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Impact Results (6/16): Former World Champion To Return

Chris Stephens
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Impact Wrestling continued its build to Slammiversary last night on AXS TV and Twitch. The promotion continued to tease that several recently released WWE wrestlers could be on their way to the promotion. In particular, EC3 was heavily teased.

Impact Wrestling 6/16 Quick Results

  1. Impact Tag Team Championships
    The North (Ethan Page & Josh Alexander) (c) defeated The Rascalz (Dez & Wentz)
  2. Neveah defeated Kimber Lee
  3. Rhino defeated Rohit Raju
  4. TNA World Heavyweight Championship
    Moose (c) defeated Hernandez
  5. Reno Scum defeated Team XXXL
  6. Street Fight
    Ace Austin defeated Eddie Edwards

Here are 9 takeaways from Impact 6/16:

Former World Champion To Return To Impact Wrestling

Impact has been heavily-teasing that recently released wrestlers from WWE could be on their way to Impact. They have teased that Rhino’s former tag partner who “has kids” could appear at Slammiversary. EC3, Anderson & Gallows, and several others have been teased as well. This week, Impact confirmed that at least one former World Champion will be at Slammiverary.

Slammiversary will take place on Saturday July 18th, 2020. The tagline for the event is “Our World Will Change.”

EC3’s Music Plays Following Moose Victory

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hl11DSQq26g

Moose continues to claim he is the TNA World Heavyweight Champion. This week he defended the title against Hernandez. Moose hit his opponent with an inadvertent (or perhaps purposeful) low-blow before picking up the win with a No-Jackhammer-Needed spear.

After the match, EC3’s old music played briefly instead of Moose’s. This clearly unnerved the self-proclaimed champion. Eventually, Moose’s music played and he celebrated with the TNA title to close the segment.

The North Retain Over The Rascalz, Trey Attacked In The Back

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGt1UEvai9s

Ethan Page & Josh Alexander picked up a win this week over Dez & Wentz to kick off the show. The Rascalz earned the title shot by defeating TJP and Fallah Bah previously.

Page took Dez out of the match after countering a suicide dive and throwing him into the guardrail. Then, in the ring, Alexander crotched Wentz on the top-rope before the North hit their assisted-spinebuster finish for the win.

Following the match, the North went to the backstage area and were insulted to find nobody at the monitors watching their match.

When the Rascalz went to the back, they noticed someone had attacked Trey.

“The Virtuoso” Deonna Purrazzo Attacks Jordynne Grace Again

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

Deonna Purrazzo attacked Jordynne Grace last week on Impact. She locked the champion in an armbar to close the show. This week, we were shown highlights of an interview with Purrazzo who talked about debuting for Impact early in her career. She referred to herself as the best women’s technical wrestler in the world and is confident coming back to the promotion.

After the segment, Grace was interviewed in the back. She said that if Purrazzo wanted a title shot, all she had to do was ask. Purrazzo then attacked and locked Grace in an armbar once again.

Madman Fulton Aligns With Ace Austin

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

This week’s main event pitted former rivals Eddie Edwards vs Ace Austin in a street fight. The two will also be involved in the 5-way Impact World Title match at Slammiversary.

Edwards gave Austin a brutal neck breaker onto a table leg and looked to be setting his opponent up for the Boston Knee Party when Madman Fulton interfered. Fulton delivered a choke slam to Edwards and held him up for Austin to give him the Fold.

On commentary they revealed that Fulton was likely the man who attacked Trey in the back.

Rhino Defeats Rohit Raju As Commentary Teases Ex-WWE Wrestlers To Slammiversary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReWMpeTvW3k

Last week on Impact Wrestling, Rohit Raju and Rhino were involved in a mild altercation in the back. Rhino told Raju he has a tag-team partner and that tag-team partner “has kids.” This provided an opportunity for Josh Matthews and Madison Rayne to tease ex-WWE wrestlers showing up at Slammiversary. Matthews stated that what happens at Slammiversary could change the projection of Impact for years to come. Rayne said her sources confirmed that Slammiversary will be “can’t miss.”

Rhino picked up the win with a Gore. After the match, Raju looked distraught as Matthews wondered aloud if he would throw a childish fit again.

Neveah Picks Up Victory Over Kimber Lee, Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz Look On

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MW1a0qLw40

Kimber Lee faced Neveah this week on Impact. Neveah is now aligned with Havok after having ominously watched her matches from the crowd in recent weeks. This week, however, Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz played that role. Hogan & Steelz had an altercation in the back last week with Havok & Neveah.

Neveah picked up the victory with a vicious-looking DDT. The win gets a measure of revenge for the new team after Kimber Lee had previously defeated Havok. After the match, Hogan & Steelz threw popcorn in the face of Havok and the two teams almost came to blows until Hogan & Steelz fled the area.

Reno Scum Defeated Team XXXL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NPGfRn3drM

Reno Scum picked up a victory over Team XXXL this week. On commentary, they noted that with The North’s victory over The Rascalz this week that the winner of this match could be in line for a title shot. It looks like the North vs Reno Scum could be a match we get some time in the near future.

Next Week On Impact Wrestling

The following has been booked for next week’s edition of Impact Wrestling:

  • Susie vs Taya Valkyrie
  • Rob Van Dam, Joey Ryan & Jake Crist (Cancel Culture) vs Crazzy Steve & TBD & TBD
  • Willie Mack & The Deaners vs Chris Bey, Johnny Swinger & TBD

Drew McIntyre Reveals Which Superstars He Wants To Face, Almost Signing With NJPW

Steve Russell
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0

WWE Champion Drew McIntyre has revealed which top Superstars who would like to face off against. Speaking with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, McIntyre opened up about his dream opponents. He also revealed how close he was to signing with New Japan Pro-Wrestling prior to a phone call from Triple H.

According to Dreew McIntyre, the Superstar at the top of his list is none other than “The Phenomenal One,” AJ Styles. He noted how the two of them are “ships in the night.” McIntyre explained how when he had left WWE and was heading towards Impact Wrestling, Styles was going in the opposite direction. When both men were competing on the independent circuit, “it never worked out.” Even when both McIntyre and Styles were with WWE and on the same brand, they were both heels at the time and so couldn’t necessarily feud. “I thought it was finally about to happen, and then he went to SmackDown. Eventually, it’s going to happen.”

Other names Drew McIntyre would love to feud with include Sheamus, Jinder Mahal, Kofi Kingston and Big E, Daniel Bryan, Cesaro, Randy Orton and Undisputed Era members Adam Cole and Roderick Strong. 

Drew McIntyre’s New Japan Plans

While listing possible opponents, Drew McIntyre expressed his interest in wrestling against NJPW’s Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada. He believes that his in-ring style would mesh perfectly with New Japan’s hard-hitting strong style. According to him, he was prepared to sign with NJPW in 2017. A phone call from Triple H changed those plans. 

“Before Hunter called me to come back to WWE, the place I was going next was Japan,” Drew McIntyre stated. “My style would be perfect there and I could learn so much. The two opponents on the top of my list were Tanahashi and Okada. Ospreay would be great, as well. I wrestled him outside of WWE in a couple of my favorite matches. But still, I have to go with Tanahashi and Okada.”

Drew McIntyre recently defended his WWE Championship against Bobby Lashley at this past Sunday’s pay-per-view, Backlash. 

Shotzi Blackheart Talks About Her Time On The Indies, In-Ring Style

Steve Russell
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0

NXT Superstar Shotzi Blackheart has been enjoying success within WWE’s black-and-gold brand as of late. Speaking with Sports Illustrated, Blackheart shared her experiences performing on the indies prior to WWE. She also reflected on her in-ring style and what she brings to the ring.

Shotzi Blackheart commented on her time in the indies, admitting she had a lot of time to find herself as a wrestler and performer. It remains something she is thankful for. She believes it gave her a lot of independence and helped her to become a “well-rounded businesswoman.” Shotzi Blackheart confessed her time on the indies was a lot of fun and was even silly at times. One thing it helped show her was how much heart you needed to make it in pro wrestling.

Shotzi Blackheart’s In-Ring Style

When it comes to her in-ring style, Blackheart compares herself to Evil Knievel. She purposeful wants to channel a “daredevil spirit” and bring that into the ring with her. “That’s how I see my character. I kind of have tunnel vision and I just do it. I try not to think about it. It’s more, ‘This sounds crazy! Let’s go!’”

Shotzi Blackheart is in line for her biggest NXT opportunity to date during tonight’s episode of the show. She teams with Tegan Nox to take on the team of Sasha Banks and Bayley for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships. 

Arn Anderson On Nexus Invasion, Daniel Bryan’s Firing

Steve Russell
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All Elite Wrestling’s Arn Anderson has reflected on the Nexus invasion angle, which saw them attack John Cena. Speaking on his ARN podcast, Anderson noted how NXT wasn’t a strong brand at that time. Instead, it was viewed as being WWE’s “school.”

According to him, the initial idea was to have NXT’s students “combine forces” and have Wade Barrett act as their spokesperson. He believes this would have led to “as formidable a force as you have in the entire company.”

Although believing the angle to be excellent, Anderson stressed how it “got cut off too short.”

He argued how WWE should have allowed Nexus to go on a tirade and garner as much heat as possible: “They should have been able to slaughter anybody at any time. You’re talking about an invasion.” 

By developing a storyline with John Cena, Anderson noted how it would only be a matter of time before Cena had to get some momentum on his side. Given how the Nexus was a full stable against one Superstar, this posed a problem.

“When you see that you have something, let’s sit down and see what we have for these guys and think our way through this and see how much mileage we can get out of these guys. If they would have got red hot, they could have attacked heels and babyfaces. That’s a what if? I personally thought it was a great gimmick that got cut off too quickly.”

Arn Anderson On Daniel Bryan’s Firing

Following the Nexus invasion, Daniel Bryan would be fired from WWE. This was because Bryan choked Justin Roberts with his tie during the angle. Anderson argued how they were given “carte blanche” to destroy everybody and everything. He believes those involved were instructed to “go out there and get yourself over.”

Arn Anderson described how, when Bryan choked Roberts, “The guy in the big chair saw it and probably went ape sh*t.” This reaction eventually led to Bryan’s release.

He argued that the only reason he was brought back was because letting him go after those instructions was a “lousy thing to do.”

“For him to be held responsible and lose his job when nobody told him not to do it, most guys were not even aware that the rule existed. They were all told but it was not something that was right in their prefrontal lobe every minute of every match. I think the only reason Daniel Bryan was brought back was because of the groundswell of the audience that was pulling for him. They knew he got screwed and they wanted him back. That’s the reason he came back, and the only reason.”

Elias Reveals He Was Set To Face The Undertaker At Super ShowDown

Steve Russell
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0

The recently released episode of The Undertaker’s docuseries, The Last Ride, featured footage of ‘Taker interrupting Elias in the ring. He would proceed to deliver a chokeslam and Tombstone Piledriver to Elias. Turns out that this exchange was intended to build into a matchup between the two Superstars at WWE’s 2019 Saudi Arabia event, Super ShowDown.

Taking to his Instagram account, Elias revealed how a clash was “set to happen” in Saudi Arabia after their segment. He reflected on how everything about that night was “electric.”

As can happen, however, plans changed. Instead of Elias, The Undertaker would ultimately face off against Goldberg.

“Myself and The Deadman have crossed paths multiple times since I’ve been here, and I hope it’s not the last,” Elias wrote. “There is a great story to be told both on screen & behind the curtain. He’s one of the greatest to ever do it.”

The fourth episode of Undertaker: The Last Ride was made available this past weekend. The docuseries has provided an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at The Undertaker as he reflects on his legacy and what he still wants to accomplish in pro wrestling. The final episode is scheduled to air on the WWE Network on Sunday, June 21.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CBdWdEolhe2/?utm_source=ig_embed

The Undertaker Reflects On His Interest In Signing With WCW

Steve Russell
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0

The Undertaker has opened up about his interest in potentially signing with WCW. His interest stemmed from his past frustrations with WWE’s creative direction. Speaking with Sam Roberts on the Not Sam Wrestling podcast, The Undertaker highlighted how there were too many “really goofy characters” in contrast to WCW. According to ‘Taker, WCW was doing “real angles.”

‘Taker noted how it was common knowledge that WCW had an open checkbook. The money being offered was something he was well aware of, especially as “You would be able to get a good check and stay at home most of the time.”

He admitted that thoughts of jumping to WCW for the money “were there.” However, he ultimately couldn’t bring himself to do it. The Undertaker joked how he isn’t the best businessman, but revealed that “something inside me said you couldn’t leave here [WWE].”

The Undertaker then recalled an opportunity to renegotiate his contract at that time. He reflected on how he had only been with the company for approximately 8 or 9 months. With his contract close to expiring, he was hoping to “get a little bump on the money.” 

His meeting would see him opposite Jim Herd, Ole Anderson, and Jim Barnett. According to ‘Taker, “They looked at me straight in the eyes, and said you are a great athlete, but nobody will ever pay to see you wrestle. My loyalty to Vince was stronger than the short term cash I could have made if I left.”

The first four episodes of The Undertaker’s docuseries, Undertaker: The Last Ride, are available to stream now on the WWE Network.

Details Regarding Drew McIntyre & Bobby Lashley Rivalry

Steve Russell
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Drew McIntyre successfully defended his WWE Championship against Bobby Lashley this past Sunday at WWE’s Backlash pay-per-view. According to Louis Dangoor of WrestleTalk, their recent feud stemmed from McIntyre and Lashley’s interest in working together.

According to Dangoor, both Superstars enjoyed working together in the past based on their time in Impact Wrestling. This history gave them the confidence to reignite a feud in WWE. Both men believed they could put on a great match if only given the opportunity. Both Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley allegedly saw great value in their rivalry and felt it would help develop their characters.

Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, And Paul Heyman

Despite having been removed from his role as RAW Executive Director, Paul Heyman was allegedly instrumental in developing their feud. The “structure and pacing” of McIntyre and Lashley’s Backlash clash was reportedly heavily influenced by Heyman’s guidance and input.

It’s worth noting that the eventual finish involving Lana was done in accordance with what Vince McMahon wanted to see.

Her involvement ultimately cost Lashley his opportunity at Drew McIntyre’s WWE Championship. This storyline would continue onto this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW, with Bobby Lashley demanding a divorce from Lana.

Vince McMahon Reportedly Believes Angel Garza Is A “Young Eddie Guerrero”

Steve Russell
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Vince McMahon is reportedly a huge fan of RAW’s Angel Garza—so much so that he has allegedly compared the Superstar to a “young Eddie Guerrero.” According to Alex McCarthy of talkSPORT, Vince McMahon sees a lot of potential in the rising Superstar. Angel Garza is, at the time of writing, only 27-years-old.

He has already had several standout moments in WWE. Garza was a top contender for the Cruiserweight Championship in NXT. Since coming to the red brand, Garza has aligned himself with Zelina Vega and Andrade.

Paul Heyman Project: Angel Garza

Angel Garza joined several Superstars rumored to have been a Paul Heyman project. Since Heyman’s removal as RAW’s Executive Director, it remains to be seen how those passion projects will be affected.

Angel Garza joined Andrade, Rey Mysterio, Austin Theory, Viking Raiders, The Street Profits, Murphy, Aleister Black, Zelina Vega, Asuka, Charlotte Flair, Nia Jax, and Apollo Crews as reported Heyman projects.

Many of these Superstars have been heavily featured in recent weeks. Nia Jax competed for the RAW Women’s Championship against Asuka at Sunday’s Backlash event. Apollo Crews recently claiming the United States Championship for the first time from Andrade on the 25/5 episode of Monday Night RAW.

Bully Ray Calls ‘The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever’ An “8-Star Match”

Steve Russell
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WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray had high praise for this past Sunday’s Backlash main event. Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Bully Ray addressed “The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever” between Randy Orton and Edge. Despite having minor issues with the match going on last, that didn’t stop his enjoyment of the action, describing the clash as an “8-star match.”

Bully Ray argued how only World Heavyweight Championship matchups should go on last. He acknowledged that there were many extenuating circumstances heading into Backlash. He noted how, by not having Drew McIntyre defend in the main event, “all you do is give me a kink in the armor of Drew McIntyre telling me he is not good enough to go on last.”

Addressing the piped in fan noise that WWE edited in, Bully Ray stressed how it was an unnecessary addition. He didn’t feel it was needed as he doesn’t need to be informed of what to like or not like during a match.

Regarding the match itself, Bully Ray believes it was a “This was an excellent match. This was a very well performed match. This was like an 8-star match and I don’t put star ratings on anything.”

He spoke about how the match was presented as one continuous match, performed as if it was in front of 20,000 people. Bully Ray also highlighted how Edge and Orton went “straight through like two professionals would.” As far as he’s concerned, they approached the matchup with an old school mentality. 

Edge would unfortunately suffer a triceps injury during the recording of the matchup.

Chris Jericho Shares What He Believes Is Holding Roman Reigns Back

Steve Russell
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All Elite Wrestling’s Chris Jericho has revealed what he believes is holding Roman Reigns back from becoming pro wrestling’s top star. Speaking with Adam Wilbourn of WhatCulture, “Le Champion,” praised Reigns, sharing how he would love to have him become a part of the AEW roster. According to Jericho, he believes WWE needs to allow Reigns more freedom to be himself. If they do, the former AEW World Champion thinks Reigns could easily become the biggest star in wrestling.

Jericho noted how he’d put Roman Reigns at the top of any roster wish list. “Not only is he a great worker but he’s such a cool guy. If they just let him be him he’d be the biggest star in the industry, for real. That’d be a guy I’d love to get my hands on for sure.”

Roman Reigns has not been a part of WWE programming since refusing to wrestle Goldberg at WrestleMania 36. Due to his previous battles with leukemia, Reigns falls into a high-risk category in regards to the coronavirus pandemic. His decision to step away from the ring revolved around wanting to protect his family and newborn twins. Roman Reigns was scheduled to face off against Goldberg for the WWE Universal Championship. Reigns was eventually replaced by Braun Strowman, who would defeat Goldberg and claim the gold.

Results: NJPW New Japan Cup 2020 Day 2

Evan S
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Today, New Japan Pro-Wrestling will hold the second day of the 2020 New Japan Cup. The New Japan Cup is NJPW’s annual 32-man single elimination tournament, usually scheduled for the Spring. The winner will challenge Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships at NJPW Dominion on July 12. Today’s card will hold four of the sixteen matches in the first round.

Watch exclusively on NJPW World with Japanese commentary.
English commentary will be recorded and uploaded to NJPW World this week.
Note: This event was held in an empty arena.

New Japan Cup 2020 Day 2 Results

New Japan Cup First Round Match: Gabriel Kidd vs. Taiji Ishimori (8:53)
Gabriel Kidd is a British wrestler who was personally scouted from Revolution Pro Wrestling by Katsuyori Shibata last year. This would be his first singles match against non-young lion opposition. Ishimori channeled his absent tag team partner El Phantasmo with dirty techniques like back rakes and irish whipping Kidd into the outside guardrail. Ishimori went for a springboard rana but Kidd caught his legs and lifted him into a Boston crab, but Ishimori made it to the ropes to force a break. Ishimori hit a springboard kick to Kidd’s face and then applied the Yes Lock to defeat Gabriel Kidd by submission. Ishimori advances to the second round.

New Japan Cup First Round Match: Yoshinobu Kanemaru def. Yuya Uemura (9:32)
If Yuya Uemura truly wants to be in the ring one-on-one against Minoru Suzuki like he’s said, winning this match would be the first step towards that achievement. Meanwhile, if Kanemaru wins, his opponent would be Taiji Ishimori.Those two have wrestled one-on-one twelve times and Ishimori has never won. Kanemaru dominated the bulk of the match, but Uemura landed a springboard splash for a near fall and desperately tried to land the arm-trap suplex to no avail. Kanemaru attempted to spit his whiskey in Uemura’s face, but the referee stopped him. Nevertheless, Kanemaru landed a dropkick followed by the diving DDT known as Deep Impact to win and advance to face Taiji Ishimori in the second round.

CHAOS (SHO, YOH, Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi, EVIL, BUSHI & SANADA) (12:14)
The two main themes of this match were LIJ demonstrating their lack of adherence to proper tag conduct by all beating down Goto and YOSHI-HASHI together, and SHO and Shingo delivering a hard-hitting preview to their first round tournament match coming up next week. BUSHI tagged in and went for the M-X, but Goto dodged it and hit the GTR to pin BUSHI for the win.

New Japan Cup First Round Match: Yuji Nagata def. Minoru Suzuki (20:35)
Happy birthday to Minoru Suzuki, who turns 52 today. Unfortunately, there was no crowd to chant “Kaze Ni Nare” on this special day. These two old men took their sweet time slapping and forearming each other and jaw-jacking about how they wanted to be hit harder in between. With Nagata’s neck being an appropriate shade of crimson, Suzuki took the match to the outside and hit Nagata with a folding chair so hard that the seat popped off. Back in the ring, Nagata made a comeback by attacking the right arm of Suzuki with kicks and arm wringers. As Nagata went for another, Suzuki applied a sleeper hold and pushed Nagata to the ground. He pinned him for a near fall then lifted him up to apply the Gotch-style piledriver. Nagata blocked it and lifted him into a back body drop. A slap and headbutt from Suzuki got Nagata bleeding from the mouth. Incensed, Nagata delivered an exploder suplex followed by a bridging backdrop driver to win the match and advance to the second round. Minoru Suzuki loses on his birthday.

New Japan Cup First Round Match: Kazuchika Okada def. Gedo (15:30)
Gedo entered with his right arm in a sling and got on the microphone to say that he injured himself during practice today, but still wanted to fight in this match. Gedo slowly removed the sling, but hid a can of spray in his hand that Okada slapped away. Okada also found a set of brass knuckles on Gedo’s person and wrenched them away. Gedo then brandished a spanner and hit Okada with it. With Okada laying, Gedo stole the ring announcer’s table and repeatedly bashed it into Okada’s chest, and then did the same with a folding chair. After more than five minutes of this, Okada rallied and went for a diving elbow drop, but Gedo rolled out of the ring and tried to escape. When Okada caught him, Gedo revealed that he had stolen the ring announcer’s bell hammer and attacked Okada with it. Okada came back with the revesre neckbreaker and went for the tombstone piledriver, but Gedo wiggled out of it and pushed Okada into the referee to hit a low blow. Gedo removed part of the ring apron to remove another set of brass knuckles that he had stashed there at some point. He punched Okada with them and applied the Gedo Clutch, but Okada kicked out at two. Gedo even attempted the Blade Runner. Jado then showed up and distracted the referee while Gedo went for another brass knuckle punch, but Okada caught him with a dropkick, knocked Jado off the ring apron, and submitted Gedo with a cobra clutch. Okada will face Yuji Nagata in the second round.

WWE Responds To Allegations By Former Wrestler Acting As Confidential Witness

Chris Stephens
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WWE lawyer Jerry McDevitt has responded to allegations that recently surfaced regarding the Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia last year. A lawsuit launched on behalf of WWE stockholders stating the company misrepresented its dealing in Saudi Arabia now features a former WWE wrestler acting as a confidential witness.

The wrestler serving as a confidential witness made several statements regarding the infamous delayed flight out of Saudi Arabia from the Crown Jewel event last fall. Documents relating to the case confirm the wrestler in question ceased working for the company this April.

“A former WWE wrestler, who performed for the Company from 2012 to April 2020 and who participated in the October 31st, 2019 Crown Jewel event, confirms the substance of media reports,” reads documents relating to the suit. 

“CW-2 explained that he asked the Senior Director of Talent Relations, Mark Carrano, about what was going on and that Carrano told him that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and McMahon had gotten into an argument over late payments in connection with the June 7, 2019 Super ShowDown event.”

WWE Responds to Allegations

WWE since has responded to these allegations.

“These false allegations were originally made in two suits filed by two different law firms,” reads a statement WWE lawyer Jerry McDevitt sent to Forbes.

WWE’s statement confirms the company will attempt to have this lawsuit dismissed.

“After the Court appointed a third firm to be lead counsel, WWE provided all three law firms with specific detailed facts from the persons with actual knowledge of the situation, including the phony allegation about the plane. The first two law firms then dropped their lawsuits to avoid sanction motions, but the third firm chose to ignore the specific facts they had been provided, and instead cited an unnamed disgruntled former wrestler with no knowledge of the facts. WWE is preparing its response to the lawsuit and will be moving to have it dismissed.”

WWE RAW Viewership Sees Increase For Christian’s Return (6/15)

Andrew Ravens
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Viewership data is in for Monday’s WWE RAW and Friday’s SmackDown. Here is the breakdown of the live and same-night DVR viewership, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:

RAW Viewership

Monday’s edition of WWE RAW averaged 1.940 million viewers, which is up from the 1.737 million viewers last week. 

Here is the hourly viewership breakdown:

  • Hour 1: 1.982 million, 0.56 in the 18-49 Demo
  • Hour 2: 1.996 million, 0.53 in the 18-49 Demo
  • Hour 3: 1.838 million, 0.49 in the 18-49 Demo

WWE RAW Results (6/15): Christian Returns To Face Randy Orton, Dominik Attacks Rollins

SmackDown Viewership

SmackDown averaged 2.065 million viewers on FOX in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center. This is up from the 1.984 million viewers that the show did for the previous week’s episode of SmackDown.

The show averaged 2.016 million viewers in the fast nationals, which was up from the 1.935 million viewers a week ago. This number measured the top metered markets. 

The first hour drew 2.036 million viewers while the second hour did 1.996 million viewers. For comparison, the first show of last week’s show did 1.962 million viewers while the second hour did 1.908 million viewers. 

SmackDown pulled in a 0.50 rating in the 18-49 demos, the same from the 0.50 rating as last week’s show.

WWE On Reports Of Fans Attending Monday’s TV Tapings, Not Allowed to Wear Masks

Andrew Ravens
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WWE has issued a statement about reports that they allowed friends and family to attend Monday’s television tapings at the WWE Performance Center to serve as fans.

This came just weeks after WWE decided to have developmental talent play the role of fans in the crowd behind plexiglass in order to make noise.

There were reports that WWE also invited local diehard fans to join the crew in the crowd and those in attendance to serve as fans were not allowed to wear masks during the taping. 

WWE’s Statement

However, after various media outlets reached out to the company regarding the diehard fans attending, WWE issued a statement that noted this wasn’t the case. WWE issued the following statement: 

“Fans have not been in attendance at WWE events since March 13. Yesterday, a select number of friends and family were permitted to attend WWE’s TV production. These individuals were required to participate in medical screenings prior to entering the closed set at our training facility and were kept apart from in-ring performers and production personnel.

Attendance was below 20% capacity and social distancing guidelines were adhered to with at least six feet between parties, thus face masks were not required.”

Late Monday night, the reveal that a WWE developmental talent had tested positive for COVID-19 after working last Tuesday’s TV taping. 

New York’s Nassau Coliseum Shutting Down Indefinitely

Michael Reichlin
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Long Island, New York’s Nassau Coliseum is shutting down indefinitely, marking a sad day for longtime wrestling fans who grew up with the venue as their home base.

The arena’s lease is currently held by Onexim Sports and Entertainment, a company owned by billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov. According to Bloomberg, Prokhorov will shutter the venue ‘indefinitely’ while it seeks investors to take over operations and pick up the remaining debt on the building. Arena employees are being laid off.

The venue has hosted WWE events since 1985. In addition to hosting dozens of live events (1985-1991) and TV tapings (1985-2019), the Coliseum also hosted some notable WWE pay-per-views:

  • Select matches from WrestleMania 2 (1986), including Roddy Piper vs. Mr. T.
  • SummerSlam (2002), featuring Brock Lesnar defeating The Rock to become the youngest WWE Champion in history.
  • Evolution (2018), WWE’s first all-women’s pay-per-view.

A few non-WWE events also took place from the Nassau Coliseum, including the NWA’s Bunkhouse Stampede pay-per-view (1988) and two episodes of WCW Nitro (1999/2000).

The arena was closed from 2015-2017 to undergo a much-needed $180 million renovation. During that time, the National Hockey League’s Islanders franchise played at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, which has hosted WWE shows in recent years as well. The Islanders are in the process of building a new arena at Belmont Park, which would create another competitor for the Nassau Coliseum, if it ever reopens.

Charlotte Flair Takes Shot At “Entitled” Wrestlers Who “Stay Home”

Chris Stephens
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Charlotte Flair appeared on RAW Talk last night following Monday night’s show from the Performance Center. While on the show, Flair took aim at her critics as well as who she referred to as “entitled” WWE Superstars who “stay home.”

The below user on Twitter noted posted some of Flair’s comments to social media:

“The thing is, it’s not about who gets under my skin, it’s about why they get under my skin,” Flair said on the show addressing a question her father asked her on RAW last night.

“I see, I hear, and I read what people say about me, that I’m entitled, that I’m always in the title picture, and here’s the thing, I am the only person that shows up to work 365 days a year.”

“I am the hardest-working person in this company. I’m on Raw, I’m on SmackDown. Hell, I do media for FOX and I’m not even on FOX. And then they send me to NXT. No, I do anything and everything they ask because I love this business and I strive for greatness.”

Flair then said it is the entitled people who get under her skin. She stated that it is the people who sit at home for a year and then come back with whom she gets frustrated.

“So it’s the entitled people that get under my skin. It is the people that sit at home for a year and then come back and are in the title picture and you call me entitled because I am busting my ass 365 days a year to be the best?”

Nia Jax was recently out of action for a year and then challenged for the title at Backlash.

“No, it’s the people like Nia Jax who come back and are in the title picture,” Flair continued.

“It’s people like Sasha Banks who take time off and then come back in the title picture but I’m entitled?” Flair continued.

Update On WWE’s COVID-19 Precautions & Testing

Chris Stephens
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WWE has canceled its scheduled Smackdown tapings for today at the WWE Performance Center. This was done in the wake of a developmental talent testing positive for COVID-19. The roster is being tested today for the virus. Also as it concerns WWE’s handling of the pandemic, it is being reported that the company is not allowing those playing the role of fans at the tapings to wear masks.

Bryan Alvarez noted on Twitter that he had heard from multiple sources that WWE was not permitting people to wear masks while acting as fans at the tapings.

Alvarez also noted before last night’s RAW that a small group of actual fans were permitted to attend the show.

WWE talent is being tested today for the virus. Mojo Rawley posted to Twitter regarding his experience being tested.

WWE released the following statement to media:

“A developmental talent, who was last on site at WWE’s training facility on Tuesday, June 9, has tested positive for COVID-19. Since that time, no other individuals that attended the facility have reported symptoms. However, out of an abundance of caution and to ensure the health and safety of the company’s performers and staff, all talent, production crew and employees on site at the training and production facilities will be tested for COVID-19 immediately. Following the test results, WWE plans to proceed with its normal television production schedule.”

Booker T Comments On Christian’s RAW Return

Chris Stephens
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Last night on WWE RAW, Christian faced Randy Orton in an unsanctioned match. The bout didn’t go long, however. Ric Flair gave Christian a low-blow before Randy Orton delivered a punt and pinned the returning Superstar. Booker T recently addressed Christian’s WWE return on his radio show and YouTube channel.

“You get the bug once you get back in. Once you get a little taste…” Booker said when asked if he thinks Christian’s performance was a one-off.

“It’s something that wants to just pull you back in, something that just wants to draw you back in, make you feel like ‘I can do this.'”

“We all feel that way, we all feel like we got one last run and Christian, I’m going to tell you right now, after just getting in the ring, just making that walk, I can only imagine if there had been 10,000/15,000/20,000 people in the arena, he would have really lost his mind when he got back to the hotel room. He would have had goosebumps looking in the mirror going ‘I think I can still do this.'”

“I don’t think it’s going to be a one-off, I think Christian’s going to come back, I think he’s going to get the bug.”

“I think Christian will be at Extreme Rules in the ring, and the thing is, he’ll have time to get ready for it.”

Booker’s comments can be heard in the player below:

Ricky Steamboat On “The Greatest Wrestling Matches Ever”

Chris Stephens
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Edge and Randy Orton faced off in what was billed as “The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever” at Backlash on Sunday. One person who has been in several matches that many consider to be amongst the best of all-time recently took part in an interview on the subject. Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat’s clashes with “Macho Man” Randy Savage and “Nature Boy” Ric Flair are often mentioned in the discussion of best matches of all-time.

During an interview with the Sporting News, Steamboat compared Edge vs Randy Orton to his WrestleMania III match against Savage.

“Edge being away for a while reminds me of the time back in December of 1986 when Randy Savage and I started our angle for WrestleMania 3. I had virtually a three-month layoff from an injury angle we ran so I didn’t wrestle at all,” Steamboat said.

“I can remember that my match with Savage at WM3 lasted less than 20 minutes. Understand this: I’ve routinely gone an hour wrestling Ric Flair, Harley Race and Blackjack Mulligan. But after the Savage match, I collapsed in the locker room because I was so gassed out.”

Ricky Steamboat Compares Randy Savage to Ric Flair

Steamboat also discussed the differences working with Randy Savage and Ric Flair during the interview.

“Randy was the type of guy that would have everything lined up for a match from top to bottom. But with Flair, we wrestled maybe 30 matches to a one-hour draw and only had a few spots lined up.”

“Flair was a guy who 90 percent of your match was called on the fly while Savage was a guy who had 90 percent of it set in stone before the match began.”

Ricky Steamboat On Wrestlers He’d Like To Work With

Steamboat was also asked during the interview about wrestlers from today’s WWE roster he’d be interested in working with.

Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt, Roman Reigns and AJ Styles. Seth Rollins was a guy who came to WWE with years of time in the indies but he listened and he just got it. Styles is a great mix of old and new school. Bray Wyatt has always been able to step up when asked to do something different. He’s very athletic for his size but it’s all about his creativity,” Steamboat said.

The full interview can be read here.

Update On The Forgotten Sons Being Removed From WWE TV

Chris Stephens
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Jaxson Ryker, Steve Cutler and Wesley Blake were called up to the WWE main roster shortly after WrestleMania. The Forgotten Sons then began competing in Smackdown’s tag-team division. They have not been seen in several weeks, however.

The team has not competed in a match since the Money in the Bank PPV on May 10th, 2020.

According to a report from Fightful, there is significant heat on Ryker due to his recent activity on social media. While Steve Cutler & Wesley Blake are not receiving any of their own backlash, they are being impacted by Ryker’s actions nonetheless.

The team had been planned to enter into a program with the New Day but that no longer appears to be happening anytime in the near future.

Backstage Reaction To Jaxson Ryker Social Media Posts

Ryker began receiving backlash from others on the WWE roster shortly after making the below Tweet:

https://twitter.com/JaxsonRykerWWE/status/1267605081635110917

Further social media posts Ryker made that were critical of the Black Lives Matter movement were also uncovered before Ryker ultimately he took some of his social media accounts private.

Screenshot 2020 06 05 09.20.49

“According to one person high up in the company, the belief is that Lail can’t be fired for expressing freedom of speech, but that the locker room is fuming at him,” wrote Dave Meltzer on the situation involving Cutler.

Shane McMahon Wants A Hell In A Cell Rematch Against The Undertaker

Steve Russell
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Shane McMahon has challenged The Undertaker to a Hell in a Cell rematch. The challenge came during this week’s episode of Last Ride Post-Mortem. The Post-Mortem show followed the airing of The Undertaker’s docuseries, Undertaker: The Last Ride. The most recent episode aired this past Sunday on the WWE Network.

The episode featured footage from Extreme Rules 2019. The Undertaker teamed with Roman Reigns on the show. They defeated the team of Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre in a No Holds Barred tag team match. Whilst appearing on the Post-Mortem, Shane McMahon reflected on how ‘Taker believed the Extreme Rules match was going to be his last ever, stating:

“I know I got one more with him. So, I’m ready. I’ll challenge him now. I just did. I got one more, I know I got one big one. I want a rematch. Hell in a Cell 2. I was that close,” Shane McMahon said, in reference to nearly hitting his elbow drop onto ‘Taker from the top of the Cell. “Let’s continue with this story.”

The two previously faced off in a Hell in a Cell matchup back at WrestleMania 32 in 2016. The Undertaker would emerge victorious. Shane McMahon hasn’t been involved in a rivalry since his feud with Kevin Owens ended in 2019.

Charlotte Flair Comments On Ric Flair’s Low Blow To Christian

Steve Russell
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Charlotte Flair has reacted to her father’s actions during last night’s episode of Monday Night RAW. “The Nature Boy” turned heel after accompanying Christian to the ring, delivering a low blow that would cost him his Unsanctioned Match against Randy Orton. Christian had accepted Orton’s challenge earlier in the night.

Taking to Twitter, Charlotte Flair posted to tweets in relation to her father’s appearance on the show and subsequent actions. Last night saw her share some screen time with Ric Flair in a short backstage segment. Afterwards, Charlotte tweeted out two goat emojis, in reference to her father being the “Greatest of All Time.”

This was in response to a tweet from the WWE Universe’s account, highlighting how “The WOOER becomes the WOOEE” after Charlotte Flair delivered a “Woo!” in Ric’s face.

Charlotte Flair’s second tweet was uploaded after Ric aligned himself with Orton. It read:

“The more things change, the more things stay the same.”

This, too, was in response to a WWE tweet that stressed how Ric Flair is still the dirtiest player in the game. This tweet was accompanied by a Gif of the moment Ric Flair dropped to his knees and delivered the match ending low blow. Randy Orton would follow up with a vicious punt kick to Christian’s head.

Arn Anderson Believes WWE Missed An Opportunity To Turn Kevin Owens Into A Top Baby Face

Steve Russell
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All Elite Wrestling’s Arn Anderson believes that WWE missed an opportunity to turn Kevin Owens into one of their top babyfaces. Speaking on his ARN podcast, Anderson spoke about how WWE and Vince McMahon should have leaned into the reaction Owens received after he defeated John Cena at 2015’s Elimination Chamber event. 

“If you’re going to listen to the audience throughout this thing, then Kevin Owens became a star that night,” Anderson explained. “If you don’t listen, no matter what you have booked or written down for the next 3 weeks, don’t you switch your plans too: here’s my new baby face?”

Anderson highlighted how Kevin Owens is capable of delivering both in the ring and on the mic. He stressed how he is a perfect anti-hero and can play an everyday man that packs a lot of power: “[Kevin Owens] doesn’t look like he can pop-up power bomb Mark Henry, but he can, I’ve seen it, more than once.”

He spoke about how the audience reaction to Kevin Owens was so positive, WWE should have switched gears “the very next day.” Anderson noted how by beating Cena acted as a major launching pad for his main roster debut and that WWE should have given the fans what they wanted to see.

Following his successful Elimination Chamber victory, Kevin Owens would subsequently lose to Cena at both Money in The Bank and Battleground. Having him lose remains a decision that Anderson feels hurt Kevin Owens initial push and momentum. He explained how Owens never should have lost those two matches and that his push should have been “first class, steam roll, straight ahead.”

Results: NJPW New Japan Cup 2020 Day 1

Evan S
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Today, New Japan Pro-Wrestling will hold the first day of the 2020 New Japan Cup. The New Japan Cup is NJPW’s annual 32-man single elimination tournament, usually scheduled for the Spring. The winner will challenge Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships at NJPW Dominion on July 12. Today’s card will hold four of the sixteen matches in the first round.

Watch exclusively on NJPW World with Japanese commentary.
English commentary will be recorded and uploaded to NJPW World this week.
Note: This event was held in an empty arena.

New Japan Cup 2020 Day 1 Results

New Japan Cup First Round Match: Togi Makabe def. Yota Tsuji (8:41)
It’s going to take a while to get used to hearing Togi Makabe’s actual music be played instead of a generic dubbed track to avoid playing licensing fees. As a young lion, Yota Tsuji was overeager to prove himself against the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Makabe. Tsuji leveled Makabe with a spear and a shoulder tackle as soon as the bell rang. Makabe quickly gained the advantage back, but Tsuji showed more than one would have expected for a young lion. Makabe leveled Tsuji with a lariat and pinned him with a bridging German suplex to advance to the second round.

New Japan Cup First Round Match: Toru Yano def. Jado (9:07)
Jado entered wearing a shirt that said “So What, I Don’t Care.” I’m sure he does care somewhat but he’s been wrestling for thirty years and hasn’t had a singles match since 2016 for good reason. Toru Yano started the match by attempting to rally a crowd that didn’t exist with “Yano To-Ru” chants. Amused, Jado responded by chanting “Jado-o!” at him. As the referee fought Jado to take away his kendo stick, Yano knocked Jado square on the head with a turnbuckle pad. Jado fell on his face a la Ric Flair and Yujiro Takahashi briefly attacked Yano while the referee was checking on the fallen Jado. Despite Jado’s sluggish pace, he was able to work over Yano with punches to the lower back and a cobra twist. Yano thwarted Jado’s kendo stick attack and pinned him with a low blow and schoolboy to advance to the second round.

Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) def. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Yuji Nagata & Yuya Uemura (13:27)
The bulk of this match consisted of all of Suzuki-gun collectively trying to destroy Hiroshi Tanahashi’s knees. Leg locks and a cheeky dragonscrew from Zack Sabre Jr. left Tanahashi writhing in agony. ZSJ and Ibushi always fight hard, even in large tag team matches when they don’t have to. Yuya Uemura has been vocal about wanting to fight Minoru Suzuki head on and he briefly locked the Boston crab on Suzuki before Kanemaru broke it up. Suzuki got his revenge with the Gotch-style piledriver on Uemura for the pin.

New Japan Cup First Round Match: Hiromu Takahashi def. Tomoaki Honma (18:45)
Hiromu and Honma have been building up this first round match as a battle of two men who have both had their necks broken. The power of youth is evident: despite being sidelined for over a year, Hiromu has not lost a step, while nearly every movement Honma makes is labored. Hiromu dominated the heavyweight Honma with dropkicks and neck holds. Honma made a brief rally with a running bulldog and a Kokeshi. Honma attempted a Kokeshi headbutt of his own but missed. Hiromu hit Honma with a death valley driver on the outside of the ring, and Honma barely avoided being counted out. Hiromu pushed Honma into the mat with his foot on the back of Honma’s neck. Honma made a comeback and hit three consecutive Kokeshis only for Hiromu to kick out. Honma went for the top rope Kokeshi but missed. Hiromu capitalized with the Time Bomb to to win and advance to the second round. His opponent will be Toru Yano.

New Japan Cup First Round Match: Tomohiro Ishii def. El Desperado (20:17)
El Desperado taunted Ishii about his height, but Ishii seemed to take advantage early with his superior strength and durability. Desperado used leg kicks and twists to target Ishii’s knee and removed a corner turnbuckle pad. Ishii eventually had enough and used strikes to level the junior heavyweight. Persistently, El Desperado kept going back to the knee. He applied his Numero Dos stretch muffler but Ishii managed to flip over and break the hold. Ishii hit a powerslam to turn the momentum of the match. He attempted to powerbomb El Desperado but his knee buckled and he needed to do it a second time, but it only received a near fall. Despy hit a discrete low blow followed by a small package hold, but Ishii kicked out at two, followed by the Guitarra de Angel only for Ishii to kick out again. El Desperado went for the Pinche Loco, but Ishii levelled him with a headbutt and a lariat for a two count. Finally, he hit the vertical drop brainbuster to defeat El Desperado and take his place in the second round. His opponent in the second round will be Togi Makabe.

WWE Cancels Tuesday’s TV Tapings After Talent Tests Positive For Coronavirus

Anutosh Bajpai
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WWE has cancelled Tuesday’s TV tapings after a development talent who was at Performance Center recently tested positive for coronavirus.

The company had confirmed the positive test in a statement and stated that they will be testing everyone who was on-site, for COVID-19.

Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer then noted that the officials have called off Tuesday’s TV tapings so they can test all their staff including wrestlers for coronavirus.

Though the company is not planning to halt their operation for long and the hope is that they can resume the TV tapings on Wednesday once the test results are in.

The news of a talent being tested positive for coronavirus came out a few hours ago. It has since been confirmed that the person is a Performance Center trainee and not someone who has been featured on NXT.

WWE had previously mentioned on their programming that they have tested people for coronavirus. However, reports revealed that the company has only put them through a temperature check and a survey about possible symptoms.

Now we will have to see how the company responds to this positive test and if they change their policies in any way to ensure better safety for the performers as well as the talent which are being used as audience.

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