10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (July 10)
Who knew Vince McMahon loved oreros?
WWE will present their next Pay-Per-View style offering on July 19th, in the form of 'Battleground'. It seems likely the event will be presented as filler on the road to the next big show, SummerSlam on August 23rd, but there's one problem with that theory, Seth Rollins will defend the WWE World Heavyweight Title against none other than Brock Lesnar.
Looking at the reaction to Lesnar's brief appearance on the WWE Network exclusive event from Japan, 'The Beast In The East', can any show Brock is involved in be accurately described as 'filler' at the moment? In many ways, Lesnar is the most incendiary star on WWE programming at the moment, and even though he's not really around week-to-week, he surely must be considered one of the biggest draws the promotion have.
It's a tough call to predict who will walk out of Battleground as champion, because whilst Lesnar being champ is a bigger deal than perhaps anyone else, Seth Rollins has been knocking it out of the park with his performances in the main event mix.
That main event shuffle takes the spotlight in this week's article, as one WWE Hall Of Fame inductee goes to bat for a current star. Other facts and major news stories include some startling diet advice from one of wrestling's most powerful men, one WWE legend reportedly being dropped by the company, and TNA getting dissed by another former employee.
10. John Laurinaitis Behind 'The Beast In The East'
Last week, WWE presented a groundbreaking event for their subscription-only service, the WWE Network. Filmed from the Ryougoku Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan, 'The Beast In The East' was one event that wrestling fans all all ages didn't really mind getting up extra early to see.
In North America, enthusiasts were up as early as 5am, all to see the likes of Finn Balor capturing the NXT Heavyweight Title from Kevin Owens, Chris Jericho tangling with the aerial artist Neville, and even Brock Lesnar run roughshod over poor Kofi Kingston and his cohorts in The New Day. The event was excellent, and had a flavour unlike anything else on WWE television.
Apparently, it was none other than John Laurinaitis behind most of the production for the event. Rightly feeling that the show needed something to differentiate it from everything else the company presents on a week-to-week basis, 'Johnny Ace' was responsible for little touches that helped make the event unique, such as the flowers presented to both Balor and Owens before their match, and the streamers which filled the ring.