On July, 19 we saw the return of the WWE Brand Extension and the rumors started to fly around the internet sites about possible WWE veterans making returns to the company to help with the depth on both brands like Jinder Mahal and Rhyno who returned almost immediately after the brand split. However, in all the rumors and with all the names on the list the two above are the only that actually made their returns to the company. Now what does this mean, well this means that the WWE need to start looking in new places for old faces. It is still being said that once he is healed Shelton Benjamin will still make his way to the company. So he'll be here eventually, but what about other names or others returns.

​Well it is still heavily rumored that Kurt Angle will be making his way to the company sometime next year after taking a little break from full time competition. The rumors have been flying as to who else will be joining the company next year but there really is no way we can no for sure as nobody saw the signings that happened at the beginning of the year happening but they did and now AJ Styles, Gallows, Karl Anderson, & Nakamura are in WWE.

​The summer of 2017 will be a big summer for TNA wrestling as their top star and though he might be "Broken" now there is no way to prove he will be that way forever. As next year Matt Hardy's deal with deal will be coming up and the WWE is hoping to bring back the veteran for another run with the company. Now I will say that seeing the Hardy's back in the WWE would be awesome, but what it comes down to is control and willingness to give. Hardy currently has complete control over schedules and creative control over his character which he would lose in WWE. Hardy has done very well in TNA this time around especially being able to sell his merchandise third party and take dates outside of TNA. Honestly, what I am saying is that I think Matt will follow the lead of most of the others and not head back to WWE. I believe this for one reason or another but the major reason is because at this point in Matt's career he doesn't need the WWE the roles have become reversed as now the WWE needs Matt Hardy.

WWE Clash of Champions:

Pre-Show:
Alicia Fox vs Nia Jax
Some will tell you that the job they have done building up Nia Jax has been terrible, but I for one think they have done a masterful job at it. For one reason and that is when was the last time they actually gave women squash matches or had an unbeaten streak that mattered. Nia is unlike anyone to make their way to the WWE in a very long time and she will continue to prove that tonight. Nia gets another deceive win

Best of Seven Series: Finale
Cesaro vs Sheamus
Anyone who knows me knows that I have been extremely critical of the "Celtic Warrior" over the years, but I will say that this series has helped both men win, lose or draw. The reason is because it has kept both men on TV and also given both men the opportunity to show themselves off in the best light possible. But like all good things this must come to an end and it will happen tonight and after Cesaro mounting a great comeback the question is will they pull the trigger. If indeed the winner does gain a title shot then there is no doubt in my mind that Cesaro needs to be the one who gains the seventh win.

Cruiserweight Championship Match:
(c) TJ Perkins vs Brian Kendrick
I think I am one of the only people who didn't mind the fact that TJP got the biggest win of his career two weeks ago in the CWC to become the first WWE Cruiserweight champion. It's obvious to me that WWE sees something in Perkins and will be investing in him by sort of building the division around him. That plan begins tonight as TJP goes head to head with the veteran of the division for his first defense. It's fair to say in my book that TJP will get the win.

Chris Jericho vs Sami Zayn
Though these two men have fought in the past I do believe that will not change a thing as both these men will tear the house down tonight and try and give a reason to the fans why Raw is better. I also think it is very possible that the winner of this match will become the number 1 contender to face either Kevin or Seth in October. Keeping in mind the "separation" between Owens and Zayn that should remain and be more present I think Jericho will win.

WWE Tag Team Championship Match:
(c) New Day w/ Xavier Woods vs The Club
There is no way that anyone could've predicted that the New Day would have been have as successful as they have been and that is the best part about it. The New Day have had an amazing run on top of the tag team division and I am not saying they should break up, but I am saying that maybe it's time to give someone new a chance on top of the mountain. Thus far Karl and Doc have had somewhat of a lackluster run with the company and giving them a big win over the New Day could be something that helps the team get something in their favor finally. The Club will become the new WWE Tag Team Champions

WWE United States Championship Match:
(c) Rusev w/ Lana vs Roman Reigns
I don't have much to say about this match because it doesn't seem the WWE really have a clue what to do with this match anyway so with that being said who really cares who wins. Also with some rumors I am already dissatisfied by the match so there is that. But I'll still be watching and paying attention and with that being said I think it's pretty clear if their isn't a dusty finish then it is Roman who walks away the champion even though Rusev should, but what do I know.

WWE Women's Championship Match:
(c) Charlotte vs Bayley vs Sasha Banks
This in my book will be right up there with the World Title match as one to be considered for match of the night just by the amount of talent in the match. I know a lot of you may be wondering why they are giving the match away so easy and the explianation I have is that possible Sasha heel turn could be happening next year at some point so they want to handle the match now or it could just be that they wanted to create a buzz for the repacked PPV. I think that this match could go right down the middle and I am not 100% sure who will get the win tonight, but if I had to pick I'd say Charlotte.

WWE Universal Championship Match:
(c) Kevin Owens vs Seth Rollins
After shocking the world a few weeks ago by winning the Universal Championship his first defense will be a tall task he goes up against "The Guy" named Seth Freaking Rollins. Now if it was me I would have this match end in a No-Contest and not the US title match as you can build up interest for this I honestly think the US title has zero importance or meaning at this point. If it was me I'd go with the draw and then use Raw tomorrow the try and further get Owens over as champion so I do believe that this match ends with neither man being the clear cut winner.

The WWE never seems to stop scouting talent and with how much they like amateur or collegiate athletes they must have been watching with eagle eyes on the Olympics. Right now the rumor has it that the company is interested in three former Olympians. One of the names the WWE has interest in is the Canadian Olympic team member Erica Wiebe, the 27 year old defeated Guzel Manyurova to win the gold medal this year. Erica actually confirmed the companies interest in her in an interview with TSN Radio Vancouver.

The other two names that they were scouting fellow female  Olympic wrestlers in Adeline Gray as well as Puerto Rican Olympic wrestler and sliver medalist Jamie Espinal. In all honesty I am very happy to see WWE scouting female Olympians, I mean after how well their last amateur signing went I wouldn't try to find a whole army of athletes like that. No but seriously I am very glad to see that WWE is actually trying to invest into serious women's wrestlers who actually have a background in mat wrestling and some ground work to be very serious competitors who know how to work. My how the tides have turned as far as the women that WWE scouts and I for one am very happy that's the case.

​

This year has been extremely full of roster turnover for the WWE which isn't a bad thing because most of the talent in the company has been there for a very long time and they some turnover to get new faces into higher spots on the card because a lot of the names had been in somewhat of a rut and need something to help. Now some fans may believe that certain talent shouldn't have gotten released but they did, but the one thing that can't be argued is that those names that walked away willingly needed to leave when they did.

​As of the end of last month Alberto Del Rio is once again gone from WWE after less than a year with the company. Del Rio came back to the company last September at Night of Champions when he ended John Cena's run with the US Title. I think that may have put Del Rio behind the eight ball per-say right out of the gate because of how crummy his run with the title started especially after how good John Cena's title reign was so it was hard to top. It didn't help that the company killed his first angle way to soon and then instead of giving the League of Nations an actual push they just fed the stable to Roman Reigns and made them glorified jobbers instead of legit credible heels. Don't even get me started about his feud with Kalisto as whatever credibility he had left when nothing came of Kalisto's push. Long story short I am not surprised at all that Del Rio has left the company and is now basically having his door knocked down to return to either Mexican company by management from both companies.

​The other name isn't as straight forward as it doesn't seem like any site actually knows for sure if Paige is done with the company or not. Paige has been with company for a little 4 years at this point after spending a couple of years down in developmental. I think the best way to put is that Paige had her push stopped by the new faces that came up which is beyond me in so many ways considering the idea that Paige could have been a great piece of the division with the likes of Sasha, Charlotte, Becky and Bayley. However, someone in the company must not have seen this like we do and that's why Paige seems to be on here way out. Yes! I am aware that her departure from the company may also have to do with her boyfriend Alberto Del Rio's departure, but I have a funny feeling that she has had her own problems with management that are helping making this decision pretty easy.

It was the week before the WWE Brand Extension Draft when Stephanie announced that the Cruiserweight division would be returning to Monday Night Raw. Since that announcement the anticipation of the cruiserweights returning has been on the minds of all the fans. Well next week on Raw that night will arrive as the first cruiserweight champion for Raw will likely be named at the end of the CWC tournament this Wednesday night.

​The New Era is really right around the corner it's time to check out who will be apart of the division this time around to help bring the new era into full force on Monday Night's. That division will consist of names like Jack Gallagher, Gran Metalik, Akira Tozawa, Tomasso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, Noam Dar, Brian Kendrick, TJ Perkins, and Cedric Alexander. It is very likely that some more names may join the division in the future. But in all honesty this seems like an extremely talented division already also factoring in Neville who already with the company and likely to be  a part of the division once it begins.

​It should be noted that WWE wants every member of the cruiserweight division to be under exclusive contracts to the company and unable to work elsewhere. For this reason both Kota Ibushi and Zack Sabre Jr will not be a part of the division or involved in the company in any way on the Main Roster due to the lack of willingness to sign an exclusive contract. Though Ibushi and Sabre would make this division a lot better and deeper as heck and next to incredible talent roster, but that will not happen unfortunately at least for now. Are you looking forward to the return of the cruiserweights?

WWE Backlash 2016

Pre-Show:
Smackdown Tag Team Titles Semi-Final Match:
The Uso's vs The Hype Bros
Seeing Jimmy and Jey turn heel was one of the things that the WWE did right finally as the fan have been hating on the Uso's for a while and it was time to given them a shot in the arm. Jimmy and Jey have been on the good side for I believe the 5 or 6 years so I think a heel turn was long overdue. However, with this match I'm not really sure what to expect due to questioning the normal. I believe logic and tradition would tell me The Uso's get the win here to face Rhyno and Heath so that's what I am going with.

Bray Wyatt vs Randy Orton
Due to a backstage rumor in which the report states that Randy may have gotten injured again and may not be at Backlash leads me to think that this match may not happen. But I will say if it does then Bray needs the win a lot more due to what seems to be Randy's inability to remain healthy for longer then a few weeks. If Randy is injured and this match doesn't happen then I think Orton needs to loss the ball per say because if he can't stay healthy then the idea of investing him is ridiculous in my book. Which is why I believe that Wyatt needs an actual big win for himself.

WWE Intercontinental Championship Match:
(c) The Miz w/ Maryse vs Dolph Ziggler
I really like the fact that Dolph is back going for the IC title as he a part of the last group of guys to really make the title mean something back during the original brand split. I also like that they have waited this long to put Dolph in a feud with Miz for the title as I think this will be a really good  feud if given time. Honestly, I think that this has been the best couple of months in Miz's career so I wouldn't take the belt off him just yet, but I would set it up where Miz and Dolph would have a rematch against each other next month as I think Dolph would be the perfect person to beat him for the belt just not tonight.

6 Pack Challenge for the Smackdown Women's Championship:
Alexa Bliss vs. Becky Lynch vs. Carmella vs. Naomi vs. Natalya vs. Nikki Bella
This PPV isn't just a big test for Smackdown this match is like some of the others are a test for the talent to see if they can keep the crowd's eyes on them and keep them interested. Of the six I think that Bliss and Carmella still have a lot to prove and may not be championship material just yet. But as far as the match overall this will be a good match and fully display the Women's division but who wins? Well I think that winner should be Naomi as I believe she deserves a reward for being a company women for as long as she has been and if you can do it for the men why do it for the women to.

Smackdown Tag Team Title Match:
Slater & Rhyno vs The Uso's
The biggest shock of the Brand Extension thus far has been the shocking ascension of "The Un-Drafted" Heath Slater. I never thought I would write that Slater was actually being given a push on WWE TV. I will admit also that Slater has been one of the most entertaining names on TV since the extension and this Tournament has only helped that. Think about this did you ever think you'd hear a "We Want Slater Chant" but we did and will continue to. Tonight will be one of the biggest nights of Heath's career because he and Rhyno will get the win and become the first Smackdown Tag Champions.

WWE World Championship Match:
(c) Dean Ambrose vs AJ Styles
The match of night no doubt will be right here between two of the top names on Smackdown. There is no doubt in my mind that these two will do what it takes to steal the show and have the best match of the card showing just exactly what it means to be WWE Champion. History tells us having an 0-2 record isn't a good thing but also history tells us that the third is sometimes the charm. But for once I am stumped as to who will win this match as I think it could go either way as both men are deserving. However, I think it's more likely that the third time will be the charm for AJ Styles as I see him walking away with the World Title tonight.

Since the start of the Brand Split things have been going in all sorts of directions with so many big things happening that is hard to keep tabs on it all. But now with the first single brand PPV going on this Sunday we as fans can focus our attention on the biggest test for the Brand Split thus far as this will be Smackdown's first chance to stand alone since July 19th. For the last few weeks tournaments have been taking place on Smackdown as we head to Backlash on September 11th to crown the first ever Smackdown Women's and Tag Team Champions.

​Due to the fact that I will be putting up PPV predictions for the event on Sunday I will hold off on making my decision on who will win both the tournaments until Sunday. But what I will say is this I feel like they could've just as easily made the Women's and Tag Team titles on both brands as a way to limit the number of titles, then again that might happen but it would double the workload and TV time for the champions.

​For example, I think that Brand Split in the long run has helped the New Day remain the way they are, because I feel like if the split never happened then a chance would be needed for them at this point or soon at least to change up what some consider a stale gimmick. Long story short though I don't support the idea of this many titles being around in the WWE, because I feel it cheapens the importance of the titles already in existence I can understand why they are brining in the titles from a business standpoint and also the idea of protecting the talent.

Once the WWE purchased the WCW in March of 2001 the fans were sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for all the dream matches we ever wanted to come to be. Sadly we know how that worked as the Invasion was more a rebellion then an actual invasion, because of how unimportant WCW/ECW were at the end. However, once the angle ended names like Scott Steiner, Ric Flair, Rey Mysterio, The NWO, and others made their way to the company. Almost after the Invasion ended one of WCW's biggest names finally made his way to the WWE and that is "Da Man" Bill Goldberg.

Though his run in the WWE may have been very lackluster and by the end of his run most of were sad to see him leave with such a terrible last match. See Goldberg fought Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 20 which was both men's last match in the WWE. Thus far that was Bill's last match in a pro-wrestling and though I know Goldberg was never really the best name in the ring, but I know he was a lot better then the match with Brock made us think, and I don't think he wants to go out like that.

I know at his age it might be very hard to actually make any sort of a return for something more than just one match, but if it's possible I think that would be a shot in the arm for the company and finally let the company do something good for a star they didn't create. Especially with his involvement in this years WWE game I don't think there has ever been a better time to pull the trigger on a Goldberg return to the company then right now.

Around the time last year at the Night of Champions PPV the wrestling world was shocked to see former WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio return to the company and accept the open challenge against then champion John Cena. The first time around when Del Rio first showed up in the WWE he was given opportunity to be a big star in the company, but in many ways was pushed too hard and the fans turned against him for it.

​Upon his return Del Rio got a weak win against John Cena and ended his US Championship run. For the next couple of months Del Rio would have in my book a run that would make anyone regret returning to a company where they were promised a lot more. See to bring Del Rio back the WWE promised him a Main Event push and was suppose to be named a Paul Heyman guy, but I think all of you know how that went.

​In the end when Del Rio signed his contract last year he include the ability to pretty much opt out in October if he wasn't happy with his position in the company. As the rumor has it Triple H was the person who pretty much dropped Del Rio's planned push due to how Del Rio handles himself outside of the ring with all his partying. Now I know some will say "Oh Hunter is being a hypocrite by punishing Del Rio for partying, because of how he was back in the day." Well I hate to break it to you but Triple H was the only member of the group that never partied or touched the stuff, don't believe me just watch Kevin Nash's shoot's or Eric Bischoff as both men echo the sentiment of Triple H either being the DD (Designated Driver or the only person at a party that didn't touch the stuff.) 

​As far Del Rio and his run with the WWE all I have to say I think he does help the WWE if given a fair chance to help. But at this point I think that ship has sailed unfortunately for the company and Del Rio. Then again it might be a good thing for Alberto because another clause he had in his contract is that he is able to compete internationally right away so that means he can compete anywhere as long as it's outside the US, but has to wait the 90 days to compete within the US. What happens to Paige as a result of this who knows, well have to wait and see!

Back at Summerslam earlier a few weeks ago we saw probably the worst beat down in Brock's run with the company this time around. After this time around the WWE did receive a little bit of backlash because of the consistency of Brock never really having competitive matches and now people are getting tired of it. Now I will say this yes I am to the point where I would really prefer seeing Brock have some competitive matches, but at the same time I can appreciate the build up of a monster heel. But the question is how long do you build him up for at this point Brock hasn't lost clean to anyone since his loss to Triple H I believe 3 years ago at WrestleMania which should tell you something.

​We now jump ahead to announcement it was made official earlier this week that on September 23 which is the day before the Clash of Champions PPV at a House Show it will be the rematch between Brock and Randy Orton. The question is why are they doing the rematch on a house show and not making it a Network Special. Well the answer could have something to do with the PPV being the next day and another explanation could be is that the match maybe too violent for the Network. I mean the image of Randy Orton's blood pooling on the mat at Summerslam has been burned into our memory. With that being said it's far to assume that the rematch between these two will have blood and been a down right brawl.

Now this will likely not be the end of me talking about Brock and how they have been booking him but I will hold that off for right now. Though this match might be set for a house show it is still a much anticipated match due to the fact that most people believe that this match will be violent so I don't know about you but I am very much looking forward to this match.