Backstage SummerSlam News, Could AJ Styles Have Saved Gallows/Anderson?, Naomi & John Morrison As Jobbers, WWE Overseas

Where will WWE SummerSlam take place next month?

As reported here on WrestlingNews.com, WWE SummerSlam will not take place from the TD Garden in Boston, MA on August 23rd. While the working plan is to have the show at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, WWE officials are looking at alternative sites to give the show a “special” feel. They are limited due to the uptick in COVID-19 cases in the United States but are willing to get creative. One source joked that Vince McMahon is jealous over Dana White’s “Fight Island” he built. WWE did not confirm the location as the Performance Center in the event they are able to hold the show somewhere else. Wherever the show takes place, it is highly unlikely it will feature a live audience. Vince McMahon had hoped SummerSlam would be the first show in over five months to feature an audience but that will not happen.

While I’m personally not a fan of WWE’s shows in Saudi Arabia, doesn’t WWE have a deal where they have to do two shows over there a year? What will happen with that?

The last I heard WWE hopes to hold a show in Saudi Arabia before the end of the year. However, with each passing week, that becomes less likely. It will depend completely on how the unpredictable COVID-19 pandemic goes and whether or not health officials will allow for the event to take place. Chances are not good, as the pandemic will provide talent another reason to “opt-out” of the show.

Why couldn’t AJ Styles save the jobs of Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson? Isn’t he very close with Vince McMahon?

It was AJ Styles that talked Gallows and Anderson into staying with WWE when they wanted to leave. They were thought to be safe when the COVID-19 pandemic hit but allegedly, Paul Heyman pushed for them to get cut. AJ Styles is one of Vince’s favorites, in fact I have not seen him take to a worker like he has Styles in quite some time. However, no one was safe when WWE was forced to make important financial decisions. Vince has a board of directors he has to answer to and when revenue is significantly impacted, the belt must be tightened.

We all saw WWE listen to social media about #NaomiDeservesBetter and put her in a segment on SmackDown. I see Karrion Kross made a similar play for John Morrison. What do you make of this?

Enhancement talents are a vital part of the wrestling business. They are in 2020, just like they have been for the past several decades. WWE has to have talent that can lose in order to put other talent over. There will always be great debate about who the workers are that should be forced to “do the honors,” but remember, if someone is on TV, they still collect their “show bonus.” This means even if they go out with the sole purpose of putting someone else over, they are paid like they won the match. It could be worse for Naomi and John Morrison and I could make arguments for and against pushing both of them. Social media is a loud voice and WWE is smart enough to embrace it when they trend worldwide. But the bottomline is there is no reason to get offended – some workers have to work as jobbers when they are not in the midst of a push.

The next installment of Ask WNC is scheduled to run on Wednesday, July 29, 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.


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