Former Knockouts Champion Su Yung has re-signed with Impact Wrestling. PW Insider first reported that the 30-year-old from Seattle, Washington has signed a new multi-year commitment to the promotion.
Yung is a 13-year pro having been trained by Bill Dundee and Kevin White. Yung is also married to former X-Division Champion Rich Swann. Her current persona in Impact is “Susie” a less murderous version of her Su Yung alter-ego.
Yung defeated Allie to win the Knockouts Championship in a Last Rites match on April 24th, 2018 from the Impact Zone in Orlando. The match aired on May 31st, 2018. She held the title until dropping it to Tessa Blanchard in a 3-way match that also involved Allie. In total, Yung spent 110 days with the title. She’s ranked at #17 in total days spent with the Knockouts title. Yung defended the title successfully against Madison Rayne, Katarina, and Saraya Knight during her reign.
This week on Impact Wrestling, the #1 contenders tournament kicks off. Trey will face Rohit Raj and Hernandez will face Madman Fulton in opening round matches this week. Moose will also defend the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Suicide. Also, Kimber Lee debuts for the promotion and goes up against Havok.
Aleister Black signed with WWE in 2016. Before he went to the main roster in 2019, Black won the NXT Championship in 2018 at NXT Takeover: New Orleans. Before signing with WWE, Black wrestled for 14 years for promotions such as Pro Wrestling Holland, WXW in Germany, ICW in Scotland, Progress, OTT and many other top European companies.
Black was known as Tommy End in his pre-WWE career. He recently told SI.com that when he was signed to NXT in 2016, Triple H told him he didn’t want to change anything about who he was as a performer.
“The good thing about what Hunter did, or as I call him, ‘Boss,’ he believed in me and he never tried to change me,” Black said to SI.com. “He told me, ‘I signed you for you. Don’t be something you’re not. Never forget that.’”
Black continued to say that despite the confidence Triple H expressed in him, he felt lost at first in NXT.
“When I started in NXT, I felt super insecure,” he continued. “For a very long time, I was completely lost. I lost my identity, I lost all sense of who I was.”
He said this feeling helped him create a new sense of identity in NXT.
“That’s part of this process,” said Black. “It’s a process that is not pretty, but it’s something every professional has to go through. That’s helped to understand myself a lot better, not just as a performer but as a human being.”
Aleister Black on Wrestlers Who Influenced Him
Also during the interview, Black spoke about wrestlers who influenced him growing up.
“I watched New Japan growing up, and later WCW,” said Black, who listed Hayabusa, Yuji Nagata, Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask, and Toshiaki Kawada as his early influences. “I loved the Japanese wrestlers.”
Black also noted that he enjoyed the Mexican-based wrestlers he saw in WCW and the European stars he saw on World of Sport.
Kazuchika Okada was sent on excursion to America by NJPW in 2010. They sent him to TNA Wrestling where he posted a 2-16 record in 18 matches from September 2010 to June 2011. NJPW was said to have not been pleased with how its future World Champion was used while in the promotion.
Okada himself commented on his time in TNA recently during an interview with NJPW1972.com. According to Okada, the language barrier he experienced in TNA was frustrating. He was also upset that there was little effort made to communicate with him.
“The other wrestlers would only be around if they had matches,” Okada said about his time with TNA. “Every day I would be going to the gym by myself, going shopping by myself, and then going home, and that was it.”
Okada on the Language Barrier in TNA
Okada continued to talk about how the language barrier was difficult at the time.
“I’d be going to the gym and just working out in silence and then coming home, putting the TV on and having no clue what anybody was saying. I’d be so bored sometimes I’d talk to myself in the mirror (laughs).”
Okada would continue to say his English isn’t too bad, however. He also noted that Finn Balor and Karl Anderson helped him earlier in his career with it.
“It really made me think, with no human contact people go absolutely nuts (laughs). But as far as English goes, it’s never been too bad. I studied in junior high, and then went to America on my excursion. Plus when I was in the Dojo, Prince Devitt and Karl Anderson were around, and I could have conversations with them OK.”
The new management of Impact Wrestling is reported to have apologized to NJPW for the way TNA used Okada during his time on excursion to the United States.
Major League Wrestling presented the final episode of its Super-Series with AAA this weekend on BeIN Sports and YouTube. Just one match was featured on the show. A trios match between Los Parks against Psycho Clown, Nino Hamberguesa, and Psychosis closed out the series between the two leagues.
This was the final episode before MLW begins to air its anthology series. It concluded with a hostile takeover from Contra Unit.
The full episode can be viewed in the player below:
MLW Fusion 5/9/20 Quick Results:
El Hijo de LA Park, LA Park & LA Park Jr. defeated Nino Hamburguesa, Psicosis & Psycho Clown
For weeks, vignettes featuring Contra Unit warning of a coming attack have been shown on MLW Fusion. They delivered on their promises tonight. At the conclusion of the episode, it was expected we would hear from Davey Boy Smith Jr. about a possible challenge to Jacob Fatu but when the camera cut to the back we saw a bloodied Smith wrapped in a Contra flag.
Josef Samael then delivered a message to MLW. He said that they have taken over the league and it was now under their rule. Samael was in the company’s head office in New York where MLW management had also been attacked and their offices overrun. Even MLW’s social media accounts have been taken over by Contra.
As MLW moves into showcasing its anthology series, Contra’s takeover of the company seems to provide an end to this particular chapter in the league’s history. When MLW is able to schedule events again, it appears things will be under Contra’s control.
After weeks of catching up with LA Park and his sons at home, Los Parks were in trios action this week on Fusion. They took on LA Park’s rival Psycho Clown and his team of Pychosis and Nino Hamberguesa.
After a violent and weapons-filled match, it appeared as though Los Parks had Psychosis pinned in the middle of the ring. The frequently suspect officiating continued in the Super Series here, however, as the referee made a slow count. As the ref did so, Pagano decided to make the match a party. Pagano hit all 3 members of Los Parks with a chair. LA Park would get in a shot on Pagano, however, after the referee pulled the chair from his hands. Directly after that, LA Park speared Psychosis and picked up the win for his team and MLW.
With the win this week, MLW clinched victory in the Super Series. AAA officials have expressed interest in holding a second Super Series with MLW that would take place in the United States.
MLW vs AAA Super Series Results:
Mortiz & Pagano defeated Mance Warner & Savio Vega [1:0]
Alexander Hammerstone (c) defeated Laredo Kid [1:1]
Averno defeats Douglas James [2:1]
Team Filthy (Dominic Garrini & Tom Lawlor) defeated Extreme Tiger & Puma King [2:2]
Richard Holliday (c) defeated Chessman [3:2]
Hart Foundation (Brian Pillman Jr. & Davey Boy Smith Jr.) defeated Los Mercenarios (El Texano Jr. & Rey Escorpion) [4:2]
Los Jinetes del Aire (El Hijo del Vikingo, Myzteziz Jr. & Octagon Jr.) (c) defeated Injustice (Jordan Oliver, Kotto Brazil & Myron Reed) [3:4]
El Hijo de LA Park, LA Park & LA Park Jr. defeated Nino Hamburguesa, Psicosis & Psycho Clown [5:3]
Another Lifestyles of the Rich and Dynastic episode aired this week. Previously, we’ve seen Richard Holliday and Alexander Hammerstone outside of Savio Vega’s home. Holliday purchased the title to the home, making him “Richie 2 Titles.”
This week, the Dynasty where in Mance Warner’s home town of Bucksnort, TN. Gino Medina pointed out that the trio should be concerned with “Meth Gators” that are local to the area. These are alligators who also do meth, making them a unique and terrifying predator.
Hammerstone got to wandering and was looking at a family of raccoons when Holliday decided they should leave the area. This would lead to Mance Warner issuing up a challenge to the faction later in the show.
Mance Warner Challenges Dynasty To Tower Of Doom Match
Mance Warner issued quite the challenge to the members of the Dynasty this week on Fusion. Warner suggested that a match could be made where all the gold is hanging from the ceiling. This would include Alexander Hammerstone’s National Openweight title and Richard Holliday’s Caribbean Championship he stole from Savio Vega. It would be the 3 members of the Dynasty against Warner, Savio Vega and a teammate to be named later. This would not be a ladder match, however. Rather a 3-tiered “Tower of Doom” cage would be built and the winning team would have to climb to the top cage to retrieve all the gold.
MLW updated its top-10 rankings this week. Davey Boy Smith Jr. moved into the top-contender spot, moving past Alexander Hammerstone. Richard Holliday also moved up two spots, moving past King Mo and Mance Warner.
MLW World Champion: Jacob Fatu(Contra Unit)
Davey Boy Smith Jr. (Opera Cup Winner) (Hart Foundation) (+1)
Alexander Hammerstone (National Openweight Champion) (Dynasty) (-1)
AEW’s anthology series begins airing next week. The show will focus on the top matches, angles, and segments from MLW’s history. This includes the league’s first run from 2002 to 2004. MLW is also stating that lost footage from 2002-04 will run on the anthology series as well.
This Saturday, FITE.TV will present a collection of the best matches in recent history from New Japan Pro Wrestling.
The NJPW Best Bout Collection Vol 1. premieres featuring 12 classic matches spanning from 2016-2019. Some of the biggest names that will appear are Shinsuke Nakamura, AJ Styles, Kenny Omega, Kazuchika Okada, Will Ospreay, Zack Sabre Jr., Kota Ibushi, Tetsuya Naito, Jay White and more.
The show premieres Saturday, May 16th at 8pm (Eastern) and will be available worldwide.
Chad 2 Badd and Sex Ferguson may be gearing up to ride once again.
Karl Anderson has filed an application to trademark “Chad 2 Badd,” the name of his character on WWE’s Southpaw Regional Wrestling comedy series.
According to a May 5th filing with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, he’s looking to utilize the Chad 2 Badd mark for, “Entertainment in the nature of wrestling contests; Entertainment services, namely, live appearances by a professional wrestler and sports entertainment personality,” among several other similar uses.
The application notes that Anderson used the Chad 2 Badd name back in 2002, long before WWE featured it in Southpaw Regional Wrestling.
Last month, Anderson’s tag team partner Doc Gallows filed to trademark the name Sex Ferguson, the tag team partner of Chad 2 Badd in the ‘Southpaw’ universe.
Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows, collectively known as the Good Brothers, used lawyer Michael Dockins for the trademark filing. Dockins has handled trademarks for several other pro wrestlers, including Cody Rhodes, The Revolt, Shawn Spears, Charlotte Flair & Andrade.
Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows were released from WWE on April 15th. Anderson has been teasing a return to Japan, once they are legally able to work elsewhere.
Otis can now call himself Mr. Money in the Bank as he won this year’s Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match.
He beat AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan, Baron Corbin, Aleister Black, and Rey Mysterio at the WWE Money In The Bank pay-per-view event on Sunday night. Just like the women’s match, the contest took place at corporate headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.
The match started on the ground floor with Superstars fighting their way to the roof. The briefcases were suspended above a rooftop ring. The men started in the gym and brawled.
They went past the bathroom with Brother Love coming out. Styles was frightened by a poster of The Undertaker before walking into a room where it had blue lighting and a casket. Otis went into the cafeteria and was looking at a pie. John Laurinaitis came driving through on a scooter but Otis threw a pie into his face.
Bryan and Styles brawled into the office of Vince McMahon, who was sitting at his desk, and he told them to get out. They did but had to fix how the chairs as they moved them coming in. McMahon applied some hand sanitizer and went back to work.
Corbin tossed Rey and Black over the side of the roof. WWE had it set up with a barricade that looked like the edge of the roof. The finish came when Elias hit Corbin in the back with a guitar, which forced Corbin to drop the briefcase, which was caught by Otis.
Now, Otis will have a contract that he can cash-in anytime that he wants within a year from this pay-per-view event.
Asuka won this year’s Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match as she beat Nia Jax, Shayna Baszler, Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans, and Carmella at the WWE Money In The Bank pay-per-view event on Sunday night at corporate headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.
Just like the men’s contest, Asuka will have a contract that she can cash-in anytime that she wants within a year from this pay-per-view event.
The began started on the ground floor of WWE’s HQ with stars battling their way to the roof as the briefcases were suspended above a rooftop ring. The match started with Asuka diving off a platform onto the other stars.
Brooke went into a conference room and grabbed a briefcase. She thought she had won but Stephanie McMahon walked in and told her that the real briefcase was on the roof. Carmella hit Brooke over the head with a photo.
Paul Heyman was in front of a ton of food with everyone passing him and he tried to calm down the situation. However, Evans ran in and knocked the food out of Heyman’s hand and onto Otis, who threw a serving plate into the face of Heyman.
This led to a food fight breaking out. The finish saw Asuka kick Baron Corbin off a ladder and grabbed the briefcase.
WWE Money in the Bank 2020 aired on the WWE Network tonight. Jeff Hardy defeated Cesaro during the Kickoff Show.
Money in the Bank Results
New Day def. Lucha House Party, Miz & Morrison, Forgotten Sons to retain the SD Tag Titles
Bobby Lashley def. R-Truth
Bayley def. Tamina to retain the SmackDown Women’s Championship
Braun Strowman def. Bray Wyatt to retain the Universal Championship
Drew McIntyre def. Seth Rollins to retain the WWE Championship
Asuka won the Women’s MITB Ladder match
Otis won the Men’s MITB Ladder match
Here are 5 takeaways from the show:
New Day Retained
New Day defended the SmackDown Tag Team Championships against Miz & Morrison, Lucha House Party, and Forgotten Sons in a Fatal 4-Way match.
Match Recap: Kingston and Gran Metalik started off the match. Kofi took control but Blake tagged himself in and continued to beat Metalik down. Cutler tagged in and Metalik battled back with a springboard Splash. John Morrison tagged in and Metalik greeted him with a Dropkick.
Morrison battled back and hit a Phoenix Splash off the top rope and onto several superstars outside the ring. Metalik hit Cutler with a Tornado DDT before Lince Dorado and Morrison tagged in. Lince booted Morrison in the head and went for a cover but Blake broke it up at two.
John Morrison hit Starship Pain on Big E but Lince broke up the cover. Dorado hit Morrison with a Stunner and then Metalik tagged in. Metalik hit Morrison with a Hurricanrana that sent John to the outside.
Metalik hit Big E with an Elbow Drop off the top rope but the Forgotten Sons broke up the cover. Cutler launched Kingston into the ring post outside the ring and then Jaxson Ryker tripped up Big E. The referee threw Ryker out from ringside. Lucha House Party then took everyone out with a couple Splashes. Back in the ring, Big E hit the Big Ending on Metalik for the pinfall victory. New Day are still the SmackDown Tag Team Champions.
There may be no disqualifications, but the referee can still do THIS.
Sasha Banks Helped Bayley Retain The SD Women’s Title
Bayley defended her SmackDown Women’s Championship against Tamina tonight at Money in the Bank. Sasha Banks was ringside.
Match Recap: Bayley hit a couple of punches to Tamina’s midsection but she was unphased and slammed the champ to the canvas. Tamina perched Bayley up on tje top turnbuckle before letting her get back down and sending her back to the canvas with a Body Slam.
The SmackDown Women’s Champion rolled out of the ring to try and regroup. Banks distracted Tamina and Bayley capitalized by tripping her up. Bayley slammed Tamina’s knee into the ring post a few times as Sasha clapped.
Bayley locked in a Knee Bar but Tamina was able to get to the bottom rope to break the hold. Bayley lifted Tamina up onto her shoulders but couldn’t hold her and fell to the canvas. Tamina battled back with a Clothesline and went for the Samoan Drop but Bayley escaped to the apron.
Tamina hit Bayley with a boot to the face and Bayley fell to the floor. Tamina launched Bayley over the announce table and then into the barricade. Back in the ring, Tamina climbed to the top rope and went for the Splash but Bayley got her feet up. Tamina hit a Superkick and then a Samoan Drop.
Tamina went for the cover but Banks hopped on the apron for a distraction. Tamina chased Banks around before getting back in the ring. Tamina went for another Samoan Drop but Bayley countered into a roll-up for the pinfall victory. After the match, Sasha leveled Tamina with a knee to the face.
Braun Strowman defended his Universal Championship against Bray Wyatt at Money in the Bank. Wyatt came down to the ring in his Fun House attire.
Match Recap: Bray laughed in the corner and then the two superstars locked up. Strowman shoved Wyatt into the ropes and leveled him with a shoulder tackle. Bray booted Strowman in the ribs and went for a Headlock but Braun quickly broke free.
Strowman hit another shoulder tackle that sent Bray out of the ring. Braun sent Wyatt flying into the ring post before rolling him back into the ring. Strowman hit Wyatt with a Splash in the corner and Bray once again tumbled out of the ring.
Braun followed him out there and went for a shoulder tackle but Wyatt dodged him. Wyatt used Strowman’s momentum against him and sent the Universal Champion flying into the announce table.
Wyatt got back in the ring when the Huskus puppet showed up by the barricade. Bray hit Strowman with a DDT on the floor and followed it up with a Clothesline in the ring. Wyatt went for the cover but Strowman kicked out at two.
Bray hit a Senton and Strowman rolled out of the ring. Wyatt followed him out there and slammed into the steel steps. Back in the ring, Wyatt hit Sister Abigail and went for the cover but Strowman kicked out at two.
Wyatt went for another Sister Abigail but Strowman countered into a Chokeslam. Wyatt battled back and sent Braun out of the ring. Strowman put on the sheep mask and stared at Bray in the ring.
Looks like @WWEBrayWyatt had a friend unexpectedly show up at ringside! ?
Bray started laughing and said “I told him I would find you”. Braun goot into the ring and ripped his shirt off. Strowman got on his knees and Wyatt stood over him. Braun got up and the two shared a hug in the ring.
The rest of the puppets showed up and said “Braun is home”. Strowman took off the mask and stared at Wyatt. Braun dropped the mask and stomped on it before planted Bray with the Running Powerslam for the pinfall victory. Images of The Fiend flashed on the screen after the match.
Opinion: I thought the storytelling in this match was well done and it looks like this feud will continue. The match itself wasn’t anything special but Strowman will likely have to deal with The Fiend going forward.
Match Recap: McIntyre started off the match in control and knocked Rollins out of the ring with a shoulder tackle. Rollins got back in the ring and McIntyre greeted him with another shoulder tackle. McIntyre Clotheslined Seth back to the outside and taunted him by saying he is enjoying every second of this.
Seth took his time getting back into the ring as McIntyre stood with a smile on his face. Drew continued to beat the hell out of Rollins and whipped him into the turnbuckle. McIntyre followed it up with a massive chop that knocked Seth to the canvas.
Rollins battled back and hit a couple Dropkicks to McIntyre’s left knee. Seth sent McIntyre into the ring post and the champ fell to the floor. Rollins connected with a Suicide Dive as the referee started counting.
Back in the ring, Seth hit a Slingblade for a one count before locking in a Half Crab. Drew McIntyre refused to quit and reached for the ropes. Seth transitioned into the STF in the middle of the ring but Drew was able to break the hold by grabbing the bottom rope.
McIntyre rolled to the outside and Seth connected with another Suicide Dive. Rollins hopped up on the apron and hit a knee to the face. Seth climbed on top of the announce table and hit another knee to Drew’s face.
Drew sent Rollins flying over the announce table before the action returned to the ring. McIntyre hit Seth with a boot to the face and made his way to the top rope. Drew hit a Flying Clothesline and fired himself up in the corner.
McIntyre went for the Claymore but Rollins escaped to the apron. Seth booted Drew in the face but McIntyre responded with a Spinebuster for a near fall. Rollins escaped the Future Shock DDT and connected with an Enziguri.
Rollins hit a Superkick and went for the cover but McIntyre powered out at one. Seth hit a Frog Splash off the top rope but McIntyre once again kicked out. Rollins grabbed a steel chair as the referee threatened to disqualify him.
Seth threw the chair out of the ring and went for the Stomp but Drew blocked it. McIntyre hit a headbutt and made his way to the top rope but Seth tripped him up. Rollins hit a Superplex and followed it up with the Falcon Arrow for a two count.
Rollins went for the Stomp but McIntyre once again avoided it and hit the Future Shock DDT for a near fall. McIntyre perched Seth on the top turnbuckle and delivered a chop to his chest. Rollins tied up Drew in the Tree of Woe but McIntyre somehow was able to launch Seth across the ring.
McIntyre went for the Claymore but Rollins countered into a Superkick. Seth followed it up with the Stomp but the WWE Champion was somehow able to kick out at two. Rollins went for another Stomp but Drew countered with a Glasgow Kiss. McIntyre followed that up with the Claymore Kick for the pinfall victory. Drew McIntyre is still WWE Champion.
After the match, McIntyre tried to shake Rollins’ hand. Drew told Seth to show the world he is a leader and shake his hand. Rollins obliged and McIntyre left the ring.
Opinion: McIntyre and Rollins delivered a very good match tonight at the PPV. I was expecting Rollins to hit McIntyre with a low blow after the match but he simply just shook McIntyre’s hand. It will be interesting to see who is next for McIntyre and where the Monday Night Messiah goes from here.
Men’s MITB participants: Otis, AJ Styles, Aleister Black, King Corbin, Rey Mysterio, Daniel Bryan
Match Recap: The men started out by brawling in the gym as Asuka took the women out with a massive Crossbody. Asuka hopped in the elevator as Black booted Mysterio in the face.
Otis bashed AJ’s head into the wall and buried him under some weights. Styles asked Rey to help him but he opted to just walk away. Mysterio ran by the bathroom as Brother Love made a cameo and told Rey that he loved him. Otis, Bryan, and Black got in an elevator as the female superstars sprinted up the stairs.
Asuka popped out of the elevator and Shayna went after her. Nia, Dana, Carmella, and Dana battled in a meeting room. Shayna hit Nia with a couple punches but Jax knocked her to the floor. Dana leveled Jax with a chair to the back and grabbed a briefcase suspended above the office table.
Stephanie McMahon told Dana that this is the MITB conference room and the real briefcase is on the roof. Carmella leveled Dana and moonwalked out fo the ring. Lacey Evans hit Carmella with the Woman’s Right as AJ Styles was shown looking for Rey.
Styles came across a picture of The Undertaker and it freaked him out for a moment. AJ opened a door as The Undertaker’s gong hit. A coffin was in the room as Styles had flashbacks to the Boneyard Match. Aleister came out of nowhere and kicked Styles in the face before locking him in the room with the coffin.
Paul Heyman made a cameo at a catering table and was about to enjoy a sandwich. Otis ripped the sandwich out of his hand and then launched the plate of food into Paul’s face. A massive food fight broke out and Shayna locked in the Kirifuda Clutch on Rey.
Nia grabbed Dana by the throat and threw her into a vending machine. Jax then Powerbombed Carmella through the table and started at Otis. Otis took a bite out of a sandwich and the two went their separate ways. Otis found some more food and was about to take a bite out of some pie when John Laurinaitis showed up. John said “People Power” and Otis threw the pie in his face.
Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles then battled their way into Vince McMahon’s office. Vince got up from his chair and kicked them both out. Styles and AJ fixed Vince McMahon’s chairs as Vince put on some hand sanitizer. AJ and Bryan continued to trade punches before Corbin showed up with the scepter. Corbin hit them both and hit Aleister with a right hand to the face.
The action arrived at the ring set up on the roof of WWE Headquarters. Evans hit Asuka with a Clothesline and turned around into a headbutt from Nia. Jax threw Evans out of the ring and grabbed a ladder.
Nia set up the ladder in the middle of the ring and bounced Asuka’s face off of it. Lacey knocked Nia down and started climbing. Asuka dragged her to the canvas and shoved the ladder over onto Jax.
Asuka and Evans battled on the ladder as Nia got back up. Asuka knocked Evans on top of Nia and was now alone on the ladder. She started climbing again and was inches away from the briefcase when King Corbin showed up. Asuka slapped Corbin off the ladder and grabbed the women’s contract.
Otis made his way to the ladder but once again the rungs started breaking when he tried to climb. King Corbin bashed the ladder into Otis’ ribs went for a Splash but Otis got out of the way. Otis hit the Caterpillar Elbow and shouted “oh yeah!”.
Aleister hit Otis with Black Mass and Rey followed it up with a Senton off the top rope. Black and Mysterio set up the ladder in the middle of the ring and started climbing. AJ Styles joined the action and shoved the ladder over.
King Corbin then threw Rey off the roof and did the same to Aleister Black. AJ sent Corbin into the ring post and hit Otis with a Pele Kick. Styles followed it up with the Phenomenal Forearm and Otis fell to the canvas.
AJ started climbing as King Corbin hopped on the other side of the ladder. Corbin and Styles reached fro the briefcase and took it down at the same time. Both superstars wrestled with the briefcase when Elias showed up with the guitar. Elias hit Corbin with the guitar and the briefcase fell to Otis in the ring. Otis shouted “yo Mandy, I did it!” as MITB went off the air.
Opinion: While Money in the Bank was a very short PPV, it was entertaining as hell. I’ll take a shorter PPV over a 5-hour one any day. I thought the Ladder matches were fun and the cameos made me laugh. I didn’t expect either Asuka or Otis to win the matches and was pleasantly surprised.
Drew McIntyre is still the WWE Champion after a hard-fought battle in just his second title defense.
McIntyre, who has become the new top star on the RAW brand, successfully retained the championship against Seth Rollins at the WWE Money In The Bank pay-per-view event on the WWE Network. This served as one of the top matches on the card.
It was a back and forth affair with Rollins working over the leg knee of the champion. In the end, McIntyre hit a Claymore Kick for the win. Post-match, McIntyre gave him a pep speech and they shook hands.
The program was started on the April 20th episode of RAW when McIntyre opened the show with an in-ring promo about Rollins’ attack. He issued a challenge for a WWE Championship Match at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view event.
Later in the show, Rollins cut an interesting promo about how he accepted McIntyre’s challenge. He also vowed that he would take the title from McIntyre. WWE made the match official on the April 27th episode of RAW by having a contract signing.
Time will tell whether WWE continues this feud or goes into a different direction heading into the next few weeks.
Braun Strowman successfully retained the WWE Universal Title in his first defense of the championship.
Strowman did so when he beat Bray Wyatt in one of the top matches at the WWE Money In The Bank pay-per-view event on the WWE Network.
There had been speculation that Wyatt may be wrestling the match as himself instead of The Fiend. He dressed like his character that appears during the Firefly Fun House segments.
The finish of the match saw Strowman wear his old sheep mask. Wyatt said that he told him that he would find him and that this time it would be perfect. Strowman did the Wyatt pose in front of him and they hugged. However, Strowman took off the mask then stomped on it and hit his powerslam finisher for the win.
The company made the match official on the April 17th episode of SmackDown. Since that time, WWE has been airing Firefly Fun House segments on the show to further promote this contest.
In fact, there was some acknowledgment to their past as Strowman made an appearance on the Moment of Bliss segment where Wyatt gave him a gift, which was Strowman’s old sheep mask that he used to wear while a member of The Wyatt Family.
Looks like @WWEBrayWyatt had a friend unexpectedly show up at ringside! ?
Alberto Del Rio has found himself in a serious situation after being arrested last week.
The former WWE star was involved in an incident on May 3rd that ultimately led to him going to jail. News 4 in San Antonio reported that Del Rio became angry with a woman and assaulted her. The victim had multiple injuries to her body.
Per the report, the victim is alleging that Del Rio slapped her across the head and then asked her what she was doing. She stated to the police that he slapped her again across the head.
Police were told by the victim that they walked downstairs and this is where Del Rio forced her to put on a dress and dance for him. When she told him that she didn’t want to do this, Del Rio allegedly said he would take her son and drop him off in the middle of the road somewhere if she didn’t and also told her not to cry while doing it.
It was also noted that the arrest affidavit did detail the incident and has photographs of the victim’s injuries. This report also states that Del Rio sexually assaulted the victim.
As of this writing, Del Rio has yet to comment on the alleged situation.
Back in March, Del Rio claimed in an appearance on Nos Cayó La Noche in Mexico that he was in talks with WWE about a potential return to the company and thought a deal could be reached sometime in 2020.
It was later reported that there were no talks between WWE and Del Rio regarding him potentially making a return to the company.
Lio Rush has broken his silence on being released by WWE.
The former NXT Cruiserweight Champion was just one of many talent and staff who were cut from the company last month due to budget cuts caused by the coronavirus.
Rush took to his official Twitter account where he issued a statement. Rush also mentioned his new album, which releases on Monday, as it’s titled “Ever After.” He wrote,
“Three weeks has passed since the news of my release and in this moment…I’m overwhelmed with emotions, but mostly gratitude.
“Thankful for the opportunities that I’ve had and moments I’ve experienced with the WWE. Whether that was competing in-ring or managing on the outside, I’ve had a blast. The past three years has been quite the ride! From the highest of highs, to the lowest of lows. I’ve been tested and I’ve had to battle my demons like never before. I’ve dreamed of becoming a WWE Superstar since I was five years old and I’ve accomplished that at such a young age.
“Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and with sadness in my heart, I’m afraid this is it. My story isn’t over though. Another chapter just needs to be written. I love you guys and I’m beyond grateful for the love, support, and understanding over the years. A 22 year old kid coming in and a 25 year old man coming out with my head held high. I’ve always been a dreamer and you better believe that I’m dreaming big.”
Lio Rush then announced that his first album is being released on Monday. He called it his “FIRST MAJOR PROJECT SINCE THE RELEASE.”
He finished by telling fans he’d love nothing more than their continued love and support.
Last year, there were several reported issues involving Rush that had apparently led to him getting backstage heat and being removed from television.
Before being removed from television, he was serving as Bobby Lashley’s manager. He returned to TV last September in NXT where he would later win the NXT Cruiserweight Title.
The final betting odds for all of the matches that will take place at the WWE Money in the Bank pay-per-view event have been released.
The card for the show that takes place tonight (Sunday, May 10, 2020) from Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center has been finalized as only matches have been announced.
Make sure to join us tonight for match recaps and our takeaways from this latest pay-per-view event held by WWE.
Money In The Bank Betting Odds
The favorites to win are listed as – while the underdogs are listed with +. Odds call for all three titles to change. Here are the final betting odds courtesy of BetOnline:
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre is favored (-700) to retain against Seth Rollins (+400).
Bray Wyatt (-130) is favored to defeat Universal Champion Braun Strowman (-110)
AJ Styles (-125) is favored to win the Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match. Rey Mysterio is considered the least likely to win (+1200).
Shayna Bazsler (-145) is favored to win the Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match. Carmella (+1000) is considered the least likely to win.
SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley is favored (-550) to retain against Tamina (+325).
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day (-100) are favored to retain in the Fatal 4 Way tag team match.
Booker T recently spoke about working with Jim Ross on his Reality of Wrestling YouTube channel. The 5x WCW Champion noted that JR’s role as the head of Talent Relations put him in an unenviable spot.
“He had to hire guys, he had to fire guys, he was that guy,” Booker said on the show. “He was definitely not in an envious spot.”
Booker also noted that JR was the one who encouraged him to be open about his real backstory.
“JR was literally the first person who told me I need to tell my story and get it out there and let people see who Booker T really was,” he continued. “And I was reluctant to actually put it out there not knowing if there was some ulterior motive.”
Booker’s story was made into a documentary currently available on the WWE Network, “Booker T: Sentenced to Greatness.” He served 19 months in prison for armed robbery before being granted parole in 1992.
“I remember going to house shows after I did come out with my story, I remember going to house shows and people would have my mugshot on a poster, just to make fun of me,” Booker said. “But I won at the end of the day, and I’m still winning.”
Booker T Hopes His Story Gives Hope To Others
Booker then continued to say that he hopes his being open with his story is helpful to others.
“Hopefully a lesson was learned. Hopefully, some young kid, like I said for me telling my story, which was my primary objective was for some young kid not to fall in my footsteps or some young kid that are walking in my footsteps to know there is light at the end of the tunnel. If Booker T did it, I can do it too. There are so many people out there looking for hope.”
The result of the main event at Hell in a Cell 2019 left many fans upset. Seth Rollins defended the Universal Championship against “the Fiend” Bray Wyatt that night. Many fans expected Wyatt to win the match and title but it didn’t happen. Instead, the referee called a stop to the match after Rollins hit Wyatt with a sledgehammer. The result was not a disqualification but rather a referee’s stoppage due to concern over Wyatt’s health. Wyatt would then win the title the following month in Saudi Arabia.
Rollins recently spoke to Talk Sport and said that what happened at Hell in a Cell last year left him “dead in the water.” Rollins would eventually turn heel as the fans turned against him.
“At the end of the day, there’s no real nice way to put it, I was dead in the water after Hell in a Cell,” Rollins said. “And a lot of that was nothing that I could control. I was left out there as a bit of a scapegoat in that situation and there was nothing I could do about it, but I was the one that had to face the scrutiny.”
“And no one really cared about me at that point in time, or about how I was feeling or about what really went into that moment, that night and everything that went along with it.”
Rollins would continue to say that after HIAC, it was time to make some changes.
“So, the writing was on the wall at that point,” Rollins continued. “It was time to hunker down and make some changes, and some of those are tough lessons to learn.”
Now Rollins is known as the “Monday Night Messiah” on RAW. He lost to Kevin Owens at WrestleMania but finds himself with a chance to win the WWE title tonight. He faces Drew McIntyre with the belt on the line at Money in the Bank. Bray Wyatt also has a chance to win back the Universal title he took from Rollins tonight. He’ll face Braun Strowman at Money in the Bank.
“There’s no point lamenting the past, it’s time to move on, move into the future and figure out what you’re gonna do about it, ya know? What can you control.”
There was a time in Chris Jericho’s career when he didn’t look or dress like a rock star. He wore a suit and proclaimed to everyone that he was “the best in the world at what he does.”
According to comments Jericho over the weekend, he currently believes that for the first time since 2010, he is once again the best in the world. He tweeted on Saturday:
“Not being egotistical or arrogant, but right here and right now, for the first time since 2010, I honestly feel that I AM the best in the world in the pro wrestling biz. Not gonna discuss or debate. It’s just the way I feel…”
Pro-wrestling is entertainment which means being “the best” is always a matter of opinion. With that being said, there are many fans who agree with Jericho’s opinion on the matter.
Jericho will face “Pineapple Pete” Suge D on Dynamite this week. He teamed with Sammy Guevara in the main event of last week’s episode, defeating Matt Hardy and Kenny Omega in an epic street fight.
The first chapter of “Undertaker: The Last Ride” was released today on the WWE Network. Chapter 1 of the docuseries is titled, “The Greatest Fear” and focusses on Taker wrestling with the idea of his in-ring career coming to an end.
During the documentary, Taker revealed that after suffering a concussion in his match against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 30, he lost his confidence as a performer.
“What I think happened is between getting older and then not having all the reps and taking all the bumps through the course of the year, eventually, it caught up with me,” Taker said. “I think that explains what happened in New Orleans, I think that’s why the concussion.”
“I’m not sure when I got concussed… I don’t know how that match happened. I have no recollection of any of that.”
– The Undertaker
He continued to talk about how the concussion impacted his confidence moving forward.
“It’s one concussion in one match, destroyed my confidence,” he continued. “I don’t even think anybody even knew really.”
Footage from the documentary then moved backstage at WrestleMania 31 before Taker’s match against Bray Wyatt.
“It was Triple H that really spotted it and I’m waiting to go out just riddled with self-doubt. Triple H came to me, ‘hey, remember who the f**k you are.'”
Triple H then gave his thoughts on the same interaction the two shared at WM31.
“I remember that being mind-blowing to me,” Triple said. “Like, this is the f***king Undertaker. It was hard for me to contemplate that he had those doubts.”
Taker continued to say that Triple H’s comments were enough to restore his confidence and get him through his match against Wyatt. From that point on, Taker’s confidence began to come back but he also was subjecting his body to more wear and tear.
“What’s going on is I’m getting my confidence back,” Taker continued. “But what’s also happening is more wear and tear.”
Undertaker Experiences Self Doubt Leading To WrestleMania 33
As things moved to WrestleMania 33 and his match against Roman Reigns, Taker said he began to experience self-doubt again at that year’s Royal Rumble.
“When I got in the Rumble, I knew,” Taker continued. “I was like ‘what have I done?’ You’re about to put your whole legacy on the line and you know you have no business being in that match. That match should be somebody else’s.”
“One of my biggest fears is becoming a parody of myself,” Taker said.
The documentary is the most open look at the Undertaker and his storied career ever produced. It is streaming now on the WWE Network.
WWE Money in the Bank happens tonight on the award-winning WWE Network.
The event features a special ‘Climb the Corporate Ladder’ theme, with the men’s and women’s MITB ladder match taking place from WWE Headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. It is believed the remainder of the night’s matches will emanate from the Performance Center in Orlando, FL.
In addition to the two MITB matches, there are four championship matches scheduled.
Money in the Bank was originally scheduled to take place from the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. WWE was forced to change gears due to restrictions on large gatherings related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
SEScoops will have Live Coverage during the event. Afterwards, check back for our WWE Money in the Bank Results & Takeaways feature.
WWE Superstars The Miz and Maryse appeared on this week’s episode of WWE’s The Bump. The former SmackDown Tag Team Champion Miz appeared on the WWE Network show to discuss a number of topics from his recent career, including the success of USA Network’s ‘Miz & Mrs.’
The Miz would be asked on the show how his fan reception has changed; now that the WWE Universe gets to see a different side to him thanks to the reality show format.
“Hundred percent” Miz revealed, discussing how fan reception has changed. “I think Miz and Mrs more than anything else? I think obviously being in WWE for 15 years when people thought that I was going to be out in three months, I think says a lot about my dedication, my heart and my work ethic in WWE.”
The Miz would elaborate further, talking about his past in the reality TV space. Specifically, MTV’s The Real World, which helped get Mike Mizanin get noticed by WWE.
“I think Miz and Mrs, seeing our family together? Me as a father, Maryse as a mom? It’s one of those shows that…I wasn’t sure at first if I would like doing it. I mean, I loved doing The Real World, but that was when I was in my 20s. Now I’m a grown man, and I have a family.”
Miz & Mrs
Miz would then go into the format of the show, and how it caters to a wider audience. “Once we set out to do the show, we didn’t hold anything back. And it’s a show that you can watch with your entire family and literally just sit back, escape your reality, whatever is going on in your life, and just enter ours and laugh.”
In terms of holding nothing back, Miz would then claim that he looks at the show in the same vein as some sitcom greats. “Because that’s what it is, it’s an absolute comedy, it’s a sitcom. We kind of look at it as Curb Your Enthusiasm meets The Office, meets Seinfeld, meets The Real World. It combined all those together and that’s kind of what you get.”
Have you been watching Miz & Mrs on USA? What do you think of the show and format? Let us know in the comments
Owen Hart tragically fell to his death in Kemper Arena on May 23rd, 1999. On May 7th, 2000, WCW held Slamboree in the same arena. During the show, Mike Awesome tossed Kanyon off the Ready To Rumble cage to the ramp 20-feet below. Some fans have since expressed that doing such a stunt in the same building as the Owen Hart tragedy had taken place in less than a year earlier was in bad taste.
Eric Bischoff and Conrad Thompson recently discussed this on an episode of the 83 Weeks podcast.
“In hindsight, do you think that maybe this wasn’t the best idea to do in this arena given this is where the Owen Hart tragedy happened a year before?” Thompson asked Bischoff.
“No, I don’t feel that way,” Bischoff said. “I’ll try to explain why. In any other form of entertainment/sport, or sports-entertainment or sports. Let’s just take NASCAR. When someone is killed in a NASCAR event, do they stop turning left at 180 miles per hour? Do they quit racing? Do they stop for 6-months or a month or if someone is unfortunately killed at Talladega, do they not race at Talladega anymore?”
Bischoff continued to talk about wrestling being scripted violence before Thompson chimed back in.
“Well hang on now, this is a little different,” Thompson interjected. “This is the arena where he died, roughly a year later, on his actual birthday. So, there is a good chance that some of these fans in the crowd were at Over the Edge the year before and now they’re here and they see another guy flying down to the f***ing floor from up high.”
Bischoff rejected the comparison, however.
“I disagree,” Bischoff said. “You can’t draw a parallel between what happened to Owen and the stunt we created and rehearsed and felt was safe here. They’re not connected.”
Curtis Axel was one of the many WWE Superstars released from the company last month. Arn Anderson recently discussed how Axel was used in WWE and his release from the company on an edition of “the Arn Show.”
“Curtis Axel’s dad, for god’s sake, was ‘Mr. Perfect’ Curt Hennig who was as good a performer as ever graced/built this industry.”
Anderson then said he felt it hindered Axel not to play up his family’s lineage.
“For Joe to not be able to go out on TV his first time and say ‘hey, I’m not my dad. I’m Joe but my dad was Curt Hennig. (I’m) very proud of that fact and I’m going to try to do everything I can to make him proud of me and excel in this business.'”
“His lineage was huge in this industry. Why he wasn’t able to take advantage of that?”
Anderson continued to talk about how WWE is hesitant to let wrestlers play into their family’s lineage.
“Guys would come up and they wouldn’t get to be who they were. Or who their dad was or who their uncle was. Well, that just makes the business bigger that you have 2nd and 3rd generation wrestlers that are doing well.”
“For Curtis Axel to not be who he was and then try to name him 2 or 3 different times and the kid could perform, he could work,” Anderson continued.
Vice’s Dark Side of the Ring recently covered the infamous Brawl For All tournament WWF held in 1998. Vince Russo, the creative mind behind the shoot tough man competition, is featured throughout the episode.
Russo recently went into further detail about the tournament on an episode of Konnan’s Keepin it 100 podcast. During the discussion, Russo stated his belief at the time that Bart Gunn could have defeated Butterbean at WrestleMania. He also noted that Vince McMahon shared that view.
“I got so frustrated with Bart because he still believes he was fed to the wolves and that was a punishment for Dr. Death and he’s wrong, that’s not the truth!” Russo said.
Butterbean sends Bart Gunn into another dimension at WrestleMania 15 (1999)
Russo would continue to say that Vince McMahon believed Bart could possibly have defeated Butterbean.
“I’m telling you he did, bro, I did too!” Russo continued. “You got to understand when I was watching those Brawl for Alls, bro, I’ve never seen guys get hit that hard in my life.”
Russo then talked about how hard Bart was hitting his opponents in the tournament.
“When I saw Bart hitting these guys, I believed without a shadow of a doubt he could beat Butterbean, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind, bro,” Russo continued.
Jim Ross shared his opinion of The Ultimate Warrior on a recent episode of his Grilling JR podcast. Good o’l JR worked with Warrior during the late Hall of Famer’s 1996 return to the World Wrestling Federation.
“I think he was a giant pain in the a** from day one,” Ross said on the show.
JR and Conrad Thompson were discussing a lawsuit involving Warrior on the show, leading to JR’s comments.
“He had a massive ego, knowing that he was not highly skilled, knowing that his #1 selling point was his physique and his charisma that largely was created through music and lights and pyro and things of that nature.”
Ross continued to talk about why he didn’t feel Warrior was a good person.
“He wasn’t a good person in my view, that’s my opinion,” JR continued. “I thought that he used extremely coarse and abusive language in front of women of all ages. I thought that was ridiculous, I seen it with my own eyes.”
Ross continued to talk about Warrior’s Hall of Fame induction. Ross noted he’s glad his family and fans got to celebrate him before he died.
“I’m sad that he passed, I’m glad that he got his moment in the sun before he died, I really am, for his fans’ sake and for his family,” JR said.
Jim Ross’ comments about The Ultimate Warrior can be heard in the player below:
The May 8th edition of WWE SmackDown aired frm the Performance Center in Orlando, FL. It was the final episode of SmackDown before WWE Money in the Bank this Sunday night.
SmackDown Results for May 8:
Sonya Deville def. Mandy Rose
The Miz, John Morrison & Forgotten Sons def. New Day & Lucha House Party
Tamina & Lacey Evans def. Bayley & Sasha Banks
King Corbin, Cesaro, Shinsuke Nakamura def. Daniel Bryan, Drew Gulak, Otis
In addition to the takeaways below, the hacker delivered another message during SmackDown.
Mandy Rose battled Sonya Deville in the first match of the night. Before the match, Mandy told Otis to just focus on his MITB match when he asked what he could do to help. Dolph Ziggler asked Sonya to go easy on Mandy’s face during the match.
Match Recap: Mandy Rose went right after Sonya to start the match off and beat the hell out of her in the corner of the ring. Rose booted Mandy in her injured leg and slowed her down. Mandy battled back with a massive right hand and Deville rolled out of the ring to try and regroup.
Deville got back in the ring and took control. Sonya connected with a running knee to Mandy’s face for a near fall. Deville went back to work on Mandy’s leg and had a sinister grin on her face while doing so. Sonya shouted that Mandy is embarrassing herself right now as she locked in a submission hold in the middle of the ring.
Sonya started ripping off Mandy’s eyelashes as Sonya vowed to make Mandy ugly. Rose escaped but collapsed to the canvas as Deville booted her in the leg once again. Mandy connected with a Clothesline and followed it up with a knee to the face that sent Sonya out of the ring.
Mandy chased after her and bounced Sonya’s face off the steel steps. Rose sent Sonya over the announce table as Cole and Graves hopped out of the way. Mandy dragged Sonya back into the ring and shouted at Deville to get up. Deville rolled up Mandy and used her tights for leverage to steal the win.
I’ve always been better, I will always be better, I am the Star now … friend.
— Daria/Sonya Deville (@SonyaDevilleWWE) May 9, 2020
Jeff Hardy Sent A Message To Sheamus
Jeff Hardy made his return and joined Renee Young in the ring for an interview. Jeff noted that he can still all the fans voices chanting his name and asked them to stick with him because he knows he has one more good run in him.
Sheamus was shown backstage mocking Jeff and Hardy called him out to the ring. Sheamus came to the entrance and claimed that nobody cares about Jeff Hardy anymore.
Sheamus stated that the fans loved the high-flying maniac that was Jeff Hardy, but they are tired of him now. He added that the fans are tired of the suspensions, releases, and the chances he has wasted.
Jeff said that Sheamus was a hater but Sheamus claimed that he wasn’t and he used to respect Hardy. Sheamus referred to Hardy as SmackDown’s weakest flame and marched to the ring.
Hardy hit Sheamus with Whisper in the Wind and followed it up with a Twist of Fate. Jeff climbed to the top rope and hit Sheamus with a Swanton Bomb before posing in the corner to end the segment.
Universal Champion Braun Strowman had a Face to Face on this week’s episode of SmackDown. Strowman will defend his title against Wyatt at Money in the Bank this Sunday night.
Strowman stated that he debuted in the Wyatt Family but Bray did not create him. Braun added that Wyatt was threatened by him then and is even more threatened by him now. The Universal Champion then challenged Bray to come down to the ring and he made his way down the entrance ramp as the Firefly Fun House theme played.
Bray asked for an apology but Strowman said he didn’t owe Wyatt anything. Strowman added that Wyatt is going to be the one that is sorry this Sunday. Bray told Braun that he needs to come home so that he can show him how to special. Wyatt told Strowman that he just needed to remove that burden (the Universal Championship) so he can show Braun the way.
Braun claimed that Bray doesn’t know him and how he thinks. Strowman vowed to end this at Money in the Bank. Wyatt laughed and said that their journey is just beginning. Wyatt brought out a sheep’s mask and asked Strowman to try it on. The puppets showed up on the screen and all of them asked Braun to come back home.
Strowman said that he is home and he has the Universal Championship. Braun vowed to retain this Sunday and leave Wyatt stuck playing with his puppets. Strowman exited the ring as Bray said that he tried over and over.
Sasha Banks & SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley teamed up to face Lacey Evans & Tamina tonight on SmackDown. Bayley will defend her title against Tamina this Sunday at Money in the Bank.
Match Recap: Bayley tried to avoid Tamina early but Tamina caught her with a Body Slam. Tamina hit a Splash in the corner but got distracted by Banks. Bayley capitalized and tagged Sasha in. Bayley hit Tamina with a chop block and Banks followed it up with a big knee to the face.
When SmackDown returned from a break, Banks hit Lacey with a Dropkick and went for the cover but Evans kicked out at two. Bayley tagged in and continue to beat Evans down. Sasha hit Evans with a cheap shot while the referee wasn’t looking and tagged into the match.
Tamina tagged in but Banks knocked her out of the ring. Sasha went for a Crossbody off the apron but Tamina caught her and sent The Boss into the barricade. Back in the ring, Tamina leveled Bayley with a Clothesline and followed it up with a headbutt. Tamina hit a Splash in the corner before dragging her to the middle of the ring.
Tamina climbed to the top rope but Sasha distracted her on the apron. Tamina sent Banks to the floor and went for a Splash but Bayley got her knees up. Bayley hit the Bayley to Belly and stomped on her a couple of times.
The SmackDown Women’s champ climbed to the top rope and hit an Elbow Drop but Tamina kicked out at two. Lacey hit Banks with the Women’s Right outside the ring. Tamina hit Bayley with a Superkick and followed it up with a Samoan Drop for the pinfall victory.
Opinion: It would have been nice not to see the champ pinned two days before the PPV. I think it would be ridiculous if Tamina won the title at the PPV and I doubt it is going to happen. Tamina has spent her entire career losing and there has been no explanation as to why she is all the sudden this dominant force that everyone that has previously defeated her is afraid of.
Corbin Posed With The MITB Briefcase To Close The Show
Daniel Bryan, Drew Gulak, and Otis faced Cesaro, Shinsuke Nakamura, and King Corbin in the main event of this week’s SmackDown.
Match Recap: Gulak leveled Corbin with a Dropkick that sent him out of the ring. Cesaro tagged in and Gulak planted him with a Michinoku Driver for a near fall. Cesaro battled back after a Nakamura distraction and hit a Gutwrench Suplex for a two count.
Nakamura and Otis then tagged in and the big man hit a Clothesline. Otis knocked Cesaro & Corbin off the apron before slamming Shinsuke to the canvas. Otis followed it up with a Splash in the corner and then the Caterpillar Elbow as SmackDown went to a break.
When SmackDown returned, Corbin and Bryan were battling in the ring. Corbin had a Headlock applied but Daniel quickly broke free. Bryan hit Corbin with a Dropkick to the knee and tagged in Gulak. Cesaro tagged in as well and Gulak greeted him with several strikes in the corner of the ring.
King Corbin tagged in and Gulak hit him with a Flying Clothesline off the second rope for a two count. Cesaro and Nakamura sent Otis into the ring post. Bryan hit a knee to Cesaro’s face off the apron but turned around into a knee strike from Shinsuke. King Corbin then planted Drew Gulak with Deep Six for the pinfall victory.
After the match, a brawl broke out and spilled backstage. King Corbin was all alone on the entrance ramp and grabbed a ladder. Corbin slid the ladder in the ring and set it up under the MITB briefcase suspended above. Corbin climbed up the ladder but Daniel Bryan got back into the ring.
King Corbin sent him into the ladder and rolled him back outside. King Corbin once again climbed to the top of the ladder but Otis got in the ring this time. Otis sent Corbin to the corner of the ring and bashed him with ladder. Otis tried climbing the ladder but the rungs kept breaking under his weight.
Corbin threw Otis into the ring post as Daniel Bryan brought another ladder into the ring. Bryan hit Corbin with a Dragon Screw and climbed the ladder. Corbin shoved the ladder and Bryan fell into the ropes. King Corbin threw Bryan out of the ring and on top of Otis. King Corbin climbed the ladder, grabbed the briefcase and raised it to end the show.
Opinion: I’m not sure King Corbin posing with the briefcase is a good selling point for the Money in the Bank PPV this Sunday. Overall, this week’s episode of SmackDown was a letdown. It was good to see Jeff Hardy back and I thought Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville had a good match. The rest of the show didn’t do much to get me excited for Money in the Bank.
