WWE in Pittsburgh and Louisville (reports needed), WWE Smackdown, NJPW Strong, and WWE 205 Live coverage, Al Perez, Sonny Siaki, Perro Aguayo Jr.

By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

-WWE will hold its first live events since the pandemic starting on Saturday in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at PPG Paints Arena with a Supershow event featuring the following advertised matches: Roman Reigns vs. Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio in a handicap match for the WWE Universal Championship, and Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair. Although not official, I wouldn’t be surprised if the lineup for this show is dated and ends up looking similar to Sunday’s show.

-WWE is in Louisville, Kentucky at KFC Yum Center with a Supershow event on Sunday with the following advertised matches: John Cena, Rey Mysterio, and Dominik Mysterio vs. Roman Reigns, Jey Uso, and Jimmy Uso, Nikki ASH vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair in a Triple Threat for the Raw Women’s Championship, AJ Styles and Omos vs. Randy Orton and Riddle for the Raw Tag Titles, Bobby Lashley vs. Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods in a handicap match for the WWE Championship, and Bianca Belair vs. Carmella for the Smackdown Women’s Championship.

-WWE Friday Night Smackdown is live tonight from Cleveland, Ohio at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse and with portions from the Rolling Loud Festival in Miami, Florida. Bianca Belair vs. Carmella for the Smackdown Women’s Championship match is advertised for the Rolling Loud portion of the show. Join me for my weekly live review as Smackdown airs tonight on Fox at 7CT/8ET. Dot Net Members will hear my weekly same night audio review.

-NJPW Strong streams tonight on the New Japan World at 9CT/10ET. Dot Net contributor Colin McGuire’s reviews are typically available on Saturday mornings along with his audio reviews for Dot Net Members.

-WWE 205 Live will stream on WWE Network tonight at 9CT/10ET. Anish V’s written reviews are typically available on Friday nights, and his audio reviews for Dot Net Members are available by Saturday morning.

Birthdays and Notables

-Al Perez is 61.

-Sonny Siaki is 47.

-Perro Aguayo Jr. (a/k/a Perro Aguayo Ramirez) was born on July 23, 1979. He died while in the ring during a match in Mexico. His death was caused by cardiac arrest due to a stroke caused by three fractured vertebrae.