Where has Austin Theory been?
Austin Theory was accused of inappropriate behavior with a young girl and tested positive for COVID-19. Both of these reasons are the cause of his absence from WWE television. We are told the company is still investigating the accusations before any decisions are made regarding his future.
In your opinion, just how bad was The Horror Show at Extreme Rules?
WWE’s The Horror Show at Extreme Rules drew negative reactions from the IWC but I honestly did not think it was a terrible pay-per-view. Kevin Owens and Murphy had a great Kickoff match, with KO showing absolutely no ring rust. We got a surprise title change with Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura winning the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship from The New Day to open the show. Granted, it was not even a tag match but it is a gimmick pay-per-view. Bayley and Nikki Cross had a fine match with a dirty ending. I like clean finishes, especially on pay-per-views, but again, it was a gimmick pay-per-view. The Eye for an Eye Match was a goofy stipulation that Vince McMahon thought he could get away with without a live audience. The match itself was not bad and would have received higher marks if it were under “extreme rules.” Asuka and Sasha Banks had a good match with a bad finish that was done so Vince McMahon would have a “cliffhanger” for Raw. Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler had an entertaining bout that made McIntyre look stronger headed into SummerSlam. It is exactly what we were expecting. Finally, the Wyatt Swamp Fight drew polarizing views. Some loved it and others hated it. I thought incorporating Alexa Bliss was brilliant and it helped continue the Wyatt vs. Strowman program, which should culminate at SummerSlam. It is too bad the United States title was not defended but I have seen a lot worse WWE shows. The negative reactions stem from people being anti-WWE and tired of shows without fans. The former will never change, as some people love to be overly critical, yet continue to watch every show. The latter is frustrating, we all want live crowds, but it is just the way it is right now.
Do you believe Ric Flair has COVID-19 and this is why WWE did not book him for RAW?
The New York Post reported Monday Ric Flair confirmed his wife, Wendy Barlow, has the virus and stated they were told Flair has it too but he denied it. I did not appreciate the way the story was reported, as it aimed to demonize Flair for “not wearing a mask,” while encouraging others to do so. The thing is – Flair was in his car. The article showed other pictures of Flair outside with his coffee not wearing a mask but he was not around anyone. It would be one thing if Flair was out and around a bunch of people but the photos I saw, he was alone. I am a Registered Nurse with a background in critical care and understand the need to listen to the experts. But let the man have his coffee and leave him alone. Whether or not Ric has the virus, WWE made the right call to leave him off Raw to protect everyone. I wish both Ric and Wendy the absolute best.
Why was Billie Kay not on Raw?
Billie Kay was MIA and it was announced in storyline she was taking care of other business for The IIconics. Obviously, anytime a talent goes missing people will start speculating about COVID-19 but there is no confirmation about that as of press time. There are friends of Apollo Crews who believe he tested positive, as I reported here on WrestlingNews.com but even that is not confirmed. All we know officially is Crews was removed from Extreme Rules due to concerns about COVID-19.
The next installment of Ask WNC is scheduled to run on Wednesday, July 22, 2020.
You can submit a question for the next installment of Ask WNC at this link. If you have problems with the form, you can send your question to AskWNC@wrestlingnews.com.
Leave a Reply