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Jim Cornette On Shane McMahon: “WWE are Doing Everything That Plays To His Weaknesses”

Jake Skudder
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Former NWA commentator and outspoken pro wrestling personality Jim Cornette recently discussed Shane McMahon’s position in WWE.

Cornette previously worked for the company from 1993 to 2005, having been part of the company through the Attitude Era and beyond. Jim Cornette has previously stated that he likes Shane McMahon personally, but he is not a fan of how the company are utilizing him on television currently.

Jim Cornette on Shane McMahon

McMahon is of course the ‘host’ of RAW Underground. The concept was brought onto WWE television back at the beginning of August, and was met with a mixed if not critical reception from fans.

Shane McMahon also serves as the ‘in-ring’ MC and somewhat GM of the concept as well. Whilst McMahon is clearly a huge fan of ‘real’ combat sports? Jim Cornette believes that WWE is getting it completely wrong when it comes to his television role right now.

Reportedly, Shane McMahon wanted to buy Ultimate Fighting Championship back in 2009. Shane apparently met with UFC President Dana White back in 2009 for talks but nothing concrete ever materialized. At the time UFC was not a billion dollar business, but Zuffa LLC would sell the company in 2016 for 4 billion dollars.

Fans have suggested that RAW Underground was Shane McMahon’s way of getting his own quasi-MMA style of brand.

“It’s just so awkward” Jim Cornette began on the Drive Thru podcast. “I like Shane so much, I feel bad for him. They’re [WWE] doing everything that plays to his weaknesses instead of his strengths.”

Cornette would elaborate further, saying how Shane’s mic skills as an ‘announcer’ for RAW Underground are lacking. “And this announcing and or verbal refereeing? Getting in between people? [These] are the two things that Shane are the weakest at and that’s what they’re having him do anyway.”

Shane McMahon
Shane McMahon

T-BAR Comments On Retribution’s Absence From RAW

Chris Stephens
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The members of Retribution weren’t on either Clash of Champions or WWE RAW recently. During a match on last night’s show, the lights flickered and the Retribution logo was shown on the LED boards but the members themselves never appeared.

Members of the group are currently believed to be quarantining after coming into contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. T-BAR recently took to Twitter and commented on some of the messages he’s been reading online about the group’s absence.

“If your response to the news that people were potentially exposed to COVID-19 was “Good” then you should probably reassess your morals as a human being,” T-BAR Tweeted.

WWE RAW wasn’t the only show on last night that featured a tease of Retribution appearing. At one point during Monday Night Football it felt as though the group could invade as well.

https://twitter.com/TBARRetribution/status/1310774992188080134

MACE feels Retribution can take out more than one billion-dollar corporation:

T-Bar also commented on the segment where a Retribution invasion was teased:

https://twitter.com/TBARRetribution/status/1310774344747036673

Many fans might be familiar with the Botchamania videos made by Maffew. T-Bar also took to Twitter to take a shot at him as well.

https://twitter.com/TBARRetribution/status/1310670662705524741

The group is said to be quarantining for the next 2-weeks but it could take longer.

Top NXT Star Was ‘Shocked’ By Pat McAfee’s Debut Match

Jake Skudder
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NXT North American Championship Damien Priest recently appeared on the Gorilla Position podcast. The former Ring of Honor star discussed a number of topics during his time on the show, including Pat McAfee’s debut match against Adam Cole at NXT TakeOver: XXX.

“Absolutely outstanding performance, I mean he excelled” Damien Priest began on the podcast. “I’ve seen people wrestle for years that can’t put on a match like that. I’m just being honest, I have wrestled around the indies. And in the end? These guys can’t do what he can do.”

Damien Priest on Pat McAfee

“He [McAfee] actually telling a story and wrestling a good match? And then doing some high risk manoeuvres that are just outstanding? I mean like i said, I was surprised. I mean, I knew he had been training, I knew he trained with Rip Rogers. There was no way a professional athlete was going to come into this unprepared.”

Damien Priest would then praise McAfee further, saying how he dedicated himself to the match. “He’s a perfectionist. Like he has to be good at everything he does. He doesn’t do something just for views you know? Just because it’s cool? He’ll do it for that reason…but he has to do it well. He can’t just walk, he has to run across it.”

“I wasn’t surprised that he took it as seriously as he did” Damien Priest would continue. “But just because you take it seriously? It doesn’t mean you’re going to get to THAT level of performance, especially without a track record.”

Do you agree with Damien Priest? Would you like to see another Pat McAfee match in WWE? Let us know in the comments

NJPW President Harold Meij Stepping Down

Chris Stephens
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New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced that President/CEO Harold Meij will be stepping down from his position over the next month. Meij had been in the role since May of 2018.

A statement at the NJPW website reads, “At a meeting of New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s parent company Bushiroad’s board of directors today September 29, 2020, a change was announced in NJPW’s directorship. This change will take effect at the beginning of NJPW’s 50th year of trading on October 23rd.”

Takami Ohbari will take over for Meij in the role. Ohbari is the current CEO of NJPW of America.

Meij wrote a blog on the NJPW website talking about his experiences with the promotion.

“Even though we have escaped from the difficult times when we couldn’t play at all due to the corona wreck, the impact still remains,” A Google Translation of Meij’s blog reads.

“I wanted to continue this mission responsibly until the day when I could say ‘I’ve returned to the state before Corona’ and ‘New Japan Pro-Wrestling is completely okay’, but I have to say goodbye to everyone. It’s time to have to. Please forgive me for the announcement at this time during the ‘G1 CLIMAX 30’ due to the general meeting of shareholders.”

Check out our ongoing coverage of the G1 Climax tournament:

Results: NJPW G1 Climax 30 Day 6

Evan S
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New Japan Pro-Wrestling thirtieth annual G1 Climax tournament has arrived!

Watch on NJPW World with a paid subscription. Only live Japanese commentary available. English commentary will be uploaded within several days. This event will have reduced attendance capacity to comply with COVID-19 social distancing restrictions.

Start Times:

  • Pacific: 9/29 2:30AM
  • Eastern: 9/29 5:30AM
  • UK: 9/29 10:30AM
  • Japan: 9/29 6:30PM
  • East Australia: 9/29 7:30PM

NJPW World Video

G1 Climax 30 Day 6 Results

Yuya Uemura def. Gabriel Kidd
At the start, Gabriel Kidd was laser-focused on Uemura’s arm, using a bridging arm lock to weaken him, so that he would be unable to break free of the double underhook suplex that Kidd has been using to finish matches lately. Uemura was able to reverse the hold into a leglock, but Kidd grabbed the bottom rope to break it. They engaged in a battle of strikes but Kidd was getting the upper hand, but Uemura hit a beautiful dropkick and locked in a high-angle Boston crab; Kidd had no choice but to tap out.

B Block: YOSHI-HASHI def. SANADA (15:15)
SANADA trained his offense on YOSHI-HASHI’s neck, likely a setup for the Skull End. YOSHI-HASHI hit a lariat to SANADA against the ropes, sending him tumbling to the outside, but when he went to the outside to follow up, SANADA lifted YOSHI-HASHI’s legs onto the barricade and gave him a body dragonscrew. SANADA looked to have YOSHI-HASHI’s number, rallying the Korakuen Hall crowd. YOSHI-HASHI finally hit a desparation lariat, followed by a sitout powerbomb for a near fall. He rose to the top rope, but SANADA blocked the Swanton Bomb with his legs. He then hit a moonsault on a standing YOSHI-HASHI into the Skull End. YOSHI briefly got his head free, but SANADA pulled him back into it. SANADA broke the hold to hit his finishing top rope moonsault, but YOSHI-HASHI blocked it with his knees, in an act of retribution. He rose to his feet and delivered a dragon suplex followed by the Kumagoroshi for a near fall as the crowd clapped for him. Finally, he hit the Karma for the three-count! YOSHI-HASHI 2 points, SANADA 0 points

B Block: KENTA def. Zack Sabre Jr. (15:46)
KENTA did not begin the match by retreating to the outside of the ring like he did against his prior opponents. Zack laid on the mat and challenged KENTA to grapple with him, but KENTA just kicked him in the chest. KENTA pelted the spindly ZSJ with strikes for quite a while. Zack even sat up and put his arms behind his back, challenging KENTA to kick him, but he soon regretted it. Zack finally realized he couldn’t sustain much more of this and brought the match onto his terms, attacking KENTA’s right arm. KENTA tried to hit a lariat, but was clutching his arm in pain after he did so. KENTA decided to use his other limbs to fight, landing multiple shotgun dropkicks and a diving foot stomp for a near fall. He tried to lift Zack for the Go 2 Sleep, but Zack started cranking on his arm and he had to stop. Zack hit a guillotine choke and transitioned into the Jim Breaks armbar, but KENTA forced the rope break. Zack hit the ropes, but ran into KENTA’s knee strike on the way back. KENTA lifted the dazed Zack for the Go 2 Sleep and the pinfall victory. KENTA 4 points, Zack 2 points

B Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Juice Robinson (14:16)
Tanahashi found himself outpowered by Juice in the early going, as Juice worked over the Ace’s lower back with punches, backbreakers, and a sidewalk slam. He placed Tanahashi in a seated full nelson while egging on Tanahashi to do better. He broke the hold to hit another lower back punch, but the freed Tanahashi put Juice on his back with a dropkick to the leg and a dragonscrew. Slowed, but not beaten, Juice continued to push Tanahashi, hitting a big lariat and the cannonball splash, as the crowd flared up with rhythmic applause. Juice hit a jackhammer for a near fall, but when he went for the Pulp Friction, Tanahashi blocked it and hit a Sling Blade. He went to the top rope for the High Fly Flow, but the standing Juice rolled through it into a pinning combination for a two-count. Juice hit his Left Hand of God punch on Tanahashi and went for the Pulp Friction again, but Tanahashi dropped to the mat to avoid it and pulled Juice into a victory roll for the pinfall victory, to finally make it on the board. Tanahashi 2 points, Juice 4 points

B Block: Toru Yano def. EVIL (4:33)
Yano immediately went after EVIL’s second, Dick Togo, so that he would not be present to give EVIL the advantage. He taped Togo’s arm to the outside barricade, but EVIL was able to break him free later on. As Togo distracted the referee, EVIL hit a low blow on Yano, but then Yano whipped him into the referee. EVIL stopped before hitting the referee, but it gave Yano the opening to hit a low blow of his own. Immediately, Dick Togo came in and hit a low blow on Yano, but Yano retaliated with a mule kick. He whipped Togo into EVIL and then hit a low blow on both of them at once, then pinned EVIL with a roll-up. Yano 6 points, EVIL 2 points

B Block: Tetsuya Naito def. Hirooki Goto (21:58)
Goto’s right shoulder was already taped up from his match with KENTA and Naito focused on it immediately, using arm wringers, strikes, and a Kimura lock to further damage Goto’s dominant arm. Naito had said in a recent interview that he viewed Goto as just a guy, whose presence did not mean much in the grand scheme. This was Goto’s chance to prove that statement wrong, but his early comebacks were all thwarted by Naito. When Naito lifted Goto to the middle rope for his super frankensteiner, Goto slid under and delivered a superplex, sending Naito reeling to the outside. He followed up with the first plancha I’ve ever seen him do. As the match reached 15 elapsed minutes, Naito was back on the offense again, catching Goto with a swinging DDT and repeated elbows to the back of the head, and then successfully performing the super Frankensteiner. Naito went for the running Destino, but Goto blocked hit and hit the reverse GTR! He followed up with a rope-hung GTR for a near fall, but when he went for the Ushigoroshi Naito countered it into a Destino. Naito went for the final Destino, but Goto caught it and hit the GTW! Goto attempted the GTR, but Naito blocked it, then finished Goto off with the Valentia and Destino! Naito 6 points, Goto 2 points

G1 Climax Updated Standings

A Block:
6 points – Taichi, Jay White
4 points – Will Ospreay, Minoru Suzuki, Kota Ibushi
2 points – Kazuchika Okada, Jeff Cobb, Shingo Takagi
0 points – Tomohiro Ishii, Yujiro Takahashi

B Block:
6 points – Toru Yano, Tetsuya Naito
4 points – Juice Robinson, KENTA
2 points – Hirooki Goto, Zack Sabre Jr., EVIL, YOSHI-HASHI, Hiroshi Tanahashi
0 points – SANADA

WWE RAW Results (9/28): Randy Orton Attacks Legends, Robert Roode Returns

Robert Lentini
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WWE RAW aired live from the ThunderDome inside the Amway Center. It was the first episode of RAW following WWE Clash of Champions. Drew McIntyre issued an Open Challenge for the WWE Championship during tonight’s show.

WWE RAW Results (9/28)

  1. Asuka def. Zelina Vega to retain the RAW Women’s Championship
  2. Keith Lee def. Andrade
  3. Mandy Rose & Dana Brooke def. Natalya & Lana
  4. Kevin Owens def. Aleister Black via DQ
  5. R-Truth def. Drew Gulak, Akira Tozawa to retain the 24/7 Championship
  6. Mustafa Ali, Ricochet, Apollo Crews def. Hurt Business
  7. Drew McIntyre def. Robert Roode to retain the WWE Championship

Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:

Randy Orton Interrupted McIntyre

Randy Orton RAW 9 28

Ric Flair, Christian, Big Show, and Shawn Michaels kicked off this week’s show. Michaels introduced WWE Champion Drew McIntyre as the man who defeated Randy Orton last night at Clash of Champions.

Drew said he didn’t expect to see these four legends last night but that was pretty cool. McIntyre noted that Big Show and Christian were always there to look out for him and he’s always appreciated that. McIntyre referred to Shawn as a mentor and that he wouldn’t be where he is right now without him. Drew added that we was in the locker room with Flair was still an active wrestler and he thought that was so cool. McIntyre boasted about defeating Orton last night and thanked the virtual fans for their reactions.

Michaels joked that if McIntyre is upset they interfered in his match it was all Ric Flair’s idea. Randy Orton interrupted on the jumbotron and warned McIntyre that this isn’t over. Orton added that McIntyre has no idea what hell is and he won’t be finished with him until he is WWE Champion. Orton added that there is a price to be paid when you cross the Legend Killer.

Opinion: Orton’s hell reference during the promo makes it obvious that we are getting another match between these two at Hell in a Cell. I am ready to move on from this feud but it looks we are getting it for another month.

Asuka Defeated Zelina Vega Again

asuka raw women champ 8 24

Asuka defended her RAW Women’s Championship against Zelina Vega once again tonight on RAW.

Match Recap: Zelina went right after Asuka and brought her to the canvas. Vega locked in an Armbar but the RAW Women’s Champion made it to the bottom rope to break the hold. Zelina connected with a Backstabber and went for the cover but Asuka was able to get her foot on the ropes to break it up. Zelina went for a Moonsault but Asuka got her knees up and applied the Asuka Lock for the submission victory. Asuka is still the RAW Women’s Champion.

Keith Lee Dominated

Keith Lee
Keith Lee

After the RAW Women’s Championship match, Andrade came down to the ring and insulted Zelina Vega. Andrade stated that he is the greatest in WWE and asked who wants to face him and Keith Lee made his way to the ring.

Match Recap: Keith Lee dominated the action early and launched Andrade across the ring. Andrade battled back and connected with Double Knees in the corner of the ring. Keith Lee shrugged it off and hit the Spirit Bomb for the easy victory.

Bobby Roode Returns On WWE Monday Night RAW

Andrew Ravens
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Bobby Roode has made his return to WWE television. 

He did so on Monday’s episode of RAW from Orlando, Florida at the Amway Center on the USA Network when he answered an open challenge for the WWE Title that was issued by Drew McIntyre in the opening segment of the show. 

McIntyre did a promo with Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, Big Show, and Christian standing behind him about how he needed to take on someone who he hadn’t faced while champion as he considers himself a fighting champion. 

The open challenge took place in the final segment of the show. 

https://twitter.com/WWEUniverse/status/1310772905928806401

Roode had been on hiatus from WWE due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He lives in Canada and for the past several months, the borders between Canada and the United States have been closed. As a result, that had prevented him from entering the country. 

Just last week it was reported that Roode was expected to make his return to Monday Night Raw in the near future.

He was last seen in action in March as he teamed up with Dolph Ziggler to compete in the Elimination Chamber Match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championships.

James Storm Says COVID-19 Pandemic Derailed His WWE Main Roster Debut

Andrew Ravens
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James Storm has stated that he was supposed to make his WWE main roster debut with the company after WrestleMania 36. Obviously, that didn’t happen. 

Storm told Pro Wrestling Sheet that he was first approached by WWE during Royal Rumble weekend. Dave Lagana and Billy Corgan even allowed Storm to be let out of his NWA contract early. 

“I get home and I see I got an email from Canyon Ceman saying, ‘Hey, we’re interested. Paul Heyman wants me to reach out and bring you to Raw,” Storm said. “I was like, ‘Wait … I think Bobby is going to Raw. Hmmm. This could be interesting.’ Ya know?”

“I told them I would work the weekend of WrestleMania shows with Eli [Drake] to drop the NWA belts to whoever they wanted to drop it to,” Storm told Satin. “Just go out on good terms. Good business, ya know? Then that show got cancelled for the NWA, and then it kept snowballing.”

After WrestleMania, he was preparing to make his WWE debut and for WWE’s pre-signing physical and bought new gear. 

The deal had been done, and he had signed. However, he was told by management that things were being put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Storm debuted in NXT during the October 2015 tapings and later appeared on a December episode before deciding against signing with WWE NXT to instead return to Impact Wrestling. 

James Storm Discusses Potential WWE Return, Reflects On NXT Run

Retribution Members Have Been Quarantined

Andrew Ravens
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COVID-19 hit home for members of Retribution. 

The core members of Retribution (T-BAR, Mace, Slapjack, Reckoning, and Retaliation) have reportedly tested negative for COVID-19, according to Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet. 

The original belief from Dave Meltzer during Sunday Night’s Main Event podcast was that they were kept off Sunday’s WWE Clash of Champions pay-per-view because they are not currently medically cleared to compete. 

At the time, there wasn’t any word whether it was COVID-19 related. That has changed. 

Per Satin, each member has to quarantine themselves for two weeks due to precautionary reasons as they came into proximity with someone else who tested positive for COVID-19.

As of this writing, here’s no word yet on when Retribution began their two-week quarantine. They were last seen on WWE television on last Monday’s episode of RAW. 

Satin wrote, “Regarding RETRIBUTION not being cleared to compete at the moment, sources tell me all 5 members tested negative for COVID-19. However, the group’s members each have to quarantine themselves for two weeks because they came into proximity with someone who tested positive.”

It appears that they will stay off television until mid-October. It will be interesting to see how WWE plans to explain their absence or if WWE will just use other wrestlers to fill in for the normal characters. 

Roman Reigns Retains Universal Title At WWE Clash Of Champions

The Rock Reacts To Roman Reigns’ Win Over Jey Uso

Andrew Ravens
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The Rock gave his thoughts publicly known about the main event of Sunday’s Clash of Champions pay-per-view event featuring Roman Reigns. 

This event, which aired live on the WWE Network from the ThunderDome, featured Reigns successfully retaining the WWE Universal Title over Jey Uso. While Jey did have some moments of offense, but it was mostly a one-sided beatdown by the champion. 

The finish of the match saw Reigns beating down Jey while demanding that his cousin called him the tribal chief. Eventually, Jimmy Uso walked out to the ring and threw in the towel to stop the attack. 

Reigns took to Instagram after the contest and just simply wrote “Levels.” The Rock took to the comments section and responded with the following: 

“Same game, different levels. Same hell, different devils. Heard you two tore the house down [fist emoji]”

The former WWE Champion recently came out and stated that if he were to come out of retirement for one more match then he would want it to be against Reigns, who is WWE’s biggest star right now, at a WrestleMania event. 

The Rock has been retired for a few years now, but anything can happen in pro wrestling. 

Reigns

Roman Reigns Retains Universal Title At WWE Clash Of Champions

Jim Cornette Talks His Biggest Issue With Retribution Storyline

Jake Skudder
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Former NWA commentator and outspoken pro wrestling personality Jim Cornette recently dissected the RAW Retribution storyline.

Cornette had more than a few issues with the ongoing RAW storyline. His seemingly biggest issue however, surrounded the fact that the majority of members (Mia Yim and Dijakovic specifically) were appearing on NXT television whilst the storyline was initially ongoing.

Retribution recently revealed that WWE had given them full time WWE contracts. The only issue is a large portion of WWE’s fanbase already know who the members of the group are. With WWE attempting to put NXT on the ‘same level’ as RAW and SmackDown? It wasn’t exactly a good look for the Wednesday night brand.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that both RAW and NXT are shown on the same channel, USA Network.

Jim Cornette on Retribution

“All of these people have been on national TV!” Jim Cornette began on the Drive Thru podcast. “Working for this same company, on the other channel. Recently, like concurrently while Retribution was f*cking on RAW jumping on people and doing all this sh*t.”

“These people were on NXT having nothing to do with each other and doing other sh*t under other names” Cornette continued. “It’s not like somebody came in from a different territory and they were new to you; so you hadn’t seen him or even that somebody came in from another company.”

Jim Cornette would finish by lambasting WWE further for the concept. “These people were literally working for the same organisation. Just on another television show. On another station. Last week. So what the f*ck?”

Do you agree with Jim Cornette? Let us know in the comments

Eric Bischoff Comments On Buff Bagwell’s Calf Implants

Chris Stephens
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Buff Bagwell suffered an infection from calf implants he got during his career. He ended up having to have the implants removed due to the infection. This was discussed recently on Eric Bischoff’s 83 Weeks podcast. Apparently Bagwell took quite the ribbing backstage as a result.

“I remember when it happened, just the ribbing. I mean, I don’t know how Dave Meltzer or anybody else hadn’t heard about this because the entire roster was laughing and talking about it,” Bischoff said. “It took a long time for Marcus to live that down, a long time. Nobody even tried to hide the fact that they were having a great time at Bagwell’s expense by laughing and joking about this.”

“I do remember it, the ribbing he took, I can only imagine how he felt coming back. I think the only reason he was able to come back and work his way through it is because he was so vain he didn’t care. He probably felt at the time that having massive calves was one of the most important things in his life. Maybe the reason he wore long tights is because he felt insecure about his minuscule calves, I don’t’ know.”

Bischoff and Conrad Thomspon’s comments on Buff Bagwell’s calf implants can be heard in the player below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6yFCc0T_Wg

Miro Comments On Learning English From 2Pac Songs

Chris Stephens
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AEW’s Miro made his in-ring debut on Dynamite last week. He’s been aligned with fellow Twitch streamer, Kip Sabian, so far in the promotion. Miro sat down recently with Chris Van Vliet and discussed a variety of subjects including his learning English through 2Pac songs.

The Bulgarian spoke about how he knew from an early age that he was going to travel to the United States and would need to know how to speak English.

“Because I knew I’m going to go to America, in 3rd grade I started learning English,” Miro said during the conversation.

“Video games was English. I loved video games so I had to learn English to see what they were saying. At the same time, I wanted to learn English because I’m going to America and watching all these old movies, they prepared me.”

He also spoke about how learning 2Pac’s lyrics also helped him learn English.

“Again, movies, English, I had to open the dictionary sometimes and look for a word or listen to 2Pac songs, ‘ah, what does that word mean?’ I have to find a big dictionary, it’s not the internet. It’s like the big dictionary where you open and you read this word and that’s how you learn. And on top of that, you go to school and you learn more and more.”

“Of course, of course, 2Pac’s my favourite rapper of all time,” Miro concluded on the subject.

A clip featuring Miro speaking of learning English and coming to American can be viewed in the player below:

Rob Van Dam & Katie Forbes Gone From Impact Wrestling

Chris Stephens
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Rob Van Dam & Katie Forbes are no longer with Impact Wrestling. According to a report from PW Insider, the pair’s departure from the company is due to storylines involving them ending. They had been working on a per-show deal for some time and the door is said to be open for them to return someday.

Rob Van Dam had signed with the promotion in February of 2019. RVD turned heel at Bound For Glory 2019. His real-life relationship with Katie Forbes then became a key part of his on-screen persona. Most recently, RVD and Forbes had been involved in an angle with Sami Callihan. The angle came to a conclusion recently when Callihan gave Katie Forbes a piledriver after dropping a singles match to RVD.

RVD and Forbes were briefly members of the faction “Cancel Culture” with Joey Ryan and Jake Crist. The angle came to an end when Joey Ryan was released from the promotion. This was as a result of allegations against Ryan as part of the #SpeakingOut movement.

RVD’s run in the company from 2019-2020 finished with an 11-4 record in singles matches. He defeated Tommy Dreamer, Ethan Page, Sami Callihan (2x), Willie Mack, Madman Fulton, Rhino (2x), Eddie Edwards, Daga, and Joey Ryan. His losses came to Moose, Daga, Eddie Edwards, and Sami Callihan.

Update On Angel Garza Following Injury At Clash Of Champions

Chris Stephens
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Angel Garza was injured last night at Clash of Champions. He was teaming with Andrade in a RAW tag-team title match against the Street Profits. The match appeared to end early when Andrade got his shoulder up at 2 but the ref counted 3 anyway.

Garza’s injury was address on Wrestling Observer Radio:

“During the show Angel Garza got hurt and the first word I heard was a torn quad which is not a good thing. There’s been other talk that that might not be it, might be a lesser injury. Might not be a quad, might be a hip,” said Dave Meltzer.

According to Talk Sport and PW Insider, Garza did injure his hip. They are stating the injury is not quite as bad as first feared.

More news concerning the seriousness of Garza’s injury will likely be available in the coming days.

The Street Profits vs Andrade & Angel Garza

The RAW tag-team title match at Clash of Champions ended in abrupt fashion. Evidently, the decision was made to end the match early but this didn’t play out well. Andrade clearly kicked out before the 3 count and Angelo Dawkins seemed utterly confused and unhappy with what happened.

On commentary, it was noted that Andrade kicked out at 2 but the referee’s vision of his shoulder was blocked.

The victory for the Street Profits was their 6th successful defence of the RAW tag titles. They won the titles initially from Seth Rollins and Murphy on the March 2nd, 2020 RAW. Since then, they’ve defended successfully against Andrade & Angel Garza twice, Austin Theory & Angel Garza twice, Seth Rollins & Murphy once, and the Viking Raiders once.

Update On Why Women’s Tag Title Match Didn’t Happen At Clash of Champions

Chris Stephens
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WWE announced on the Clash of Champions Kickoff show that the scheduled women’s tag-team title match would not take place on the show. Champions Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax were set to defend their title against Ruby Riott & Liv Morgan, the Riott Squad.

It was announced that both Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax were not cleared to compete on the PPV. According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer, they were removed from the show due to COVID-19 concerns.

“Nikki Cross and Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax were all called…they were not medically cleared,” said Dave Meltzer.

“The actual issue is, you know it’s the COVID situation,” he continued. “I know at least one of the three and I think two of the three do not have COVID but they were in contact with someone who does. It might even be all three. But I know for sure one and I think two but it’s still they were afraid of a COVID spread.”

He would continue to say that at least two of the three wrestlers are not unhealthy.

“I don’t know how all their healths are but at least two of the three are not unhealthy as we speak,” Meltzer continued.

Nia Jax commented on the situation via Twitter:

https://twitter.com/NiaJaxWWE/status/1310347912715460608
https://twitter.com/NiaJaxWWE/status/1310349171405148160

WWE Clash Of Champions Results: Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso, Sasha Banks Returns

Robert Lentini
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WWE Clash of Champions 2020 aired on the WWE Network from the ThunderDome in Orlando. It was announced during the Kickoff Show that Nia Jax and Nikki Cross were not medically cleared to compete tonight. It was also announced that the WWE Draft will take place on the October 9th edition of SmackDown and the October 12th edition of RAW.

Clash of Champions 2020 Results

  1. Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura def. Lucha House Party to retain the SD Tag Team Titles (Kickoff Show)
  2. Sami Zayn def. Jeff Hardy, AJ Styles to win the IC Title
  3. Asuka def. Zelina Vega to retain the RAW Women’s Championship
  4. Bobby Lashley def. Apollo Crews to retain the United States Championship
  5. Street Profits def. Andrade & Angel Garza to retain the RAW Tag Titles
  6. Asuka def. Bayley via DQ
  7. Drew McIntyre def. Randy Orton to retain the WWE Championship
  8. Roman Reigns def. Jey Uso to retain the Universal Championship

Here are the takeaways from the PPV:

Sami Zayn Captured The Intercontinental Championship

ic title match clash of champions

Jeff Hardy defended the Intercontinental Championship against AJ Styles and Sami Zayn in a Triple Threat Ladder match tonight at Clash of Champions.

Match Recap: Jeff Hardy controlled the action early and hit Styles and Zayn with a Clothesline/ Bulldog combo. Zayn knocked Styles out of the ring and hit him with a Springboard Moonsault. Sami bashed Jeff Hardy across the back with the ladder and then did the same to AJ Styles.

Back in the ring, Jeff Hardy set up a ladder against the ropes and sent Sami onto it with a Back Body Drop. Jeff leaped off the middle turnbuckle but AJ got out of the way and the Intercontinental Champion crashed into a ladder. Styles then launched Sami into a ladder in the corner of the ring.

AJ followed it up with a Pele Kick to Sami and then made his way up the ladder. Hardy joined him and the two superstars traded punches. Styles shoved Jeff to the canvas but Hardy popped right back up. Hardy dragged Styles down the to the mat and hit him with an Atomic Drop.

Sami threw Jeff out of the ring and made his way up the ladder. Styles stopped him but Sami connected with an Exploder Suplex that sent AJ onto the ladder in the corner. Jeff Hardy connected with Poetry In Motion on Styles outside the ring and then turned around into a Helluva Kick from Zayn.

Zayn started climbing the ladder but Styles knocked him to the mat by launching a small ladder at him. Hardy and Styles then battled on top of the ladder. Both superstars wound up falling to the mat and Sami made his way back up the ladder. Hardy brought him down with a Twist of Fate and started climbing.

Jeff climbed the ladder but Zayn tilted it over and Hardy crashed to the floor outside the ring. Sami set up a ladder from the announce table to the ring apron. Styles bounced Sami’s face off the announce table and hit him with a Reverse DDT. Jeff Hardy hit Styles with a ladder and then climbed up a ladder outside the ring. Hardy connected with a ridiculous Swanton Bomb that sent Sami through the ladder.

AJ got in the ring and set up a ladder. Hardy shoved the ladder over and Styles crashed to the mat. Zayn dragged Jeff out of the ring and slammed him into the barricade. Sami Zayn handcuffed Hardy to a ladder by his ear.

Zayn tried to handcuff AJ to the ropes but Styles escaped and hit him with a Suplex. Sami then handcuffed himself to AJ as Jeff Hardy started making his way to the ring with a ladder handcuffed to his earlobe. Sami unlocked the handcuffs and locked Styles to the ladder. Zayn then grabbed the titles to become the new Intercontinental Champion.

Opinion: I absolutely loved this match and thought the finish was awesome. The Swanton Bomb through the ladder was an incredible spot as well. I was really looking forward to this match and it completely delivered.

Asuka Retained The RAW Women’s Championship

asuka zelina vega clash of champions

Asuka defended the RAW Women’s Championship against Zelina Vega tonight.

Match Recap: Asuka shoved Zelina to the mat and taunted her to start the match off. Asuka made fun of Vega’s height and danced around the ring. Vega booted Asuka in the knee and the two superstars locked up. Asuka caught Vega with a punch and then applied a Headlock in the middle of the ring.

Asuka perched Vega up on the top turnbuckle and went for a Superplex but Zelina blocked it. Asuka sent Vega to the apron and connected with a Hip Attack. Vega battled back and connected with an Arm Drag. Zelina followed it up with a Hurricanrana for a near fall.

Vega went for a Backstabber but Asuka held onto the ropes. Zelina booted Asuka in the face and went for the cover but Asuka kicked out at two. Asuka quickly locked in the Asuka Lock for the submission victory. Asuka is still the RAW Women’s Champion. Zelina attacked Asuka after the match and then retreated when Asuka got up.

Bobby Lashley Retained The US Title

apollo crews bobby lashley clash of champions

Bobby Lashley defended the United States Championship against Apollo Crews tonight at Clash of Champions. Ricochet and MVP were ringside for the match.

Match Recap: Lashley controlled the match early and went to work on Apollo’s arm. Crews connected with a boot to the face and then Clotheslined Lashley out of the ring. Apollo hit Lashley with a Moonsault off the apron and sent the United States Champion into the barricade.

Back in the ring, Crews hit a Crossbody for a two count. Lashley planted Crews with a Flatliner and MVP taunted Apollo as he regrouped against the ropes. Crews drove Lashley to the corner and hit him with a Splash. Apollo knocked Lashley to the outside and hit him with another Crossbody.

Crews rolled Lashley inside the ring and hit him with an Enziguri. Crews followed it up with a Standing Moonsault for a two count. Lashley connected with a Superplex but Crews battled back and hit a Standing Shooting Star Press. Crews followed it up with a Frog Splash for a two count. Lashley planted Crews with a massive Chokeslam and applied the Hurt Lock for the submission victory. Bobby Lashley is still the United States Champion.

Roman Reigns Retains Universal Title At WWE Clash Of Champions

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In what was a family feud, Roman Reigns is still standing tall as the Universal Champion. 

Jey Uso, the cousin of “The Big Dog, was the first challenger in the current reign of Reigns as Universal Champion. This title match was the main event featured on the card for this year’s WWE Clash of Champions pay-per-view event.

As promised, Reigns wrestled shirtless for those who care to know. Although Uso was positioned as someone who had brief moments of offense and they even did near falls, it was Reigns who took down his family member.

After Reigns mauled him because Jey wouldn’t call him the Tribal Chief, Jimmy walked out to the ring and wanted to throw in the towel and did despite his brother telling him not to do so.  

Jey earned this title opportunity when WWE held a Fatal 4-Way Match with him vs. Matt Riddle vs. King Baron Corbin vs. Sheamus. This contest took place on the September 4th episode of Friday Night SmackDown on FOX.

Jey actually replaced Big E in the contest as Sheamus attacked him before the match. WWE did an injury angle with Big E and played it up as Paul Heyman had gotten Jey into the match. 

Drew McIntyre Retains WWE Title, Legends Appear At Clash Of Champions

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The rematch between Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton was a memorable Ambulance Match. 

McIntyre put the WWE Title on the line against the longtime WWE star in the co-main event of the WWE Clash of Champions pay-per-view event. 

The match featured the return of The Big Show, but it was at the beginning of the contest. Big Show came out while wearing a mask and hit a chokeslam to Orton through the announce table before leaving. A notable spot was when McIntyre went for the Claymore Kick, but Orton moved and kicked the door off.

While backstage, Christain attacked Orton and then left. Moving along, Shawn Michaels appeared to hit Sweet Chin Music to Orton off the top of the ambulance. As a result, it sent him through a crash pad. Orton had previously attacked all three guys and it wrote them off TV at the time. 

The finish saw McIntyre connected with a Claymore Kick and the Punt Kick. Ric Flair drove the ambulance out of the arena. 

https://twitter.com/WWEUniverse/status/1310387482933030912
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McIntyre successfully retained the WWE Title over Orton last month at SummerSlam with a backslide. 

Angel Garza Injured At WWE Clash Of Champions

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Andrade and Angel Garza didn’t make it to the top of the tag team division on Monday Night RAW, but there’s more concerning news. 

Andrade and Garza failed to gain the titles when they challenged The Street Profits at the WWE Clash of Champions pay-per-view event. This is where Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins retained the titles in Orlando, Florida.

As seen in the contest, it appeared that Garza suffered some sort of injury as the finish was odd. Dawkins hit a spinebuster to Andrade but he had his shoulder up and the announcers were confused at the pinfall. The referee threw up the X sign and doctors later checked on Garza. 

After the match, Pwinsider.com reported that Garza 100% suffered a legitimate injury to his leg and that he was being checked on by the trainers backstage. Bryan Alvarez also threw out this speculation: 

WWE set up this contest last week on RAW when a Triple Threat Tag Team Match to determine the new challengers for the titles was booked. Garza and Andrade beat Seth Rollins & Murphy and Dominik Mysterio & Humberto Carrillo

WWE Draft Announced For October 9th & 12th

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The rosters of Raw and SmackDown will be shaken up once again. WWE has announced a 2-night Draft is taking place next month.

The 2020 WWE Draft will kick off on October 9th on Friday Night SmackDown and resume on the October 12th episode of Monday Night RAW.

Fightful was the first to report of a forthcoming WWE Draft. The news was later confirmed by the Wrestling Observer. There was a plan to do it in early August because WWE officials felt a change was needed because of declining ratings, but there was a problem that would’ve impacted bigger plans as it would mess up plans for SummerSlam.

WWE then planned to do it in late August after SummerSlam. Once again, that got nixed once WWE planned to do a second pay-per-view a week, which was Payback. 

2019 WWE Draft

Last year’s Draft also took place in October last year. For those who are curious, here were the results of the first two rounds of the Draft last year: 

Round 1

  • RAW: Becky Lynch
  • SmackDown: Roman Reigns
  • RAW: The O.C.
  • SmackDown: “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt
  • RAW: Drew McIntyre

Round 2

  • RAW: Randy Orton
  • SmackDown: Sasha Banks
  • RAW: Ricochet
  • SmackDown: Braun Strowman
  • RAW: Bobby Lashley

Sami Zayn Wins Intercontinental Title At WWE Clash Of Champions

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The battle to find out the true WWE Intercontinental Champion was an impressive spectacle, but it was Sami Zayn who pulled off the win. 

WWE Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy vs. AJ Styles vs. Zayn in a Ladder Match took place at the WWE Clash of Champions pay-per-view event.

On paper, fans had high expectations for this contest, and based on feedback on social media, it appears those expectations were met. 

Some notable spots included Styles sending Zayn bouncing off a ladder in the corner. Zayn was climbing the ladder, but Styles threw a small ladder at him. Hardy hit a Swanton Bomb off a ladder to Zayn through another ladder. Near the end of the match, Zayn put a handcuff through the earlobe of Hardy and attached it to a ladder. Zayn then handcuffed Styles to a different ladder before getting the titles. 

Zayn decided to pull himself from television due to concerns about COVID-19 and WWE later stripped him of the championship and set up a tournament to crown a new champion.

Styles, Daniel Bryan, Drew Gulak, Elias, Hardy, King Corbin, Sheamus, and Shinsuke Nakamura were confirmed as competitors. Eventually, Styles won the tournament finals and became the champion only to drop it to Hardy. 

When Zayn returned to TV on the August 28th episode of SmackDown, WWE played it up as Zayn being the real champion. 

Speculation Over Nikki Cross’ Status For Clash Of Champions PPV

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WWE has announced Nikki Cross vs. Bayley for the SmackDown women’s title at the Clash Of Champions PPV tonight but some latest developments have started speculations about the status of the former Sanity member.

The female challenger did not appear on this week’s episode of SmackDown despite it being the PPV go home episode of the show and Dave Meltzer noted on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio that she was not backstage either.

The wrestling journalist further speculated on Cross’ availability for the PPV tonight, revealing that he did not get a clear answer when he inquired about it:

“If she’s there [at Clash of Champions], she’s there. I asked [on Saturday] morning if she was going to be there, and nobody got back to me, which is your answer,”

The speculations about Nikki Cross have been amplified further by the recent confirmation of a COVID-19 outbreak in WWE.

The standard company protocols call for a person to be quarantined for at least 14 days if they test positive, making them unavailable for active competition.

Though the company doesn’t reveal the name of any person who tests positive so the speculation about the SmackDown star are only rumors at this point and we should get a better idea about her status during tonight’s PPV event.

Arn Anderson Talks WWE ‘Not Seeing’ Daniel Bryan as a Major Star Initially

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Former WWE Agent and AEW on-screen coach Arn Anderson recently discussed the 2010 Night of Champions PPV on the ARN podcast. One of the topics of conversation during the show surrounded WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan.

At the time, Bryan was not long off of his first run with the company on the main roster. When the Nexus debuted on RAW and dismantled the ring, Bryan used then ring announcer Justin Roberts’ tie to choke him. The fall out from this caused WWE to release Bryan; reportedly it was WWE partner Hasbro that was not happy with the incident.

Daniel Bryan

WWE would then bring Daniel Bryan back for SummerSlam 2010, where he would join with John Cena as part of a team going up against his former faction, Nexus. Beyond that, it took a long time for WWE to finally give Bryan the opportunity at the top of the card, culminating in his WrestleMania 30 main event win. Even this scenario only came to pass due to CM Punk leaving the company and plans needing to be changed almost last minute (the rampant fan reaction also helped).

“Well, whoever knows what the reasons are? There’s really no reason that made any sense” Arn Anderson began on the podcast, saying how WWE should’ve been getting behind Bryan sooner. “Because all you have to do? Is listen to the audience, you know?”

“He was getting over” Anderson continued. “And he was doing it because he was an everyday guy. A blue collar guy that had earned his way and paid his dues in the Indies. And that word, it caught around you know?”

Arn Anderson would then reveal that WWE at the time didn’t listen to the ‘hype’ coming from the independent scene. “We used to think that indie hotline wasn’t all that powerful, but it is. It gets around and when there’s a new guy out there that the audience feels like should be in one of the the big companies? One of the big shows? They’ll let you know.”

Do you agree with Arn Anderson about Daniel Bryan? Should WWE have gotten behind the YES man sooner in his WWE career? Let us know in the comments

Daniel Bryan Edge
Daniel Bryan & Edge

T-BAR & Retribution Continue To Cause Chaos On Social Media

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The former Dominic Dijakovic is now known as Retribution’s T-BAR. Since the faction was given new names recently, many of them have also created all new social media presences.

T-BAR recently responded to comments Eric Bischoff has made about the Retribution angle. Bischoff has been critical of the angle, but T-BAR says Retribution actually draws inspiration from Bischoff’s time in WCW.

https://twitter.com/TBARRetribution/status/1310210161152327680

T-BAR has recently noted on Twitter that he respects the ring names of Booker T and X-PAC but takes issue with Cesaro & Sheamus’ old tag-team name.

https://twitter.com/TBARRetribution/status/1310038981292195840
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Rejected Applications For Retribution

Only 5 members of the group were given contracts by WWE in storyline. Retribution attacks have regularly featured more wrestlers than that, however. Mansoor recently noted he had hoped to become NUNCHUCK in the group.

https://twitter.com/KSAMANNY/status/1309909920800743429

Malcolm Bivens had also hoped to be in the group:

“If I was in Retribution, I would use the name De’Coldest ToEvaDoIt.”

https://twitter.com/Malcolmvelli/status/1308433196623835140

Shelton Benjamin also noted on Twitter that he warned everyone about Mia Yim. He posted the following:

“For years I’ve been telling everyone what a wretched horrible deceptive evil spiteful disgusting and hateful person Mia Yim really is. Believe me now?”

Recently, T-BAR also explained why WWE gave contracts to Retribution.

https://twitter.com/TBARRetribution/status/1309722682473275395
https://twitter.com/TBARRetribution/status/1309729464268525568
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