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Triple H On What Has Prevented WWE From Holding PPV Events In UK

Andrew Ravens
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6

Triple H has spoken about potentially holding a pay-per-view event in the UK again. The last time that WWE has held a live PPV event in the country was back in 1992 at the WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view. It should be noted that WWE did hold an NXT TakeOver special in 2015 in London that aired on the WWE Network.

Once WWE launched their own streaming service, WWE Network, many fans thought that it’s just a matter of time before the company holds another PPV (pay-per-view) event in the United Kingdom. However, that has not been the case.

Triple H spoke about the possibility of the UK getting another big event during a recent interview with the Express. “The Game” stated that Summerslam 1992 in Wembley Stadium was not a major success for the company in terms of its financial return. Thus, the reason why WWE hasn’t held a big event in the stadium since.

“As far as the ability to have larger Pay-Per-Views and larger events, yeah. I think you see that happening now. I just came back from Australia, 70,000 people in the stadium. I think those things become clearer and clearer as we’re experimenting with other things. The time zones are the big kicker. We have to go where the most people can watch.”

Triple H continued, “I always hear about Wembley, I always hear it was such a massive success. It was not. I will just say that from a business standpoint, it was not. That’s why we didn’t come back and that’s why we’re still trying to figure it out. So when the time is right, absolutely.”

Terry Funk Reacts to Shawn Michaels Coming Out of Retirement for WWE Crown Jewel

Staff
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4

Terry Funk knows a thing or two about retiring and then making a comeback.

The legendary wrestler had more than a few exits and subsequent returns to the ring over the course of his career.

Funk, 74, was a big part of Paul Heyman’s initial push with ECW and even appeared on the company’s first pay-per-view. Since that time, Funk has retired on several occasions only to get drawn back into the ring again and again.

“Paul Heyman is a wonderful manipulator, and I mean that in a good way,” Funk told The Ringer about his comeback from retirement. “He’s probably the greatest one around at this point in time. He was a pain in Vince [McMahon]’s side and Vince finally hired him, and I truly believe Paul Heyman is doing a great deal up there [in WWE] that no one knows about.

“They knew they were gonna have to keep increasing the salary, and I loved what I was doing. Whenever I was up there [in ECW], we were pounding out new ground.”

In November, WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels will make his first in ring appearance in eight years after he called it a career back in 2010.

Michaels has made sporadic appearances in WWE over the years but he hasn’t wrestled in a full match since announcing his retirement.

That hiatus will come to an end in November when Michaels teams up with his old friend Triple H for a tag team match against the Undertaker and Kane at the WWE’s upcoming ‘Crown Jewel’ event in Saudi Arabia.

Funk points to two key elements that likely brought Michaels back to the ring and that likely plays a huge part in any professional wrestler choosing to return after retirement.

“I’m sure he has plenty of money, but money changes constantly. You love the business, but you love it a whole bunch more if you’re getting more money,” Funk said. “I’m the same way. I think we all are.

“I don’t think I’m talking about some guy that’s just money-hungry. It’s his love for the business and the money.”

As far as Michaels somehow tarnishing his legacy by making a return for this match, Funk downplays that possibility because it’s a different animal coming back for pro wrestling versus any sport where athletes just can’t seem to stay away after retirement.

Ultimately, Funk says Michaels is making his own choices and no one can begrudge him for that decision.

“Truthfully, it’s really not a risk at all,” Funk said about Michaels coming back. “Of course, that depends on what level you come back at. Are you going to come back at a high position of a main-eventer? If Shawn Michaels came to the ring and was in the opening match and lost, I don’t think he’d have much longevity. It’s [dependent on] the manipulation of his character after he is there.

“Shawn will definitely do business. Shawn is controlling his destiny and can control it at any time.”

Matt Hardy Discusses Possibly Becoming WWE Producer, Retirement

Andrew Ravens
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0

Matt Hardy recently appeared as a guest on WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross’ weekly Ross Report podcast to talk about various topics. Just last month, it was reported that Hardy would be taking an extended break to deal with nagging injuries and he has been “shadowing” WWE producers behind the scenes and is transitioning to a backstage role with the company.

Hardy talked about potentially becoming a full-time producer or road agent for the company as he stated that it interests him and something that has been talked about. He brought up doing it in the past and possibility part of his future.

He stated that he’s confident once he returns to WWE TV that he’ll have a role on-screen but will also in a behind the scenes role. “I don’t know if that day could be in 4 weeks from now, or 4 years, or 10 years from now. But I’m sure I’ll do that at some juncture.”

Hardy also talked about potentially making the decision to retire from pro wrestling, which is something that people have asked him. He stated, “I’m at crossroads where I’m not 100% sure about what my in-ring future is, but as far as my television role on WWE that will 100% be something in the future.”

Hardy continued by stating that he’s not sure in what capacity exactly but doesn’t think retirement is something he’ll never do because of his passion and love for pro wrestling. He added that he wants to be involved in some way. “Retirement is not something that will be in my future.”

https://youtu.be/DNMWRs0KV4I

Injured WWE Star Making Progress Towards Return, WWE Files For New John Cena Trademark

Andrew Ravens
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1

Injured WWE Star Making Progress Towards Return

Fandango continues to make progress towards a return to in-ring action after suffering a shoulder injury back in July that originally expected for him to be out of action for around 6 months.

The timeframe for his return was at the end of the year. In two recent posts on his official Twitter account, he noted that he was able to return to the gym this week.

WWE Files For New John Cena Trademark

WWE recently filed to trademark the “Lightning Fist” name. For those who may not recall, this is the name of John Cena’s new Sixth Move of Doom, which he showcased for the first time on WWE programming when he teamed up with Bobby Lashley to defeat Kevin Owens and Elias at the Super Show-Down pay-per-view event earlier this month.

Cena will be featured in the World Cup tournament match at the upcoming Crown Jewel event next month. It was noted in the announcement by the WWE that Cena would not have to qualify to be part in this tournament. Instead, he will be featured in the bracket of matches that takes place at this event. He is not advertised for any other events at this time.

Another Former WWE Superstar Confirmed For SmackDown 1000 (Spoiler)

Andrew Ravens
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2

Another former WWE superstar has been confirmed to make an appearance on WWE SmackDown 1000. Pwinsider.com reports that James Ellsworth is set to make an appearance. As of this writing, there’s no word yet on his role.

Ellsworth just worked Sunday’s Bound for Glory pay-per-view event at the Melrose Ballroom in New York City, New York when he accepted Eli Drake’s open challenge for a match but lost.

After legitimately signing with the WWE last year, he was inserted into the main program for the WWE Title between AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose. After this program was over, WWE paired him with Carmella until he departed from the company in late 2017. He was brought back this past summer to be paired with Carmella starting at the Money in the Bank PPV but was later released on the July 24th episode of SmackDown Live.

WWE holds SmackDown 1000 in Washington, DC at the Capital One Arena. WWE has already announced that Rey Mysterio is slated to work his first match on SmackDown in years when he battles Shinsuke Nakamura in a world cup qualifying match. In addition to an appearance by The Undertaker, WWE has confirmed that Batista and Ric Flair are returning for a reunion of the popular Evolution faction from the early 2000’s.

Rush’s MLW Debut Match Announced

Chris Stephens
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0

The leader of Los InGobernables will make his Major League Wrestling debut next month. The match will take place on November 8th in Chicago’s Cicero Stadium. Rush will take on Sammy Guevara at MLW: Fightland.

https://twitter.com/MLW/status/1051859938052632578

Rush To Make MLW Debut

“Arena Mexico’s greatest sensation Rush will finally arrive in what should be a fantastic fight as he takes on the talented Guevara, who himself is an accomplished luchador having won championship gold in Mexico and beyond,” an MLW press release reads.
Rush’s Los InGobernables won the Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s award for the best gimmick in 2017.
“A known brawler, the charismatic Rush will look to showcase his talents against the Houston high flyer Guevara.  If Guevara can shutdown Rush in his debut, the impact will be felt all the way to Mexico City.  No stranger to high-pressure matches, Rush has promised to show Chicago what the founder of Los Ingobernables is all about at Cicero Stadium.”
It’s been a huge year for MLW. The recently re-launched promotion already has a television deal with BeIn Sports for Friday nights. They also post full episodes to their YouTube channel every Saturday.
“Both men represent MLW’s reloaded roster as the league looks to 2019 and beyond with some key fresh match-ups.  This is the first of many exciting encounters you can expect from both in MLW.”

Impact Wrestling ‘Home Coming’ PPV Announced For January 6, 2019

Chris Stephens
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2

Impact Wrestling is ‘coming home’ for its next pay-per-view event.

Impact Wrestling: Home Coming will take place on January 6th, 2019. The show will emanate from the former ‘TNA Asylum’ at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds in Nashville, TN.

The TNA Asylum is the venue the promotion held many of their big events from their early years. The promotion’s first venue was the Martin Van Buren Arena in Huntsville, Alabama. In the summer of 2002, Impact moved most of their events to the Asylum, however.

Most of these shows are available on the Global Wrestling Network, which also features promotions such as World Series Wrestling, Destiny, Smash, and now Championship Wrestling From Hollywood as well.

The TNA Asylum is the nickname given to the Tennessee State Fairgrounds in Nashville. The company was founded in the city by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett. TNA was originally part of the National Wrestling Alliance now owned by Billy Corgan. Their first recognized World Champion was Ken Shamrock, who won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at TNA’s first-ever weekly PPV.

The genesis of the promotion was evidently a fishing trip taken by WCW’s Bob Ryder, Jeff Jarrett and his father Jerry. WCW and ECW had just closed and at the time there was only one wrestling promotion on television.

John Oliver Criticizes WWE Crown Jewel On “Last Week Tonight”

Chris Stephens
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13

John Oliver made some critical comments regarding WWE’s involvement with the Saudi Royal Family last night. Oliver hosts “Last Week Tonight” on HBO.

Before launching into his commentary regarding Crown Jewel, however, Oliver opted to make a joke about wrestling being “homoerotic”.

“It seems the WWE is as overtly pro-Saudi Arabia as it is lately homoerotic, which is to say, intensely.”

He was then critical of WWE for continuing with the Crown Jewel event.

“As for the WWE, while they say they are monitoring the situation, their gigantic Crown Jewel event is still scheduled for November, meaning John Cena could well be back there [praising Saudi Arabia again], which I guess in this context means you don’t see these human rights abuses right here,” Oliver then did the Cena “You Can’t See Me” gesture.

Watch John Oliver’s comments about WWE’s Saudi Arabia propaganda: 

Will Crown Jewel Be Cancelled?

It is assumed the company will make a great deal of money from the event. The exact details of their contract with the Saudi Royals are not known, however. While some are pointing to changes made to the WWE schedule on WWE.com, there is nothing firm which states WWE is planning to cancel or move the event.

As of this writing, WWE plans on having two World Cup Qualifying matches take place on tonight’s Raw.

Early Betting Odds For Top WWE Crown Jewel Matches

Andrew Ravens
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1

The early betting odds for some of the matches that take place at the upcoming the WWE Crown Jewel PPV have been released.

According to Bet Wrestling, AJ Styles is a -295 favorite to retain the WWE Title over Daniel Bryan, who is placed at +200. Also, Triple H and Shawn Michaels are favored by -200 to beat Kane and The Undertaker, who is placed at +140

The company has yet to reveal which match will serve as the main event but it will most likely be D-Generation X vs. The Brothers of Destruction in a tag team match. WWE will be officially announcing more matches for this show in the coming weeks.

WWE presents the Crown Jewel pay-per-view event on November 2nd, 2018 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the King Saud University Stadium and will air on the WWE Network.

The Odds

  • WWE Champion AJ Styles is the favorite (-295) to retain against Daniel Bryan (+200)
  • Universal Champion Roman Reigns is favored (-455) to retain against Braun Strowman (+375) and Brock Lesnar (+600) in the Triple Threat Match.
  • D-Generation X are favored (-200) to beat The Brothers of Destruction (+140)

WWE World Cup Tournament

  • John Cena +200
  • Kurt Angle +500
  • Randy Orton +600
  • Rey Mysterio +700
  • Bobby Lashley +900
  • Jeff Hardy+1000
  • Andrade “Cien” Almas +1200
  • Finn Balor +1200
  • Drew McIntyre +1500
  • Rusev +1500
  • Shinsuke Nakamura +2000
  • The Miz +2000
  • Dean Ambrose +2500
  • Seth Rollins +2500
  • Dolph Ziggler +3300
  • Jinder Mahal +3300
  • Bray Wyatt +4000
  • Shelton Benjamin +4000

Spoilers: ROH TV Tapings In Las Vegas (10/14/18)

Andrew Ravens
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0

ROH held TV tapings on Sunday night (October 14th) in Philadelphia, PA at the 2300 Arena. Here are the spoilers from the tapings:

ROH TV Tapings Spoilers

Dark Match: Jenny Rose & Sumie Sakai & Madison Rayne defeated Karen Q. & Brutt Baker & Kelly Klein when Rose pins Klein.

First Episode

NWA Champion Cody defeated Kenny King by DQ.

ROH TV Champion Jeff Cobb pinned Shane Taylor.

The Bouncers defeated Cheeseburger & Ison.

Second Episode

SCU cut a promo but was attacked by The Briscoes.

Dalton Castle returned as the mystery partner for Jay Lethal & Jonathan Gresham where they defeated The Kingdom.

Third Episode

Bully Ray and Flip Gordon picked Dream Partners. Gordon picked the Sandman, making his ROH debut while Bully picked Silas. The winner gets to pick the punishment for the loser. Silas pinned Flip. Bully picked loser gets fired.

Adam Page pinned Rhett Titus.

Dalton Castle cut a promo in the ring until The Kingdom laid out Dalton and the Boys.

Fourth Episode

Marty Scurll defeated Hurricane in a No DQ Match.

SCU defeated The Briscoes and The Young Bucks to win the ROH Tag Team Titles.

What are your thoughts on these results? Do you plan on watching the shows once available? 

Tama Tonga Wishes ‘The Elite’ Good Luck In The WWE

Steve Russell
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6

The bad blood between The Firing Squad/Bullet Club OGs and The Elite doesn’t show any signs of slowing down, with both sides taking to social media for months in order to have their say.

The most recent addition to their incendiary feud has been cast by the “Bad Boy” Tama Tonga.

Short and sweet, unlike many of his previous barbs, Tama Tonga tweeted that “The Elite doesn’t exist without #BulletClub,” before punctuating his thought with a loaded sentiment, saying, “Good luck in WWE.”

The most notable thing about this is the direct reference to The Elite potentially going to the WWE. This has been heavily rumored despite their current success worldwide.

Further speculation could be made after members of The Elite released new shirts, highlighting that they will be the last “Bullet Club” style shirts they will offer.

Firing Squad vs The World

Since making their intentions clear at the end of NJPW’s G1 Special this past July in San Francisco, the Firing Squad have been on a tear throughout NJPW.

They recently claimed the IWGP Tag Team Championships, with the Guerrillas of Destiny besting their Bullet Club stablemates, and Elite representatives, The Young Bucks, at NJPW’s recent Fighting Spirit Unleashed event on September 30th.

Firing Squad have also recently added “Switchblade” Jay White to their ranks, bolstering their stable in the reignited civil war against Bullet Club.

What do you think? Will this new civil war lead to a satisfying payoff? Do you think we will see The Elite in the WWE?

Will Ospreay Provides Injury Update

Steve Russell
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0

During last night’s Revolution Pro Wrestling/New Japan Pro Wrestling joint show, Global Wars, Will Ospreay suffered an unfortunate injury during his match against Chris Ridgeway.

Fans in attendance initially reported that Ospreay appeared to have landed on his neck after a missed Pele kick. This led to a hastily improvised finish soon after, with Ridgeway picking up the victory over the Aerial Assassin. Since then, speculation has indicated it could be a potential intercostal/rib injury.

It was noted that Ospreay was immediately assisted to the back by the referee. Paramedics then rushed to evaluate him before taking him to hospital.

Since then, Will Ospreay has taken to Twitter in order to update his fans about his condition.

Thankfully, he claims to be “ok,” before adding that he needs some “time to myself and to rest for once. Much love to everyone backstage that looked after me.”

https://twitter.com/WillOspreay/status/1051742913842044928

NEVER Openweight Contender

Ospreay’s recent win at King Of Pro Wrestling, picking up a pinfall over NEVER Openweight champion, Taichi, has propelled him into contender consideration for that belt. A title Ospreay is eager to take.

A lot has been said about his fast-paced, impactful, high flying style, but it’s good to hear that Ospreay is alright, considering what the injury could have entailed. Hopefully, he takes the time needed to rest and heal up, coming back at 100% in order to stake his claim to Taichi’s title.

NJPW Auditioning ‘The Genius’ Lanny Poffo For Commentator Role

Steve Russell
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0

There have been numerous rumors for weeks now regarding the status of commentator Don Callis for New Japan Pro Wrestling, with Meltzer having previously said that “[Callis] is likely done as an announcer with NJPW.”

Apparently, Callis wasn’t called for the King Of Pro Wrestling show which went down on October 8th. Additionally, he hasn’t been contacted about working any future dates for the company. Despite not being contacted, he hasn’t been told that “he’s no longer being used.”

Things have taken an interesting turn with this situation as it appears that NJPW is openly auditioning new commentators that could fill Callis’ spot.

A name that’s come to the forefront: ‘The Genius’ Lanny Poffy.

“It’s Just An Audition”

Whilst speaking on his podcast, ‘The Genius Cast,’ Lanny Poffo was initially reticent in divulging any details or adding to the speculation before opening up, admitting:

“[…] Michael Craven from New Japan, I met him September 1st at All In. He asked me if I would be interested in holding the microphone as a color commentator [for New Japan] and I responded, ‘Wow, that would be great!’

Poffo went on to say, “I love New Japan. I’ve never been to Japan. Can you imagine that? Of all the countries I’ve been, I’ve never been to Japan. That is on my bucket list!”

When questioned further about the role itself, he admitted that “it’s just an audition,” before highlighting that he would be “flying out October 23rd and […] coming back November 4th.”

It’s worth noting that Meltzer’s initial statement also mentioned that, “The idea right now is to have a rotation of color commentators through the end of the year. The feeling is that if he’s [Callis] brought back, it may just be for select big shows that fit his schedule.”

A Genius Poem

Clearly in high spirits, Lanny Poffo channeled The Genius once more, creating the following poem about his next adventure:

“The Genius comes to New Japan
So let your hearts rejoice
And bathe in the luxury
Of my poetic voice

My grooming is impeccable
My outfit is brand-new
Ichi, ni, san, shi, go,
Roku, shichi, hachi, kyuu, juu!”

Poffo stated that “they [NJPW] bought me a ticket to Tokyo from Tampa and I’m going to get on that plane and do my very best to be an asset and not a liability. New Japan is a very exciting group of people and I feel very lucky to be invited. In the meantime, I’m retired, but I like to keep flexible and open for exciting opportunities like this!”

https://audioboom.com/posts/7045531-sean-oliver-of-kayfabe-commentaries-plus-lanny-to-commentate-for-new-japan

What do you think? Are you going to miss Callis’ calls with Kevin Kelly or do you believe The Genius can bring something new to the NJPW announce table?

Bray Wyatt Returns To Twitter, Teases New Faction?

Anutosh Bajpai
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7

Bray Wyatt had been quiet on social media for almost a month but he is back on Twitter, and the former Wyatt Family member is already teasing a new faction.

Wyatt recently made a number of tweets from his Official account and in the tweets as seen below, the former WWE Champion talked about a ‘subject’ he has been working with:

https://twitter.com/WWEBrayWyatt/status/1051603056440283137

https://twitter.com/WWEBrayWyatt/status/1051605273725595648

https://twitter.com/WWEBrayWyatt/status/1051606074539814912

https://twitter.com/WWEBrayWyatt/status/1051606614912962561

Bray Wyatt has been away from WWE programming ever since Matt Hardy took time off due to his injuries and the two dropped the Raw Tag Team Championships to the Bar, essentially breaking up their tag team.

He also went silent on Twitter about a month ago and what’s interesting to note here is that his last tweet was also related to factions as Wyatt had responded to a list of top ten factions of all time.

A lot of people believe that the former World Champion has lost a lot of momentum after the original Wyatt Family parted ways and its members went their own way.

So now these latest tweets are making people wonder if this could be the start of a new storyline for the former Wyatt Family leader and if WWE could be attempting to resurrect him with a new faction.

What do you think these tweets mean for Bray Wyatt’s future? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.

Austin Aries No-Sells Bound For Glory Finish, Flips Off Audience

Anutosh Bajpai
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3

The whole World title feud between Austin Aries and Johnny Impact has been constructed in a work/shoot environment, and the Bound For Glory event has only taken it further.

As we noted before, Johnny defeated the former 205 Live Star and won the Impact World title in the Bound For Glory main event using his Starship Pain finishing maneuver.

However, while Austin took a clean loss and got pinned after being hit with Starship Pain, he didn’t stay down for very long after the match.

Austin Aries No Sells Finishing Maneuver

The now-former World Champion got up seconds after the bout ended. He left the arena while jawing the Executive Vice President Don Callis and flipping fingers towards the crowd:

https://twitter.com/BulletClubItal/status/1051670432028479488

https://twitter.com/totaldivaseps/status/1051668654306316294

It’s worth mentioning here that this is not the first event which has made people wonder if this feud has gone personal. Aries previously made some offensive tweets about Johnny’s wife Taya Valkyrie and then deleted them.

Now, The latest events on the Impact PPV have only added to this confusion, leaving us questioning if Austin was really unhappy with the finish and decided to walk out on the company due to it.

Though it’s entirely possible that Impact Officials are playing it smart and working around the public image of Austin, who is considered hard to work with, to get people talking about their version of WrestleMania.

Do you think Austin Aries was legitimately unhappy with how things went down or the whole thing is a work? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.

Tammy Sytch Announces Plans For Comeback/Farewell Tour

Daniel Pena
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8

Tammy Sytch, who you also know as Sunny, is a free woman after spending most of 2018 behind bars.

The WWE Hall of Famer was released on parole last Tuesday from the Carbon County Correctional Facility in Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania, where she had been held since March. Now that she’s out of jail, Sytch is setting up her future plans and that includes leaving wrestling behind.

Sytch took to Facebook on Sunday to announce a tour that will serve as both her comeback and farewell from the world of wrestling. The former WWE star is accepting bookings for “personal appearances, autograph signings, wrestling shows, and party appearances” until sometime next year. She then plans to return to school and go back to being “a normal member of society with a private personal life.”

In recent years, Sytch has turned to work as a webcam model. Prior to her last arrest, she regularly promoted Skype sessions on Twitter by posting photos of herself in revealing clothing. Sytch said she will no longer hold Skype sessions, so she asks that people not email her about it.

She wrote, “I’m pleased to announce that I am taking bookings for my “Comeback/Farewell Tour 2018-19″…I am taking bookings for personal appearances, autograph signings, wrestling shows, and party appearances for what will be my FINAL 9-12 months of appearances before I call it a wrap!

“I am returning to school and leading life after next year as a ‘normal’ member of society with a private personal life. 28 years in this crazy business has been far long enough! Please direct any booking inquiries to [email protected]. Please do not email for Skypes as I will no longer be doing them.

“I appreciate ALL of your support over the past 28 years, and cherish every moment. Let’s Make America Sunny Again for this coming year!!

“Also don’t forget to follow my new FAN page..business inquiries can also be sent there… Sunny-WWE Hall of Famer.”

You can find Sytch’s Facebook fan/business page at facebook.com/TheOriginalDivaSunny.

Bound For Glory 2018 Results

Chris Stephens
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0

Impact Wrestling’s Bound For Glory took place October 14th, 2018 from the Melrose Ballroom in New York City.

Rich Swann & Willie Mack defeated Matt Sydal & Ethan Page

Swann announced Mack as his partner this week on Impact after Page and Sydal challenged him to find someone to face them at the PPV. Swann pinned Sydal with a Phoenix Splash after a fast-paced opener. Mack cut a promo after, encouraging fans to make noise and running a sponsorship promo giving two fans front row seats.

  • Konnan was shown beat up in the back. He said King attacked him.

Eli Drake defeated James Ellsworth

James Ellsworth answered Drake’s Open Challenge. He was not well received and booed heavily. Fans cheered for Drake, who defeated him quickly with Gravy Train.

Drake cut a promo after saying he wanted stiffer competition, which brought out Abyss. The recently inducted Hall of Famer gave Drake the Blackhole Slam and a chokeslam through a table. 

Knockouts Championship
Tessa Blanchard © defeated Taya Valkyrie

Valkyrie looked to have Blanchard beat after giving her the Road to Valhalla but the referee was momentarily out of position, allowing Taya to kick out. Blanchard hit her Buzzsaw DDT but Taya kicked out. She then hit a codebreaker from the top rope and got the pin.

Eddie Edwards and Tommy Dreamer defeated Moose and Killer Kross

This match was originally scheduled to be Moose vs Edwards but after Kross interfered and Dreamer made the save, it was turned into a tag match. Edwards won with a roll-up on Moose. After the match, Kross and Moose kept up the attack, delivering a powerbomb onto the ring apron to Edwards. 

Sami Callihan & OVE defeated Brian Cage and the Lucha Brothers (Pentagon Jr and Fenix)

Sami Callihan became the first person in Impact to pin Brian Cage here. Fenix had been thrown from the top onto the stage ramp and Callihan gave Pentagon a piledriver on the apron, leaving Cage alone with OVE. After the trio gave Cage a series of superkicks, Callihan delivered his Cactus Driver and got the pin. This will likely lead to Callihan vs Cage for the X-Division title sometime in the future, likely in the coming days of television tapings.

Concrete Jungle Deathmatch
Konnan & LAX defeated King and the OGZ

This match consisted of no mat on the ring, exposed boards, and exposed turnbuckles. Konnan was not there to start the match. Lots of weapons, brawling, and a few table spots. Then they actually started taking big bumps on the exposed boards as well. After everyone was down after a big superplex spot, Konnan came out and brawled with King. LAX then hit Street Sweeper for the win.

Allie Rescues Kiera Hogan From the Undead Realm (W/ Rosemary’s Help)

James Mitchell arranged for Allie’s safe passage into the undead realm and we got a rather intense Final Deletion style mini-movie here. Allie started her trip into the undead realm by killing several undead bridesmaids with an ax. She then found Hogan in a coffin but Su Yung was not far behind.  Yung and Allie then had an ax fight but Allie eventually rescued Hogan from the coffin and got away. James Mitchell then revealed he would not grant them passage out of the undead realm. Rosemary then showed up to fend off Su Yung with some sorcery and black magic feasible only in the undead realm. So both Rosemary and Su Yung are still in the undead realm but Allie and Kiera Hogan are out.

The company then announced their next PPV in Nashville:

Impact World Championship
Johnny Impact defeated Austin Aries (c)

In the days leading up to this match, they started to blur the lines between reality and fiction through social media. They kept the theme up in this match by starting with a realistic MMA approach and stiff looking shots. The stiffness kept up throughout most of the match. Taya was at ringside for Johnny and Kross and Moose were there for Aries. In the closing moments, Aries was sent to the ropes and ended up doing a suicide dive into Taya. Johnny then capitalized on that by hitting Aries with his own brainbuster, followed by Starship Pain for the win.

The show closed with Johnny and Taya celebrating.

Johnny Impact Wins World Championship At Bound For Glory

Chris Stephens
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1

John Hennigan, aka Johnny Impact, has won the Impact World Championship. He defeated Austin Aries tonight at Bound For Glory to win the gold.

The win comes at an opportune time for both Johnny and Impact. Currently, John Hennigan is a contestant on the hit reality TV program, Survivor.

Johnny Impact (John Hennigan) – Impact World Champion

The title is his first in Impact. He’s previously been Lucha Underground Champion as well, having won the title in Season 3. In WWE, he’s a 3x former Intercontinental Champion, a 4x Tag Team Champion, a WWECW World Champion, and a 2-time Slammy Award winner. PWI ranked him #24 in their Top-500 rankings last year. He won the AAA Mega Championship in Mexico as well.

The loss for Austin Aries concludes his 3rd run as Impact World Champion. He had lost and regained the title to Pentagon Junior earlier in the year. He originally won the title from Eli Drake shortly after the new management team took over in January.

Impact will hold two nights of tapings in the Melrose Ballroom over the next two nights. They will then travel to Las Vegas for 3 nights of tapings in November. Tonight, they announced their next PPV will take place on January 9th, 2019 in Nashville, TN.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo9SrNKgQcS

Spoilers: WWE NXT UK TV Tapings Results (10/14)

Andrew Ravens
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The journey of bringing the WWE NXT UK brand to the WWE Network has continued as the company held TV tapings on Sunday in Plymouth, UK at the Plymouth Pavilions.

As of this writing, there’s no word yet on when these shows will air but WWE has already announced that the show would begin airing on their streaming service, WWE Network, starting this Wednesday.

October 14th Taping

– Triple H and NXT UK general manager Johnny Saint come out to the ring to announce that there will be NXT UK Tag Team Titles.

– “Gallus” Mark Coffey and Wolfgang beat Ashton Smith and Ligero. Coffey pinned Smith.

– Joseph Conners pinned Jack Starz.

– Jinny pinned Xia Brookside.

– James Drake and Zack Gibson cut an in-ring promo about wanting the NXT UK Tag Team Titles.

– Dave Mastiff pinned Eddie Dennis. Great match.

– Jordan Devlin pinned “Wild Boar” Mike Hitchman. Devlin cut a promo after the match.

– Fabian Aichner pinned Eddie Ryan.

– “Moustache Mountain” Trent Seven and Tyler Bate over Tyson T-Bone and Saxon Huxley.

– NXT UK Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley pinned Isla Dawn to retain the title.

– Toni Storm pinned Charlie Morgan.

– James Drake and Zack Gibson beat Flash Morgan Webster and Mark Andrews.

– Nina Samuels pinned Killer Kelly.

– Joe Coffey pinned Travis Banks. Gallus came out afterward but Moustache Mountain made the save and challenged Gallus to a six-man tag match.

– Tyler Bate, Trent Seven, and Travis Banks beat “Gallus” Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey, and Wolfgang. Pete Dunne came out after a ref bump. Shawn Michaels came out wearing a referee shirt to count the pin. HBK, British Strong Style, and Banks posed together afterward.

Impact Wrestling Announces Rules For “Concrete Jungle Deathmatch”

Chris Stephens
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1

Tonight’s Concrete Jungle Deathmatch at Bound For Glory will be contested between Konnan and LAX against King and the OGZ. Impact Wrestling recently unveiled the unique set of rules for the match.

The ring mat will be gone, exposing just the boards underneath. Also gone will be the turnbuckle coverings. Josh Mathews goes into greater detail regarding the stipulations in the video below.

Concrete Jungle Deathmatch

The unique gimmick match comes by way of an order from a crime boss. King would later admit he put a hit out on Konnan and that he feels Konnan leaches off of the talent he represents.

Konnan recently returned to the ring for Major League Wrestling in their Battle Riot event. This will be the first non-battle royal match for Konnan in over 5 years, however.

Bound For Glory Lineup

  1. Impact World Championship
    Austin Aries (c) vs Johnny Impact
  2. Knockouts Championship
    Tessa Blanchard (c) vs Taya Valkyrie
  3. Eddie Edwards vs Moose
  4. Sami Callihan & oVe vs Brian Cage & the Lucha Brothers
  5. Concrete Jungle Deathmatch
    LAX & Konnan vs OGZ & King
  6. Rich Swann & Willie Mack vs Ethan Page and Matt Sydal
  7. Eli Drake Open Challenge
  8. Allie Travels To the Underworld

The event takes place at 8 PM inside the Melrose Ballroom in NYC.

WWE Announces World Cup Qualifying Matches For Raw

Chris Stephens
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WWE has confirmed that two World Cup Qualifying matches will take place on Raw Monday night. The World Cup is currently scheduled for Crown Jewel on November 2nd in Saudi Arabia.

Seth Rollins will face Drew McIntyre and Dean Ambrose will take on Dolph Ziggler on Monday in the two qualification matches. So far, John Cena, Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy, and Randy Orton have qualified for the tournament. Rey Mysterio will face Shinsuke Nakamura at Smackdown 1000 in another qualifying match.

Tomorrow night’s edition of Raw will take place from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

WWE World Cup At Crown Jewel

Kurt Angle earned his qualification into the tournament in unique fashion. Angle won a battle royal last week organized by Constable Corbin while dressed as the Conquistador. He’d previously be on vacation at the advice of Stephanie McMahon.

Randy Orton qualified for the tournament by defeating Big Show Tuesday on Smackdown. Jeff Hardy qualified for the tournament by defeating Samoa Joe via referee stoppage Tuesday night as well. John Cena was just announced as being in the tournament rather than having to qualify.

As of this writing, the Crown Jewel event is still scheduled to go ahead as planned on November 2nd in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 4 Superstars from Raw and 4 from Smackdown will take place in the 8-person one-night tournament.

New NXT UK Tag Team Championships Unveiled

Chris Stephens
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The NXT UK brand spent this weekend filming episodes for their new weekly show on the WWE Network. The brand debuts their first weekly show this Wednesday at 3 PM EST. During the tapings, Triple H and NXT UK General Manager Johnny Saint unveiled the new NXT UK Tag Team Championships.

NXT United Kingdom

Triple H recently spoke to the media in the UK about his goals for the brand.

“My goal long-term would be to make a career choice for people who want to have a career option, for people where they didn’t have to necessarily ever make it to RAW or Smackdown, if you want to look at it from that sense, and be able to have a very viable and lucrative career.”

He also spoke regarding an NXT territory system potentially resembling the old system before wrestling promotions went national.

“Whether you could be a part of the NXT system globally and over the course of a 10-year career, 15-year career go through multiple territories and get the wide range of experience and have a very meaningful career.”

Chris Jericho Teases Appearing At Bound For Glory Tonight

Chris Stephens
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There is growing speculation Chris Jericho could make an appearance at tonight’s Bound For Glory event in New York City. Jericho was asked on Twitter if he might be at the event and he didn’t deny it was possible.

He then responded to another fan who feels this would be a terrific birthday gift for Jericho’s longtime friend and Impact Vice President, Don Callis.

Chris Jericho Bound For Glory?

Jericho’s band Fozzy isn’t on tour at the moment. A Fozzy tour didn’t stop him from appearing at All In last month, however.

Rumors regarding Jericho’s involvement with Impact Wrestling began shortly after Don Callis was named to the promotion’s management team. Callis told me this spring he was interested in bringing both Jericho and Kenny Omega into the promotion.

One possible way for Jericho to appear on tonight’s PPV is if he was to answer Eli Drake’s Open Challenge. On the most recent episode of Impact Wrestling, Drake said he was bringing his Open Challenge to New York. He added the stipulation, however, that the person who answers his Open Challenge at Bound For Glory has to be from New York. Chris Jericho was born in New York in 1970.

Bound For Glory takes place tonight at 8 PM from the Melrose Ballroom in New York City. It will be available for purchase via the FITE app. The Chris Jericho Rock N Rager at Sea sets sail on October 27th as well.

Mark Haskins of PROGRESS/IPW:UK Talks NXT UK, WoS & More (Exclusive)

Jake Skudder
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We recently spoke to former PROGRESS World Champion Mark Haskins. The UK star has been a huge part of the revival in the region and recently appeared at PROGRESS ‘Hello Wembley’ against Matt Riddle. Here’s the full interview:

Matt Riddle’s Final Indie Opponent

SEScoops: You recently joined PROGRESS at their biggest ever show in Wembley Arena. You started for PROGRESS way back at the Garage and now you’ve faced Matt Riddle in front of nearly 5,000 fans…did you ever expect that U.K. wrestling would reach these heights again?

Mark Haskins: No. When I broke in the scene was in a completely different place to where it is now and I never expected it to gain the momentum it has in recent years. It’s a testament to a lot of passionate people’s hard work coming together and I hope the scene continues to blossom.

SEScoops: You main evented the first of PROGRESS’ ‘September Supershows’ against Tommy End/Aleister Black and Marty Scurll winning the World Title and had to vacate shortly after. Is the World Title in PROGRESS a belt that you are gunning for in the near future?

Mark Haskins: Yeah, I want my belt back.

Moving Further Afield

SEScoops: You appeared for ROH earlier this year, are there any companies further afield in the States or Japan like NJPW, NOAH or MLW that you’d like to appear for? Maybe a return to IMPACT or Dragon Gate?

Mark Haskins: Who knows what the future holds? I’d love to go back to Japan at some point as I’m a very different performer now to what I was back then. I think that would be a lot of fun.

Vicky Haskins

SEScoops: Your partner Vicky Haskins is an extremely important part of your character’s presentation now. When did the idea come about to have Vicky accompany you to the ring?

Mark Haskins: About 2-3 years ago. I’d been pushing for her to come in to Progress 18 months before it actually happened. I think a lot of people don’t realise she’s been a manager for years, she knows what she’s doing and she got signed to FCW before it became NXT back in 2010. I think it was something that people would only understand once they’d seen it happen, and when it did people realised there was something there.

Dream Indie Opponent

SEScoops: Who would be your current dream opponent on the independent scene?

Mark Haskins: Penta El 0M. Rey Fenix would be another. There’s a lot of talents I want to tear it up with. WALTER also being one of them.

SEScoops: We’ve just had the 10 episode run of WoS and the NXT U.K. division starting next week. The two big names that weren’t part of either show were arguably yourself and Jimmy Havoc. Was it a conscious decision to not take part in either and remain completely independent?

Mark Haskins: Not really, I think both company’s have an idea of what they’re looking for and that’s not us. We live in an age though where you can become a star without having to sign to a major organisation and that’s creatively refreshing. I feel like in a lot of cases Wrestling has become very repetitive and it could open up a new era of fans by doing something genuinely different to the norm. It just needs some one to push boundaries and try something new and everyone would realise they don’t need to get signed to a company to be a success.

You can follow Mark on Twitter @ThisIsHaskins. We’d like to take this time to thank Mark again for his time.

Charlotte Flair Talks WWE Crown Jewel and Liv Morgan Injury

Jake Skudder
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4

Charlotte Flair recently spoke to the New York Post. The interview covered a variety of topics including WWE’s Crown Jewel and Evolution events.

When asked about the Crown Jewel event Charlotte stated that “We have Evolution to think about, so I’m not really even thinking about the boys traveling overseas because I’m like, ‘I got the first-ever women’s pay-per-view match coming up.‘” It has been well documented that the female talent are not permitted to perform in Saudi Arabia.

Charlotte was also asked about the concussion injury sustained by Liv Morgan on WWE RAW. This occurred following an accidental run of ‘Yes’ kicks from Brie Bella. Flair reportedly stated that “she hadn’t heard the criticism of Brie Bella. Charlotte also added that she “is glad Morgan is OK and said “accidents happen.‘”

Charlotte also discussed the difficultly of playing a ‘babyface’ role in her feud against Becky Lynch. Flair said “because I think the go-to for me [as a heel] is easy that I always just go, ‘People just assume it’s because of my dad and that’s very easy to play off of.” Flair embellished on this by saying “to me that’s the easy way out, but since I’ve come to SmackDown and being in this new role, it’s having to show so many different layers and working from underneath as the bigger guy has been a great opportunity for me to work on things.”

You can read the full interview with the Post here

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