Pro Wrestling News: Rock Thinks Drew McIntyre Could Be WWE's Next Big Star
(CBS New York/CBS Local) -- With all the news surrounding WWE's recent decline, not to mention Vince McMahon's efforts to stem the tide (and his subsequent comments), it's easy to forget all the other pro wrestling news. And there's a lot of it. So let's take a spin around the world of pro wrestling.
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson heaped praise on Drew McIntyre recently when asked who the next big star in WWE could be. "I think he's got a great look and a great build," he told TMZ Sports. "Especially as he continues to hone in on his craft and connect with the audience, which is always the most important thing."
Brock Lesnar's contract runs through next year's WrestleMania, according to The Wrestling Observer.
Lesnar is a slight favorite to retain the Universal Championship against Seth Rollins at SummerSlam. Becky Lynch is favored to defeat Natalya and retain the SmackDown Women's Championship. Bayley has odds over Ember Moon for the RAW Women's Championship.
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After declaring that he would be "taking himself out of the weeds" in terms of creative direction, Vince McMahon, according to The Wrestling Observer, called for a complete rewrite of this week's SmackDown just hours before the live broadcast.
Despite having feuded on camera with The Miz and Shawn Michaels, Dolph Ziggler will face Goldberg at SummerSlam, according to Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer. The match would be Goldberg's first since a disastrous showing against The Undertaker two months ago in Saudi Arabia in which he suffered a concussion.
Daniel Bryan is expected to be revealed as the mysterious person who caused scaffolding to collapse on Roman Reigns in the final segment of SmackDown. The pair are being advertised locally to have a match in a number of markets after SummerSlam. Meltzer is also reporting they will square off at SummerSlam.
In an interview with TMZ Sports promoting the theatrical release of Hobbs & Shaw, Reigns states that he can see himself wrestling full-time for another five years. "I'm still a young man. I'm 34, I still have a few more years in me of just being, I think, at the prime of my athletic career. See if I can handle it in the ring, I'm willing to do it," he said. "I think I can hold this schedule for at least 5 more years of being full-time, but eventually it's gonna have to be time to rest my body."
The Big Show, who has been absent from the ring for some time, has been cast to star in an upcoming Netflix family comedy series titled The Big Show Show. The series has been green lit for 10 episodes with filming slated to begin August 9 in Los Angeles.
Viewership for RAW fell 25 percent this week following the special RAW Reunion show one week earlier. Viewership of SmackDown was also down 12 percent, likely hurt by the Democratic debate.
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All Elite Wrestling has been busy announcing matches for its television premiere on October 2. Cody Rhodes vs. Sammy Guevara has been made official for the show which will emanate from Washington, DC. Chris Jericho and two mystery partners will face Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks. Jon Moxley is also scheduled to appear.
Chuck Carroll is former pro wrestling announcer and referee turned sports media personality. He once appeared on Monday Night RAW when he presented Robert Griffin III with a WWE title belt in the Redskins locker room.
Follow him on Twitter @ChuckCarrollWLC.