Renee Young was originally hired as a backstage interviewer for NXT, but she has climbed the ranks pretty fast and has now became a permanent part of Raw’s commentary team.
During a recent interview with the Mirror, the Raw Star talked about a lot of things, including how the commentary has changed over the years and more.
Talking about Dean Ambrose’s matches and segments on Raw, Young said that people know they are married and she has a little bit more info than the other commentators, but they try not to beat them over the head.
When asked if she would like to follow the footsteps of Paige and become the General Manager of Raw someday, Renee Young said that she would love to do that:
“Would I like to do that? Oh my God, actually, I would love to do that. The way that I’m watching Paige navigate being the general manager of SmackDown, it looks like it’s so much fun. Who gets to yell at Samoa Joe and kind of put a little bit of fear in his eyes? Not a lot of people get to do that. If that was an opportunity that came down my way, I would definitely wear that hat, that would be really, really fun.”
Would you like to see Renee Young becoming the Raw General Manager somewhere down the line? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
New Japan Pro Wrestling has released the full card for their upcoming event, King Of Pro Wrestling. The event takes place on October 8th in Ryogoku Sumo Hall.
• IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match: Kenny Omega vs. Cody vs. Kota Ibushi
• G1 Briefcase w/Wrestle Kingdom Title Shot: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jay White
• IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match: KUSHIDA vs. Marty Scurll
• IWGP Jr. Tag Team Title Match: Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask
• EVIL vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
• Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano and Roppongi 3K vs. Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, BUSHI and a mystery partner
• Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto and Will Ospreay vs. Minoru Suzuki, Taichi and Takashi Iizuka
• The Young Bucks, Hangman Page and Chase Owens vs. Guerillas of Destiny, Bad Luck Fale and Taiji Ishimori
• Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma vs. Juice Robinson and Toa Henare
Rare Triple Threat
NJPW has previously only had one triple threat match for the IWGP Heavyweight title. Throw in Kenny Omega’s Golden Lovers partner, Kota Ibushi, into the mix alongside current NWA champion, Cody, and you’ve got yourself an intriguing main event steeped in further Bullet Club complications – one that bucks the trend previously set by NJPW.
It was only recently that Cody and Omega were able to accept each other, despite their differences, after a brutal civil war over leadership of the Bullet Club at NJPW’s G1 Climax Special, this past July.
Reinserting the newly crowned NJPW US champion into the IWGP Heavyweight title scene at this juncture is an interesting decision – one that could have a reverberating impact within New Japan going forward.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYi1aGCM8Hc
Which match stands out the most for you? What, in your opinion could steal the show?
We have been hearing about WWE possibly implementing a tiered system to WWE Network and adding footage from Independent promotions for a while now, but it appears that the company is finally working towards these changes seriously.
Per PWinsider, with the new TV deals in place, Officials are now focusing on further developing the Network, with Vince McMahon, alongside Kevin Dunn and company’s Chief of Staff Brad Blum overseeing the whole process.
According to reports, the officials including McMahon are working to tweak the company’s strategies for original programming, in order to implement their long-planned tiered system to the streaming service and bring other interactive aspects to it.
They have plans to develop the Network in a similar way to how Hulu’s streaming service operates currently, where you can pay extra for commercial-free programming and exclusive shows.
Could WWE Offer Multiple Plans For Network?
The details of what plans they may offer are not available right now. However, in 2016 the company had discussed the idea of a 4-plan system ranging from free to $14.99 per month.
The free plan would have offered 24/7 live stream that would feature WWE content without PPVs, NXT and the Cruiserweight Classic, plus five hours of archive footage.
The progressive plans would have then added more exclusive shows with the $14.99 version providing a commercial-free experience and access to all the programming available on the Network, including footage from Indie Promotions like EVOLVE and Progress Wrestling.
In the past year, WWE has sent out some surveys, scouting possibility for more original programming like Southpaw Regional Wrestling and the upcoming Hardy Compound special and it’s believed that they will continue this effort.
While there is no solid word on when these changes may take effect, Officials are apparently hoping to lock their strategies within the next month and implement them at the start of next year, possibly around the time of WWE Network’s 5th anniversary in February.
There have been a lot of unsubstantiated rumors recently regarding the status of New Japan Pro Wrestling stable, Los Ingobernables De Japon. The crux of the speculation was that a new member was in coming to make up for former-IWGP Jr. Heavyweight champion, Hiromu Takahashi suffering an unfortunate injury that has sidelined him since July 7th.
Today, NJPW has released an official video to their YouTube channel. The incredibly slick video features a suited Naito sitting at a bar. He sips at a glass of whisky as he regales the fans with an update on LIJ’s future plans.
He starts off with a reminder of what he said in the ring on April 29th in Kumamoto, “Of course staying the same and not giving up are important. But, I think will to change, determination to change and bravery to step forward are important, too.”
Naito confirms he was actually referring to himself and his personal evolution with that comment – not his group’s growth.
“LIJ Are About More Than Ever”
The former IWGP World Heavyweight champion stressed that “We would like to let people know that Tetsuya Naito and Los Ingobernables de Japon are about more than ever.”
He discussed Takahashi’s injury and his inability to defend the belt, and subsequent stripping of it before teasing a new member;
“We “Los Ingobernables de Japon” would like to wait for his return and say ‘tranquilo.’ But, we’d rather step forward than just wait. 5, not 4 of us would wait for Hiromu’s return,” he stated. “In other words, new ‘Los Ingobernables de Japon’ would wait for Hiromu’s return.
On October 8th, at Ryogoku Sumo arena. We will introduce a new ‘pareja [partner].’ Stay tuned.”
Who do you think the mysterious member ‘X’ could be?
Being The Elite is back after taking a hiatus following All In, and the trio of Cody Rhodes and Young Bucks are already talking about their impending free agency.
After taking a break from the online world for a few weeks following their mega indie event, The Young Bucks dropped the 119th episode of their YouTube show yesterday.
The show opened with a joke about the reports of Marty Scurll and Kazuchika Okada going over the given time limit during All In and how it caused the main event to be cut short.
What’s Next?
Then halfway through the show, the trio of Matt, Nick and Cody were seen in the arena of ROH’s Death Before Dishonor PPV where they talked about their impending free agency.
Matt discussed how people are asking what’s next for them and claimed that while it’s still too early, he would be lying if he said that he hadn’t thought about it.
Jumping into the conversation, Cody said it’s typically a taboo to talk about the contract stuff. But they will be giving away the full information to the fans.
At the end of the episode titled ‘Tick-Tock’ they also revealed a clock which shows the remaining time in their current contracts with Ring Of Honor and NJPW.
After this, we can expect them to drop more information on their contractual status and future in the upcoming episodes of Being The Elite. For now, you can check out the latest episode of their YouTube show below:
We noted before how a New Day segment was announced for this week’s episode of SmackDown Live and now Paige has revealed another segment and a couple of new matches for the show.
The General Manager continued the tradition of booking matches via twitter, and she confirmed a mixed tag match and Daniel Bryan’s bout for the night via a video posted from her official account as seen below:
The first bout she announced is between the teams of Zelina Vega and Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas vs. Carmella and R Truth. Both these teams had been teasing this match on social media last week.
Shelton Benjamin Gets A Match On SmackDown
Also after Shelton Benjamin sent out some tweets asking for a match on SmackDown, the former Diva’s Champion announced that he will face Daniel Bryan at the upcoming episode.
Apart from this, Paige also announced that she will be opening the show tonight. However, the video ended there and she did not explain what the opening segment will be about.
Though considering the ending of last week’s episode of the Blue Branded Show, and the fact that this will be the go-home episode for the Super Show Down, it’s very likely that the opening segment will involve the WWE Champion AJ Styles and Samoa Joe.
The October 1st, 2018 episode of WWE RAW aired live from the Key Arena in Seattle, WA. In addition to the takeaways below, The B-Team defeated The Revival tonight on RAW. After the match, The Authors of Pain attacked The B-Team from behind. Bayley also defeated Alicia Fox tonight on RAW.
Dean Ambrose Explained What Was Going Through His Mind Last Week On RAW
Dean Ambrose came down to the ring for an interview to kick off this week’s episode of RAW. Ambrose said that there was a lot of truth to what Ziggler and McIntyre said last week. He noted that he doesn’t have a title like Reigns and Rollins and brought up Seth replacing him with Jason Jordan after he was injured.
Ambrose admitted that he has thought about leaving The Shield several times. Dean joked that maybe he ran Roman Reigns’ car off the road on the way here and Reigns won’t even be here tonight.
Footage from last week’s RAW was shown in which Dean paused before getting into the ring with Reigns and Rollins. Ambrose told everyone to judge him by his actions and that The Shield is a brotherhood. Dean added that they will always ride into battle together before making his way out of the ring.
RAW GM Baron Corbin interrupted and Ambrose joked that he looked like a substitute teacher. Corbin then proposed three matches to Dean Ambrose for tonight. He could face Seth Rollins for the Intercontinental Championship, battle Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship or face Braun Strowman.
Corbin asked Ambrose if it was going to be his brothers or his career. Ambrose said that he wanted to face Baron Corbin instead. Corbin declined and announced that Ambrose will face Braun Strowman next on RAW.
“The Shield is not a business. The Shield is not a brand. The Shield is a brotherhood.”
Strowman battled Dean Ambrose tonight on RAW. Braun started off the match in control and launched Ambrose into the turnbuckle. Strowman applied a Headlock in the middle of the ring.
Dean escaped but Strowman knocked him back down to the canvas. Braun brought Dean back to the corner of the ring and connected with a Splash. Braun then slammed Ambrose to the canvas and followed it up with a giant punch to Dean’s face.
Braun launched Ambrose across the ring and then shoved his neck into the bottom rope several times. Strowman went for a Chokeslam but Ambrose blocked it and sent Strowman to the corner of the ring. Ambrose charged at Braun but Strowman countered with a shoulder tackle as RAW went to a commercial break.
When RAW returned, Dean went for a Clothesline but Strowman avoided it and clubbed Dean across the chest. Strowman then went for the Powerslam but Ambrose escaped and connected with Dirty Deeds for a two count.
Strowman rolled out of the ring and Ambrose greeted him with a Suicide Dive. Braun charged at Ambrose but Dean dodged it and Braun slammed into the steel steps. Back in the ring, Strowman planted Ambrose with a Powerslam out of nowhere and both Superstars fell to the mat.
Dean rolled out of the ring and Strowman chased after him. Strowman hit Ambrose with a shoulder tackle and then launched him into the barricade. Back in the ring, Braun hit Ambrose with a second Powerslam. Braun didn’t go for the cover and went to pick up Dean for another Powerslam.
Roman Reigns interrupted and made his way down to the ring. Reigns hit Strowman with a Superman Punch and went for another one but Strowman blocked it. Rollins then joined the party and hit Strowman with a knee to the face. Reigns and Rollins then threw Strowman out of the ring as Strowman was announced as the winner via DQ.
Ziggler and McIntyre then came down to the entrance ramp. RAW GM Corbin joined the party and blasted Reigns and Rollins for not allowing Ambrose to fight his own battles. Corbin then announced that Rollins will face Drew McIntyre later tonight and that Reigns will fight Ziggler next on RAW.
Seth Rollins and Ambrose then had a conversation backstage. Ambrose was pissed off and told Rollins that he could be Intercontinental Champion right now.
Roman Reigns agreed to put his Universal Championship on the line against Ziggler tonight but RAW GM Baron Corbin shut it down. Corbin told Reigns that he will not be able to defend the Universal Championship until WWE Crown Jewel.
Ziggler started off the match in control and dragged Roman down to the mat with a Headlock. Ziggler then booted Roman out of the ring and planted him with an awesome DDT on the floor. Back in the ring, Ziggler connected with a Fameasser for a near fall as RAW went to a commercial break.
Ziggler had Reigns in a Sleeper Hold when RAW returned from the break. Roman escaped and hit Dolph with a couple of Clotheslines in a row. Roman beat the hell out of Dolph in the corner of the ring with 10 giant Clotheslines. Reigns followed it up with a big boot to Dolph’s face that sent Ziggler down to the mat.
Roman went for the Superman Punch but Ziggler countered into a roll-up for a two count. Dolph then connected with a Zig Zag and went for the cover but Reigns kicked out at two. Ziggler geared up for a Superkick but turned around into a Superman Punch from Reigns for a near fall.
Roman went for the Spear but Ziggler countered into a roll-up for a two count. Reigns then quickly hit the Spear for the pinfall victory. Ambrose later had a conversation with Reigns backstage and Ambrose told him that if he wasn’t such a nice guy, he might be Universal Champion right now.
Ronda Rousey battled Ruby Riott tonight on RAW. The Bella Twins, Liv Morgan, and Sarah Logan were ringside for the match. Rousey started off the match by slamming Riott to the canvas several times.
Riott regrouped with the Riott Squad outside the ring and then took control of the match when she got back inside. Ruby launched Rousey back outside the ring and then bounced her head off the ring apron.
Back in the ring, Ruby went for the cover but Ronda kicked out at two. Riott kneed Rousey in the back of the head and went for the cover again but Ronda kicked out at two. Ruby headbutted Rousey and then slammed her to the canvas.
Rousey finally battled back and Riott with a flurry of punches. Ronda then lifted Rousey up onto her shoulders and slammed her to the canvas. Rousey got distracted with the Riott Squad and Ruby took advantage and went for a roll-up.
Rousey kicked out and then slammed Riott to the canvas. Rousey then locked in the Arm Bar for the submission victory. Ronda Rousey and The Bella Twins will face the Riott Squad at WWE Super Show-Down this weekend.
Bobby Roode battled Konnor from The Ascension tonight on RAW. Chad Gable and Viktor were ringside for the match. Roode started off the match in control and hit Konnor with a Dropkick. Konnor decked Roode with a shoulder tackle and followed it up with an Elbow Drop for a two count.
Konnor then applied a Headlock to Roode in the center of the ring. Roode escaped but Konnor quickly knocked him back to the canvas. Konnor went for another Elbow Drop but Roode got out of the way at the last second.
Roode made his way to the top rope and hit Konnor with a Flying Clothesline. Roode followed it up with a boot to the face and then a Blockbuster off the second rope. Roode set up for the Glorious DDT but became distracted when Viktor attacked Gable outside the ring. Konnor capitalized on the distraction and slammed Roode face first to the mat for the pinfall victory.
Seth Rollins faced Drew McIntyre tonight on RAW. McIntyre threw Rollins into the corner of the ring and slapped him across the face to start off the match. Seth got pissed off and beat the hell out of McIntyre in the corner of the ring.
Rollins Clotheslined McIntyre out of the ring and then him with a Suicide Dive. Seth bounced Drew’s face off the apron before rolling him back inside the ring. Rollins connected with a few chops in the corner but McIntyre responded with a boot to Rollins’ midsection for a two count.
McIntyre shoved Rollins to the ring post and then brought him onto the top of the steel steps. McIntyre then delivered a Side Slam on the ring apron off the steps as RAW went to a commercial break.
When RAW returned, Rollins planted McIntyre with a Slingblade. Seth followed it up with a Blockbuster off the second rope for a two count. Rollins connected with a springboard Clothesline to the back of McIntyre’s head for another near fall.
RAW GM Corbin was shown watching the match backstage as McIntyre battled back with an elbow to Rollins’ face. McIntyre followed it up with a couple of chops and went for a Clothesline but Rollins countered into a Falcon Arrow for a near fall.
Seth made his way to the top rope but McIntyre caught him with a punch to the face. Drew followed it up with a chop to Rollins’ chest and then joined Rollins on the top rope. Rollins escaped and hit McIntyre with an awesome Buckle Bomb. Rollins followed it up with a Superkick and geared up for The Stomp but Ziggler ran down to the ring. Rollins hit Ziggler but turned around into a Claymore from McIntyre for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Ziggler and McIntyre started attacking Seth Rollins. Reigns ran down to the ring for the save and then Braun Strowman joined the party. Dean Ambrose’s music hit and Dean ran down to the ring with an axehandle. Dean blasted Strowman with it and then started chasing around Ziggler. Strowman hit Dean with a shoulder tackle and then rolled him back inside the ring. Ziggler hit Rollins with a Superkick and then Strowman, McIntyre and Ziggler beatdown Ambrose.
McIntyre and Ziggler hit Ambrose with the Zig Zag/ Claymore and then Strowman planted Reigns with a Running Powerslam. Strowman, Ziggler, and McIntyre then mocked The Shield’s pose in the ring to conclude the segment. The Shield will battle Reigns, Rollins, and Ambrose this Saturday at WWE Super Show-Down.
Elias and Kevin Owens came down to the ring to call out Bobby Lashley. Elias played his guitar as Owens nodded along and then told him that was beautiful once Elias stopped playing. Elias asked the crowd if they wanted to walk with Elias and the crowd cheered.
Elias said that there was only one man that was going to walk with him tonight and that was Kevin Owens. Owens said that they were a couple of great guys and then hyped their tag match against Cena and Lashley at WWE Super Show-Down.
Owens said that it doesn’t make sense that Lashley is teaming with Cena this Saturday. Elias agreed that it doesn’t make sense like having a basketball team in Seattle. The crowd proceeded to be Elias out of the building for about a minute. Elias didn’t back off and said that he completely understood why Oklahoma City has a team.
Owens tried to talk but the crowd would not stop booing. Owens told the crowd that they were rude and that he was going to try to ignore them. Elias shouted for the production crew to turn the lights down because he didn’t want to look at the crowd.
Kevin Owens claimed that John Cena’s ego was as big as the people of Seattle’s ego and the crowd booed even louder. Owens added that Cena and Lashley have no chance against them this Saturday at WWE Super Show-Down. Owens vowed to Powerbomb Cena on the ring apron this Saturday night.
Lio Rush interrupted and said that Cena is a legend. Rush claimed that some people even call Cena the greatest of all time and the crowd booed him. Lio Rush then said that Owens shouldn’t overlook Lashley tonight as the crowd continued to chant SuperSonics.
Bobby Lashley and Owens locked up in the middle of the ring to start off the match. Lashley got the upper hand and shoved Owens to the canvas. Owens rolled out of the ring to regroup with Elias and then returned to the ring.
Lashley slammed Owens to the mat a couple of times and then Owens retreated to the ropes. Owens hit Lashley with a cheap shot and then applied a Headlock in the middle of the ring.
Lashley escaped and sent Owens tumbling out of the ring with a massive shoulder tackle. Owens got back into the ring and Lashley greeted him with a Clothesline. Lashley bounced Owens’ face off the top turnbuckle a couple of times as Lio Rush cheered him on.
Owens connected with a kick to the face but Lashley shrugged it off and planted Owens with a Powerslam. Lashley lifted Owens up onto his shoulders but Owens escaped and retreated to the corner of the ring. Bobby charged at Owens but Kevin dodged it and Lashley crashed into the ring post as RAW went to a commercial break.
When RAW returned, Owens had Lashley trapped in a Headlock in the middle of the ring. Lashley quickly escaped and turned Owens inside out with a Clothesline. Lashley went for a Suplex but Owens blocked it. Lashley then planted Owens with a Spinebuster as Elias charged at Lio Rush outside the ring. Lashley got distracted by it and Owens rolled him up for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Elias and Owens attacked Lashley in the ring and started stomping on him. Lio Rush climbed up to the top rope and went for a Crossbody but Elias punched him in the face while he was in midair. Owens then planted Lashley with a Pop Up Powerbomb and then shared a hug with Elias in the ring.
Michaels brought up the last time ever match between Triple H and The Undertaker at Super Show-Down. Shawn said that he wanted to be in Australia to witness it just like a fan but everything changed a couple of weeks ago.
Shawn said The Undertaker made this personal and said that he would pick his best friend, Triple H, to defeat anyone. Michaels noted that Kane will be in The Undertaker’s corner and said that he will be in Triple H’s corner at Super Show-Down.
Michaels stated that he would hit Kane with Sweet Chin Music if he tries to interfere in the match. Kane’s music hit and Kane appeared behind Shawn Michaels. Kane punched Michael’s in the face and then The Undertaker’s music hit.
The Undertaker then showed up in the ring and started circling Shawn Michaels. The Undertaker set up Michaels for a Tombstone but Triple H ran down to the ring. Triple H hit Undertaker with a few shots and then went after Kane. The Undertaker and Kane then Chokeslammed HBK and Triple H. The Undertaker then planted Triple H with a Tombstone Piledriver to close the show.
The October 1, 2018 edition of WWE RAW took place at the Key Arena in Seattle, WA.
– Dean Ambrose comes out first to kick off tonight’s show with an in-ring interview. Ambrose talks about Braun, Drew and Dolph, and their comments last week about Seth and Roman being champions and Dean having nothing. Ambrose talks about the possibility of leaving The Shield, and how everyone is wondering when he’s going to get fed up and snap. We see some footage of Ambrose standing with The Shield last week, and Ambrose talks about cleaning up Seth and Roman’s messes. Ambrose says he’s going to stand by his family, because The Shield is a brotherhood. Ambrose says The Shield will always ride in to battle together. Ambrose goes to head to the back, but Baron Corbin comes out to interrupt. Corbin says all he hears is a bunch of whining, and it sounds like something is bothering Dean. Ambrose says Corbin is just mad because he can’t shut The Shield down. Corbin says he has three options for Ambrose tonight: 1. Face Rollins for the IC Title, 2. face Reigns for the Universal Title, or 3. face Braun Strowman in a singles match. Ambrose says he’s not going to fall for Corbin’s plan, and he wants an option #4: Ambrose vs. Corbin. Corbin says that’s not an option, so he’ll make the choice for him, and he’s going to face Braun Strowman right now.
– Dean Ambrose vs. Braun Strowman: Strowman starts off strong and boots Ambrose down to start. Strowman whips Ambrose in to corner and and keeps him grounded now. Strowman picks up Dean and hits a version of a full nelson slam, then he taunts Ambrose and slaps him across the face. Braun hits a chokeslam and then stalks Dean in the corner. Ambrose thumbs Strowman in the eye and then dumps him out to ringside. Back in the ring, Strowman comes back with a clubbing blow to the chest of Ambrose that drops him. Strowman goes for a slam, but Ambrose escapes and hits a DDT. Ambrose takes things outside, but Strowman turns it around and drops Ambrose. Strowman looks for the finish on Ambrose, but then Roman Reigns’ music hits and Reigns comes out to the ring. Reigns jumps in and attacks Braun. Seth Rollins runs in next to back up Reigns, and Braun retreats from the ring.
Winner via DQ: Braun Strowman
– As Braun retreats up the ramp, Dolph and Drew join him on the ramp. Seth and Roman help Ambrose to his feet. Corbin comes out and books Rollins vs. McIntyre, and also Reigns vs. Ziggler. Reigns vs. Ziggler is up next.
– Seth Rollins checks on Dean Ambrose backstage in the trainer’s area. Ambrose makes a cryptic comment about how he could be the IC Champion right now, and walks off.
– Roman Reigns vs. Dolph Ziggler: Corbin comes out before the match and informs Reigns that he can’t defend his Universal Title tonight, because Corbin has decided he won’t defend it until Crown Jewel. This one is a non-title match. The opening bell sounds and Ziggler starts off strong. He pulls Reigns down to the mat by the hair and then hits a knee drop for a two count. Reigns looks for a spear in the corner, but Ziggler dodges it and Reigns hits the ring post. Reigns falls out to ringside and Ziggler follows. They trade strikes on the floor until Ziggler executes a DDT on the floor. Back in the ring, Ziggler hits the Fameasser for a two count. Ziggler keeps Reigns grounded with a side headlock, until Reigns fights up. Reigns misses a punch and Ziggler applies a sleeper hold. Reigns breaks free and hits some clotheslines. Reigns hits a series of clotheslines in the corner. Reigns bounces off the ropes and hits a big boot. Reigns looks for a Superman punch, but Ziggler dodges it. Ziggler hits the Zig Zag for a two count. Ziggler looks for the superkick, but Reigns stops him with a Superman punch for a two count. Reigns looks for a spear, but Ziggler dodges it and rolls him up for a two count. Reigns comes back with a spear and pins for the three count.
Winner: Roman Reigns
– Reigns celebrates on the turnbuckle after the match.
– The Bella Twins are backstage with Natalya and Ronda Rousey. Ronda is warming up for her match.
– Ronda Rousey vs. Ruby Riott: The Bella Twins and Riott Squad are at ringside for this one. The opening bell sounds and Ronda hits a series of arm drags, causing Ruby to roll outside for a breather. Back in the ring, Ruby grabs Ronda by the hair and turns things around. Ruby chokes Ronda up against the ropes and then elbows her across the face. Ruby continues to try to keep Ronda grounded, until Ronda catches her with a back suplex. Ronda follows up with some right hands and a gut-wrench suplex, and then she applies the arm bar for the win via submission.
Winner: Ronda Rousey
– Ronda celebrates in the ring after the match.
– Bobby Roode vs. Konnor: Gable and Viktor are at ringside for this one. The opening bell sounds and Konnor starts off strong, overpowering Roode in the opening moments. Roode fights back with kicks and then he hits the blockbuster off the middle rope. Viktor looks to get involved, but Gable takes him down. The distraction leads to Konnor hitting a version of he Dominator for the three count.
Winner: Konnor
– The Ascension celebrates as Roode recovers and Gable watches from ringside.
– We go to a pre-taped promo from Alexa Bliss talking about the upcoming all-women’s pay-per-view.
– The B Team vs. The Revival: The opening bell sounds and Dash and Dawson take turns working over Curtis Axel in the opening moments. Dallas finally gets the tag and he cleans house. Dallas hits a running big boot and elbow to the face of Dawson. Wilder distracts Axel, and Dawson capitalizes with a spinebuster. The Revival looks for a double team on Axel, but Axel blocks it with his knees and and pins for the three count after a short match.
Winners: The B Team
– After the match, the Authors of Pain attack The B Team on the apron. They throw the B Team in to the ring and hit the Super Collider, then they pose with Drake Maverick.
– Dean Ambrose is backstage still selling injuries from his match earlier. Roman Reigns approaches him and asks if Ambrose is alright. Ambrose says he’s all good, but they got in his way earlier. Reigns says they had to help him earlier because they can’t have him out of action for the Australia show. Ambrose says if he wasn’t such a nice guy, he’d be Universal Champion right now, then he walks off.
– Still to come: Shawn Michaels is in the house.
– Corbin is backstage congratulating The Authors of Pain on the good work. They talk about how good it feels to run people over.
– We see a promotional segment for the Susan G Komen Foundation.
– Dolph Ziggler is backsage giving a pep talk to Drew and Braun. Braun talks about the possibility of Ambrose leaving the Shield to join their movement, and Strowman says he would welcome Ambrose because he’s a “tough bastard.” Strowman says he wants to roll with winners, so Drew needs to do his thing tonight. Braun then looks at Ziggler and says he has no room for weak links, then walks off.
– We see a preview for Total Divas featuring Lana and Rusev.
– Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre: The opening bell sounds and they lock up, and Drew overpowers Seth in the corner. Drew slaps Seth across the face, and Seth comes back with a series of punches. They run the ropes and Rollins hits a superkick that knocks Drew to the outside. Rollins follows up with a suicide dive. Seth slams Drew into the fan barricade, and then takes him back in the ring. Drew comes back with a kick to the ribs for a two count. Drew applies a shoulder lock to try to keep Seth grounded. They fight out to the apron and Seth looks for a powerbomb, but Drew escapes and shoves Seth into the ring post. Drew carries Seth up on to the ring steps, and hits a side walk slam on to the ring apron. Back in the ring, Rollins turns it around and hits a blockbuster off the middle rope. Rollins hits a flying clothesline for a two count. Drew looks for an Alabama Slam, but Rollins escapes. They trade strikes now until Rollins catches Drew with a Falcon Arrow for a two count. They fight up the turnbuckle, which leads to Rollins breaking free and powerbombing Drew into the opposite turnbuckle. Dolph Ziggler comes out and causes a distraction, which leads to Drew hitting the Claymore kick for the three count.
Winner: Drew McIntyre
– After the match, Dolph and Drew beat down Rollins. Reigns, Ambrose, and Strowman all come out now, and all Hell breaks loose. They brawl until Strowman and company get the upper hand and start double-teaming the Shield members one-by-one. Braun, Dolph and Drew pose after the match before leaving.
– We see a video package looking at the feud between Samoa Joe and AJ Styles.
– Still to come: Bobby Lashley vs. Kevin Owens; and Shawn Michaels is in the house.
– Elias is backstage warming up. Kevin Owens approaches Elias’ dressing area and admires his snacks of mints, spinach, and nuts on a table in front of them. Elias says he was given the wrong kind of nuts, and he throws the bowl of nuts at the production assistant who brought them over.
– We see a shot of the outside of the Key Arena in Seattle, and then we go to a video package for WWE 2K19.
– Elias is in the ring with his guitar, and Kevin Owens is sitting beside him. Owens and Elias talk about their similarities, and say that they’re both great guys. Owens says them teaming up makes sense, but Lashley and John Cena teaming up doesn’t make sense. Elias gets a lot of heat for trashing Seattle for not having a basketball team anymore. The crowd is still booing ever since the Seattle Supersonics reference, as Elias and Owens start trashing Cena and Lashley. Owens says Cena ruins everything, just like the people of Seattle ruin everything, and that’s why their basketball team left. Lio Rush comes out to interrupt and he’s got a mic. He talks about Cena being a legend, and how important this tag match is going to be at the Super Show Down. Lio says Kevin better focus on his match tonight though, because Lashley will make him look foolish if he doesn’t. The crowd chants for the Seattle Supersonics and Elias taunts them from the ring. Lio says Lashley is the heavyweight who is back to dominate is here in Seattle, and he then introduces Lashley.
– Bobby Lashley vs. Kevin Owens: Lashley hits a couple of suplexes early on. Owens comes back with a side headlock takedown, and Owens tries to keep Lashley grounded now. They fight into the corner and Lashley misses a shot, then Owens throws Lashley in to the opposite ring post. Owens dumps Lashley outside and Elias taunts him while he’s down. Owens takes Lashley back in the ring and hits a senton drop for a two count. Owens works over Lashley’s left arm and shoulder, trying to keep him grounded. Lashley starts to turn things around and hits a spinebuster. Elias and Lio get into it at ringside, which distracts Lashley, and this leads to Owens rolling up Lashley from behind for the three count.
Winner: Kevin Owens
– Owens and Elias beat down Lashley after the match. Lio Rush comes flying off the top, but Elias swats him out of the air. Owens then hits the Pop Up Powerbomb on Lashley. Owens and Elias pose in the ring before leaving.
– The broadcast team promotes the Mixed Match Challenge on Facebook Live.
– Bayley vs Alicia Fox: Finn Balor, Jinder Mahal and Sunil Singh are at ringside. Alicia starts off fired up and backs Bayley in to the corner with strikes. Bayley comes back with a suplex, but Alicia shuts her down with a knee strike. Alicia hits a Northern Lights suplex for a two count. Alicia whips Bayley in to the corner and drops her. Bayley fires back with strikes and a neckbreaker. Bayley snaps Alicia down and hits a dropkick. Jinder causes a distraction from ringside, so Bayley kicks him through the ropes, and then Finn Balor hits the Sling Blade on Jinder on the floor. Bayley turns around and ducks a big boot from Alicia. Bayley follows up with the belly to belly supelx for the three count.
Winner: Bayley
– Balor and Bayley celebrate after the match as Jinder and Sunil question Alicia at ringside.
– We see a video package looking at the WWE Evolution pay-per-view.
– WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels comes out to the ring and he gets on the mic. Michaels talks about the Triple H vs. Undertaker match this Saturday. Shawn says he booked his flight to Australia to see this, and he knows this will be a historic event. Shawn says he planned to just be at the show as a fan, but that all changed when Undertaker trashed him. Michaels talks about ‘Taker getting mad because he predicted that Triple H will beat him. Shawn says he knows Undertaker will have his brother Kane in his corner, so Shawn is going to be in his brother Triple H’s corner. Kane’s music hits and Shawn looks to the stage, but instead Kane appears behind Shawn. Kane drops Shawn with a right hand, and then the lights go out. The gong sounds, and the black lights come on, to reveal Undertaker and Kane in the ring. Undertaker picks up Shawn for a Tombstone, but then Triple H’s music hits. Triple H hits the ring and brawls with Taker and Kane, and then Shawn gets to his feet. Taker hits a chokeslam on Triple H, and then Kane hits a chokeslam on Michaels. Kane and Taker look down at Triple H and Shawn, and they get ready to leave, but then Taker turns around. Taker turns his attention back to Triple H, and he grabs The Game and hits a Tombstone piledriver. Kane and Undertaker walk out of the ring and look back at Shawn and Triple H, who are still laying. Undertaker and Kane make their way up the ramp and raise their hands as RAW goes off the air.
WWE has already announced that Evolution (WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair, Batista, Triple H, and Randy Orton) will reunite on the WWE SmackDown 1000 episode on Tuesday, October 16 from Washington, DC. Also, The Undertaker is being advertised for the show. Triple H and Flair sent out the following to hype the reunion:
As noted, the official website of the arena is currently advertising a ‘Triple Main Event’ for the episode. Those matches are AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe, Daniel Bryan vs The Miz, and Randy Orton vs Jeff Hardy.
WWE Announces New NXT Events
On Monday, October 1, 2018), Triple H took to his official Twitter account to announce several upcoming NXT live events.
The black-and-yellow brand will do a three-day tour starting on Thursday, Nov. 15, San Jose State University Events Center in San Jose. The other events take place at the Convention Center in Visalia on Friday, Nov. 16, and finishing up with TakeOver: WarGames on Saturday, Nov. 17, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa, NXT Women’s Champion Kairi Sane, Undisputed ERA, Ricochet, Johnny Gargano, EC3, Velveteen Dream, Bianca Belair are all advertised for the show.
Tickets for the events go on sale at NXTtickets.com starting this Friday. A limited number of tickets for TakeOver: WarGames are still available, also at NXTtickets.com.
It’s come out that the WWE has filed for a number of trademarks last week. The majority of them are for previous wrestling shows, mostly associated with their former-rivals, World Championship Wrestling (WCW).
WWE filed trademarks for the following names:
Saturday Night’s Main Event on 9/24
WCW Saturday Night on 9/24
WCW Thunder on 9/24
NWO New World Order on 9/21
All Star Wrestling on 9/21
WCW Monday Nitro on 9/21
WWE Hidden Gems on 9/21
World Championship Wrestling on 9/21
Halloween Havoc on 9/21
Fall Brawl on 9/21
Starrcade on 9/14
It’s worth noting that the WWE ran a special show entitled Starrcade last year in Greensboro, North Carolina. That show was done under the SmackDown brand, specifically. It was the first Starrcade event under the WWE banner and the first for 17 years.
Starrcade is returning once more this November 24th – once again as a special house show, only this time as a co-branded event with Raw and SmackDown. It takes place at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio.
NXT Trademarks
It wasn’t just event names that were trademarked. Many superstars also found themselves with newly associated trademarks with the WWE, including Angelo Dawkins, Montez Ford, Otis Dozovic, Tucker Knight, Adam Cole, Danny Burch, and Lars Sullivan.
Though unclear as to what this could mean, having the WWE lock down trademark rights for this group of talent is probably a good sign that the company has future plans for them.
Daniel Bryan is standing by his wife’s side and pointing out that accidents happen in professional wrestling matches all the time.
Over the past two weeks, Bryan’s spouse Brie Bella has been receiving a relentless amount of criticism after she accidentally kicked Liv Morgan in the head twice in a row, nearly knocking her unconscious and ultimately causing her to have a concussion.
Immediately after the incident happened, Bella posted an apology on Twitter while sending Morgan her well wishes after the accidental kicked nearly knocked her out.
More recently, Bella has taken to Instagram where she wrote a lengthy post about cyberbullying, undoubtedly aimed at the amount of criticism she’s faced since the incident with Morgan in the ring a couple of weeks ago.
Now Bryan is going on the offensive to defend his wife and also point out that accidents happen in the ring constantly — and even he’s been the perpetrator in the past.
“I am proud of how strong my wife is. After accidentally injuring Liv Morgan last week, the first time Bri’s ever hurt another performer, she’s been subject to a constant barrage of social media attacks. Almost every wrestler has accidentally hurt someone but rarely do you see this kind of hate when it happens. For example, I concussed Randy Orton in 2012 after hitting him with what was supposed to be a chair to the back. Unfortunately part of the side hit him in the back of the head, and he was forced to miss a PPV. In 2009 in our last match against each other, I concussed Nigel McGuinness after doing a dive into him in the crowd, where his head hit the floor. And there are others.
“As for the Yes kicks, two weeks ago I accidentally kicked Andrade directly in the head due to a miscommunication on my part. I feel fortunate that he was ok, because there are few feelings worse than hurting someone. Despite all of that, never did I receive the backlash Bri did this week. With all the negative things said about my wife, nobody was harder on her than she was on herself. Thank you to the many people who reached out to support her, both publicly and privately. We all wish Liv Morgan a speedy recovery.”
Bryan ended his post with the hash tag ‘cyberbullying’, referencing back to his wife’s post on the subject on Instagram.
WWE had previously confirmed that Morgan suffered a concussion from the incident but outside of that, there’s been no other statement about Bella’s in ring performance.
By all accounts, she will still be a very active member of the roster with a high profile match coming up this weekend at ‘WWE Super Show-Down’ when she teams with her sister Nikki and former UFC champion Ronda Rousey is a six-person tag match against the Riott Squad — with Liv Morgan still currently scheduled to perform as well.
Brie Bella has received a lot of negative comments as well as support from the wrestling world after kicking Liv Morgan in the face which resulted in her being knocked out during their six-woman tag team match that saw The Bella Twins and Natalya take on Morgan, Ruby Riott and Sarah Logan on last week’s episode of WWE Monday Night RAW in Denver, CO.
WWE has already announced that the Riott Squad is set to face The Bella Twins again, this time with Ronda Rousey as their partner at the upcoming WWE Super Show-Down event that takes place on Saturday, October 6, 2018 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne, Australia.
As noted, Dave Meltzer mentioned on Wrestling Observer Radio that the plan appears to be for doctors to evaluate her before Raw today and if she fails the concussion test, Alicia Fox will likely be her replacement at the WWE Super Show-Down event.
Brie took to her official Instagram account to write the following about cyberbullies: “As a first time Mom I’ve never experienced unconditional love like this. The way she loves on me, needs me and makes me feel that I’m her whole world. Her sweet smile makes my day better, her laugh sounds like heaven and her hugs make my heart skip a beat. We all were babies at one time. Filled with innocence, laughter and love. We never judged, hated or bullied people. We’d look in the mirror and played peek a boo with ourselves and think our shadow was the best thing ever. We just simply lived. I hope people can find that feeling again, happiness. Happy people don’t waste their time or energy being cyber bullies….miserable people do. If you aren’t living the life you wish I pray that you find what makes your heart happy and stop wasting energy on promoting hate. For the happy people, silence hate. Don’t let it bring you down.”
WWE 2K19 will be released on October 9, 2018 for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. As noted, WWE Champion AJ Styles will be on the cover of the game while Rey Mysterio and Ronda Rousey will be featured as the pre-order bonus characters. 2K Games released the launch trailer for the upcoming game that featured Styles, The Miz, Asuka, Rousey, Jeff Hardy and more. If fans pre-order the Deluxe or Ric Flair Wooooo! Collector’s Edition then they get early access beginning October 5th.
WWE invades Portland, OR at the Moda Center for Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown Live on the USA Network. The company has announced that The New Day will have a segment where they will reveal Big E’s family secret for their “famous” pancakes.
As of this writing, no other matches or segments for the show have been announced. Also, The New Day currently doesn’t have a match booked for the WWE Super Show-Down event that takes place on Saturday, October 6, 2018 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne, Australia. It’s possible that the WWE will add another match that features the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions to the card later this week.
Charlotte Flair recently appeared on Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia to talk about various topics including her SmackDown Women’s Title match against champion Becky Lynch at the WWE Super Show-Down pay-per-view event that takes place on Saturday, October 6, 2018 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne, Australia and will air on the WWE Network.
WWE Super Show-Down
Flair compared this show to a second WrestleMania of the year as she noted that it’s so exciting to know that there will be between 60 and 70,000 people in attendance and that “it’s almost like another WrestleMania.”
Becky Lynch
Regarding this feud, she noted that anytime that a wrestler is in a meaningful storyline then you run with it. She thinks that the fans are really sinking their teeth into this one, which pushes them to take it as far as they can and make it exciting because it’s fresh. She noted that although they’ve wrestled each other in the past, this time the dynamic is different, which makes it even more exciting.
Flair continued by stating that she and Lynch came up through NXT together so they know each other very well including their in-ring style and psychology. She thinks that makes for a better overall presentation.
The Undertaker recently participated in a rare out-of-character interview about the pro wrestling business while doing a series from Pastor Ed Young of Fellowship Church called Wrastlin. This series shows the strong connections between wrestling and the Bible. In a video that was recently released, the former WWE Champion and future Hall of Famer talked about how important the knowledge of knowing that characters not moves is in the success of a competitor in pro wrestling. “Wrestling and sports entertainment is not about the moves, it really isn’t,” said Undertaker (h/t Sky Sports). “It’s about being able to evoke emotion in one facet or another. You either have to make people love you or you have to make them hate you, it doesn’t really matter either way.”
Taker also talked about how many matches in this era of wrestling allowed the fans to take a more closer look on the moves than putting the wrestlers over. He stated that you can only see so many crazy moves so many times before you are looking for something new and that wrestler has to step up to give them just that. He added that by doing this then you increase your potential for injuries.
The Deadman would later bring up such stars as The Rock, Ric Flair, and John Cena as those who have had the ability to make people love them or hate them because he believes that the story means more than the moves.
Taker is back in action at the WWE Super Show-Down pay-per-view event that takes place on Saturday, October 6, 2018 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne, Australia and will air on the WWE Network.
Watch: The Undertaker’s “out of character” interview with Sky Sports:
Independent superstar and former PROGRESS ATLAS Champion Matt Riddle recently signed with WWE’s NXT brand. The ‘King of Bros’ recently made his debut for the company in a house show bout. The former UFC fighter recently spoke to The Main Event on ESPN’s West Palm radio on a variety of topics including his signing with WWE.
Riddle discussed the reaction from fellow Independent stars; “Everybody’s excited for me,” stated Riddle. “I think especially with my past and everything like that, I think people never thought I would ever be with a company like WWE, or be at this level again.” Riddle then followed this with “I was killing it on the indies. I was traveling the world. I was probably one of the top three or four wrestlers in the world on the indies, just killing it. Nobody really saw me going to a bigger company because of my past and just how people view me.”
Riddle also specifically discussed talking with Triple H before signing with NXT: “I actually got a direct call from are main man ‘Trips’, Mr. Triple H, Paul Levesque,” Riddle claimed. “It was good. About three years ago I was about to get signed and we talked about that because I was supposed to possibly get signed then and it didn’t happen. We talked about that.” Riddle then talked about his trajectory in the company, stating that the company has “got good intentions,” and that Triple H “made me feel good with working with NXT and working with him. Honestly, that’s why I signed up and we’ll see where it takes me.”
Drew McIntyre has high expectations going into his six-man tag team match at WWE Super Show-Down.
The current WWE RAW Tag Team champion recently appeared on The Overnight Crowd podcast to talk about various topics including the level of talent that will be on display at this show. He believes that when he teams up with Braun Strowman and Dolph Ziggler to take on The Shield (WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, WWE Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose), they will steal the show.
McIntyre stated that all of the guys in this match are so talented and he has had the opportunity to work with every one of them. He stated that although this show has Triple H versus The Undertaker featured, he believes that “We’re going there to steal the show,” because they plan to go in there and do just that.
WWE will present their Super Show-Down pay-per-view event takes place on Saturday, October 6, 2018 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne, Australia and will air on the WWE Network. Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz, WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe, and John Cena and Bobby Lashley vs. Elias and Kevin Owens are also featured on this show.
UK promotion PROGRESS held the biggest event in their existence over the weekend. The 76th chapter event #HelloWembley took place at the SSE Wembley Arena in front of a 4,750 strong crowd. Here’s the full results from one of the biggest nights in UK wrestling history:
Chuck Mambo b. Big T. Justice, Chris Ridgeway, Damon Moser, Danny Duggan, Danny Jones, Darrell Allen, David Francisco, Drew Parker, Mad Man Manson, Rickey Shane Page, RJ Singh, Roy Johnson, Sid Scala, Stixx, The OJMO, TK Cooper, and ‘Pastor’ William Eaver in the Pre-Show Battle Royal – Mambo eliminated Spike Trivet to win the bout
Mark Haskins b. Matt Riddle – Haskins took the win in Riddle’s final ever independent show. He now heads to NXT with a ton of potential and buzz following him
PROGRESS Women’s Championship Match – Jinny (c) b. Millie McKenzie and Toni Storm – Jinny took the win over Storm after Laura Di Matteo turned heel to re-align herself with the House of Couture. Jordynne Grace made her debut and chased out the ‘House to finish the segment
ATLAS Championship Match – Trent Seven b. Doug Williams – Seven won the bout with Crossbody to win the Championship. Doug Williams now has to retire as per the stipulation of the match…this was emotional
Jimmy Havoc b. Paul Robinson – Havoc took the win in a devastating Deathmatch. Havoc hit an Acid Rainmaker following light tube attacks to win the bout
PROGRESS Tag Team Title THUNDERB*STARD Match – Aussie Open b. Bandido & Flamita, Chris Brookes & Timothy Thatcher, Mills & Mayhew, Sexy Starr, Grizzled Young Veterans, The 198 and the Anti-Fun Police – Aussie Open hit the Fidget Spinner to win the match and claim their first PROGRESS tag team titles
Triple Main Event
Pete Dunne b. Ilja Dragunov – This was billed as the biggest match in Europe and it more than lived up to the hype. Dunne beat the debuting Dragunov with a hand manipulation submission forcing the tap out
TLC Match – Eddie Dennis b. Mark Andrews – Dennis took the win after grabbing the Number 1 contenders contract on the top of the ladder. Several tables refused to break during the match
PROGRESS World Championship Match – WALTER (c) b. Tyler Bate – WALTER hit a piledriver to end an incredible bout. WALTER had a Nakamura styled violin intro that added to the big fight feel. Tyler Bate could be one of the best of all time at this rate. The match will be available to view FREE on demand later this week
Kenny Omega has twice offered Kota Ibushi a shot at his IWGP Heavyweight Championship title. On both occasions, Ibushi has not seemed interested in facing his partner. Following the Golden Lovers victory last night, Omega again offered Ibushi a shot at his championship. Cody ended up interjecting himself into the matter, however, and now there will be a triple threat match for the belt at King of Pro Wrestling.
In the backstage area after the show, Omega told the press, “The Golden Lovers can only face each other in a ‘legendary building’ that’s even bigger than Budokan”
King of Pro Wrestling will be held at Ry?goku Sumo Hall in Tokyo. The venue holds just under 12, 000. The Budokan holds just under 15,000. Its possible Omega is referring to the Tokyo Dome as a legendary building that is bigger than the Budokan. For Omega and Ibushi to face each other in the Tokyo Dome this year, however, Omega would have to either lose the title beforehand or Ibushi would have to win the G1 Briefcase.
Omega will be looking to defend his title for a 3rd straight time at King of Pro Wrestling on October 8th. Omega has already defeated Cody and Tomohiro Ishii with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on the line.
John Cena is slated to star in a new action-thriller with movie legend Jackie Chan. The title of the film is “Project X” and it’s scheduled to be released next year. By doing this, he’s been living in Yinchuan, China where he’s shooting the film. During this time, he has been posting some videos on YouTube showing off different things to do there.
In one of the most recent videos, he talked about how in the past, his schedule with WWE would’ve prevented him from doing this. He stated that the travel in the WWE is amazingly relentless, but it’s only because they have an audience that’s so spread out. You can see it here:
WWE Ranks 5 Greatest SmackDown Matches
WWE is expected to go all out for this month’s SmackDown 1000 episode at the Capital One Arena in Washington DC. The belief is that WWE is planning to load up the show to the point where they will bring in several stars from the past and the show will be similar to RAW 1000 back in 2012.
While promoting this event, WWE has been posting lists about various topics that were featured on the show throughout the years. WWE’s latest list ranks the five greatest SmackDown match of all-time. Edge vs. Eddie Guerrero was ranked at #1.
NWA (National Wrestling Alliance), which is owned by Billy Corgan, announced on Monday (October 1) that the promotion will crown an NWA National Champion at their 70th anniversary show that takes place on October 21st in Nashville, Tennessee at the Nashville Fairgrounds and will be available on pay-per-view (PPV) via Fite.tv.
The NWA announced that there will be 8 competitors who will compete in two 4-man elimination matches with the two winners advancing to the championship match with the winner of this final match being crowned the new NWA National Champion. The competitors will include:
Sam Shaw
Willie Mack
Ricky Starks
Sammy Guevara
Scorpio Sky
Jay Bradley
Mike Parrow
Colt Cabana
It was also confirmed by Dave Lagana that the promotion will reveal details about another NWA Championship being defended at the 70th Anniversary show, which will either be the Women’s or Tag Team championships.
Cody Rhodes vs. Nick Aldis in a rematch for the NWA World Championship will headline this show. If you recall, Rhodes beat Aldis to win the championship last month at All In.
Last week on Monday Night Raw, Liv Morgan took a botched Yes kick from Brie Bella in the face, resulting in a concussion. The question many were asking heading into the weekend then was would Morgan make her scheduled appearances on WWE’s house shows?
Appearing At Live Events
Reports are in and Liv Morgan did indeed appear at the WWE live events this past weekend but in the corner for the Riott Squad. She was substituted for in the ring by Alicia Fox.
While it seems that Morgan is not cleared to wrestle yet, she has been cleared to travel and appear at ringside. Similar to Alexa Bliss, Liv Morgan may just be appearing in a temporary manager role until she has been cleared by WWE doctors.
WWE Super-Showdown
As of right now, The Bellas and Ronda Rousey are advertised to take on all members of the Riott Squad at WWE Super-Showdown in Melbourne, Australia this Saturday. Although, the match could change due to Morgan not being cleared to compete.
If the recent weekend live events are any indicators, the card could be changed to The Bellas and Ronda Rousey vs Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan, and Alicia Fox with Liv Morgan in their corner. For that occur, however, Morgan would have to be given the green light for the long flight to Australia. Airplane travel has been known to worsen the effects of concussions so the fact Morgan has been traveling with the Raw brand should be seen as a good sign.
The inaugural NXT North American Champion, Adam Cole, recently appeared on Edge & Christian’s show, E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness. During the course of the show, Cole discussed his stable – a group comprised of indie darlings, the Undisputed Era – as well as his real life friendships and relationships with the wrestlers that comprise the rest of the faction.
He also mentioned that Bobby Fish is ready to return to action, and highlighted that fellow former ROH-alumni Roderick Strong was a natural fit for the group when he eventually joined.
One subject in particular struck a chord with Cole: the positive crowd reaction to Undisputed Era.
Cheering The Bad Guys
Cole and co. play bad guys within a heel faction. Despite this, they have been receiving major fan adoration from those in attendance, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed by those in Undisputed Era.
“We have come to terms with the fact that when we walk through the curtain, we’re probably going to get a positive response,” Cole admitted. “[…] we used to think, okay, what can we do on television or how can we walk out, how can we get the people to hate us, kind of from the gate?’”
The resolution is surprising, as he confessed that, “[…] we’ve kind of embraced the idea, ‘okay, they’re going to be excited to see us, but once the match starts, we’re going to really get them over time to root for our babyface opponents’ and we do run into that, which is good.”
Cole added, “It’s more focusing on what story we can tell or how we can present it. Once the bell rings and over time getting people to really, really want our babyface opponents to win throughout the match almost. And on television, obviously, we talk a big game, we ruin a bunch of matches, which helps us get a bunch of heat.”
You can hear the entire interview with Adam Cole (BAY BAY!) below:
WWE Super Show-Down takes place October 6th from the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia. The WWE advertising machine has been in full swing in support for the show, hyping the event and building towards it over the past few weeks.
One person, however, isn’t happy with the advertising that has taken place.
SmackDown Live Women’s Champion, Becky Lynch, has taken obvious issue with the campaign that the WWE is running, highlighting, what she considers, to be an obvious omission:
Despite the champion not being featured, the woman she bested recently at Hell In A Cell is featured prominently, as is the WWE Raw Women’s Champion, “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey.
But no women’s championship representation for the blue brand?
Super Show-Down
WWE Championship Match: AJ Styles (c) vs. Samoa Joe
#1 Contenders Match: The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan
WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match: Cedric Alexander (c) vs. Buddy Murphy
WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship Match: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Charlotte Flair
SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match: The New Day (c) vs. The Bar
Triple H (w/Shawn Michaels) vs. The Undertaker (w/Kane)
John Cena and Bobby Lashley vs. Elias and Kevin Owens
The Shield vs. Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre
The Bella Twins and RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey vs. The Riott Squad
Eddie Edwards is the latest wrestler to release a kids book, something which is becoming more common. “Anything Is Possible: The Eddie Edwards Story” will hit bookstores tomorrow, October 2nd.
The Young Bucks have already released a kids book and Cody has said he’s writing one as well. The idea is that fans with young children are able to read their kids a book they both enjoy. Learn about former ROH and GHG World Champion, Eddie Edwards’, career while being a good parent as well. A link to purchase the book (on sale October 2nd, 2018) can be found here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFsHSxxk3UQ
Anything Is Possible: The Eddie Edwards Story
“With as much impact as his signature move, the Boston Knee Party, “Anything Is Possible: The Eddie Edwards Story” takes fans of all ages inside the ring for an inspiring look into world champion wrestler Eric Maher, aka Impact Wrestling’s Eddie Edwards’ journey to the top of the independent wrestling scene,” a press release for the book reads. “Maher teams up with co-writer and DC Comics artist Mark Poulton to deliver highlights from his incredible career. The only man in history to win the Impact Wrestling, Ring of Honor, and GHC World Heavyweight Championships—professional wrestling’s triple crown, Maher recounts his days as a kid dreaming of a wrestling career, to training with the legendary Killer Kowalski, to living and training in a Japanese dojo in the footsteps of his heroes.”
