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Highlight’s from PAC/Neville’s First Singles Match Since Leaving WWE

Jake Skudder
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PAC has had his first singles match since leaving WWE. The former Neville faced Flamita in an International Special Singles Match for Dragon Gate’s ‘The Gate of Destiny’ event (11/04). PAC took the win after hitting his renamed ‘Black Arrow’ in around 18 minutes. Here’s some of the highlights from the incredible bout:

https://twitter.com/MrLARIATO/status/1059019707293073408

https://twitter.com/MrLARIATO/status/1059020093936541697

https://twitter.com/MrLARIATO/status/1059021923643023360

https://twitter.com/MrLARIATO/status/1059022297099632643

https://twitter.com/MrLARIATO/status/1059023657916338176

In other PAC/Neville related news Japan’s Dragon Gate promotion recently confirmed their new streaming service which featured PAC in a short promo package hyping the new over the top service alongside his RED stablemates. Fans will be able watch live/past shows for just over $13 a month. PAC made his return to the company earlier this year after leaving WWE’s 205 Live brand.

Revolution Pro (Rev Pro) has announced that PAC will be returning to the promotion. The former WWE Cruiserweight Champion will be appearing at the Portsmouth Guildhall on November 22nd. Tickets for the show are available to purchase via Rev Pro’s official website here.

The company has not yet announced PAC’s opponent for the show. The Portsmouth shows for Rev Pro are big events but not on the level of their York Hall extravaganzas. It is likely that PAC will be in a top feature match but not on the level that you would expect at a venue like York Hall. With Rev Pro’s New Japan links it would be ideal for PAC to take on one of the top NJPW stars but it is more likely that he faces a Rev Pro ‘homegrown’ talent such as El Phantasmo or Josh Bodom.

Kenny Omega Fires Shots at Hiroshi Tanahashi Following Power Struggle

Jake Skudder
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Kenny Omega recently appeared at New Japan’s Power Struggle event in Osaka, Japan. The IWGP Heavyweight Champion teamed with Kota Ibushi to defeat Hiroshi Tanahashi and David Finlay.

Tanahashi won the G1 Climax tournament earlier this year and is set to face Omega for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom on January 4th.

During a post match interview Omega made some scathing comments about Tanahashi. The Champion stated that “I’ve skipped out on this tour to focus on my other goals, my other dreams, my aspirations. People keep saying ‘Kenny, you’re a terrible champion. WHY aren’t you making the small shows?’ I’ll tell you why, I’m a business man at heart. When it comes to business, you have to make your challengers look credible. LOOK WHAT HAPPENED. I show up Tana, you get the big L. You look like a big L. Does he look like the challenger of the Tokyo Dome main event? No. I am trying to do you a service, I am trying to do this whole company a favour. I’m trying to allow you to pad your record and look really strong going into January 4th. But you call me out and you get the Golden Lovers.”

Chris Jericho “That’s the first Classic match that EVIL has ever had”

Jake Skudder
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Chris Jericho returned to New Japan Pro Wrestling at the Power Struggle event in Osaka, Japan. The IWGP Intercontinental Champion defended successfully against EVIL after locking him in a Walls of Jericho that transitioned into a Liontamer.

When Jericho would not release the submission Tetsuya Naito appeared and forced Jericho to retreat to the back. Naito then issued a direct challenge to Y2J for the Intercontinental Championship.

Backstage Footage

NJPW recently released the backstage footage of Jericho after the bout. Y2J made some interesting comments regarding his opponent EVIL. Jericho said to the NJPW reporters “you see that? That’s what is called a ‘classic match.’ The first classic match that EVIL has ever had, and that’s just number 257 for me. Classic, after classic, after classic. They don’t call me the GOAT for nothing. If you don’t understand that because you’re Japanese it’s Greatest of All Time. It’s not a tag line, it’s not a catchphrase, it’s the truth. Find me somebody ANYWHERE in the world, in the history of the business that’s had more Intercontinental Championships than I have. Tell me one, can you do it? No. I know you all speak perfect English, but you can’t speak English now, you “can’t remember.”

Never Lost in New Japan to The Japanese

Jericho also made some interesting points about his record in New Japan, stating “The Gaijin won. It’s just gonna continue. I’ve NEVER lost a match in New Japan against the Japanese, ever. And I never will. Like I said, EVIL you’re a great performer. What a great match that was, one of the best that I’ve had in a long time. But I won, just like I said I would. I made you famous like I said I would. Naito, I made you famous in June. I made you famous in Korakuen Hall in January. You wanna be famous again? Find somebody else. NO REMATCH for Naito, EVER.”

First Competitors for Pro-Wrestling All Star Battle in Japan Announced

Jake Skudder
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The first competitors have been announced for the “Pro-Wrestling All Star Battle” in Sumo Hall on February 19, 2019. The show will be one of the biggest co-branded events in recent Japanese history. Stars from NJPW, All Japan, Big Japan and NOAH will be performing on the Super-show in February. This show will a commemoration of 20 years since Giant Baba’s passing. It is also 60 years since the Tokyo Sports newspaper started their publication. It is unlikely that any ‘dream bouts’ will be taking place, but it is a big deal for the Japanese promotions such as NJPW and NOAH teaming up for a show. 

NJPW Commentator Chris Charlton confirmed that “The card marks 60 years of Tokyo Sports. The last All Star Battle was in August 1979 and featured Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki tagging together for the very last time.“

Here’s the currently confirmed names:

  • New Japan Pro Wrestling – Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomoaki Honma
  • All Japan Pro Wrestling – Kento Miyahara, Jun Akiyama, Takao Omori & Masanobu Fuchi
  • Big Japan Wrestling – The Great Kojika & Daisuke Sekimoto
  • Pro Wrestling NOAH –  Naomichi Marufuji

Also announced are:

  • Fighting Group Kazushi-gumi – Kazushi Miyamoto
  • Suzuki-gun: Tachi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
  • A-TEAM: Tomohiko Hashimoto
  • Freelance: Taiyo Kea

Credit to @STRIGGA for the confirmed names

 

NXT San Jose Live Event Next Week Changed To TV Taping

Chris Stephens
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An NXT house show scheduled for next week in San Jose has been changed to a TV taping. The abrupt change with only 10 days before the show is an interesting development considering the taping will take place just two days before Takeover: Wargames on November 17th.

NXT announced the change earlier today through their social media channels:

“The stakes for the November 15th live event just got raised. NXTSanJose has just been confirmed as a TV Taping. Tickets are still available NOW!”

NXT Takeover: WarGames and NXT San Jose TV Tapings

A few matches have been confirmed for Takeover: WarGames so far on NXT programming.

  1. NXT World Championship
    Tommaso Ciampa (c) vs Velveteen Dream
  2. WarGames Match
    The Undisputed Era (Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly, Bobby Fish, and Adam Cole) vs War Raiders, Ricochet, and Pete Dunne
  3. Aleister Black vs Johnny Gargano

Triple H spoke with ESPN earlier this year and mentioned he’s on the fence regarding NXT going longer than 1-hour.

“There are times when I look at NXT and part of me loves the hour format because everybody’s got busy lives,” Triple H said. “By the time you get to Wednesday … if you’re a huge fan, by the time you get to Wednesday, you’ve watched five hours of WWE, and then you’re watching NXT. And that’s if you didn’t watch ‘205 Live.’ There’s a lot out there. The great thing is they’re all slightly different, so there’s a little bit of something for everybody. I run into things, for me, when we’re scripting out weekly episodes of NXT, [where] it’s like, ‘Oh, man, I’d really like to debut this person, or do this thing with this new character, or help get a persona going or something [else], and I don’t have the room to do it. There’s a fine line between that and leaving them wanting more, so it’s a balance.”

ROH Survival of The Fittest 2018 (11/04) Results

Jake Skudder
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Ring of Honor presented their Survival of The Fittest 2018 event this past Sunday from the Express Live! in Columbus, Ohio.

The card featured a co-main event pitting the ROH Six Man Champions Cody & The Young Bucks against The Kingdom. A special Champions Challenge bout was also added with the ROH Tag Team Champions Kazarian & Scorpio Sky taking on ROH TV Champion Jeff Cobb & ROH World Champion Jay Lethal.

Here’s the full results for Survival of The Fittest 2018:

Survival of The Fittest Qualifying Matches

  • Christopher Daniels b. Beer City Bruiser in a SOTF Qualifier
  • Adam Page b. Colin Delaney and Dalton Castle in a SOTF Qualifier
  • Jonathan Gresham b. Tracy Williams in a SOTF Qualifier
  • Guerrero Maya Jr b. Andrew Everett and Flip Gordon in a SOTF Qualifier
  • PJ Black b. Luchasaurus in a SOTF Qualifier
  • Marty Scurll b. Stuka Jr. and Silas Young in a SOTF Qualifier

Featured Bouts

  • Madison Rayne b. Dr. Britt Baker – Rayne took the win to earn a spot in the Women of Honor Title match at Final Battle
  • ROH Six Man Championship Match – Cody & The Young Bucks (c) b. The Kingdom – Cody and The Bucks retained their titles
  • Champions Special Challenge Match – ROH TV Champion Jeff Cobb & ROH World Champion Jay Lethal b. ROH Tag Team Champions Kazarian & Scorpio Sky
  • Marty Scurll b. Guerrero Maya Jr., Dalton Castle, PJ Black, Jonathan Gresham, Christopher Daniels, and Adam Page – Scrull took the win to become the overall winner of Survival of the Fittest 2018

Paige Comments On Female Superstars Not Being Told What To Wear

Chris Stephens
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Paige responded to a fan on Twitter recently who said WWE makes their female talent wear revealing clothing. According to the Smackdown General Manager, WWE does not force or coerce female talent to wear anything they are uncomfortable with.

https://twitter.com/RealPaigeWWE/status/1059254486798082049?s=19

“Wrong. We dress the way we wanna dress. We aren’t coerced or forced into dressing like anything other than what we feel comfortable, confident and beautiful in. The men technically show more skin than the women… does that make them “whores” or?”

Paige’s Wrestling Career Moving Forward

Despite only being 26, WWE’s doctors have said they will no longer clear Paige to compete. She has suffered wear-and-tear damage to her shoulder and neck area that doctors are no longer comfortable allowing her back in the ring. Part of her history with injuries can be attributed to her having scoliosis. The condition causes a curving of the spine and while not serious, can be challenging for athletes.

Paige had the following to say regarding her retirement during a recent appearance on Lillian Garcia’s podcast.

“Everything I knew my entire life, like literally for 26 years all I’ve known is wrestling and for it to be ripped out of my hands just like that – and it’s no one’s fault, it just comes with the business sometimes, like spinal stenosis with Edge and Stone Cold, it happens. For it to be cut short, it’s devastating. It’s horrible. My dad was just crying and he was like, ‘Everything is gonna be OK sweetheart. You’re gonna do bigger things now. Don’t worry this isn’t the end of your story,’ and I was like, ‘Thank you dad.’ That same day, I was just devastated, Hunter called me to make sure I was OK. I went to work and Vince [McMahon] gave me a big hug and said, ‘We’ll look after you. We just want you to look after yourself first.’”

Hulk Hogan Comments On His Crown Jewel Appearance

Chris Stephens
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1

Hulk Hogan returned to WWE at Crown Jewel on Friday. The formerly removed member of the WWE Hall of Fame served as host for the show. Following Crown Jewel, Hogan was evidently displeased with how he looked. He posted the following to Twitter in relation to his appearance in Saudi Arabia:

“Ok, today is a new day. After seeing myself on Crown Jewel I have decided to get serious and get under 300lbs. I looked huge, swole, jacked and my arms are still bigger than most wrestlers legs. I don’t want to look like I can beat up the whole roster anymore. Only Love HH”

Hulk Hogan WWE Status

Hulk Hogan apologized to the WWE locker room this summer for racist comments he made back in 2006. Hogan was secretly recorded and the tapes leaked. Several members of the WWE roster did not feel Hogan’s apology was sufficient, however. Titus O’Neal made the following comments in regards to Hogan’s apology this summer.

“This is not about second or third chances,” O’Neil said. “This is about a man making a decision to make statements that he truly felt in his heart I believe at that time. He may not feel that way now, he may regret it. But to come out and say, ‘I didn’t know I was being recorded’ and ‘ be careful what you say’ and ‘I don’t remember saying that stuff.’ When you start out an apology like that. Dude, you lost it already. I wanted to give him a chance, I didn’t know what that meeting was about going in but I wanted to give him a chance.”

Madison Rayne On Choosing ROH Over WWE

Lesly Sincere
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After wrestling for 13 years Madison Rayne made her WWE debut under the moniker Ashley Rayne at the Mae Young Classic II tournament.  Although she lost in the first round to Mercedes Martinez, many would wonder if the former Impact Knockouts Champion would sign with WWE but she chose to go a different route.

In a recent interview with CBS Local Sports: Pittsburgh, Rayne shared her concerns regarding signing with WWE.

ROH Was The Best Fit

“Conversations between WWE and myself were always positive,” Rayne said. “I always got great feedback on everything I did, from the tryout a year ago to just recently doing Mae Young. This past year has been the first and only time that I’ve ever worked in any capacity with WWE. So, that was really exciting this many years into my career, to finally have been able to do that.”

Rayne would continue to say that ROH’s proximity to her hometown of Columbus factored into where she signed this year, however.

“It’s about trying to figure out what was going to be best for me and which company I would flourish the best in. I felt that Ring of Honor was my best option, and that is not saying that WWE offered me something and I said no, I just feel like I was always very honest and upfront about the fact that Columbus was my home and Columbus would remain my home. I understand that they have a system that they put their talent through, regardless of whether you’ve never taken one bump, or you’ve been wrestling for many years, and that system starts in Orlando. While wrestling is still very, very important to me, being a mother and being a wife, those two things are greatly more important.”

Madison told WWE she was not willing to relocate.

“There was never that definitive conversation, but just given the fact that I knew and I never wanted there to be any gray area in my communication with WWE, and I made it clear that I could and would not be willing to relocate, I think that probably kind of settled the question there as far as whether or not a contract with WWE was going to be in my future.”

Dream Opponents

Another question that was asked was who were some opponents Rayne would like to face in the not so distant future.

“I’ve made my little dream list. The one that people talk about a lot, probably for varying reasons, would be me and Alexa Bliss. We’re both from Columbus, we’re both small, we both tend to have a bit of attitude when it comes to our in-ring persona.”

Rayne says she’s had the chance to meet Bliss as well.

“I’ve met her several times, I knew her years ago when we both competed in fitness competitions. So, I just think that it would be fun for that to come full circle and for us to meet in the ring. I would love, and I hope that not far down the road it comes to fruition.”

Rayne also listed Tenille Dashwood as an opponent she would like to face some day.

“I would also love to get in the ring one-on-one with Tenille [Dashwood]. I’ve not had that opportunity yet, so I’m really looking forward to that.”

The article also lists five other wrestlers Rayne would love to step in the ring with:

  1. Sasha Banks
  2. Peyton Royce
  3. Carmella
  4. Bianca Belair
  5. Naomi

Big Wrestlemania 35 Match May Not Happen

Steve Russell
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Triple H suffered an unfortunate injury during his tag team match up against The Undertaker and Kane at WWE’s Crown Jewel event, this past Friday.

The injury, believed to be related to his pec, is thought to have occurred as Hunter took a Harley Race-esque bump to the outside.

Because of this, it appears that Triple H will require surgery. News broke shortly after Crown Jewel had finished that he flew straight to Birmingham, Alabama.

A torn pectoral muscle usually requires six months to heal and rehab, if all things go smoothly. If not, then rehabilitation and healing could take as long as a year for full recovery.

With Wrestlemania 35 just five months away, there is a very real chance that Triple H simply won’t be fit to compete against Batista.

SmackDown 1000

WWE planted seeds for what they hoped would become a major feud at SmackDown’s recent 1000th episode celebration.

Batista’s flippant comments towards Triple H during the Evolution section of the show teased the start of their storyline.

Because of the injury, there is concern within the WWE that the match will no longer happen. Batista, to his credit, is thought to be determined with competing at Wrestlemania 35.

This decision would force the WWE into finding a suitable replacement for The Animal sooner rather than later.

Seth Rollins Predicts Big Things From Certain NXT Superstars

Steve Russell
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He may be the current WWE Intercontinental Champion, but let’s not forget that Seth Rollins has history with the WWE’s black-and-yellow brand. He was, after all, the inaugural NXT champion.

It was in NXT that he, Dean Ambrose, and Roman Reigns were initially developed. They would be subsequently packaged together for their main roster debut as The Shield.

Turns out, ‘The Architect’ keeps tabs on his old stomping grounds in NXT and has his eyes on particular talents that he believes will be major players on the WWE’s main roster.

They’ll Make Waves

Speaking with AlArabiya.net, Seth Rollins pinpointed a few NXT superstars that had caught his attention:

“There’s a ton of guys down there with absolutely incredible potential,” he said. “Shayna Baszler is one of those people who I never got a chance to watch that much, but I saw her on the NXT show last Sunday and I was blown away. I think she’s fantastic.”

He highlighted that “Velveteen Dream is really good—he’s got something wacky about him. I’ve always been a fan of Ricochet,” he continued. “I’ve known him since he was a 17-year-old kid from Paducah, Kentucky. I’ve always thought the world of him and I’m looking forward to seeing what he does in the future.

Rollins rounded out his praise by talking about the Undisputed Era. He stated that “those guys are fantastic” before adding, “I think there’s a lot of talent down in NXT that has the chance to make waves when they move up to the main roster.”

Brock Lesnar Wasn’t Originally Going To Win At Crown Jewel

Steve Russell
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We recently reported that “The Beast” Brock Lesnar has two further matches scheduled in the future, with one of them pitting him against SmackDown’s WWE champion, AJ Styles. This is due to Lesnar’s victory over Braun Strowman at WWE’s recent Crown Jewel event, where he became the first ever two time WWE Universal Champion.

Turns out, this wasn’t the plan that the WWE had heading into Crown Jewel, at all.

Apparently, the plans for the event would have seen then Universal Champion, Roman Reigns, retain the belt in the originally scheduled triple threat against both Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman.
This matchup would have coincided with Brock Lesnar’s last contractual match, leaving him free to train for his rumored UFC return against Daniel Cormier for the UFC Heavyweight Championship.

However, Reigns would reveal on RAW a few weeks earlier that he was sadly once again battling leukaemia. This revelation led him to relinquish the title, turning the triple threat into a one-on-one contest.

It also forced the WWE into a major rewrite that saw Brock reassert his place as the Universal Champion.

“Reigns Was Going To Win That Match”

According to Dave Meltzer, “The deal was, when Roman went down, Vince backed up the Brinks truck and felt with Roman gone they needed Brock. Brock’s last date was gonna be Crown Jewel. Roman Reigns was gonna win that match.”

Brock, if nothing else, is a consummate businessman, as evidenced by his ability to further leverage his personal stock between both the WWE and the UFC.

We now live in a world where the UFC’s ‘Champ-Champ’ Daniel Cormier is telling Lesnar to “bring that belt [to the UFC]” because he feels like “being a WWE Champion, too” in the build-up to their supposed confrontation in the Octagon.

Crazy thing is, depending on how Vince McMahon wants to play it, seeing the WWE Universal Championship appear on a future UFC PPV could become an actual reality.

What do you think? Would you want to see the Universal Championship at UFC? Think it’s possible?

WrestleKingdom 13: New Matches Announced

Steve Russell
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With Power Struggle in the rear view window, we’re officially on our way to NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 13 event next January.

Granted, there’s still the World Tag League and Road To Tokyo Dome shows on the horizon, but that hasn’t stopped New Japan from hyping up their January showcase. NJPW took to NJPW1972.com earlier to day in order to announce a slew of new matches.

Joining the already established main event of Kenny Omega vs Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship are the following matchups:

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match

Suzuki-Gun (Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado) (c) vs Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) vs Los Ingoberables de Japon (BUSHI & Shingo Takagi)

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match

KUSHIDA (c) vs Taiji Ishimori

“The Rainmaker” Kuzuchika Okada vs “Switchblade” Jay White

IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match

Chris Jericho (c) vs Tetsuya Naito

A Battle Of Beliefs

Many of these feuds have only just been developed in recent months, particularly in the wake of both King Of Pro Wrestling and Power Struggle, and it will be interesting to see how each rivalry develops between now and January.

Either way, Wrestle Kingdom 13 is beginning to look like a genuinely stacked card that has a lot on the line across the board — including a clash of core ideologies between “The Best Bout Machine” Omega and “The Ace” Tanahashi that is indicative of the struggles between NJPW staying true to its Japanese ‘Strong Style’ roots versus changing in order to appeal to a broader, Western audience.

With this kind of card to look forward to, January can’t come fast enough for NJPW fans.

Are you counting down the days until Wrestle Kingdom? Which match are you looking forward to the most?

Matt Hardy Makes In-Ring Return At WWE House Show In Spain (Video)

Chris Stephens
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Matt Hardy got involved in the action at a WWE house show in Spain this weekend. Hardy took part in a brawl to close a house show in Madrid. Video of his appearance can be seen below:

Is Matt Hardy Retired?

Hardy insinuated back in September that his in-ring career is possibly over. He never technically said he was retired though. He clarified his status recently on Lillian Garcia’s podcast.

“People throw around the word retirement where typically if someone teases that, it’s retirement, but retirement is not a word I ever said,” he explained.

Several social media posts by Hardy since August insinuated his career’s worth of injuries had begun to take their toll, however. He posted the following back in August:

Matt Hardy’s first official match in WWE was on May 23rd, 1994. He lost a single’s match to Nikolai Volkoff.

Hardy’s last official match was a September 15th, 2018 house show from Corpus Christi, Texas. The match was a triple threat for the WWE Raw tag-team championships along with Bray Wyatt. Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre won the match and the B-Team were the other team involved. That was also the last time Bray Wyatt wrestled a match in WWE.

The House of Hardy Halloween Special debuted on the WWE Network on October 28th after the Evolution PPV. Hardy would later say on Lillian Garcia’s podcast that the show would be turned into a regular series on the network but no further details are available regarding this.

Bullet Club Recruiting Katsuya Kitamura

Chris Stephens
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Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa have asked Bullet Club supporters to weigh in on the possible recruitment of Katsuya Kitamura.

The NJPW young lion has been with the company since 2015 but hasn’t wrestled since February. He is believed to have suffered a concussion at the New Beginning in Hiroshima but details of his injury are hard to come by. There has been speculation Kitamura may have to retire due to his injuries.

Katsuya Kitamura To Bullet Club?

The 32-year-old Kitamura was a highly accomplished amateur wrestler before joining the NJPW dojo. A 3x national champion, his amateur career ended after a failed drug test in 2011. His subsequent suspension likely cost him a spot on the 2012 Japanese Olympic team. Kitamura said he took the substances by accident when they were in some over-the-counter supplements he purchased. He started training with NJPW in 2015.

Kitamura often teamed with Tomoyuki Oka, sometimes under the team name “Monster Rage.” Oka is currently on an excursion with Revolution Po under the name Great O’Kharn.

Tama Tonga On The Elite No Longer Being Bullet Club

Tama Tonga’s Firing Squad wished the Elite good luck in their future endeavors at the G1 Special In San Fransico. Members of the Elite confirmed they are no longer Bullet Club on Chris Jericho’s Rock N Rager at Sea this weekend.

Scott Hall Offers nWo’s Services if WWE Returns to Saudi Arabia

Steve Russell
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Not known as an organization that backs down from controversy — or the chance to make some extra cash — the nWo could be bound for Saudi Arabia. That is, if nWo founding member Scott Hall gets his way.

Hall, who was a part of last weekend’s 2 Sweet nWo Reunion show in Orlando, Florida, shared his thoughts on the controversy that surrounded the WWE in the lead up to, during, and wake of their Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia.

He believes that the WWE did the right thing in adhering to their agreement and forging ahead with the Crown Jewel show, despite critical worldwide attention being shone on the country and its government.

“Well, Kevin [Nash] and I just did an nWo Reunion last weekend at Hulk’s Beach Shop in Orlando with the WWE’s blessing,” said Hall. “It’s the first time Hulk’s been welcomed back into the fold, and I’m happy he’s back. There’s a lot of backlash [regarding WWE Crown Jewel] but I saw JBL on a show last weekend talking about… by boycotting stuff, that doesn’t solve anything. He used Cuba as a reference. We boycotted Cuba forever, and what did that get us? Nothing. Nothing changed there. The people, their quality of life never improved. So I agree with that.”

He concluded by expressing “staying away is not the answer,” before reflecting that “we’re not a bunch of politicians. We’re entertainers, we’re ‘rasslers’, we’re not involved in all that global…stuff. That’s the way I look at it. I’d be happy to go, Vince. If you want to bring the nWo over there the next time, let me know.”

Kurt Angle Comments On Loss At Crown Jewel

Chris Stephens
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Kurt Angle wrestled his first WWE single’s match in 12 years at Crown Jewel. It was his first single’s match for any promotion since March 2017. Angle lost a 1st round match to Dolph Ziggler in the WWE World Cup at Crown Jewel.

The WWE Hall-of-Famer posted the following after the loss:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BpuHDqfHpZO/?utm_source=ig_twitter_share&igshid=1fu5vtjw3oko7

The last time Kurt Angle wrestled a single’s match in WWE was 12 years ago. At the time, he was on the re-vamped ECW brand. Angle’s final single’s match during his initial run with the company was over Danny Doring on an ECW house show in 2006.

Kurt Angle at WWE Crown Jewel

All of Angle’s WWE matches since returning last year were either multi-person matches (such as the Greatest Royal Rumble) or tag-team matches. He teamed with Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania this year and was a fill-in member of the Shield at TLC 2017. Angle was also the victorious Team Raw in last year’s Raw vs Smackdown traditional Survivor Series match.

Dolph Ziggler would defeat Seth Rollins in the semi-finals of the tournament and advanced to the finals. Things got weird in the final match of the tournament, however, when Shane McMahon replaced the Miz. McMahon won the match and was subsequently declared the Best in the World.

Ember Moon And Matthew Palmer Married In Game Of Thrones Style Ceremony

Chris Stephens
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Ember Moon may not have won the battle royal at Evolution but she had one epic wedding recently. She married her fiance of 3-years, Matthew Palmer, in a fantasy style ceremony, similar to Harry Potter or Game of Thrones.

Jessica Havoc posted the following after attending the wedding.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BpuyUMKBBFK/?utm_source=ig_twitter_share&igshid=1ism72eg93jik

Ember Moon posted the following as well:

Ember Moon and Matthew Palmer Wedding

“A massive shout out to @SteveKayeLV and @HardRockHotelLV for creating an amazing experience for us this past week. thank you for the memories and a fun time!”

Veda Scott was the maid of honor:

The couple met while training together. Palmer noted during an interview earlier this year that it wasn’t exactly love at first sight.

“Her definitive memory of us meeting was when we actually had to do a training drill together, and I dropkicked her in the face,” said Palmer. “And then she hated me for a while. I thought she was gorgeous and awesome — and then I drop kicked her in the face. It was the drill, I had to do it.”

Palmer proposed to Moon before she started at the WWE Performance Center in 2015.

Update On Brock Lesnar’s WWE Status

Steve Russell
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For those wondering about the current contractual status of the newly crowned WWE Universal Champion, Brock Lesnar, it turns out that “The Beast” has at least two more WWE appearances slated for the future. One of which is a highly-anticipated rematch against SmackDown Live’s current WWE Champion, AJ Styles.

First reported by Dave Meltzer, Lesnar is apparently “signed for at least two more appearances.” He extrapolated his point, saying, “You always knew there’s a chance because how many times are you going to surprise people with Lesnar winning without people going, ‘Well there’s always a chance.’ So Lesnar is signed for at least two more appearances.”

When speculating on Brock’s potential opponents, Meltzer stated that “he’s going to face AJ at Survivor Series which is non-title and the plan is for Strowman, whether that’s at Rumble or Mania — I don’t know.”

“I can see Strowman winning the Rumble and facing Lesnar at Mania,” Meltzer predicated. “I could definitely see that.”

The Beast vs The Monster Among Men

Brock Lesnar recently won the WWE Universal Title for a second time (the only superstar to have done so) at WWE’s Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia. The match left a lot of fans confused, to say the least, given the pre-bell interference by Baron Corbin and subsequent squash against Braun Strowman.

A Strowman victory at the Royal Rumble would set up nicely for a rematch at Wrestlemania 35, this coming April.

But, here’s the crux of the issue: is that the match fans want to see?

What do you think? Is this a match you’d want at Wrestlemania? Is this theoretical plan the best storyline WWE have for these two? Who would you prefer they face, if not each other?

Daniel Cormier Has Words For Brock Lesnar Post-Fight At UFC 230

Steve Russell
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Not content with solidifying his position at the top of the UFC’s Heavyweight division, defending his Heavyweight title, and climbing up to 15-0 (as a Heavyweight fighter), Daniel Cormier took to the mic after his successful victory at UFC 230 to address a potential future contender — one that he has had an in-Octagon confrontation with in the past: Brock Lesnar.

“You Have To Be One Of The Best In The World To Even Compete”

“I think a lot of people have to understand that I’ve been doing this for 9 years, and I’ve fought at the championship level for 8 of them,” Cormier explained. “So, there’s no surprises with me.”

Cormier continued, “I come in here [into the Octagon] and try to do my thing. If you have a puncher’s chance, like I’ve said, that’s not enough. You have to be one of the best in the world to even compete.”

Joe Rogan took this as an opportunity to ask a question that has been a hot topic debate between pro wrestling and fight fans since UFC 226.

“Which brings me to the next challenge, which is most likely going to be Brock Lesnar,” Joe said. “What are your thoughts on that?”

Taking a deep breath, a smile on his face, D.C. responded with gusto, throwing out an invitation and a warning to the current WWE Universal Champion:

“Brock Lesnar, when you come, bring that brand new WWE [Universal] title, too — I feel like being a WWE champion, too. Let’s go! Let’s go, Brock! Bring that belt with you if you come to my house.”

From “The Black Beast” to “The Beast Incarnate,” Daniel Cormier is on track to trying to top Stipe Miocic’s reign as the most fighting Heavyweight champion in the UFC.

What do you think? If you’re a fight fan, is this a clash you want to see, or would you prefer another Daniel Cormier vs Jon Jones bout?

Anthem Responds To Jeff Jarrett’s Lawsuit Against Impact Wrestling

Chris Stephens
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Anthem Sports and Entertainment filed a motion on Thursday to have Jeff Jarrett’s lawsuit against the company dismissed. Jarrett filed the lawsuit against the company in August.

Jarrett’s suit claims Anthem “reproduced, distributed, publicly displayed, offered for sale, and sold the GFW Amped content without providing any compensation or royalties to GFE or Mr. Jarrett.” This stemming from the failed merger between Impact and Global Force Wrestling last year.

Anthem Responds To Jeff Jarett’s Lawsuit

Anthem’s response is that Jarrett himself was the one who authorized Anthem’s use of GFW content. They provided their own records of trademark filings as well as a non-disclosure agreement signed by Jarrett.

“There can be no doubt that Jarrett provided the content at the request of Defendant Anthem Wrestling and that he intended that Anthem Wrestling use and distribute the content, using Plaintiffs’ trademarks,” Anthem’s response reads. “Moreover, because Plaintiff Jarrett granted this license in exchange for his salary and the promise of the anticipated merger, it is supported by consideration and is irrevocable.”

In a nutshell, Anthem’s response is that Jarrett sold his content in exchange for a salary and job.

“As often happens, the parties’ merger plans did not work out as expected,” Anthem’s response continued. “Mr. Jarrett was terminated near the end of October 2017. The sale and marketing of the Amped Content was not successful and did not turn a profit.”

Seth Rollins Shares His Thoughts On Roman Reigns’ Illness

Steve Russell
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Speaking with alarabyia.net, the current WWE Intercontinental Champion, Seth Rollins, shared his thoughts on his Shield brethren, Roman Reigns, and his unfortunate battle with his returning leukemia.

‘The Architect’ admitted that it “threw everything up in the air” and that it’s “hard to go a day without thinking about him and how he’s doing and hoping he’s doing alright. I’m fighting the urge to check in on him like a brother every two hours, but he’s a strong dude, and I know that he’s in a good place mentally as well as physically.”

He did shine some light on Reigns’ current health, however, saying that “He’s in good health for the most part. I think he’s going to be able to fight this thing pretty strong. We’re just getting through it while we can.”

“Obviously it’s going to be easier as time goes on,” Rollins reflected, “but certainly, the last couple weeks have been, and last week especially, have been a rollercoaster of emotions. Lots of ups and downs.”

Roman Reigns was sadly rediagnosed with lekaemia. This forced him to relinquish the WWE Universal Championship on RAW a few weeks ago, where he publicly addressed his health issues to a shocked WWE Universe.

Here’s Why Shane McMahon Won The WWE World Cup

Steve Russell
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So it turned out that the ‘Best in The World’ was none other than Shane McMahon. In case you missed it, Shane inserted himself into Crown Jewel’s World Cup Tournament when his SmackDown! LIVE representative, The Miz, suffered a story-line injury during the match and was unable to continue.

Shane McMahon, being the fighting commissioner that he is, took it upon himself at that point to represent the blue brand, defeating Dolph Ziggler in order to claim the trophy for SmackDown.

Turns out, this confusing, controversial decision was a part of a bigger overall picture in order to turn Shane heel. This decision may also feed into the WWE’s November event, Survivor Series.

According to Dave Meltzer, “[…] the idea is that Shane is going heel and this was — Miz wasn’t hurt. This was all booked to be what it is: the beginning of a Shane McMahon heel turn. You know as far as why you want another hell McMahon authority figure on a show? I guess it’s a response to the declining ratings of SmackDown.”

He also shone some light on how The Miz was utilized for the the match up, explaining that, “they [the WWE] didn’t want Rey to look weak and quit, they didn’t want Randy Orton to look weak and quit…obviously they didn’t want Jeff Hardy to look weak and quit — so Miz had to be the one to look weak and quit for Shane to go in there.”

What did you make of their decision to insert Shane into this tournament? Did it make a mockery out of the entire concept? Do we need Shane as another McMahon heel figure on our screens?

ROH Survival of The Fittest 2018 (11/04) Card

Jake Skudder
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Ring of Honor will be presenting their Survival of The Fittest 2018 this Sunday from the Express Live! in Columbus, Ohio.

The card features a main event pitting the ROH Six Man Champions Cody & The Young Bucks against The Kingdom. A special Champions Challenge bout has also been added with the ROH Tag Team Champions Kazarian & Scorpio Sky taking on ROH TV Champion Jeff Cobb & ROH World Champion Jay Lethal.

Here’s the full card for Survival of The Fittest 2018:

Survival of the Fittest Qualifying Matches:

  • Luchasaurus vs. PJ Black
  • Jonathan Gresham vs. Tracy Williams
  • Christopher Daniels vs. Beer City Bruiser
  • Colin Delaney vs. Dalton Castle vs. Adam Page
  • Andrew Everett vs. Guerrero Maya Jr vs. Flip Gordon
  • Stuka Jr. vs. Silas Young vs. Marty Scurll
  • Champions Special Challenge Match – ROH Tag Team Champions Kazarian & Scorpio Sky vs. ROH TV Champion Jeff Cobb & ROH World Champion Jay Lethal
  • ROH Six Man Championship Match – Cody & The Young Bucks (c) vs. The Kingdom

You can watch the PPV live on ROH’s Honor Club service. Membership starts at $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year and $199.99 for VIP membership.

Chris Jericho ‘Refuses’ To Face Tetsuya Naito, Where Will The Match Happen?

Jake Skudder
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Chris Jericho returned to New Japan Pro Wrestling at the Power Struggle event in Osaka, Japan. The IWGP Intercontinental Champion defended successfully against EVIL after locking him in a Walls of Jericho that transitioned into a Liontamer.

When Jericho would not release the submission Tetsuya Naito appeared and forced Jericho to retreat to the back. Naito then issued a direct challenge to Y2J for the Intercontinental Championship.

Jericho appeared in a backstage interview following the win and declared that he would not face Tetsuya Naito. Chris Jericho stated that as he already beat Naito at Dominion earlier this year that there would be no rematch. Jericho even went as far to say that it definitely wouldn’t happen at “Wrestle Kingdom, Madison Square Garden or anywhere.”

Chris Jericho’s next appearance for New Japan could be some way off. With the Tag League usually dominating the December scheduling we could be waiting for January and the Wrestle Kingdom show. Whilst it is very likely that the bout will happen at Wrestle Kingdom an opportunity to bring the match to Madison Square Garden might be too good to miss. There is some uncertainty as to the star-power that ROH and New Japan will have come April 2019. There have been several rumors and reports that WWE will be looking to ‘poach’ the likes of the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega before the huge event in MSG. Having a marquee match with Y2J against Tetsuya Naito for one of NJPW’s top titles could be a big draw if the company decide to opt for an iPPV offering.

 

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