you've been the same in your career, you dive in you give it everything you've got and all of a sudden you just find this massive love for it and love for the industry.”
(If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source and make sure to link back to this article crediting Fightful for the transcription.)
- This week, the new content on WWE Network on Peacock will be highlighted by the next WWE Icons documentary centered on the life and career of Lex Luger. Lex Luger last appeared in WWE in 1995 and has been rarely used or talked about in WWE programming since then.
This Week’s Schedule
** = available on the Free Version of WWE NetworkMonday, June 28
Raw Talk** – 11:05 p.m. ETTuesday, June 29
Broken Skull Sessions: Mick Foley (encore)Wednesday, June 30
Monday Night Raw (5/31/21)**
WWE’s The Bump ** – 10 a.m. ET
The 50 Greatest Tag Teams (5-1)
WWE NXT (6/29/21)Thursday, July 1
NXT UK
This Week in WWEFriday, July 2
205 Live – 10 p.m. ETSaturday, July 3
WWE Main Event (6/10/21)
Talking Smack**
ICW Fight Club 178
PROGRESS Chapter 114Sunday, July 4
Friday Night SmackDown (6/4/21)**
WWE Icons: Lex Luger
WWE Icons Revisited: Lex Luger**
- Dutch Mantell, via Sportskeeda, recently gave his thoughts on the latest batch of WWE releases.
"Well, talent being let go isn't something that doesn't surprise anyone but it's the level and the amount that WWE has been letting go or released... what's the reason for it? A while back we said they were probably on the verge of being sold to somebody else but I haven't heard anything like that in the last couple of weeks. I don't know why they're doing this because I don't think they're giving them a chance."
- Kofi Kingston on serving crunchy pasta: The New Day Feel the Power, June 28, 2021:
- William Regal announced the passing of British wrestling legend Jackie Robinson this morning:
I’m very sorry to hear of the passing of Jackie Robinson, cousin of Billy Robinson. A lovely fella and top class amateur and Pro Wrestler. Always a pleasure to be around. My deepest condolences and best wishes to his family and friends.
— William Regal (@RealKingRegal) June 28, 2021
- Donna Dundee, the wife of Bobby Eaton and daughter of Bill Dundee recently passed away as well. Fightful sends its condolences to her family, friends, and all those affected.
- The AEW Dynamite show at Agganis Arena in Boston, MA, on Sept. 8 has been rescheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021.
The AEW DYNAMITE show at Agganis Arena in Boston, MA, on Sept. 8 has been rescheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021.
Fans who have already purchased tickets to the Boston show will have their original tickets valid for admission to the event on Oct. 27, 2021, or can receive a refund via the point of purchase. AEW thanks fans for their on-going patience. We look forward to seeing you in Boston!
As illustrated in our mission statement, the safety and well-being of our fans and talent is always our top priority. AEW sends heartfelt thanks around the world to healthcare and other frontline workers who are answering the call to protect and serve their communities.
- Speaking with Denise Salcedo of The Sportster, Cody Deaner opened up about shaving his head.
"Maybe the one moment was when I took those clippers and shaved my head, my big long mane that I had been growing for over a decade. I looked in the mirror and thought 'oh crap.'{laughs} Maybe this was a mistake and if it was there is no turning back now."
- Speaking with Sports Illustrated, John Morrison clarified that he returned to WWE to capture his first WWE World Championship.
“This is why I came back to WWE,” Morrison says. “It wasn’t just to be with The Miz on TV, which has been great. The Miz is one of the hardest-working people I know, and he’s my best friend. But when I started training for pro wrestling, being on Tough Enough in 2002, I said back then that I was doing this because I wanted to main-event WrestleMania. A couple of people snickered, but I remember saying, ‘If you don’t want to main-event WrestleMania, you should quit now.’ That’s the whole point. If you do something, you should want to be the best.
- Speaking with the official website of New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Shingo Takagi said, despite his recent win over Okada, he doesn't see himself as being above “The Rainmaker.”
“He was saying that I had been wrestling right at the top while he hadn’t. But even though I’m two straight against him, I don’t see myself as above Okada. You have to remember he was coming off his illness, and probably had a little self-doubt about what he could do in there. Like I said in the press conference I did get the sense he was breathing harder than normal in the first five or ten minutes, but maybe that was part of his plan as well. In the end, I didn’t have the luxury of overthinking. Right. Even as you wrestle him you’re aware of just how big of a deal he is. Even while I was trying to read everything he did, I still found him dictating the pace in parts of that match, which was really dangerous. “
- WrestleZone speaks to Tommy Fierro about returning to promoting.
- The Authority’s best moments: WWE Playlist:
- Next week on Being The Elite, Cezar Bononi will challenge Marko Stunt for the BTE Championship. Check out the full episode here.
- Check out the time Kurt Angle wrestled Hulk Hogan at the final WWE King of the Ring pay-per-view:
- Love is in the air at AEW: Jungle Boy shared a photo of himself and Anna Jay on social media. Anna is currently out of action with an injury.
— Jungleboy (@boy_myth_legend) June 28, 2021
- John Cena’s greatest rivals: WWE Top 10:
- Today, WWE stock closed at $59.01 per share.
- Check out the latest Off Her Chops podcast with the former IIconics.
- Make sure you are subscribed to Fightful Select. A subscription grants you early access to interviews, Q&A opportunities, early looks at breaking news, and more. Also, make sure to check us out on YouTube and Twitch.
- Check out everything you need to know before tonight's Monday Night Raw:
